Health Benefits of Probiotic Consumption

Abstract

In recent years, a novel term—functional food—was introduced which refers to preventional and/or curing effects of food beyond its nutritional value. There is a wide range of functional foods that were developed recently, and many of them are being produced in all over the world including probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic foods as well as foods enriched with antioxidants, isoflavones, phytosterols, anthocyanins, and fat-reduced, sugar-reduced, or salt-reduced foods. Among these foods, probiotic functional food has exerted positive effects on the overall health. Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host” by the FAO/WHO. This chapter presents an overview of probiotic food consumption on the prevention and/or treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases, immune-related diseases, coronary heart disease, bacterial vaginosis, diabetes management, oral health, and dentistry.