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How Do Probiotics Help Athletes?

September 8, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotics-sportsThe athletes worldwide suffer from various injuries as well as microbial infections. They have to undergo excessive exercise and training regimens which lead to the wear and tear of the body parts. In order to be successful athletes, they need to recover quickly from such injuries. The hard training schedule also results in the disruption of balance of host-microbial interactions which are crucial for the maintenance of good health, the prerequisite for the maintenance of an athletic body and the related performance. This change in the gut microbiota results in altered immune responses which need to be resurrected.

Recurrent cases of infection and compromised immunity leads to early fatigue affecting the performance of even the well trained athletes. Sports science today deals with the cases that has to do with the performance management and enhancement of the athletes. Available therapies for the maintenance of endurance and good health are the intake of drugs and the athletes often have to suffer from the stigma of failed dope tests. A good diet with the help of the beneficial activities of the probiotics can alleviate the problems of the athletes to a large extent. Scientists are now increasingly trying to find out various probiotic combinations that can provide fruitful solutions to the health problems and performance maintenance by the athletes in a natural way.

Health Concerns for The Athletes:

It has been an established fact that long drawn training sessions can result in the suppressed release of secretory IgA. According to studies the occurrence of the respiratory tract infections of the swimmers can be correlated with the level of IgA that is prevalent in them during the pre- and mean- season trainings. The recurrences of EBV mediated infections have also been implicated with elite class swimmers under such circumstances. It is highly likely that the extensive exercises that follow the training regimens may lead to the perturbation of the regulatory effects of the T-cells. The therapeutic interventions have focused on the enhancement of the T lymphocyte mediated immunity.

The athletes also suffer from the instances of quick fatigue that can be related to the altered beneficial microflora within the guts. The extra nutritious supplements needed in the diet of the athletes are not properly utilized due to the inefficiency of the human body to metabolize such indigestible food products. Therefore, the body remains deprived of the essential requirements under conditions of excessive work such as during the training periods. As a result of the alteration in the immune system they also suffer from the inability for quick recovery from any sustained injuries.

It has also been noticed that some of the athletes are more prone to injuries than the others. The ones with susceptibility towards injuries must be stronger than the others in order to overcome the repeated cases of injuries. They may also be subjected to the intake of antibiotics more frequently thereby destroying their natural gut microflora. These incidences often cut short the career of many promising young sportsperson.

A good diet with proper aiding beneficial microorganisms is now being contemplated to overcome these situations in the athletes. The effect of the probiotic strains in improving our health conditions is now beyond anybody’s doubt. However, the proper application of the specific strains that can alleviate the problems of infection, immune compromised situations, inability to recover quickly from sustained injuries and so on. The sports world can definitely benefit from a good knowledge of their effectiveness under specific case scenarios. However, the exact mechanism behind the ability of the probiotics in providing better endurance and capability to tolerate prolonged periods of strenuous training loads need to be justified through more of their applications.

Instances of Probiotic Application:

It has been found that the administration of L. acidophilus containing probiotic products can enhance the T-cell mediated response in the athletes with mucosal infection or under excessive training stress and a compromised T-cell immunity. The athletes who complain of fatigue with a fall in their performance graph are generally frequented with infections that result in reduced levels of IFNc secretion as compared to their healthy counterparts. A regular intake of L. acidophilus by the affected athletes resulted in the improvement in the level of IFNc in the blood to the level of the normal controls.

The male athletes who were in the habit of taking supplements containing Lactobacillus fermentum showed reduced incidences of the severity of the cases related to respiratory disorders, usage of medications for cold and flu as also gastrointestinal problems that have been reported earlier in sportsperson under excessive training loads. Majority of the health benefits provided by the probiotic strains in the athletes are mainly due to their capacity to alter and mend the perturbations in the immune responses. In female athletes, the studies so far are very paltry suggesting the need for further research for the application of probiotics in their cases.

However, some of the few studies carried out so far provide good frequency of positive results in the alleviation of their problems by the use of probiotic products. In yet another study it was found that there was no difference in the improvement responses by the male and female athletes who were administered with the probiotic strains like L. fermentum. In either of the cases the probiotic supplements seemed to improve the balance of the crucial cytokines, the alterations of which has led to the growing reports of fatigue and loss of endurance among athletes.

A near (20-60) % reduction in cytokine balance alterations has been reported among the athletes following regular probiotic supplements. According to a recent report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine by a group of scientists at the Australian Institute of Sports, the intake of the probiotic strain L. fermentum orally can result in the enhacement of endurance among 20 elite male runners. The study also pointed on the benefits of reduction in respiratory complications upon the administration of the probiotic product. When analyzed immunologically, the athletes showed increased levels of the cytokine IFNγ which might as well play a big role in the outcome of the positive results obtained so far.

