10 common misconceptions about the consumption of probiotics, how many did you win?
Beijing News (Reporter Guo Tie) Probiotics and intestinal microbiota have been hot research topics and hot topics in the society in recent years. In some reports, probiotics often have various health effects and can "treat a variety of diseases"; but there are also saying that "probiotics are useless" and even "probiotics are harmful".
In response to these different and even contradictory information, on June 11, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center joined hands with the Chinese Society of Preventive Medicine Health Communication Branch, the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association Food Hygiene Branch, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Nutrition, The report "Recognizing Probiotics Scientifically-10 Common Misunderstandings of Probiotics" was released. The report collects and collates 10 common misunderstandings of the public about probiotics, and is the first “probiotic science manual” for consumers so far.
Myth 1: Probiotics = lactic acid bacteria
The report states that probiotics are not equal to lactic acid bacteria. By definition, probiotics refer to a group of living microorganisms. When ingested in sufficient amounts, they can play a beneficial role in human health, such as regulating intestinal flora, promoting nutrient absorption, and regulating immunity. Lactic acid bacteria generally refer to the general name of bacteria that can ferment sugar and mainly produce lactic acid. It is not a strict name for the classification of microorganisms.
Probiotics contain many strains. Most probiotics belong to Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis, etc., but not all lactic acid bacteria are probiotics, and some lactic acid bacteria may even The human body is harmful. Only specific strains of lactic acid bacteria whose health effects have been scientifically verified can be called probiotics. In addition, probiotics do not necessarily have to be lactic acid bacteria. Certain yeasts and bacillus with health effects can also be probiotics, such as B. baumannii and Bacillus coagulans.
Myth 2: Prebiotics = probiotics
The report also states that prebiotics are not probiotics. Prebiotics refer to a class of substances that can be selectively used by intestinal microorganisms and produce certain health functions. Common prebiotics include fructooligosaccharides, isomaltose oligosaccharides, inulin, galactooligosaccharides, breast milk oligosaccharides, etc.
Although prebiotics cannot be digested by the human body, it can promote the growth and reproduction of beneficial bacteria in the intestine to promote human health. Therefore, it is generally better to use probiotics and prebiotics in a reasonable combination, such as oligofructose and oligosaccharides. The combination of lactose, inulin and bifidobacteria can promote the proliferation and function of bifidobacteria.
Myth 3: Dead bacteria are also considered probiotics
According to the definition of the World Health Organization, probiotics should be live bacteria, dead bacteria are not probiotics. The metabolites and cell components of dead bacteria may have certain health benefits, such as polysaccharides, short-chain fatty acids and other substances are all beneficial to health. However, most studies have shown that the effect of live probiotic bacteria is better than the corresponding dead bacteria.
The report suggests that you should pay attention to the label when purchasing related products. If the words "sterilization type" or "after inactivation treatment" are marked, the product does not contain live bacteria and is not a probiotic product.
Myth 4: Probiotics are harmful to health
The report pointed out that probiotics must be approved by the relevant departments before they can go on sale. Approved probiotics are safe for the vast majority of people, and there is no evidence to suggest that long-term consumption of probiotics has adverse effects. Consumers can use it as recommended in the product manual, but special groups such as immunodeficiency patients and critically ill patients should consult a doctor before use.
Myth 5: Probiotics are all the same
The effects of probiotics are strain-specific, that is, the effects of different probiotic strains are different, and there are individual differences in the effects of probiotics on the host. Therefore, in order to facilitate consumers to make reasonable choices, relevant companies should accurately label the strain information and suitable people in product information. Consumers should choose according to the strain information, the claimed function and their own health status, and they should consult experts if necessary.
Myth 6: The more viable bacteria the better
The report suggests that the effect of probiotics is related to the dose. Ingesting a sufficient dose of probiotics can achieve the corresponding effect, but different strains have different doses of health effects.
For the same probiotic strain, within a certain range, the effect of high dose is better than that of low dose, but it is not that the higher the dose, the better. Different strains of probiotics have different doses for health effects, so it is not appropriate to compare the number of viable bacteria to measure the pros and cons of probiotic effects, or clinical evidence should prevail.
Myth 7: The more strains the better
Judging from the current scientific evidence, different strains may produce a synergistic effect, but not all strain combinations have this effect. Therefore, the number of strains contained in probiotic products is not necessarily related to their effects, and the optimization of various strains needs to be further studied.
Myth 8: Regular consumption of probiotics will cause dependence
The report pointed out that the probiotic strains after strict scientific evaluation are safe for normal people, and normal taking will not make the human body dependent. Probiotics are a type of living microorganisms, and the supplemented probiotics will help the human intestinal flora to mutually benefit each other. At present, there is no research to prove that long-term consumption of probiotics will make the intestine lose its ability to reproduce beneficial bacteria, or make people dependent.
Myth 9: Probiotics have racial differences
The main factors affecting human intestinal flora are diet and environment, and there will be some differences in the composition of intestinal flora of people around the world. However, the role of intestinal flora in human metabolism will not be significantly different due to factors such as race, age, etc. At present, there is no obvious difference in the role of probiotics due to different races.
Myth 10: Probiotics package for all diseases
At present, most scientists believe that probiotics can regulate the intestinal flora, promote the digestion, absorption and metabolism of nutrients in the intestine, which is beneficial to human health.
The report suggests that probiotics have some clinical applications and have achieved good results, such as regulating immunity, preventing and reducing the risk and duration of diarrhea in children, improving constipation, reducing symptoms of enteritis, improving allergies, and helping weight control Wait. However, the probiotic function reported by some scientific articles is still in the stage of cell or animal experiments and has not been proven by high-level clinical evidence. At the same time, due to the influence of strain specificity and individual differences, the application and recommendation of probiotics still need further evidence support.