Fecal transplantation, known in medical circles as” fecal microbiota transplantation ” (abbreviated – TFM), is a process of transplantation, that is, the transfer from one organism to another representatives of the normal intestinal microflora contained in the fecal matter. If their microorganisms are not enough, you have to look for them on the side, in healthy people.
Do not rush to draw in the imagination of different disgusting pictures. Everything happens within the bounds of medical decency. The patient is not spoon-fed someone else’s feces, and injected into his digestive tract through a probe or enema suspension, containing donor microorganisms. Or give oral capsules containing bacteria and bacteriophages isolated from donor feces. The essence of the method of introduction of donor material is to avoid contact with microorganisms harmful to them hydrochloric acid contained in the stomach. Therefore, use probe or enema, and a capsule shell are doing so that it was dissolved after the passage of the stomach – in the duodenum or further.
The most valuable prebiotics are carbohydrates fructose oligosaccharides and galactooligosaccharides.
Let’s remember chemistry.
Carbohydrates are organic compounds containing carbonyl (=C=O) and hydroxyl (- OH) groups of atoms and having a common formula Cn (H2O)m, (where n and m have values greater than 3). Carbohydrates are divided into simple sugars or monosaccharides (e.g. glucose, fructose, ribose) and polymers of these simple sugars – polysaccharides (e.g. starch or cellulose). Among polysaccharides, a group of oligosaccharides containing 2 to 10 monosaccharide residues (sucrose) in a molecule is isolated.
Oligosaccharides consisting of residues of the simple sugar fructose, are referred to as protozoological consisting of residues of galactose with galactooligosaccharides.
Some amino acids that make up proteins, as well as fatty acids that are part of fats, also belong to prebiotics.
A person who is far from medicine and Microbiology does not need to know all the prebiotics “in person”, that is, to know their chemical formulas and what microorganisms feed on them.
It is important to understand that if your diet is constantly present dairy products, cereals, vegetables and fruits, as well as a small amount of vegetable or animal fats, the representatives of your intestinal microflora are provided with prebiotics in sufficient quantities. We can say-it is “above the roof”.
Why is it important to understand this?
In order not to fall for the” bait ” manufacturers of various prebiotic complexes, which, by the way, are not drugs, but only biologically active additives to food. In order to sell their products, manufacturers are actively broadcasting how much our poor microbes suffer from a lack of vital substances. And if you do not support them with this super complex of prebiotics, they will die, and we will inevitably get sick … Ah, Ah, Ah! The horror!
In fact, to die (in the financial sense of the word) can only producers of prebiotic complexes, if their products will not have sales.
And since we are talking about dietary supplements, it is necessary to say a few words about them.
Manufacturers of dietary supplements love to present their products to the consumer under the guise of drugs. Similar packaging, manual, sale in pharmacies… But between dietary Supplement and medication as big a difference as between the aircraft and the scooter.
Drugs are used for the prevention and treatment of diseases, as well as for diagnosis. Their effectiveness must necessarily be proven in clinical trials. Mandatory, please note! A substance with an unconfirmed effect cannot be considered a drug.
And to be considered a drug is very honorable and profitable. Drugs are prescribed by doctors, that is, used in official medicine, at the outpatient and inpatient levels. Can you imagine the volume of this market? It is the same.
It is not necessary to prove the effectiveness of a dietary Supplement. To attract the attention of potential buyers, it is enough to somehow “justify” the effect of the additive with the involvement of some “luminary” (quotes are not accidental) or some office, not always related to medicine. Simply put, sucked from finger explanation – and produce-sell on joy to his wallet. Therefore, dietary supplements can only be considered as a seasoning. No further. The acronym BAD doctors transcribe as “useless supplements.”
The volume of the market of dietary supplements does not go to any comparison with the huge volume of the market of medicines. And the cost of promoting supplements is much higher than the promotion of drugs – you need to constantly and comprehensively “process” the public, instilling in her the idea of the vital need for their own products, otherwise sales will begin to fall. Therefore, any manufacturer (if he, of course, is not a complete idiot, but these usually do not stay in business for a long time) will go out of his way to confirm scientifically the effectiveness of their product, because in this case this product will become a drug and the income from its sale will increase dramatically.
Summary: if you like the taste of a dietary Supplement, you can add it to your food. But do not count on more than enriching the taste.
Probiotics are microorganisms and substances of microbial origin used for medicinal purposes, as well as food products and biologically active additives containing live cultures of microorganisms.
The suspension obtained from donor feces is a probiotic. Yogurt with lactic acid bacteria is also a probiotic. And a drug containing live bacteria-a probiotic. Only here in the production of probiotic drugs must comply with certain rules to ensure the presence of live cultures of microbes in the product. Compliance with these rules is monitored by certain regulatory structures. Simply put, a drug always contains live bacteria, but this can not be said about food and dietary supplements. The controller of the population of products and additives living microorganisms is only the conscience of the manufacturer… Well, you know.