There is significant research going on in the field of sports medicine to improve the health conditions in the athletes in order to increase their sports lives. The major focus of the scientific community is to find out strategies that would naturally intervene into the problems of the athletes with positive outcome. The probiotics could just be the answer to such efforts with negligible side effects.

Filed Under: Questions Tagged With: Athletes?

Bifidobacterium Strains As Probiotics

September 7, 2013 by Lara Swanson

BifidobacteriumThere has been rapid progress in the characterization of a large number of probiotic species and their strains from the genus Bifidobacterium in the last two decades. This has given rise to the subsequent interest in the scientific community and commercialization of the strains for their ability as probiotics to render essential health benefits. The members of the bifidobacteria are natural inhabitant of the GI tract in humans and other animals and are gram (+) in nature.

The genus discovered at the beginning of this century has gained significant importance as key component of human-microbial commensal relationships. They are believed to play critical role in the maintenance of the health of the human gastrointestinal tract. Although the importance of the bifidobacteria in maintaining our well being is now being generally accepted but their molecular mode of action in providing the due beneficial effects is far from being delineated.

However, the genome sequencing of some of the key members of the genus is now available and it can just be the starting step in the right direction to understand the bacteria and their probiotic role in the maintenance of human health. A deeper understanding of the strains in this genus and their diversity in tolerating extreme physiological pressure and conditions can allow us to put the specific strain in use in specific cases of health complications. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Probiotic Strains Tagged With: Bifidobacterium, Strains

Probiotics In The Better Utilization of Phytochemicals

September 6, 2013 by Lara Swanson

PhytochemicalsThe phytochemicals although possess less nutritive value but can be quite beneficial from the aspect of providing protective and beneficial effects to the hosts affected with diseased conditions. However, they are not required by the humans for the maintenance of normal physiological activities. The basic background of their utility comes from the fact that the plants can protect themselves to a large extent from the attack of various pathogenic and other foreign agents through the production of certain chemical compounds. Although the characterization of the chemical compounds at present is paltry but the ones which have been characterized suggest that they can have applications even against human diseases. Accordingly, some of the phytochemicals and their natural sources have been known by now like isoflavones (soy), flavanoids (fruits) and lycopene (tomatoes). But the major problem in their usage is the inability of the human body to derive the essential factors from them through the necessary breakdown of the compounds. Here, comes the role of the probiotics which can provide better utilization of the phytochemical potentials for our body. [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Phytochemicals

The Best Route For Probiotic Administration

September 5, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotic administrationThe beneficial effects rendered by the probiotics are now beyond doubt and most of the people around the world believe in their effectiveness and efficacy. Many of us take probiotic supplements through dietary intake as food products. A large number of our traditional foods are based on the fermentative capability of these probiotic bacterial strains and our forefathers were also in the habit of taking fermented milk and other foods although with little knowledge about the probiotic bacteria. The beneficial strains helped them maintain good health away from frequent encounters with disease manifestations.

The commercially available probiotic strains are used by the individuals simply as lyophilized powdered products, chewable tablets and so on. The form of the probiotics also vary from live to heat inactivated dead cells with even the DNA or the protein parts of the strains being capable of rendering their beneficial effects. The commercially available probiotic products are more effective from the point of view that they have been produced keeping in mind all the safety guidelines.

In addition, the dosage and the actual number of the bacteria administered are also under control unlike the intake through the traditional food products. Infact the number of bacteria taken in and their viability is a matter of great concern with regard to the probiotic biology and their positive influence on the health of the host. But with all the recent developments in this field of using probiotics as beneficial modulators of our health, there is an important question doing the rounds for their further betterment as our ‘friendly’ biota; which is the best route of their administration into our body? [Read more…]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: administration, probiotics

Probiotic Bacteria In The Delivery Of Vaccines

September 5, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotic-vaccinesThe treatment of the infectious and other diseases via the inhibition of their causative agents involves the induction of the immune system through the process of vaccination. An effective and successful outcome with the vaccines is achieved only when they are able to raise the antigen specific acquired responses of the immune system that involves memory.

The major mediators of this form of immunity are the lymphocytes. The B lymphocytes generally deal with the pathogens which are external through the formation of antibodies while the internal pathogens are tackled by the T lymphocytes that involve cytokine producing inflammatory responses.

