PROBIOTICS AND MICROBIOTA

Probiotics, the most current topic when it comes time to talk about health. Yet we are just scratching the surface when it comes to talking about the influence of the microbiota on the rest of the human body. The idea that our bacterial flora influences the rest of the human body is still recent. Science has long thought that we were only a carrier for these trillions of microorganisms. Fortunately, the many scientific advances have enabled us to see that the interaction between the transporter and its microbiota was essential for the survival of the human species.

Our intestinal microbiota is amazingly diverse: more than 1,800 families and 40,000 different bacterial species in a human being. Among these microorganisms, we find bacteria, yeasts, archea and viruses. Bacteria and yeasts are the most studied elements in this list, and we have even divided the bacteria into several distinct groups: Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria. After several evaluations and comparisons, science quickly realized that the composition of our microbiota varied considerably and that many factors seemed to affect these variations. Diet, lifestyle, emotions, medication and of course our environment are all among these factors.

Of course, science has quickly made the link between the composition of the intestinal flora and various medical conditions: one of the most obvious is type II diabetes. The diet rich in carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids (low in vegetables and fibers) greatly modulates the composition of the microbiota and negatively influences the immune system. Recently it was discovered that the microbiota of people with disorders like depression was different from the so-called normal people, as it makes sense to say that your gut is your second brain.

Given the major advances in microbiota, it is only natural that several methods should be developed to help the microbiota. The best known method is the taking of probiotics. Probiotics are not new in human diets: many populations already used fermented foods such as sauerkraut, fermented dairy products and some soy products, long before we knew we were colonized by these trillions of Microorganisms. Since the 2000s, probiotics, now encapsulated, have seen their number and variety increase dramatically. They are mainly used to help control the symptoms of poor diet or laborious digestion, but we are seeing more and more products with more interesting properties: Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus and Saccharomyces Boulardii All their specific strains used for multiple conditions, ranging from the intestinal disorder to the management of sleep, to the control of inflammation.

Not all probiotics are equivalent and your therapist should not always use the same product, otherwise there is a good chance that he does not know much about probiotics!

The intestinal microbiota and its diversity are one of the most valuable defenses of the human body, but they can also become a weapon of mass destruction pointed directly at its host. Diet and lifestyle are two easily controllable factors that will have a major impact on good intestinal health and overall good health. It's time to think of something other than being beautiful in the jersey, you must also think about your health!