Probiotic drinks, yoghurts or capsules from the pharmacy should keep the intestines and immune system fit. What sounds good in theory is debatable in practice.
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| Can probiotics save the microbiome in the gut? |
If the gut microbiome - the whole of all bacteria residing there - loses variety, it can have an impact on health. According to nutritionist Dirk Haller of the School of Life Sciences at the Technical University of Munich, the number of various viruses, bacteria, and fungus in the intestines is dropping, particularly in persons in industrialized nations.
At the same time, people in the affected nations acquired a variety of chronic inflammatory bowel disorders, with the inflammation being mostly the outcome of an overactive defense system. This, in turn, may occur more frequently if the immune system is under-trained, exactly because specific types of bacteria are lacking as sparring partners. At the same time, the risk of pathogens spreading in the intestine increases when the beneficial microorganisms vacate their place.
Lactic acid or bifidobacteria perform useful tasks in the intestine
Probiotics, which are living bacteria available at your local supermarket or pharmacy, are supposed to help build the microbiome. In principle, this is not a horrible concept. Lastly, lactic acid or bifidobacteria, which naturally occur in lactic acid products like yoghurt and kefir, but also in sauerkraut and pickles, serve important functions in the gut.
But, the real advantage of probiotics is unclear, argues Till Strowig, leader of the "Microbial Immune Regulation" research group at the Helmholtz Institute for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, because: "Such probiotics do not stay permanently in the body. They are only passing through." There are few scientific studies that demonstrate the usefulness of the preparations.
Nutritionist Haller further points out that drugstore pills or drops may not even contain the proper germs. "We're dealing with species with highly intricate adaptations in the gut. As a result, the lactic acid bacteria discovered 100 years ago will not be the solution to today's issues." According to Haller's projection, artificially generated microbial communities might be employed instead in the medium term.