Besides the classical way of the application of vaccination during which the acquired immunity against the target antigen is stimulated, there is a great deal of interest among the individuals regarding the significance of innate immunity. This form of immunity has been found to be involved with the beneficial microflora of the hosts or the administration of the probiotics. Infact, it has now been established that the early exposure to the gut microbiota in the lives of the neonatals is absolutely necessary for the development of mucosal immunity. Therefore, there are good reasons to believe that the probiotics can be used as effective means of vaccine delivery. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Benefits Tagged With: probiotics, vaccines

Probiotics In The Regulation Of Cold And Flu

September 5, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotics-cold-fluWith the onset of the winter season, a large proportion of human beings suffer from symptoms of cold and flu of varied severity while the children being the worst affected among them. The causative agents behind the common cold are generally viruses like Influenza A, Influenza B, etc. The common cold becomes one of the major reasons behind the huge number of work and school absentees that has a tremendous effect on the economy.

The available therapeutic interventions are only but temporarily effective against the diseased state. Moreover, some of the individuals are more prone to cough and cold than others and we often refer to them as the ones with a weak immune system. However, the existing knowledge about the causal agents behind the cold and flu symptoms suggests that these agents are only responsible to make us immuno compromised under the set of conditions as prevalent during the problem.

Therefore, there is a need to search for therapeutic agents that can bolster our immune responses against such seasonal change related attack on our health. Probiotics have been already implicated to be beneficial in a wide variety of human diseases. There are also a lot of data regarding the ability of probiotics in the stimulation of our immunity. Hence, the use of probiotics to inhibit the influenza viruses, bolster immune responses and provide protection against cold and influenza can definitely be contemplated.

Probiotic Intervention:

In one of the first ever studies to find out the effect of probiotic administration (a combination of L. reuteri and Bifidobacterium animalis) on the health of the children, it was found that the incidences of fever was reduced among them. In a clinical trial with 326 children, 248 of them showed reduced incidences as well as duration of fever, cough, antibiotic prescriptions and rhinorrhea upon the intake of probiotic strains. It was also found that the group who were administered with only one probiotic strain was found to interfere with only the incidence of cough and fever. Nonetheless, both the kind of probiotic administration provided some degree of reduction in the duration of the symptoms.

This suggests that a combination of probiotic strains are needed to alleviate the problems associated with the symptoms of cold. The probiotic products like Probacto that has a good blend of the beneficial bacteria can therefore be quite useful in the intervention of such cold related problems. According to yet another study the combinatorial intake of the three probiotic strains, B. longum, L. gasseri and B. bifidum supplemented with minerals and vitamins was demonstrated to result in the reduction of the severity and duration of the common cold. Similar results were observed through the intake of probiotic supplements containing the strains of L. acidophilus and B. animalis. According to a controlled trial with probiotic strains on school children that was published very recently in the journal Pediatric International, it was demonstrated that the daily intake (twice per day) of probiotic supplements reduced cold symptoms in school children.

The effectiveness of the combinatorial intake of probiotic strains as compared to a single strain was once again proved through the comparison between the administrations of L. acidophilus alone or in combination with B. lactis. Obviously, the combinatorial approach seemed to provide protective effect from a broader perspective. Soletti and his group published their recent findings on the efficacy of using synbiotics in the control and prevention of common cold symptoms in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. Their work suggests that the prolonged period of intake of the synbiotic formulations ( like the use of fructooligosaccharides, inulins and probiotic strains) besides providing protection against the common cold, helps in alleviating respiratory disorders as encountered during the winter season.

Mechanism of Action:

The mechanism of action through which the probiotics might provide beneficial effects during cold seasons and protect from the common cold symptoms including reduced cough and respiratory ailments has to do mainly with the immunomodulatory capabilities of the probiotics. Indeed, a number of reports have associated the probiotics with the enhancement of immune responses in human beings through the Toll-Like receptors. They have also been found to induce the innate immune system through the stimulation and release of a number of cytokines. Winkler et al. has observed very recently that the administration of probiotic combination can enhance cellular immunity in order to effectuate the decrease in cold symptom severity.

As said earlier a single strain probiotic intake was not as effective as the administration of a combination of two strains, i.e., the two strains could produce a synergistic effect. The synergism in part can be explained by the fact that the bifidobacterial strain might be associated with the inhibition of the respiratory viruses in getting adhered to the epithelial layer while the other strain can grow and induce immune responses.

