A Probiotic Is

8/3/2019 A Probiotic Is

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A PROBIOTICis a live microbial feed supplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving

its intestinal microbial balance. 1)yogurt,kefir, and koumis are fermented milk products that have

long histories. All three are consideredprobiotics. 2) Prebiotics are foods that contain nutrients that

are required by bacteria for growth and metabolism. 3) the largest group of prebiotics on the market

right now areoligosaccharides.

Infection by CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE, A BACTERIA that can survive as spores for many months, has

become the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients.

Antibiotics do kill harmful bacteria, but they also kill helpful bacteria at the same time.

The term probiotics was coined to describe microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts) which are beneficial to

health and disease resistance. It is believed, that by consuming probiotic bacteria and yeasts, a proper

balance on the population of microflora that inhabit our gastrointestinal systems can be achieved,

leading to good health. How exactly probiotic yeasts and bacteria work in the body is still not clear.

There is experimental data (in animals) to show that probiotic bacteria can stimulate our immunesystem and this could in turn result in improved disease resistance.

It is also known that some microorganisms, as a defense mechanism, produce metabolites called

BACTERIOCINS that are toxic to other microorganisms. A third possibility is more. It may be that

probiotic bacteria are able to stick to the walls of the intestine and prevent pathogenic bacteria from

finding a niche where they can grow and produce their toxic effects. Consuming probiotics may be a

new and better way to fight pathogenic bacteria.

Vitamin E is a nutrient that has antioxidant properties. Generally oilseeds (canola, soybean, corn,

safflower and cottonseed ) and their products (vegetable oils or margarines) are good sources of vitamin

E.( tocopherol) with various forms

TOCOPHEROL CONTENT OF VARIOUS VEGETABLE OILS (mg/kg)

Soybean oil alph 116 beta34 gamma737 delta275

Sunflower alph608 beta 17 gamma 11 -

Olive oil alph 93 - gamma7.3 -

Canola alpha 192 - gamma 431 delta40

as far as its antioxidant effectiveness goes, alpha-tocopherol is often not as good as the other forms of

vitamin E. It is widely accepted that delta is a better antioxidant than gamma which is better than beta

which is better than alpha.

Antioxidents such as vitamin C and vitamin E would be examples of suppressors as they prevent the

formation of free radicals that have been shown to cause cell damage that can lead to many cancers.
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When procarcinogens are formed, they have to be transported to the organ or tissue where they then

attack healthy cells and start the growth of the cancer. Some compounds, termed blockers, have been

shown to be able to prevent the procarcinogens from locating where they can do their damage. The

blocker reacts with the procarcinogen forming a product that can be quickly excreted from the body

before it can become established.

Agents that act as transformers act in a similar way to blockers. Transformers are able to react with or

metabolize the procarcinogen into nontoxic products. Some blockers are enzymes systems that occur

naturally in the body and are capable of metabolizing a wide range of compounds. The activity of these

enzymes can be increased by changes in the diet, and this can provide protection when the body is

exposed to procarcinogen or carcinogens.

Some food ingredients such as the flavones in orange,tangerine and grapefruit have been shown to be

able to restore the adhesion between cells that would prevent the spread of cancer cells in the body.

Like yogurt, KEFIR is milk based. The process to make kefir involves fermenting milk with what are called

kefir grains. The grains are a mass of bacteria, yeast and polysaccharide.The fermentation process takes

about twenty-four hours, during which the grains change milk into a thick, astringent tasting drink. Kefir

is a probiotic because it contains live bacteria and yeast.

the beneficial effects that have been reported for a wide variety of nutrients occur only when they have

been consumed at levels higher than can be obtained in a normal diet. This is why more and more

people are turning to vitamin supplements.

Vitamin Content of Various Cooked Vegetables Compared to a Vitamin Supplement

Vitamin Supplement Brocolli Carrots Potato

Vitamin A (IU) 5,000 3886 11,294 0

Vitamin C (mg) 50 208.8 1.06 9.9

Thiamine (mg) 3 0.15 0.016 0.132

Riboflavin (mg) 2.5 0.316 0.026 0.026

Niacin (mg) 20 1.61 0.233 1.77

Vitmain B12(mcg) 3 0 0

Folate (mcg) 0 140 6.39 12.02

Note: the cooked vegetable data are for Broccoli (280 g) boiled, drained, served with salt, Carrot (46 g)

boiled, drained, no salt and Potato (135 g) skinned, boiled, drained , no salt


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A US researcher has reviewed the scientific literature and has concluded that the consumption of

tomato and tomato products lowers the risk of cancer.

