There’s hardly a person nowadays who hasn’t been advised to incorporate a probiotic supplement into their daily routine. Beneficial bacteria are truly our fellow assistants when it comes to maintaining a healthy gut and digestion – but do we really know why it’s so important to take care of our digestive tract and how probiotic intake fits into the picture? We will address those questions in today’s article and provide valuable insights about the process of selecting the right probiotic for adults.

What are probiotics essentially?

Before we dive into naming all the benefits that come with taking beneficial bacteria and what conditions might indicate the need for supplementation, let’s first explain what probiotic microorganisms are.

In order to fully understand the essence of beneficial bacteria, we first need to discuss the nature of the microbiome and digestive health.

A huge quantity of microorganisms reside in our gut – different types of fungi, bacteria, and yeasts combined equal to over a trillion. Our microbiome’s diversity is tightly connected to our lifestyle and place of residence. Spending time outdoors in nature, exposing ourselves to a vast diversity of microorganisms and bacteria, and taking antibiotics frequently are all factors that affect the microbiome’s condition. Our gut health is closely connected with our overall health: a plethora of endocrine, nervous, and immune functions are happening daily in our microbiome. Our immune response, nutrition absorption, vitamins, minerals, and neurotransmitters synthesis (serotonin and dopamine specifically), fighting chronic inflammation, and our ability to enjoy a restful sleep are all regulated by the bacteria in our gut.

In today’s fast-paced and dynamic lifestyle, it’s relatively easy to compromise the microbiome’s health. Nutrient-poor meals, irregular eating habits, chronic stress, poor sleep hygiene, and a  sedentary lifestyle are all contributing to the reduction in microbial diversity and the impairment of intestinal function. Frequent antibiotics intake is also something that shouldn’t be dismissed – antibiotics tend to destroy not only harmful bacteria and pathogens, but also beneficial microorganisms as well, resulting in increased need for probiotic intake.

As we’ve already mentioned, plenty of microorganisms reside in our gut – some of them are “potentially good” while others are “potentially harmful”; what matters most is maintaining the fine balance between them. If we experience pathogen bacteria overgrowth, we are facing a condition called dysbiosis, resulting in plenty of discomforting symptoms and sensations – bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, acne, and eczema-prone skin, trouble sleeping, lack of energy and vitality, finding it hard to concentrate and focus, and insufficient nutrient absorption. Then come the probiotics – strains of beneficial microorganisms usually found in fermented foods such as yoghurt, pickles, and kefir. Their superpower comes from their ability to colonize the digestive tract, fine-tune the delicate gut flora balance, and reduce the pathogen overgrowth.