So, the main effect of probiotics in fighting cold symptoms is to stimulate the otherwise weakened immune system to fight out the viruses. However, the mere ability to boost the immune responses might not be considered sufficient to provide health benefits against the virus and that requisite clinical trials are a must before it can be said with confirmation. With the studies available it is highly promising to use the probiotics against the virus mediated respiratory ailments.

There are also suggestions that the use of probiotics as a therapeutic intervention to provide relief in cases of common cold can alleviate the need for medicinal application based relief which are only but transient in nature in their mode of action. Moreover, the probiotic strains have been found to be enhancing the vaccine response in the cold and flu affected individuals.

It is noteworthy to mention that the use of probiotic strains in the inhibition of cold and flu should be quite judicious as the specific strains in these cases have been known to induce specific responses in the recipients. The right choice of the probiotic product with the right combination of the bacterial strains is the key to the success in their use as agents to fight symptoms of cold.

Filed Under: Benefits Tagged With: cold and flu, probiotics

Can Probiotics Provide Relief From Stress?

September 3, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotic stressIn today’s competitive world we encounter stress particularly with our busy schedule. Stress can generally be outlined as the response of our body to a challenge like an environmental stimulus. The sympathetic nervous system of our body gets activated in presence of stress signals. In general, stress produces negative vibes that can affect the physical as well as mental wellness of an individual. Therefore, there is a need to control the stress and its related ill effects on our health. The probiotics have seemingly shown potentials to provide us relief during stressful conditions.

Pre-Existing Knowledge:

There are previous reports that suggest that alterations of the enteric microbiota experimentally can modulate the neural functions within the host which leads to changed cognitive and emotional responses on reaching adulthood. The first ever evidence for such association came from animal studies that compared the infected and germ free animals.

Although the experiment was carried out artificially, it clearly established that the change in gut microbes was involved with the disturbance of stress related developments. In that study carried out by the group of Yu, it was further found that the alteration of the stress related HPA-axis could only take place if the colonization of the bacteria occurred before the age of mice reached 6 weeks thereby suggesting an involvement with brain development that has potential longlasting effects. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Benefits Tagged With: probiotics, stress

Probiotics Break The Signaling Between Pathogenic Bacteria

August 30, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotic-pathogenicThe growth and proliferation of bacteria is largely dependent on their ability to communicate with each other through a well orchestrated process known as quorum sensing. The signalling between different bacterial species or within species takes place through this phenomenon via the release of molecules called auto-inducers.

The process has been found significant and can’t be done away with respect to bacterial growth and function as it provides them important information and gives the bacteria a measure of the surrounding population density, allows them to organize gene expression coordination on behalf of the entire population during conditions of stress or starvation that might bring about a change in the size of the community or the niche conditions.

The bacteria are also able to gather enough information regarding nutrient availability and prevalent ecological conditions and act accordingly. It has been established that the language of quorum sensing is quite specific that allows precise communication even between the strains of bacterial species. Now, mechanisms that inhibit the quorum sensing have been elucidated across eukaryotic and prokaryotic species that enable them to fight against and interfere with the growth of their competitors. The competitors have evolved mechanisms to synthesize and release enzymes that can break down the auto inducers or compounds that might act as mimics to the auto-inducers thereby preventing quorum sensing within the other bacterial population and promoting their own growth. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Benefits Tagged With: Pathogenic Bacteria

Probiotics In The Improvement of Bone Density

August 30, 2013 by Lara Swanson

probiotic-bone-densityOsteoporosis which once affected only the aged population is now expanding its grasp to a wider section of humans irrespective of their age. It has been called a progressive disease of the bone and involves characteristics such as the loss of density of bone minerals, reduction or loss of essential proteins in bone and an overall deterioration of bone architecture. As the probiotics are able to cause enhanced mineral absorption in humans, they might as well be useful in the improvement in bone mineral density (BMD).

Outline of Pre-Existing Knowledge:

Some of the probiotic strains like B. lactis lafti are able to effectively utilize a wide range of indigestible carbohydrates like inulin and other oligosaccharides. There are also reports that Bifidobacterium and S. thermophilus strains synthesize folic acid (Vitamin B9). The folic acid content of the erythrocytes is associated with enhanced BMD and overall content of the bone. Therefore, this folate synthesizing ability of the probiotics might indicate the potential of the beneficial bacteria in improving the health of the bones. However, there are concerns regarding the physiological relevance of the folate amount provided by the probiotics under given set of conditions. Synergic effects of prebiotic-probiotic combination intake are now postulated to provide better results in the improvement of bone. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Benefits Tagged With: Bone Density, probiotics benefits

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