Tomatoes are rich in LYCOPENE, the chemical responsible for the red colour; lycopene has been

proposed as a possible anti-cancer agent. Lycopene is a member of the carotenoid family. Carotenoids

of several types are also found in high quantities in tomatoes and these powerful antioxidants arebelieved by many to be important cancer prevention agents. Interestingly, both raw and cooked

tomatoes appear to be equally effective in terms of cancer prevention, and the effect persists in

processed tomato products.

Giovannucci's article showed that the protective effect of tomatoes was most evident against prostrate

cancer, lung cancer and stomach cancer, but pancreatic, colorectal, esophageal, oral, breast and cancer

of the cervix may also be sensitive to tomato intake.

Tomato Storage: Never refrigerate a tomato that is not fully red or ripe

To Ripen Green Tomatoes: place green tomatoes on the floor with a ripe apple in the middle, coverwith a newspaper

Nutritional Value: tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium

Milk is a good source of calcium and also protein. The proteins in cows milk are complex chains of

amino acids that are linked together. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Many amino acids

are essential - that is they must be supplied in our diet; we cant make them. The proteins we eat are

the sources of these amino acids

In the stomach, the high acidity - low pH - starts the breakdown of proteins. The acid is able to start to

cut the chains of amino acids which causes the protein to lose its shape. The long chains of amino acids

are cut into smaller chains called peptides. Peptides can contain as few as five and as many as fourteen

or fifteen amino acids. The exciting thing about these breakdown products of proteins is that many of

the peptides have been shown to have biological activity - that is they can affect the metabolism of the

body.

To date the testing of peptides formed during the digestion of milk proteins has only been carried out in

test tube experiments or with experimental animals. But in a mix of peptides formed in the stomach

from cows milk are included compounds that have antihypertensive, antibacterial, antiaggregating,

immunomodulating and antithrombotic effects. This list is very diverse because the peptides formed

vary widey in their impact on various metabolic pathways.

Milk is another example of a food that can impact positively on our health and disease fighting

mechanisms in the body. Because many of the foods we eat are complex, it is difficult to predict what

specific component of the food will be the active ingredient. The recommendation of having a varied

diet makes more and more sense as we understand the interaction of food and health


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1. Proteins Found in Milk alphas- casein, beta-casein, kappa-casein, gamma-casein,lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, immunoglobulins

2. Essential Amino Acids tryptophan, phenylalanine, lysine, threonine, valine, methionine,leucine, isoleucine

Theres firm evidence that a high intake of fruits and vegetables reduces risk of cancer and heartdisease.

Diseases related to the aging process result from the cumulative damage to cells by free radicals. Free

radicals are oxygen molecules whose purpose it is to burn harmful bacteria and other refuse matter.

But, over time, their zeal wears the cell out. Because free radicals lose an electron, they become highly

reactive and unstable as they search out substitute electrons from surrounding molecules. This activity

is what eventually causes problems and can, to a degree, determine whether well be healthy or not in

what the French elegantly term Le Troiseme Age (The Third Age).

USDA scientist, Guohua Cao and Ronald L. Prior, developed the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity

(ORAC); a method designed to measure the ability of foods, blood plasma, and just about any substance,

to subdue oxygen free radicals.

OK, so if free radicals are the culprits and antioxidants such as vitamin E are the rescuers, all we need is a

vitamin pill and were set, right? Not according to the latest research. USDA scientists are demonstrating

through nutritional research with humans and animals that increasing your intake of fruits and

vegetables with high ORAC factors is more effective.

Barbara Shukit-Hale, a behavioral psychologist at the Boston center, explains she had a control group on

vitamin E, one on nothing, and one on extracts from blueberries, strawberries and spinach. "In most

cases," she says, "the fruit and vegetable extract group showed oxidative damage was reduced over the

other control groups".

It was found that the antioxidant power in fruits and vegetables might come from more than just its

vitamin content. ORAC values are higher in dark colored fruits and vegetables than lighter colored ones

suggesting that color may contain essential beneficial compounds. For example, ORAC values are higher

in kale than potatoes and higher in blueberries than bananas.

Top Antioxidant Foods (ORAC units per 100 grams)

FRUITS/VEGETABLES :Prunes5,770 Kale1,770 Raisins2,830 Spinach1,260 Blueberries2,400 Brussels

sprouts980 Blackberries2,036 Alfafa sprouts930 Strawberries1,540 Broccoli florets890 Raspberries1,220

Beets840 Plums949 Red bell pepper710 Oranges750 Onion450 Red Grapes739Corn400 Cherries670Eggplant390

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A Probiotic Is