Advances in Probiotics

Numbers matter. A war is going on in our intestines. We often hear that we are 90% bacteria and 10% human on the basis of cell numbers. There are 90 trillion bacteria in our intestines and they are producing more bio-active compounds than our livers! We could be viewed simply as walking fermenters, full of bacteria, all striving for the upper hand. Many people who are suffering from disorders related to a "sick" bowel microflora are told that they're suffering from stress or are imagining their symptoms: The medical profession as a whole seems to be ill-prepared to handle the new pandemics of metabolic diseases that afflict so many. In theory, probiotics offer a way to combat these disorders by getting at the cause rather than trying to treat the symptoms. But traditional probiotic products have suffered from a number of short-comings that have meant that the possibilities have been discounted. Firstly they have been made up of poorly-selected strains. Secondly, the numbers of cells in these products have been too low to begin with and even lower once they have been stored for a while. What are a billion cells or less going to do against 90 trillion intestinal bacteria? Numbers of probiotic cells do matter and need to be up in the trillions before they can hope to show an effect against the bacteria that are causing disease symptoms. More to come.