Mexico City.- Nutrition specialists warned about the importance of consuming probiotics to maintain a quality microbiota and a strong immune system.
“A healthy microbiota stimulates our immune system to detect in less time if there is any danger within our body,” explained nutritionist Sofía Velázquez.
In an interview as part of the Nutritionist Day that is celebrated every January 27, the specialist explained that foods such as yogurt, milk and cheese help maintain a healthy intestinal microbiota because they contain beneficial bacteria for the body.
“The body houses more than 2 thousand different species of microorganisms and the formation of each microbiota is different in each person and situation, it is even different depending on the country or continent in which we live because the type and quality of food, the state of health or the stress that we experience every day,” said Velázquez, also a specialist at PiSA Farmacéutica.
He explained that the bacteria in the intestine perform functions such as the supply of essential nutrients, the development of the immune system and microbial antagonism.
“Currently it is recognized as an organ of the human body due to its contribution in health-disease and its complexity in its composition.
“There is direct communication between the intestinal microbiota and the immune system. In fact, there is an axis called the microbiota-intestine-brain, which quickly, if it detects a foreign pathogen through the intestinal mucosa, sends the signal to the immune system and makes the protective cells of our body are altered and begin to attack the foreign pathogen in our body,” explained the specialist.
When the microbiota suffers some damage, it is important to restore it through the intestinal flora with the consumption of probiotics, he said.
For example, after a treatment with antibiotics, probiotics should be used, after consulting with a specialist so that the product is suitable.
People who are healthy can also ingest probiotics without affecting their microbiota, because the bacteria modulate and stimulate the immune system, which leads to disease prevention, especially in the winter season.
“Currently there are various strains of beneficial microorganisms to colonize our digestive system but if we have a disease, such as irritable bowel syndrome or very frequent diarrhea, intestinal dysbiosis can be generated and for this reason the correct probiotic prescription is necessary”, pointed out.