Yoghurts and other probiotic food products manufactured in the factory are subjected to varying degrees of processing, increasing their shelf life. Manufacturers can understand-they need a certain time in order to have time to breed products to the shops, and the shops need to have time to implement it. The product is a”one-day”, that is, one that can be stored for no more than a day, it is very difficult to sell.
Everything has to be paid for. Processing, which increases the shelf life of products, reduces the content of living microorganisms in them, up to complete disappearance. For example, the shelf life of thirty days virtually eliminates the presence of live bacterial cultures in the product.
The starter culture for yogurt is not hard to buy. With its help, you can make a simple experience showing how live microorganisms behave, and at the same time to acquire the profession of yogurt maker. And do not be afraid not to cope – to prepare yogurt at home do not need to be seven culinary spans in the forehead. Yogurt is prepared by itself, you just do not bother him to do it. Boiled milk, cooled to 40-45 °C, added leaven, wrapped the dishes with a blanket to cool as slowly as possible, and left for a period of eight to twelve hours. A little of the finished yogurt put in a jar or other container, which you can hermetically close with a piece of cellophane and ordinary stationery gum. Put the container in the refrigerator and watch how soon the cellophane film begins to rise. Raise its gases formed as a result of the life of living bacteria contained in the leaven. Compare the result with how the “thirty-day” yogurt factory production, and draw conclusions. Conclusions can be published on social networks, it will certainly increase the number of your subscribers, because people love to get acquainted with the results of various studies.
Let’s leave the “dead” dairy products alone and do “live” – yogurt, kefir, matsun, kumys, yogurt, katyk and all other things that are cooked at home and consumed immediately after cooking. “Directly” in this case means “within one or two days.”
Despite the fact that the preparation of dairy products at home is not difficult, the question arises about the feasibility of this activity. Whether strain? Is it not easier to buy yogurt and yogurt in the store, and the free time to devote to communicating with friends in social networks?
“What do you mean?!! – the guardians of a healthy lifestyle will be outraged. – A ‘living’ product is a ‘living’ product, and a ‘dead’ product is a ‘dead’ product!” There is nothing to think, it is one useful and the other useless.»
But if you do no anger but other emotions and ponder the essence, we can say that the homemade cultured milk products there is one uncontested, although the perceived advantage is they taste better.
Yes – delicious! And more!
And let’s not juggle, saying that delicious is more useful tasteless, to think about the emotional pleasure of eating etc. of Course, from a psychological point of view, delicious food is preferable to tasteless, but from a biological – all is one. From a biological point of view, the composition, quality and caloric content of the food is important.
“Composition? – smile now guardians of a healthy lifestyle. “So you’ve trapped yourself!” In” live “yogurt there are live bacteria, and in “dead” they are not!»
And we to these live bacteria, please tell me? They did their job – got us a yogurt or matzoon and no longer anything for us to do. As they say, the moor has done his work, the moor can go! By the way, it should be said that under the moor most people “guess” jealous Othello and unsuccessfully looking for this phrase in Shakespeare. In fact, the statement belongs to another moor – from the drama of Friedrich Schiller’s ” Plot Fiesco in Genoa.” The moor helped count Fiesco organize the rebellion, became unnecessary, and bitterly said, ” Der Mohr hat seine Arbeit getan, der Mohr kann gehen.”
There’s nothing more they can do for us?
They can’t.
Here’s the explanation, point by point.
- First, not all” cooks ” of dairy products are a component of our intestinal microflora. So, for example, acetic acid bacteria, which, in company with two dozen other microorganisms are yogurt, normally we have the bowel live.
By the way, the intestinal microflora of each region has its own, i.e. its composition is determined by local factors – climate, diet composition, etc. From a resident of Greenland and resident of Thailand microflora will vary quite greatly, approximately as much as the Greenland climate is different from Thai.
- Secondly, let’s consider this conditional situation. During the war, military units pass through the city, which has a garrison. What will the passing military units do? Will pass and will leave, without leaving in the city any soldier. Why leave it? After all, there is a garrison in the city. If it wasn’t, then it would be different…
The same thing happens in the intestine. There is a certain balance, all ecological niches are occupied, there are no free places. Bacteria – “aliens” will pass through the intestines, as troops through the city. Will pass and will leave.
If the balance of the microflora is slightly disturbed, it will recover on its own, without the participation of “aliens”. Some microorganisms will begin to multiply more intensively, others-more slowly, and the status quo [15] will be restored.
If the violation has been expressed – for example, on a two-month antibiotic treatment killed a significant part of the microorganisms and survivors “dodavit” intensive breeding clostridia, the freshly made yogurt will not help, you will need transplantation of donor microflora.
