Essay Sample on Probiotics: Benefits for Health & Digestive System

Introduction

Probiotics are live microorganisms that assist in the treatment and the prevention of some illnesses. Moreover, they promote a healthy immune system as well as a healthy digestive tract and these two areas are their most studied perspectives so far. These microorganisms are also known as healthy, good or friendly bacteria. Probiotics are essential in the human digestive tract and the general health and wellness of the human body due to the various benefits that they present to the anatomical structure and the general human physiology.

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Anatomical Issues

The human anatomical structure comprises various systems of organs including the skeletal system, the muscular, cardiovascular, digestive, circulatory, endocrine, nervous, respiratory, immune, reproductive, and the integumentary systems (Cruz, et al., 2019). All the systems work to perform specific functions and they all complement one another to achieve wholesome well-being of the human body. For instance, the respiratory system comprises the lungs and work to provide fresh and clean air to the human body to aid in the transfer of other circulatory functions (Morrelli & Callegari, 2015). On the other hand, the digestive system works to break down food particles and retrieve nutrients from them which aid in the nourishment of the body.

Anatomical issues, therefore, underpin the issues that arise due to defects in particular areas in the human body that averts the normal functioning of the human body. For instance, organs that make up the digestive tract are the mouth, stomach, intestines; intestines all the way to the anus and defects in any of these organs may alter the normal flow of the digestive functions and lead to digestive defects (Cruz, et al., 2019).

How Probiotics Affects the Human Gut

Probiotics have always constituted the human diet presented in a variety of fermented foods and are normally the object of possible interventions that are normally aimed at restoring a healthy balance of the microbiota (Morrelli & Callegari, 2015). The most significant symbiotic functions of the structure of the community of the microbial organisms as well as its genomic compositions are normally represented by its critical contribution to infections resistance. Moreover, it influences activities in the immune system and in turn modulates the composition of the gut microbiota.

The human gut constitutes the digestive system that begins in the mouth and ends in the anus at the point where food material comes out as waste from the body. Digestion is an essential process in the human body and this comprises the mechanisms of chemical breakdown of food into components that can be digested by the human intestines (Cruz, et al., 2019). It begins in the mouth and ends in the small intestines when the body takes in the nutrients. Probiotics assist in the increase of the level of beneficial bacteria in the gut and this has an overall benefit to the human body. The microbiota of the gut normally changes dramatically in the presence of extrinsic factors like diet and drugs, as well as intrinsic factors like stress and during pregnancy (Cruz, et al., 2019).

How Prebiotics and Probiotics Work with each other

According to Floch, (2018), while probiotics are normal forms of bacteria that live within the human body assisting the intestines in the proper chemical breakdown of food, Prebiotics comprise carbohydrates that cannot be digested by the human body in the normal digestive process. Probiotics similar to the ones found in the body can be used in supplementing the healthy process of digestion. Prebiotics has emerged in recent years as a companion to the regimen of probiotics. Therefore the two components depend on each other for harmonious performance because the prebiotics exists as food for the probiotics in the body (Floch, 2018). The combination of the two elements is called microbiome therapy. Taking prebiotics makes the action of probiotics more effective.

Benefits of Probiotics to the Human Body

Presence of probiotics in the body harnesses various benefits and these include the balance of friendly bacteria in the alimentary canal, the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea, the general improvement of some mental health conditions, the improvement of heart health, and a general reduction in the severity of eczema and certain allergies (Chenga, Songa, Xie, & Song, 2019). Some of the causes of bacterial imbalance include the presence of bad bacteria in relation to the good bacteria and this accrues from medication such as antibiotics, obesity, mental health issues and various digestive issues.

Probiotics can, therefore, be taken in certain fermented foods or supplements and these can help in correcting the general health makeup of the body. Whereas probiotics help in the prevention of diarrhoea, the effectiveness varies according to the type used (Cruz, et al., 2019). Various bacteria that produce lactic acid may assist in the breaking down of cholesterol and this improves heart condition by reducing the number of fats around heart muscle. People suffering from mild or dairy allergies can benefit from the reduction property of probiotics and this may be beneficial to the human body (Cruz, et al., 2019).

How Probiotics Work

Probiotics are normally in place to replace the 'good' bacteria for the normal functioning of the body whenever the body loses some of them for instance after taking antibiotics. Additionally, the elements assist in the balancing of the good and bad bacteria to keep the body working as normal. Therefore, probiotics comprise live yeasts and bacteria that assist in restoring the normal operation of the digestive system (Cruz, et al., 2019). Lactobacillus is the most common forms of probiotics normally found in Yoghurt and other fermented products and helps in people who cannot digest lactose or the sugar found in milk. Bifidobacterium is another form of probiotics which is normally found in other dairy products and assists in easing the irritability caused in the bowel (Chenga et al., 2019). Probiotics affect nerves that control gut movement and ease inflammatory and irritable bowel syndrome as well as oral health, urinary and vaginal health conditions.

Body Organs that Probiotics Works on

Overall, the presence of probiotics in the diet is credited for a general reduction in the prevalence of lifestyle diseases for instance diabetes, hypertension, ulcers and many other diseases (Cruz, et al., 2019). Some of the areas directly affected by the presence of probiotics in the body include the stomach, the skin, the small and large intestines, the colon, and the rectum. The lining of the digestive system or the gut is the largest connection between the inside of the body and outside elements (Morrelli & Callegari, 2015). Food particles must travel down the gut for effective execution of the digestive process. Therefore, the presence of the bacteria in the gut affects all the body organs actively involved in the digestive process.

Overall, as observed in the above analysis, probiotic plays an essential role in the human digestive tract and the general health and wellness of the human body. This is because of the various benefits that they present to the anatomical structure and the general human physiology. Both Prebiotics and Probiotics work to restore the normal digestive process and enable smooth movement of body fluids as well as prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and other digestive issues.

References

Chenga, D., Songa, J., Xie, M., & Song, D. (2019). The bidirectional relationship between host physiology and microbiota and health benefits of probiotics: A review. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 91(1), 426-435.doi. 10.7717/peerj.4465

Cruz, V. C., Luiz, R., Silvaa, G. S., Moreira, F., Koen, S., Adriane, V., et al. (2019). Survival, metabolic status and cellular morphology of probiotics in dairy products and dietary supplement after simulated digestion. Journal of Functional Foods, 55(1), 126-134. doi.org/10.1128/AEM.68.6.

Floch, M. (2018). The Role of Prebiotics and Probiotics in Gastrointestinal Disease. Clinics of North America, 47(1), 179-191. doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2017.09.011.

Morrelli, L., & Callegari, M. (2015). The Effect of Diet and Probiotics on the Human Gut Microbiome. Metabolic Syndrome and Complications of Pregnancy, 1(1), 35-45. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16853-1_3