Probiotics for Gastrointestinal Health and�General�Wellbeing

Abstract

Gastrointestinal health is a precursor to general wellbeing in humans. Maintaining good normal gut flora for the health benefits they provide is important. Unfortunately, however, the good gut flora is sometimes dislodged during feeding and treatment with certain drugs. Foods that lead to such gut flora displacement may contain other microorganisms whose actions create unfavourable environmental conditions for resident flora. The principle of removing unwanted harmful gut flora; introducing good microorganisms through ingestion of live microorganisms, known as probiotics or foods that contain specific live microbes of interest is now practiced. Consumption of foods containing probiotics has long been practiced world-wide especially in rural settings and in low-income economies even though such consumptions may be unintended. Presently, careful isolation, characterization and testing of candidate probiotic organisms, has become the norm. This re-emerging phenomenon and the great impact it has on human health is considered here looking at probiotic sources; including foods, the role they play in gastrointestinal health, their mode of action and the disease types where they are beneficial to man including their safety and how their introduction in the �medical menu� in low-income nations can help in combating the rather very �regular� gastrointestinal infections in these countries.