Probiotics: The ally of the immune system!

Now that the temperature is dropping and autumn is entering our lives, seasonal flu and colds are making a reappearance and with them their unpleasant symptoms.

But there are ways to avoid an infection. Because prevention is always better than cure, and probiotics may be the answer to shielding our immune system.

The immune system

Our immune system is made up of many “players” who work together as a team to protect us from or counter threats. These can be injuries, pathogens, toxins, etc.

The first fascinating fact about our immune system is that 70% of it is located in our gastrointestinal system. More than 100 trillion bacteria are found and co-exist in our gut. Most of these are friendly to the body and are called “probiotics”. Potential pathogenic bacteria and probiotic bacteria are in a delicate, but highly important for health, balance with each other. The purpose of probiotics is to maintain the health of the digestive system.

Probiotics and the immune system

The benefits of probiotics are varied for the body and we have discussed them separately here. However, it is safe to say that our gut is indeed our second brain and good body health starts there.

Probiotics, then, boost the immune system in four ways.

1. They enhance the function of the intestinal epithelial barrier. This means that they significantly reduce the possibility of pathogenic microorganisms entering the intestine. Automatically the number of infections is reduced and our immune system saves time and energy and we a serious infection.

2. Probiotics themselves have antimicrobial activity. We must remember that probiotics, for the most part, are bacteria, which are trying to find their place in the body and survive.        Thus they see pathogenic bacteria as competitors. That’s why they release bacteriocins, antimicrobial substances that are toxic to other bacteria.

3. Probiotics also produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA) as they metabolize fibre, which protect against inflammatory bowel diseases.

4. Finally, probiotics enhance the immunobiological response of the intestinal mucosa by inducing the production of antibodies and anti-inflammatory factors.

In general, probiotics contribute:

– Preventing the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into the body through the digestive tract

– Balancing the intestinal flora after the use of antibiotic therapy

– In energy production

– In the composition of vitamins

– In weight control

– Reducing the occurrence of allergies

Sources of probiotics

Probiotics can be ingested in two ways: Through dietary supplements and through food.

Foods rich in probiotics are: yoghurt, kefir, pickles, dark chocolate, kombucha, kimchi, miso, etc.

CROSS Pharmaceuticals’ proposal for probiotic supplementation is LactoBiome. LactoBiome is a dietary supplement with probiotics, prebiotics and B vitamins. It is a symbiotic formula for balancing and restoring the intestinal microbiome, with 5 billion live bacterial strains. A unique composition of selected strains (LGG, S.boulardii) with clinically proven efficacy (recommended by the World Organization of Gastroenterology).

Learn more about LactoBiome

Take home message

Probiotics are the small, invisible ally of the body, contributing to its overall proper functioning. At the same time, however, they are also a valuable ally of the immune system, strengthening it in many ways and shielding the body against disease.

At the same time, it is important to note that once we get sick and need to take antibiotics, probiotics are essential. Antibiotics do not have a selective effect and cannot distinguish good bacteria from bad bacteria. This has the consequence of destroying them all. This, however, disturbs the balance of the gut microbiome, which leads to unpleasant symptoms, e.g. diarrhoea. Consult your doctor about taking probiotics along with your antibiotic treatment and thus save yourself from unpleasant side effects.

Sources