The important stuff you should know about probiotics - and how they keep a healthy gut

It only takes a simple “what are probiotics” google search to find a plethora of articles, blog posts, studies & forums with an overwhelm of information on Probiotics. Since this is an important topic when it comes to health, we have put together THE IMPORTANT STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW about Probiotics.

Let’s think about probiotics in a new way, or better yet, let’s take a quick step back and think about our gut health in a new way. The saying “you are what you eat” goes far beyond how healthy your skin looks.

YOUR GUT HAS A BRAIN & IT TALKS TO YOUR BRAINS

That’s right! Your guts have their own kind of “brain”, called the Enteric Nervous System, and it communicates with your brain in a gut-brain connection. Do you know that nauseous feeling when you are nervous or the butterflies in your stomach? This is your brain communicating to your stomach. 

The communication happens both ways and when something is not right in the stomach, it sends signals to your brain. That connection might go even further since more recent research has discovered that our gut microbiome may play a role in defining our personality (if you would like to read more about it, we have some links below - but here’s a warning: do not read it before or during your meal haha).

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO BACTERIA

The microbiome in our stomach mainly comprised of bacteria. Susan McQuillan explains :

“The thousands of different types of both “good” and “bad” bacteria that populate the microbiome normally exist in a balance in favour of beneficial bacteria that help prevent overgrowth of bad bacteria that can harm your health. Studies have shown there is potential harm associated with an imbalance in the microbiome due to inflammation, intestinal permeability or lack of bacterial diversity, any of which may be associated with an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria”

What you can do to improve your gut health is to maintain a healthy diet that includes food and beverages full of probiotics, such as Michael Brother’s Craft Sodas, yogurt, sauerkraut & kimchi.

WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that when consumed by the human body promote health and well-being 🏃‍♀️ 🧠 🌱 They are essentially good bacteria that have been proven to be really good for you.

The most common probiotics are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium & a yeast found in probiotics called Saccharomyces Boulardii. Michael Brothers use a custom blend of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium strains that have been carefully selected to survive the GI tract and they work symbiotically together within your body to support gut health and general well-being. They literally ferment billions of them in each Craft Soda drink! 💪 

THE IMPORTANT STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

FACT #1  - Probiotics help restore the gut flora to normal after being disturbed.

The gut flora can be disturbed by a number of factors; for example, when you take antibiotics, have a big night out or get food poisoning. Probiotics help restore the good bacteria in your guts and therefore help prevent inflammation. 🦠 Researchers are now studying how exactly probiotics do that.

FACT #2 - The appendix incubates probiotics and releases them to protect your body from pathogens.

 And here we all were... thinking the appendix was useless and its only reason for existence was to get inflamed 😅 New studies have identified it as what we, ‘non-medical-scholars people’, would call a pouch of goodness or a reservoir of health. When the appendix identifies pathogens that may harm your body, it releases probiotics to fight them. 

FACT #3 - Probiotics play a role in 70-80% of our immune response.

They do that by activating cytokines and phagocytic cells to coordinate immune response  🥼 ⛑️ In simple terms, Probiotics activate the right cells by showing them a pathway and regulating their functions that help create a protective barrier in our guts.

In some very fancy scientific terms:

(...)Studies regarding the biological consequences of probiotics in host immunity suggested that they regulate the functions of systemic and mucosal immune cells and intestinal epithelial cells.(...)

It is well known that the intestinal epithelium forms a physiological barrier against pathogenic microbes and detrimental substances present in the intestinal lumen. In fact, this monolayer is integral to both discrimination of pathogens and commensal bacteria and is actively involved in immune responses in the intestinal tract. Probiotics-regulated intestinal epithelial cellular responses have been recently reviewed [1,13], including restitution of damaged epithelial barrier, production of antibacterial substances and cell protective proteins, blockade of cytokine-induced intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis, and regulate intestinal epithelial immune function, such as cytokine production. Many of these responses result from probiotic stimulation of specific intracellular signaling pathways in the epithelial cells.

FACT #4 - 400 strains of probiotics live in our bodies

and not only in our gut!

There are 10 times more probiotics than cells in your body. A healthy person can carry around 100-300 trillion probiotics at once! Some of those are residents 🏡 and some are transient  👋. How exactly each probiotic works and which one is best to support the immune system fight different diseases is still being studied.

FACT #5 - Probiotics help send food through your gut by affecting nerves that control gut movement.

Recent researches found that the daily probiotics stimulated functional changes in the "gut brain" or the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). Basically, probiotics talk to your ENS and increase GI movement.

Overall probiotics are great for you and provide your gut and immune system with great boost of health! Michael Brothers Craft Sodas brought Sodas to its origins. Craft Soda is a fermented sparkling beverage that is great for your gut, full of probiotics and it is delicious! You can get them in two flavours: Lemon Ginger Tonic for those that like it zesty and Passionfruit if you prefer life to taste a little sweeter (with no added sugar, of course!)

GUT AND PERSONALITY LINKS

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/your-gut-bacteria-could-be-shaping-your-personality/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15133062/

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-brain-gut-connection