Live Cultures
Live Cultures and Dietary Fibre
During the last two decades, everyone is talking about the importance of Live Cultures and Dietary Fibre for our gut health. But do you really know what’s the difference between those two? Let’s find out which one do you need, when do you need it and what’s the main difference between the two.
What Are Live Cultures and What Is Dietary Fibre?
Live Cultures are live microorganisms known for their health benefits on the host and their regular consumption helps in the maintenance of a positive balance in the gut microbiota (1). To be more exact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the World Health Organization Live Cultures are defined as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”(2).
On the other hand, non-digestible dietary fibres contribute to the growth of bacterial species in the gastrointestinal tract and thus provide health benefits to the host (3).
Types of Bacteria Classified as Live Cultures
Live cultures are not a new invention. They existed in our traditional foods such as yoghurt, cheese and salty fish. The first use of live cultures in food was in fermented milk (4).
The microbes used as live cultures can be classified as bacteria, yeast or mold. And, live culture products may contain one or combinations of microbial strains.
Human live cultures (probiotic) microorganisms belong mostly to the following categories: Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Lactococcus. Additionally, strains of bacteria belonging to the genus Bacillus and a number of yeast strains belonging to the genus Saccharomyces are also widely used in live culture products(5).
Types of Bacteria Classified as Dietary Fibre
Dietary fibre can be potentially used either as an alternative to live cultures or as a supplement used with live cultures.
However, the different kinds of dietary fibre will stimulate the growth of different indigenous gut bacteria(5). Several fruits, cereals, vegetables, and other edible plants are sources of carbohydrates constituting potential dietary fibre, such as:
- barley
- tomatoes
- onions
- artichokes
- bananas
- garlic
- asparagus
- berries
- green vegetables
- legumes
- linseed, and others.
The most common artificially produced dietary fibre are fructooligosaccharides, lactulose, galactooligosaccharides and maltooligosaccharides.
Lactulose is the most important among the produced oligosaccharides (almost 40% of them). Moreover, fructans, such as inulin and oligofructose, are considered as the most used and effective in relation to live cultures(5).
Live Cultures and Dietary Fibre – the Effect on Your Gut Health
There is evidence that diets high in plant‐based products and dietary fibre impact the gut microbiota (3). Dietary fibre has been used to alter the gut microbiota by selectively stimulating the bacteria in the intestinal tract that are deemed positive to human health.
According to a 2015 study, the administration of a mixture of Prebiotics-galacto-oligosaccharides to healthy elderly volunteers led to a significant increase in beneficial bifidobacteria(6).
Additionally, in a study among patients who had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the administration of dietary fibre resulted in the relief of the symptoms of their disease (3). On the other hand, high‐dose inulin‐type fructans dietary fibre may deteriorate symptoms in Crohn’s disease patients, and this is probably why this specific group of patients consume lower amounts of naturally occurring fructans and avoid using fibre supplements (3). However, a recent 2015 study’s findings show that a high amount of fibre is favourable for Crohn’s (17).
Live cultures have been proven to be helpful in the treatment or management of inflammatory enteral conditions, like Crohn’s disease, non-specific ileitis, and ulcerative colitis which are associated with chronic and recurrent inflammations/infections of the intestine(5).
There is plenty of evidence on the application of live cultures in the treatment of diarrhoea. Especially, the use of Saccharomyces boulardii yeast to patients with acute, watery diarrhoea resulted in the cure and reduced frequency of that type of complaint in two subsequent months (5).
Live Culture and Dietary Fibre – Health Benefits
There is increasing evidence supporting the beneficial effects of live cultures related to the improvement in the cholesterol levels, intestinal health, enhancement of the immune response, and cancer prevention (2).
The treatment of acute diarrhoea, the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, and the improvement of lactose metabolism are the conditions that live culture (probiotics) have a well-proven positive role.
In addition, there is evidence showing that live cultures intake could possibly contribute to coronary heart disease prevention, reducing the bad cholesterol levels as well as controlling the blood pressure. Lately, there is also research showing that live culture consumption improves allergy symptoms (2).
According to a study, specific strains administered in dairy products have improved the therapeutic outcome in women with bacterial vaginosis (7). According to a 2017 study, live cultures alleviate depressive symptoms(8).
Dietary Fibre Health Benefits
Although there is less research on dietary fibre compared to live cultures, there is evidence that consuming dietary fibre can improve your immune system by increasing the population of protective microorganisms (9).
Moreover, there is evidence that dietary fibre have implicated memory improvement in adults (10-11). On top of that, dietary fibre can help you lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing blood triacylglycerol and liver lipogenesis (12). In 2012, researchers reported that there is a relation between memory and administration of dietary fibre in both animals and humans(13). Additionally, diarrhoea-associated fever in infants is shown to be reduced by the use of dietary fibre and specifically fructooligosaccharides(14).