- Thirdly, let’s remember how donor bacteria are introduced into the recipient’s body. In fact, the third paragraph could be put in first place on it and finish, because the donor bacteria are introduced in such a way as to avoid contact with hydrochloric acid in the stomach… Well, you understand – almost all of the bacteria contained in the “live” dairy products, get killed in the stomach under the influence of hydrochloric acid. And those “lucky” who manage to slip through the stomach alive, die in the duodenum under the influence of aggressive digestive enzymes.
All these “kefirs saturated with probiotics” and “biologically active” prebiotic additives in the form of powders added to food or drink, will not affect your intestinal microflora, because they will meet with it already being “sterilized” in the upper parts of the digestive tract.
The third point did not become the first, because in any discussion (and not in a discussion too) the most convincing argument should be reserved for the last. More convincing. Again, there are people who due to certain disorders decreases the acidity of gastric juice, in other words-the concentration of hydrochloric acid in it. Such people are important points the first and the second.
So what advantages of “live” products can we talk about?
Just taste.
As for those probiotics that are drugs and Packed in capsules, they should be taken strictly on business. Not for conditional non-existent treatment of dysbacteriosis, and for the correction of existing violations of the balance of intestinal microflora. And “dietary” Supplement is said so that nothing to add.
How can a person harm his microflora?
The first way – uncontrolled long-term use of antibiotics.
Antibiotics are not drugs that you can prescribe yourself without going to a doctor. Any their appointment (as and at all appointments all drugs) should be justified, and treatment should be conducted by the rules. Without higher medical education, it is impossible to understand this case. Even if you read three dozen instructions for various antibiotics, you will not be able to pick up yourself the right drug and prescribe it in the right doses. Recourse to the network reason or acquaintances-neurocam will not bring benefits, believe me.
And what do many people do from mid-autumn to mid-spring, when viral epidemics reign Supreme? At each sneeze “for prevention” (which is completely unreasonable) begin to take antibiotics and take them for at least five to seven days. The fact that antibiotics can not be drunk “at will”, few people know, but everyone knows the rule – ” once started, drink a week.” For the period from November to March, suspicious citizens of such courses of antibiotic therapy can be five or six, or even eight. For intestinal microflora, this is a very serious test, especially if antibiotics are powerful and taken in high doses.
The second way – simply clever diet in which the diet sharply reduced the share of vegetables, fruits and grains (sources of coarse vegetable fibers). And sometimes these products can be excluded from the diet. As a result, our little symbionts begin to starve and die EN masse. Choosing a diet, do not be selfish, think not only about yourself, but also about the microorganisms that live in your gut. For example, if you exclude all cereal products from the diet, which is often done by those who want to lose weight, then increase the proportion of non-calorie foods containing a lot of coarse fibers in the diet. Such, for example, as cabbage of any kind, fresh herbs, celery, cucumbers, beets. Microorganisms will certainly thank you for taking care of them. Your gut will work “like clockwork”, providing you with good health and good mood.
There is a myth that probiotics, i.e. a ready culture of microorganisms, are preferable to prebiotics. At first glance, this judgment is absolutely true and completely logical. Prepared soup that originates in a dish provocatively fragrances, preferably frozen set for cooking borscht. With the set still need to Tinker, and soup ready, you can immediately have. In relation to the violation of the microflora balance it will sound like – rather than wait until multiply “their” germs, easier to transplant “foreign”.
But in some cases, strangers do not take root in a new place. And it is not always possible to understand why this happens, that is, to recognize the factor that prevents the growth of transplanted microorganisms. “Science knows a lot, but it doesn’t know more,” scientists joke. Microbes hold many secrets that we have yet to comprehend. Maybe it’s some mutation you can’t pay attention to right away. Or in the fact that” their “microbes turned against “strangers” who came to their aid, because they did not recognize them as their own. The aliens were expecting open arms and a generous feast, but instead got kicked in the ass, because one protein of the cell membrane they have a little different from the local bacteria… these bacteria, and all microorganisms in General-those are still racists. They do not feed bread, just give me somebody different to find and for him “cling” to divide into friends and foes.
Prebiotics that promote the growth of their kinsmen, indigenous, native homespun of bacteria are more likely to be more effective than probiotics. The effect of prebiotics may appear a little later than from probiotics, but it is more persistent, because multiply “their” and not “strangers”. So in terms of efficiency probiotics are approximately equal to prebiotics.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about dairy products in General. These products are good because they retain all the useful properties of milk, but are easier to digest. Turning milk into any dairy product, bacteria perform for us with you part of the work of digestion. And many thanks to them for that! Not all adults can drink milk without unpleasant consequences, because their body does not form lactase – an enzyme that breaks down lactose, milk sugar [16]. But kefir almost no healthy person will not cause any abdominal pain or increased gas formation. Provided, of course, that it is consumed in reasonable quantities. Everything is good in moderation and only in moderation.
We will return to dairy products in the sixteenth Chapter, when we analyze the theory of self-poisoning of the organism.