The Facts on Flora (A little need-to-know information about the microorganisms we share our bodies with) Dana Kolenich, BSc.

Probiotics - literally meaning “for life”, probiotics are (according to the World Health Organization), “live microorganisms that confer a health benefit on the host” when taken in the right amounts. You’ve probably heard that probiotics are good for digestion, boost your immune system, and other health benefits. Today, we understand that our bodies are home to an infinite number of bacteria, which I’ll call flora; “probiotics” is the name given to the bacteria playing important roles in our digestive health, immune system, and more.

Have you ever looked on the label of a probiotic? If so, you’ve likely read a list of strange latin names like Lactobacillus, Bifidus and maybe even Streptococcus (wait, isn’t strep bad??), and then numbers ranging from the high millions to billions. I wouldn’t be surprised if you felt some confusion - so let’s get to the bottom of it!

First - The Facts:
We have a huge amount of different bacteria inside and on our bodies, called flora. Our flora is made up of many species of bacteria, making up 2-6 pounds of our body weight. We now know which species of bacteria are the regulars in our body -- the good guys, which we call probiotics and provide us with health benefits; the regulars, which hang around not really doing anything but can cause problems when too many of them get together; and the bad guys, the ones that cause trouble wherever they go. These bacteria are present in everyone, however each person has their own unique flora, which is influenced by genetics, age, sex, stress, nutrition, and diet.

I know, this story just got a whole lot bigger. How are you supposed to know which probiotics are right for you? That’s where your naturopathic doctor can help. There’s a large number of factors in today’s world that is involved in promoting and maintaining a healthy gut flora -- through this post, you’ll see little arrows ( → ) indicating some of these important factors, which you can discuss with any one of our interns and naturopathic doctor!

The Good Guys:
These are the bacteria that are permanent residents in your gastrointestinal tract, from your mouth all the way down to -- you know. We get these tenants at birth, when we leave our sterile home inside our mother’s womb and pick up her bacteria on the way out. These bacteria are necessary for vital functions in our bodies, including how we break down and absorb nutrients from food, how drugs are metabolized, maintaining healthy intestinal walls, modulating our immune system and preventing overgrowth of harmful bacteria and other pathogens.

→ How to promote healthy bacterial flora in pregnancy
→ How different methods of child delivery (ie. vaginal, cesarean section) can make a difference in a newborn’s bacterial flora
→ How breastfeeding plays an important role in your child’s gut flora.
→ Antibiotic use in pregnancy

The most abundant families (or genus) of bacteria that make up our flora (we’ll just focus on our internal flora today) are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. There is a number of different species amongst these families -- for example, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus are two different species under the same umbrella family. The term “species” is often incorrectly used interchangeably with the term strain. A strain of bacteria is a genetic variant of the species (for example, even though you and I are humans, we differ genetically). Knowing the strain is important because the effects of a probiotic have been found to be strain-specific, which means different strains of the same species will have different effects on our bodies: Lactobacillus (L.) rhamnosus GG (the strain is indicated by the letters/numbers on the end of the name) have different effects than L. rhamnosus PB01.

Quick Mention about the Regulars:
These are the bacteria in and on our bodies that hang out normally without causing too much trouble...unless given the opportunity to (also known as commensal). This includes (but is not limited to) the Streptococcus species, which hangs out in our mouths and helps keep pathogenic bacteria away, synthesize vitamins, and contribute to immunity...but when their numbers get too high or get into a spot they shouldn’t be (like a cut in our mouths) they can cause problems like strep throat, gingivitis and more. Also are Helicobacter pylori, in our stomachs (I’m sure you’ve heard of H. pylori infection - the same thing). This is a reason why maintaining a healthy flora will keep everyone happy, including our regulars.

→ What to do when there’s an imbalance between your good guys and your regulars?

What’s the deal about CFU?
CFU, or “colony-forming units” gives an indication of the amount of live organisms that you get in a single dose, which is usually in the millions or billions. Probiotic foods such as yogurt, kefir, and kimchi have a similar number of CFUs, however they tend to vary and are not reported on the labels. Research has found that the smallest effective dose tends to be 5 billion CFUs. More is not always better - each person must be assessed individually to determine what the appropriate amount of CFUs is required.

Why do we take probiotics if these bacteria are inside us already?
Over 100 years ago, Nobel Prize winner Eli Metchnikoff realized that the good bacteria help keep the number of bad bacteria in check. Observations were made at the time that children who were ill with diarrhea had a lower number of a particular bacteria (today called Bifidum) in their stool compared to healthy children.

A study in 2016 showed that taking a multistrain probiotic had health benefits in central nervous system disorders -- including anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder -- and improved memory. Other health conditions that have found benefit from probiotics include antibiotic-associated diarrhea, IBS, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, traveller’s diarrhea, constipation, urogenital infections, sperm motility, autoimmune conditions and atopic conditions like allergies, eczema and asthma.

→ In order to know if and what probiotics are right for you, see a naturopathic doctor!
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IMPORTANT:
If you are sick with an infection or illness, always consult a doctor. Doctors can do tests to see what microorganism is causing the problem, and treat it appropriately. Probiotics are not treatments for every infection and illness that is linked to microorganisms - rather they are a method of promoting healthy flora and are best used in cases of disease prevention and healing post-illness. Probiotics should also be avoided in those with decreased immune function, which includes (but not limited to): those infected with HIV, cancer patients undergoing active treatment which has side effects of decreased white blood cell production, and more. Remember, probiotics are a medical treatment and should therefore be treated like any other medicine.

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