In recent years, probiotic products on the market are dazzling, and they all have a variety of dazzling health effects. We know that probiotics can balance gastrointestinal flora, increase beneficial bacteria in the intestine, reduce harmful bacteria, and have certain regulatory effects on the body, such as improving constipation and diarrhea, improving immunity, preventing intestinal infection, resisting body inflammation, promoting body metabolism, and promoting digestion and absorption. The role
of probiotics is fundamentally the result of balancing intestinal flora. Because of the multiple effects of probiotics, there are a wide variety of probiotic products on the market, many people often wonder: so many probiotic products, in the end which should be chosen? Let’s talk about probiotics today. What
are probiotics?
Must be viable and sufficient
Probiotics are viable microorganisms ingested in sufficient quantities to have a beneficial effect on the health of the host. There are two key words that we need to pay attention to:
first, live. That is to say, probiotics must have live bacteria. If it is inactivated and dead, it is not a probiotic.
Second, sufficient quantity. It must have a sufficient number of viable bacteria and be beneficial to the human body to be probiotics. There are three kinds of
common probiotic products, two of which are not drugs but food
. There are three main categories of probiotic products on the market:
First, probiotic drugs
. At present, there are more than 30 probiotic preparations used clinically in China. Usually sold in hospitals and pharmacies, if you are sick and need to buy, please follow the medical supervision.
The second: probiotic health food
, it is registered and filed, the most intuitive is that its packaging has a health food logo, that is, we often say “blue hat.”. The usual function of probiotic health food is to regulate intestinal flora.
If you want to buy probiotic health food, you must pay attention to check whether it has this blue hat, do not mistake ordinary food for health food.
Third: common foods
containing probiotics, such as yogurt, cheese, etc. These foods are very common in life, and you may often eat them. Common foods containing probiotics cannot claim functionality. We
need to remind you that probiotic health food and ordinary food containing probiotics can not claim to have the effect of preventing or treating certain diseases, they are only food, not medicine. What should we pay attention to when
buying probiotic products?
First, give priority to products
with live bacteria. Probiotics refer to bacteria that are alive enough and beneficial to health. Although the metabolites and cellular components of dead bacteria, such as polysaccharides and short-chain fatty acids, also have some health benefits, most studies have shown that the effect of live bacteria is better than that of dead bacteria. Therefore, when purchasing, if it is found that the packaging is marked with the words “sterilization type” and “inactivation treatment”, it means that there are no live bacteria inside.
Secondly, we should pay attention to the number and quantity
of strains. There are many kinds of probiotics, and different strains have different effects. When buying this probiotic product, check to see if there is a strain listed on it and if there is a strain number behind the name of the strain. Strain numbering is usually composed of “Chinese name + English + number”. For example, common animal Bifidobacterium BB12, Bifidobacterium lactis HN019, Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 and so on, at the same time to see how many it is. If there is no number of this strain, the quantity is less than 10 * 6, indicating that its products are not standardized and the quantity is not enough. The possibility of shoddy is relatively high.
Third, do not rely too much on the role
of probiotics. At present, probiotics have many effects on human health, such as regulating immunity, preventing and reducing the risk of diarrhea in children, improving constipation, and alleviating the symptoms of enteritis. However, many studies are still in the stage of cell and animal experiments, and the evidence is not sufficient.
Therefore, we must be aware that probiotic products can not cure all diseases. Don’t be too superstitious about its effect and don’t regard it as a panacea. If you are really sick, you should seek medical treatment in time and follow the medical supervision, so as not to delay the illness because of superstition of probiotics.
Wen/Ruan Guangfeng (Director of Science and Technology Communication Department, Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center)
