Lactobacillus: Your Best friend

Lactobacillus is a strain of probiotic bacteria that is known for providing various benefits for improving our gut health & fighting against pathogens. Today, we will discuss in detail about Lactobacillus & how it can improve your health.

Lactobacillus is a lactic acid bacteria that lives in our intestine & sometimes even in the stomach. It is also found in the urinary tract, skin & breast milk. The bacteria is categorised into sub-strains. Different strains of Lactobacillus offer different health outcomes & benefits.For instance Prim adophilus reuteri strain is known to support a strong immune system and healthy digestion. Although Lactobacillus lives in intestines & other sites around the body, not every has it in their gut bacteria. In 1960(s), around 30% of people had Lactobacillus in their gut microbiome. In today’s modern lifestyle only 10% to 15 % of people carry this bacteria in their gut. Lactobacillus colonises gut bacteria in humans & animals. Lactobacillus has great probiotic properties since this bacteria is normally found in the gastrointestinal tract. In order to provide the best platform for digestion & absorption, our gut provides harsh conditions for microorganism to colonise & thrive. In order to colonise the gut, the microorganisms have to sometimes survive in these tough conditions. A number of Lactobacillus strains are resistant to bile salt & low PH levels encouraging colonisation & survival in the gut.

Lactobacillus immune boosting & anti-microbial effects depend upon its metabolite production profile. As shared earlier in our previous blogs, metabolite is a compound which is produced when our body breaks down the food, chemicals & drugs. This process is called metabolism & generates energy needed for our body to grow, reproduce & maintain health. We are going to discuss types of metabolites in Lactobacillus that promotes our health & well being:

1. Reutrin: Most of Lactobacillus strain from humans & poultry can produce Reutrin. This is an antibacterial compound that kills harmful or gram-negative bacteria/microorganisms or prevents them from growing. Gram-negative bacteria is used to classify bacteria that turns to a certain color after a chemical process known as gram staining. Gram-negative infections include cholera,typhoid fever & plague. 
2. Histamine: Some strains of Lactobacillus are able to convert amino acid from food L-histidine into the histamine. Histamine is a group of compounds that are derived from amino acids. HIstamine is the most well known biogenic amine. It plays an important role in allergic reactions. Histamine is derived from one of the strains of Lactobacillus that  suppresses TNF, one of the proteins that promotes inflammation. As such certain strains of this bacteria can be useful in treating inflammation in autoimmune diseases.
3. Vitamins: There are 13 essential vitamins our body needs since our body cannot produce/synthesise them. Several strains of Lactobacillus are able to produce various types of vitamins such as Vitamin B12 & B9. B12 is used in production of red blood cells & DNA. The vitamin also plays an important role in Reuterin production.
4. Exopolysaccharides: These are long chain polymers that are produced by bacteria & micro-algae. EPS produced by Lactobacillus is important for biofilm formation & attachment of Lactobacillus to surfaces within the body. A biofilm is a collection of one or more types of microorganisms that can grow on lots of different surfaces.Microorganisms that can form biofilms include fungi and bacteria.

Role of Lactobacillus in improving your gut health including eradicating leaky gut.

If you are suffering from digestive issues such as bloating, abdominal pain & skin related disorders such as Acne, you probably have Leaky Gut.

Leaky gut or commonly referred to as intestinal permeability is a digestive issue when bacteria & toxins enter your body thereby directly resulting in chronic inflammation & impacting gut barrier function (including creating holes in the gut lining). This can be the root cause of all chronic diseases be it IBD, Overweight, Obesity, Diabetes & Cancer (to name a few). Some of the signs & symptoms of leaky gut include depression, stress, anxiety, bloating, You can learn more about leaky gut through my previous blog. 

Different probiotics are known for improving the intestinal barrier function & filling up the holes in the gut lining caused by leaky gut. Lactobacillus, one of the most important Probiotics, helps in promoting healing of leaky gut, by repairing holes in the gut lining.

What are the benefits of Lactobacillus?

This bacteria has numerous benefits right from fighting off infection to boosting Vitamin D levels. Some of the well known benefits include:

1. Anti-Inflammatory effects: Low level of Lactobacillus is said to create conditions for chronic inflammation.Some strains of this bacteria can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are regulators in the body’s response to certain things like infection or immune infections. This bacteria can increase production of feel-good hormone, oxytocin,which is known to have anti-inflammatory impact.
2. Improves gut health: Lactobacillus is said to shift our food/energy source from sugar to tryptophan. This is the most important aspect given that our gut bacteria needs to consume  tryptophan to release Serotonin, the happiness hormone & keeps our gut intact. By making gut bacteria to consume tryptophan, we protect the gut from inflammation & keep our body  away from diseases such as IBD. Lactobacillus is also said to increase frequency of bowel movements.
3. Boosts Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin is produced by our body in response to our exposure to Sunlight. However, it can also be taken through supplementation by people who do not have access to sunlight. Vitamin D is essential for  strengthening our immune system, brain, teeth, nervous system & bones. Lactobacillus is said to increase our Vitamin D absorption by 1/4th.
4. Increases Vitamin B12 & B9:  Lactobacillus is said to increase the production of Vitamin B12 & B9. B Vitamins support various vital functions throughout our body.
5. Prevent infections: As discussed in the beginning of the blog, this beneficial bacteria can help fight off the infection due to anti-microbial properties. It produces lactic acid, acetic acid & reuterin. This stops colonization of harmful bacteria. 
6. Autism: Maternal obesity during pregnancy increases risk of child developing neurological diseases such as Autism. High level of Lactobacillus can reduce this risk.

Are you experiencing digestive issues & or acne? Probably you have a leaky gut! Learn about your gut bacteria diversity to overcome risk of chronic inflammation. Sign up for our gut intelligence solution here.