Probiotics: for healthy digestion and much more!

What exactly are probiotics?

Probiotics are good bacteria that live naturally in our intestines and make up the intestinal microbiota. There are billions of them! Their main role is to promote good digestion (less bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea), but they also help support the immune system, especially in times of stress or after taking antibiotics. A growing number of studies show a direct link between the microbiota and mental health (anxiety, stress, sleep, mental fog), as well as a potential preventive role in certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's disease.

How to choose probiotics

Two elements are essential:

• Strains: each strain corresponds to a specific bacterium with a precise function.

  • 1 to 5 strains: for a sensitive intestine (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome).

  • 10 strains and more: to repair severely disturbed flora (e.g. after several antibiotics).

• Billions (CFU): indicate the quantity of living bacteria, not their efficiency.

  • 5-10 billion: maintenance or prevention.

  • 20 billion: active digestive support.

  • 50 billion: more critical or post-antibiotic situation (temporarily).

Probiotics + prebiotics: the winning duo

Taking probiotics is good. Feeding them is essential!

Prebiotics are fibers that act as "fertilizer" for good bacteria. They are found in :

• psyllium

• chia seeds

• flax seeds

• fermented foods (yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut)

Intensité et Urgence probiotics from New Roots

Naturopath Lynn Goneau recommends Intensité (20 billion, 16 strains) and Urgence (50 billion, 10 strains) probiotics from the Quebec company New Roots Herbal.

• 20 billion (Intensity) Broad support for bloating, slow digestion, discomfort, stress or dietary imbalance.

• 50 billion (Emergency) Ideal after antibiotics or in cases of severe digestive disturbance (e.g. severe diarrhea).

About the author

Lynn Goneau, Certified Naturopath

Specialized in :

• Digestive health
• Hormonal health
• Stress and fatigue
• Memory and concentration
• Weight management

Frédéric Bisson, radio host at 104.7 FM

Host of the 104.7 FM radio station on the Cogeco network. Frédéric Bisson has hosted L'Outaouais Maintenant from 3 to 5 p.m. every weekday since February 27, 2023.

Transcription

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

It feels like spring is just around the corner. And it feels good. Those beautiful rays of sunshine. And today, we're going to talk about a subject full of sunshine, because when the intestines are fine, everything's fine. And we're going to talk about probiotics. It's a word we hear a lot. What's it for? Is it useful? Lynn Goneau is a naturopath at La Boite à Grains. Hello Lynn.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Hello Fred.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

What are they used for? And what are probiotics?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à GrainsIt's the good bacteria that live naturally in your body, especially in your gut. As you mentioned earlier, we call all bacteria our intestinal microbiota.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

And, and we have lots of them, billions of bacteria.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes, but in fact what the good bacteria will help us with is good digestion to avoid bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea. It can help us to recolonize the microbiota after taking antibiotics, because we know that antibiotics eliminate all the bad bacteria, but the good ones too, in fact. It can also protect the immune system to help you during periods of intense stress, which can render your immune system completely incapable of defending against intruders when it's under great stress. Your microbiota is your second brain. Ah, well, yes, indeed, it can help with your anxiety. Your chronic stress, even mild or moderate depression, maybe even your sleep disorders or a famous mental fog. Research has even been carried out for several years now to show that a healthy microbiota can help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

It's as if our intestine is the command center of our health. So what we feed it will change the commands we send to the brain.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

The more good bacteria you have, the better control you'll have.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

So how do we choose our probiotics?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

So when you go into a store and want to choose a good probiotic, you have to realize that on the box or jar, it's going to say "strains" because there are different strains, and each strain is a bacterium that plays a different role in helping to resolve a particular situation.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Okay, so each strain is a different bacterium. Then they have functions, I guess?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

They all have different functions, so if I'm talking about diarrhea now, you can go with a compound of 10 strains or less. But if I have irritable bowel syndrome, then I'm going to go more with a blend of one to five strains. This will provide more of a calming effect to heal, and then no more strains, because that can be irritating for the intestine. On the other hand, in a really critical condition where the flora has been severely disrupted and needs to undergo major repairs or reconstruction, even if only in the short term, I'd take a 10-strain or more, for example, for someone who's taken several antibiotics one after the other. It's as if I'm going to give an image, a house that's been flooded, it takes several trades to repair it. A small problem, we'd just have one specialist, that's all it would take.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

But 20 billion bottles, 50 billion bottles, that's a lot of people.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Then when you see a 20 or a 30 or a 50 on the jar, it doesn't mean that the product is better or more effective. It's simply an indication of how many living bacteria there are in a given dose, and it doesn't mean more effective, it simply means there are more of them in the dosage. The billions are the quantity, not the mission. Okay, so if your employees send you 50, it doesn't mean anything. If they can't do a good job. 5 to 10 billion, that would be sensitive intestinal maintenance, a little prevention. At 20 billion, we could talk about more active digestive support. Then, when we reach 50 billion, we're really talking about a particular situation that's temporary, obviously, but a flora that's very disturbed.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

After antibiotics, for example.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes, indeed. Then, once you've rebalanced, you can reduce the number of strains or simply switch to a fermented diet. That's what we know about in yogurts and kimchi. And I love sauerkraut so much.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

A point that is often forgotten Lynn, is that prebiotics there, yes, you have to feed the good bacteria to maintain them.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

That's really important, Fred, because it's nice to ingest good bacteria, but without feeding them, they won't survive or they'll have a lot of trouble multiplying. In fact, it's fiber. They can be found in food. For example, psyllium, chia and flax seeds. These are all good fibers that can be consumed regularly. I'm giving you a picture of your intestine as a garden, but your probiotics are the good plants, the prebiotics are the fertilizer.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

So I take my probiotics. Yes, but to ensure that my good bacteria live happily and for a long time, I give them prebiotics.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Prebiotics, which are fibers.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Yes, I understand. So let's talk about this week's featured product. New Roots Intensity and Emergency probiotics.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes, I really like New Roots because they have a really nice range, a Quebec company that excels in the quality and purity of their supplements, and then they have a selection of probiotics that are adapted to different needs. That's what makes it interesting, because you have to recognize them. There's one in particular that has an intensity of 20 billion with 16 strains. Yes, I take that one to help me, because I have a little rosacea, a little adult acne. It helps reduce inflammation because it's not too aggressive. And it's not too gentle either. It's right in between. You choose it when you need a lot of support, but not in an extreme emergency situation like we were talking about earlier. So, if we're talking about bloating, gas, slow digestion, discomfort, it can even be constipation with a feeling of heaviness or digestive discomfort. Almost you live there every day or it could be after an intense period of, uh, stress, a diet that's simply unbalanced, so this one, it would work fine.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

There are 20 billion.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes, that's the 20 billion. Then there's the Urgence, 50 billion. That's the one I brought you or the 10-strain, which is ideal just after taking antibiotics or really when you have a big problem, either a nice big diarrhea.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Okay, Lynn, if we want to see you on a date, how do we go about it?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes to La Boite à Grains, my office is located in La Boite à Grains on Gréber in Gatineau. All my contact details are on the La Boite à Grains.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Thank you very much Lynn Goneau.