Health Options
Good diet helps balance
intestinal bacteriaMaintaining balance in life means a lot more than having time to do all the things we need to do. With respect to health, it is important to balance many things, such as the types of foods we eat, with adequate exercise, sleep and play. But who ever thinks about balancing the various strains of bacteria in our intestines? Some food manufacturers are starting to think about it.
Most people would rather not think about the hundreds of species of bacteria known to live in their intestines. Fortunately, we usually don't need to. A healthy intestine supports an ecological balance of many species of bacteria that compete with each other for resources. When things are status quo, the bacteria maintain a relatively constant balance of power and population numbers. If this ecological balance is disrupted, health may be compromised.
Question: How can intestinal bacteria get out of balance?
Answer: Radical changes in diet, taking antibiotics and various disease states can alter the balance. In fact, it has become fairly common for physicians or pharmacists to suggest consuming yogurt to recolonize the intestinal tract with "friendly organisms" after a patient has completed an antibiotic prescription.
Q: What are the consequences of changes in intestinal bacteria?
A: This question is at the core of active research. Just about all studies on the topic end with a statement such as, "Additional research is needed to confirm these results." However, it appears that at least some conditions of diarrhea and other intestinal problems are associated with an unbalanced bacterial ecology.
Q: How can a healthy balance be maintained?
A: A good balanced diet goes a long way. Intestinal bacteria thrive on our leftovers, so to speak. Various types of bacteria utilize substances that our bodies can't use or don't absorb efficiently. So, how we eat affects which bacteria thrive best.
Also, foods cultured with live microorganisms, such as yogurt, may influence the gut ecology and in turn provide health benefits beyond plain, uncultured food. Foods like this are often called probiotics.
Q: What does probiotic mean?
A: Probiotic, derived from Greek, means "for life." The term now refers to a preparation or a food product that provides specific microorganisms in sufficient numbers to affect their amounts in the body.
Q: What makes a food a probiotic?
A: Such foods must contain live bacterial cultures. In addition to the classic examples of yogurt and buttermilk, other probiotic products are showing up in the market.
A new product by Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii called iS, short for "immuno stimulation," is a probiotic beverage that tastes a lot like a passion-orange creamsicle. In addition to fruit juices (passion fruit, pear and orange) and skim milk, iS is fortified with beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and some beneficial bacteria.
Although there is still much to learn about these "biotic" products, we are likely to see more and more showing up in the stores.
Health Events
Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a sports nutritionist in the
Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science,
University of Hawaii-Manoa.Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a food and nutrition consultant
and owner of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.
She is also responsible for the nutritional analyses
indicated by an asterisk in this section.