Spot and eat good, probiotic bacteria
Very few know that all food brimming with good bacteria is not probiotic. The perks of consuming these friendly micro-organisms are now widely discussed as more food with the probiotic tag makes its presence felt. But is the food you are tucking into really
probiotic?
The criteria that food must meet for it to be termed probiotic is rarely highlighted. The Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization specify features that must be present to qualify a micro-organism as probiotic:
Probiotic are specific micro-organisms only. Every beneficial micro-organism cannot be termed probiotic.
To be one, it has to belong to a certain class. Probiotics are (Gram positive) bacteria and are included primarily from the classes Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
Probiotics need to be live. The use of the word must be restricted to only live micro-organisms. For a food to qualify as probiotic it must contain live micro-organisms at the time of consumption.
Often, even if the product contains live micro-organisms, factors like wrong storage temperature kills them. When this happens most micro-organisms are dead during consumption.
Probiotics also need to be present in the prescribed numbers. There have to be a prescribed amount of bacteria present in the food — 50 million-1 trillion CFUs per serving — for it to qualify as probiotic. So although you have bought food containing the right class of live probiotics, it is a waste if their numbers are not enough.
Probiotics need to survive the digestion process. Probiotics should not only be capable of surviving passage through the digestive tract. They must not merely withstand the stomach’s acids, but should also multiply in the small intestine.
Your best source of probiotics is food that is specifically inoculated with them and that meet all of the above mentioned criteria.
Commercial foods may meet the required criteria, however, check the product for:
• Strain Class of probiotic used
• CFU (Colony Forming Units)
• Live micro-organisms per serving
• Shelf life expiry
• Storage conditions/packaging adequate enough to ensure survival of the bacteria
• Manufacturer’s information on trusted brands
Food like idli and dhokla are wrongly promoted as probiotic. These are healthy because they are fermented and not because they contain probiotics. Homemade fermented dairy products like curd and buttermilk have beneficial micro-organisms, but they do not meet all the above criteria.
The writer is a clinical nutritionist & founder, NUTREWISE, Nutrition Consulting, www.nutrewise.com
By Raksha A. Changappa
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