How Do Probiotics Work?
Probiotic Bacteria Have a Range of Benefits

Literally speaking, “probiotic” is a word meaning “for life.” In scientific terms, probiotic organisms are live, single-celled, microscopic bacteria. These probiotic bacteria are consumed and/or used in the human body for their health benefits. One of the most widely known probiotic bacterial cultures is called Lactobacillus acidophilus, or L. acidophilus. Probiotic acidophilus is commonly found in the human digestive tract, vagina, and many dairy products (especially yogurt). In the past decade, there has been extensive research about probiotic organisms and their potential health benefits, leading many health-conscious consumers to ask, “How do probiotics work?”

Probiotic cultures in fermented dairy products have been touted for their health benefits for centuries, but scientific evidence of probiotic benefits has emerged only in the last 10 to 20 years. Probiotic organisms do most of their good work in the human gastrointestinal tract. All human beings have an enormous number of bacterial microbes inside the body, particularly in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vaginal tract. In fact, scientists believe that the human body contains more bacteria than actual human cells. Among the 100,000,000,000,000 bacterial cells in the human body are about 1,000 different species of bacteria. Some bacteria play a vital role in human health, while others have a negative impact on health. One main role of probiotic, or friendly, bacteria is to create a barrier that prevents damaging bacteria and viruses from multiplying inside the body. Thus, the simplest answer to the question, “How do probiotics work?” is that probiotic organisms are like microscopic defenders which protect your body from invading organisms.

This type of defense is not the only function of how probiotic bacteria work to maintain health in the body. Probiotics have other functions, as well, such as: (1) breaking down food for digestion, (2) producing the lactase enzyme (which helps digest milk sugar), (3) producing vitamins in the intestinal tract, and (4) changing the acidic environment in the intestine to create less desirable conditions for harmful organisms.

There are many ongoing studies to investigate how probiotic bacteria work to alleviate illness and strengthen the body. Some of the ways probiotics appear to improve health include:

Surprisingly, probiotics are even being studied for their potential in treating cancer, heart disease, and kidney stones. It appears the question, “How do probiotics work?” has many answers yet to be discovered.