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Gut microbiome: meet Lactobacillus acidophilus – the gut health superhero

This microbe hangs out in your gut (mainly your small intestine) and helps keep things running smoothly. In fact, Lactobacillus acidophilus has an incredible number of important functions. It acts as a digestion buddy, munching on things you can’t digest entirely – such as certain sugars and fibres. For example, it helps digest foods rich in lactose (such as dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese), as well as fermentable carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruits and grains. By doing so, it helps break down your food, making it easier for your body to absorb nutrients. Since your gut is a delicate ecosystem, Lactobacillus acidophilus plays a crucial role in maintaining the right balance…

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Articles of Interest

Yogurts That Contain Lactobacillus Acidophilus

Lactobacillus acidophilus, or L. acidophilus, is the most commonly used probiotic, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. It is especially beneficial for intestinal health because it breaks down foods to create substances such as lactic acid. This creates an environment that is not suitable for harmful bacteria. L. acidophilus is also beneficial for regular digestion, constipation, lactose intolerance symptoms and enhanced immunity. Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are two bacterial cultures seen in most yogurts on the market. Some also include L. acidophilus.

A Special Fondness for Lactobacilli

Probiotic products, many of which contain lactobacilli, are actively promoted by the dairy, food, and “self-care health” industries and have been accepted uncritically by food scientists as well as the general public. However, claims of the efficacy of probiotics in relation to human health benefits do not result from rigorous, unbiased evaluations such as would be required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical products

An Omnivore's Dilemma: Would You Eat Michael Pollan Microbe Cheese?

Well, it looks like a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles has taken the whole DIY fermentation idea to an entirely new level.

At Last, I Meet My Microbes

And until we know more about these mysterious microbes, perhaps we should sit back and marvel at the jungles of life that we really are. And do our best to keep our beneficial beasties happy.

Don’t douche, and other lessons about the vaginal microbiome

Exploring the microscopic world between our legs.

Germs That Could Save Your Sight

Probiotics, specifically Lactobacillus, have been shown to fight Salmonella at every stage of its attack. They can prevent the bacterium from getting anywhere near the intestinal lining; help to control the immune system's reaction to infection to ensure that the intruder is killed; and they even have the ability to kill the invaders with their own superpowered weapons known as antimicrobial compounds.

Lactobacillus as probiotics: opportunities and challenges for potential benefits in female reproductive health

Due to the important role of Lactobacillus in vaginal and female reproductive health, sometimes these bacteria may need to be supplemented in order to correct vaginal microbiota dysbiosis. However, the establishment of supplemented strains over other strains provided through natural sources is comparatively different.

Lactobacillus spp. for Gastrointestinal Health: Current and Future Perspectives

In recent decades, probiotic bacteria have become increasingly popular as a result of mounting scientific evidence to indicate their beneficial role in modulating human health. Although there is strong evidence associating various Lactobacillus probiotics to various health benefits, further research is needed, in particular to determine the various mechanisms by which probiotics may exert these effects and indeed to gauge inter-individual value one can expect from consuming these products. One must take into consideration the differences in individual and combination strains, and conditions which create difficulty in making direct comparisons.

Probiotic significance of Lactobacillus strains: a comprehensive review on health impacts, research gaps, and future prospects

A rising corpus of research has shown the beneficial effects of probiotic Lactobacilli on human health, contributing to the growing popularity of these microorganisms in recent decades. The gastrointestinal and urinary tracts are home to these bacteria, which play a vital role in the microbial flora of both humans and animals.

The benefits of probiotics bacteria

In a society of anti-bacterial warfare, who would have thought that anyone would tout the benefits of bacteria? Living microorganisms found in yogurt and other cultured foods may help improve your body's bacterial environment inside and out. They're called probiotics, a name that means "for life."

The Crazy Thing Meat Does To Your Belly

It's official: You are what you eat. As scientists learn more about your stomach’s microbiome—the accumulated bacteria and other living organisms that inhabit the lining of your gut—that statement has never been more true.

The Latest Weapon In The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance Lives In The Vagina

Researchers have traveled to the ends of the earth in search of exotic microorganisms that can produce the medicine we need to live and thrive. But as a new study points out, we may have overlooked an extremely rich source of drugs that was right under our noses: bacteria in and on the human body.

The Millions Of Bacteria On Apples May Be A Key To Their Health Benefits

And interestingly, while organic and conventionally grown apples harbored about the same numbers of bacteria, the composition of bacteria differed. Organic apples contained a more diverse array of bacteria, and a greater number of the beneficial ones, like Lactobacillus, which are plentiful in yogurt and often used in probiotic supplements.

The Way You're Born Can Mess With the Microbes You Need to Survive

Many physiological and pathological features of pregnancy are controlled, at least in part, by the mother’s resident microbes, which evolved to help her and themselves.

Yogurt, Breakfast of Champions?

The probiotics found in yogurt seem to have positive effects beyond weight control, too—at least where mice are concerned.

Resources

5 Reasons To Make Sourdough Your Only Bread

Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. However, the lactobacillus is much greater in proportion to the yeast. In comparison with yeast-based breads, sourdough produces a distinctively tangy or sour taste, mainly because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli.

MayoClinic

L. acidophilus is commonly used in food, such as yogurt, other dairy products, and fermented soy products, such as miso and tempeh. L. acidophilus is one of the most commonly used probiotics, microorganisms that are used to promote health.

MedicineNet

Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for... Urinary tract infections (UTIs), general digestion problems, yeast infections, high cholesterol, Lyme disease, hives, fever blisters, canker sores, acne, cancer, stimulating the immune system, and other conditions.