How’s your stomach?

How’s your stomach? Are you feeling fine or are you clutching your stomach while you read this?

If you’re in intestinal discomfort you might want to put down that Pepto-Bismol and pick up a food or supplement containing probiotics.

Probiotics, a word derived from a combination of Greek and Latin words meaning "for life,” are live microorganisms that are similar to the beneficial microorganisms found in your gut.

Probiotics are thought to keep a person’s gut healthy by boosting the levels of good bacteria and preventing bad bacteria from gaining the upper hand in the gut, which plays host to over 7,400 species of bacteria overall.

The World Health Organization says that, when administered in adequate amounts, probiotics “confer a health benefit on the host.”

As a result, many people use probiotics to boost their immune systems, help neutralize microorganisms that cause disease and help the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.

Probiotics are commonly used to treat the side effects of taking antibiotics – which kill the good bacteria in the gut along with the bad and, consequently, lead to gastrointestinal tract problems such as gas, cramping, or diarrhea. For many women, antibiotics also cause yeast infections.

Also, probiotics are sometimes used to treat symptoms of lactose intolerance which – you may know if you find yourself making frenzied dashes to the washroom after eating pizza –is the result of the gut lacking the enzyme that digests the primary sugar in milk.

Where to find probiotics

Probiotics are ingested as capsules, tablets, powders and other dietary supplements. It’s also common to ingest the “friendly bacteria” in foods such as yogurt, fermented and unfermented milk, miso and some juices and soy beverages. In those foods, probiotics are present originally or are added during preparation.

The bacteria fall into two groups — lactobacillus or bifidobacterium. Within those two groups are different species, and within each species there are various strains.

If you’re a health nut or a science geek, you’ll be interested in knowing that lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria have different actions in the gut. Lactobacillus creates an acidic environment, which is unsuitable for some pathogenic bacteria, while Bifidobacteria may contribute to vitamin metabolism and intestinal transit.

Saccharomyces boulardii and some other probiotics are not bacteria at all; they are yeasts.

Some health care professionals are skeptical about the benefits of probiotics, but they have been used in clinical settings with some success. At the very least, probiotics don’t appear to be harmful.

If you’re considering buying a probiotic yogurt or drink but aren’t sure if it will deliver on its promises, check the label.

The “friendly bacteria” has a limited shelf life and may already be dying off by the time you wheel your grocery cart into the dairy aisle.

Also, keep in mind that scientists say the product should have one million to one billion active cultures per gram to be considered an effective probiotic.