Probiotics: cultivating a resilient immune system
Date
20 Dec 2024
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Are you aware that our gut houses 70% of our immune cells? This is mentioned in a 2023 review published in the Cells Journal.
Knowing this may help us understand why and how the healthy functioning of the gut can significantly impact immune health. Taking care of our gut means we also care for our immune system, which defends the body against pathogens to help it stay
The relationship between the gut and immune system
Maintaining a balanced mix of bacteria in our gut seems important, as Columbia Doctor reports that this contributes to a healthy gut and promotes immunity.
According to the 2023 Cells Journal review, immune cells and microbes in the intestine constantly communicate with and react to each other to maintain healthy immune activities.
The paper explains that when consumed, probiotics can facilitate immune responses in the intestine by stimulating the production of various proteins, such as cytokines and immune cells, which help fight off sickness.
In addition, it reports that the intestinal tract tissues play an essential immunological role in monitoring intestinal bacteria and protecting against pathogens. The intestine’s mucus barrier also prevents harmful external agents from reaching it.
Gut microflora also aids digestion, helps the body obtain nutrients from food and helps produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), vitamins, and even essential amino acids in the gut that benefit health.
Role of probiotics
According to the World Health Organization, probiotics are ’Live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host.’
Probiotics do this by visiting the gut and, while there, helping to restore and balance out the bad and good bacteria while also helping to diversify the microbiome, the collective of microbes in the gut.
According to the 2023 Cells Journal review, consuming probiotics can positively influence the composition of intestinal microflora and interact with different immune cells, improving immune functions.
Lactobacillus, acidophilus, rhamnosus, plantarum, lactis, and bifidum are some probiotics that have been reported to increase the number of intestinal cells that produce antibodies in a dose-dependent manner.
These probiotics may help cytokine production to help regulate the body’s immune response to a harmful substance and strengthen the gut barrier. (add reference to our LAB 4 probiotics Hepburn NJ et al. 2013. Probiotic supplement consumption alters cytokine production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells: a preliminary study using healthy individuals. Beneficial Microbes 4(4): 313-17
How to choose probiotics for immune health
Live cultures and probiotics in foods
Probiotics can be found in less concentrated quantities from fermented foods and drinks such as yogurt kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi. However, as The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics explains, for them to be classified as probiotics, the foods need to be documented on the label, and the strains in the amount that have been shown to confer a health benefit. Otherwise, they are just live microbes that may still be beneficial for maintaining healthy gut bacteria. However, they are not a probiotic because they have not been clinically studied to show a health benefit. Probiotics can only be classified as such if clinically proven to confer a health benefit.
The benefits of including foods in the diet that contain live microbes are that you can benefit from the other nutrients within these foods, most notably fibre. Research has shown that a diet high in plant-based, whole foods and fibre can help contribute to a healthy and diverse gut microbiome. The study also reveals that a high-fibre diet can feed beneficial gut bacteria.
Prebiotics are a type of fibre and, as the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) describes, are the fuel that good bacteria feed off to thrive. Examples of foods that contain prebiotic fibre include artichokes, legumes, fruits, particularly nectarines, white peaches, watermelon, and dried fruit, rye bread and crackers, oats, wheat bran and bread, nuts and seeds, particularly cashews and pistachio nuts.
As well as trying to include prebiotic fibres in your diet, the Cleveland Clinic also suggests looking for a probiotic that is encapsulated with a food source, such as inulin, a prebiotic, so it has something to feed off of and remains effective while sitting on the shelf.
Strains
If you are considering taking a probiotic for a specific purpose, it’s best to consult your healthcare provider first. This is because different strains confer particular health benefits, and it’s important to choose the strain that has been clinically proven to provide benefits for your health. The product should identify the strains of bacteria contained in it, which have three parts: genus, species, and strain. For example, for the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus CUL21, Lactobacillus is the genus, acidophilus is the species, and CUL21 is the strain designation.
Probiotics Dosage
Similarly, according to the ISAPP, the dosage should reflect the amount used in the clinical trial that resulted in the health benefit. This would be expressed in colony-forming units (CFU), the number of viable bacteria in the product, or “live cultures.”
Overall, increasing the intake of probiotics in your diet may support a healthy immune system function by assisting the protective defences of the immune system against unfriendly microbes and improving the gut barrier protection against harmful bacteria.
If you wish to supplement with probiotics, it is important to consult with a healthcare practitioner to determine which strain and dosage is right for you.
References
- Cells Journal. Probiotics: cultivating a resilient immune system. Cells. 2023; [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cells
- Hepburn NJ, et al. Probiotic supplement consumption alters cytokine production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells: a preliminary study using healthy individuals. Benef Microbes. 2013;4(4):313-17. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3920/BM2013.0030
- World Health Organization. Probiotics [Internet]. [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available from: https://www.fao.org/3/a0512e/a0512e.pdf
- Columbia Doctors. The relationship between the gut and immune system [Internet]. [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available from: https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/gut-immune-connection-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters
- International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP). Probiotics [Internet]. [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available from: https://isappscience.org/for-scientists/resources/prebiotics/