Probiotics

Yoghurt (with live culture), fermented dairy products (kefir), sauerkraut, kimchi (vegetables fermented by lactic acid fermentation), green peas, natto (fermented soya beans), pickled vegetables, lightly fermented cheese, tempeh (meat substitute made from fermented soya beans), kombucha (fermented drink made from tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast).

Probiotics are living, non-disease-causing microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) that can occur naturally in food, are added to food or are available as supplements. The best-known probiotics include certain strains of the lactobacillus and bifidobacteria genus and some yeast strains of the saccharomyces genus.  Some of the ingested probiotics can survive the passage through the stomach and settle in the large intestine, where they can also multiply. They feed on dietary fibres which are indigestible for humans (e.g. GOS or FOS).

The effect of probiotics is based on the principle that disturbances of the bacterial balance in the intestine can increase susceptibility to infection. Probiotics can help to restore this bacterial balance.

• The more good bacteria colonise the intestine, the less space (and food) there is for bacteria that are harmful to health.
• Production of short-chain fatty acids, which lowers the pH value in the intestine and inhibits the growth and survival of pathogenic microorganisms.
• The short-chain fatty acids also serve as an energy source for the intestinal cells (epithelial cells).