On top of these, there is evidence of human clinical trials reporting the potential beneficial effects of the combination of dietary fibre and various live culture strains in the prevention and treatment of obesity (15). Recently it was reported that dietary fibre like fructooligosaccharides can contribute to the treatment of diseases including allergic contact dermatitis, acne and photo ageing primarily by enhancing the growth of live cultures (16).
How to Choose the Best Supplement?
Live culture and dietary fibre can benefit your health on multiple levels. You can find them in foods but you can also get a balanced ratio in food supplements.
It’s best you take both of them. Live cultures, when combined with dietary fibre, possess multiple extra properties. When choosing your live cultures and fibre you should pay attention to their quality, and the number of strains.
Their consumption is proven to be safe and they can be consumed by men, women and children. We make Live Cultures With Sunfiber® And FOS so you don’t need to take any extra supplement.
Nowadays, when we face several issues with our gut functions and we frequently feel discomfort, we can improve our quality of life by taking on a daily basis a supplement that combines live cultures and fibre and offers multiple health benefits at a low cost.
References
(1) Kim, D., Yoo, S. and Kim, W., 2016. Gut microbiota in autoimmunity: potential for clinical applications. Archives of Pharmacal Research, 39(11), pp.1565-1576.
(2) Kechagia, M., Basoulis, D., Konstantopoulou, S., Dimitriadi, D., Gyftopoulou, K., Skarmoutsou, N. and Fakiri, E., 2013. Health Benefits of Probiotics: A Review. ISRN Nutrition, 2013, pp.1-7.
(3) Wilson, B. and Whelan, K., 2017. Prebiotic inulin-type fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides: definition, specificity, function, and application in gastrointestinal disorders. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 32, pp.64-68.
(4) Amara, A. and Shibl, A., 2015. Role of Probiotics in health improvement, infection control and disease treatment and management. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 23(2), pp.107-114.
(5) Nutrients, 2017. Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Human Health. 9(9), p.1021.
(6) Vulevic, J., Juric, A., Walton, G., Claus, S., Tzortzis, G., Toward, R. and Gibson, G., 2015. Influence of galacto-oligosaccharide mixture (B-GOS) on gut microbiota, immune parameters and metabonomics in elderly persons. British Journal of Nutrition, 114(4), pp.586-595.
(7) Falagas ME, Betsi GI, Athanasiou S. Probiotics for the treatment of women with bacterial vaginosis. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2007;13(7):657–664
(8) Wallace, C. and Milev, R., 2017. The effects of probiotics on depressive symptoms in humans: a systematic review. Annals of General Psychiatry, 16(1).
(9) Davani-Davari, D., Negahdaripour, M., Karimzadeh, I., Seifan, M., Mohkam, M., Masoumi, S., Berenjian, A. and Ghasemi, Y., 2019. Prebiotics: Definition, Types, Sources, Mechanisms, and Clinical Applications. Foods, 8(3), p.92.
(10) Best T., Howe P., Bryan J., Buckley J., Scholey A. Acute effects of a dietary non-starch polysaccharide supplement on cognitive performance in healthy middle-aged adults. Nutr. Neurosci. 2015;18:76–86.
(11) Best T., Kemps E., Bryan J. Saccharide effects on cognition and well-being in middle-aged adults: A randomized controlled trial. Dev. Neuropsychol. 2009;35:66–80.
(12) Russo F, Chimienti G, Riezzo G, Pepe G, Petrosillo G, Chiloiro M, Marconi EInulin-enriched pasta affects lipid profile and Lp(a) concentrations in Italian young healthy male volunteers.Eur J Nutr. 2008 Dec; 47(8):453-9.
(13) Nelson E.D., Ramberg J.E., Best T., Sinnott R.A. Neurologic effects of exogenous saccharides: A review of controlled human, animal, and in vitro studies. Nutr. Neurosci.2012;15:149–162
(14) Saavedra J., Tschernia A., Moore N., Abi-Hanna A., Coletta F., Emenhiser C., Yolken R. Gastro-intestinal function in infants consuming a weaning food supplemented with oligofructose, a prebiotic. J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. 1999;29:513
(15) Cerdó, T., García-Santos, J., G. Bermúdez, M. and Campoy, C., 2019. The Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity. Nutrients, 11(3), p.635.
(16) Lolou, V. and Panayiotidis, M., 2019. Functional Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics on Skin Health and Disease. Fermentation, 5(2), p.41.
(17) Chiba, Mitsuro et al. “High amount of dietary fiber not harmful but favorable for Crohn disease.” The Permanente journal vol. 19,1 (2015): 58-61. doi:10.7812/TPP/14-124
