Bifidobacteria: That’s how useful they really are

Bifidobacteria in probiotic foods are said to promote our intestinal health. Here you can find out how healthy they actually are and what they do in the body.

Our digestion is a highly complex system. There are around 100 trillion microorganisms in our intestines. They fight off pathogens, strengthen the immune system and provide us with calories from substances that we cannot digest ourselves. Experts advise you to strengthen your intestinal health in order to prevent various diseases and to enable a symptom-free digestion. Bifidobacteria in the form of probiotic foods should help.

In this article we explain why bifidobacteria are so healthy, what the current state of research is and what you should look out for when buying foods containing bifidobacteria.

Bifidobacteria: Types and Research Findings

The intestinal flora of an infant consists of around 95 percent bifidobacteria. When people start eating solid food, bifidobacteria only make up around 25 percent of the intestinal flora. The remaining 75 percent is divided among many other microorganisms. Nevertheless, the bifidobacteria are proportionally the most frequently represented microbes. But what are the positive health effects of the bifidobacteria?

• Bifidobacteria are just as lactic acid bacteria as lactobacteria. However, they are often not mentioned, although they have the same ability: both produce lactic acid through their complex metabolism. This creates a somewhat more acidic environment in the intestine, which weakens harmful bacteria and prevents them from spreading.
• Bifidobacteria displace pathogenic bacteria. How is that supposed to work? In our intestines, there is a real battle of microorganisms for the docking points on the dam cells. These are essential for the bacteria to live and work enormously. If bifidobacteria manage to colonize, they block in this way that harmful bacterial strains can settle there.
• Bifidobacteria regularly provide the amino acid tryptophan, which is an essential building block for the production of serotonin. The “happiness hormone” has a decisive influence on our emotional wellbeing. Tryptophan is also contained in various foods, but the bifidobacteria can make it available to the body independently.
• There are several studies on the connections between bifidobacteria and our immune system. Wissenschaft Aktuell writes about a Korean study: Bifidobacteria increase the production of immune cells in the intestinal wall. These immune cells have anti-inflammatory effects. This knowledge is particularly interesting in the case of inflammatory bowel disease.

The bifidobacteria include many subspecies that differ in their small differences. The most common types of bifidobacteria found in probiotic foods are:

• Bifidobacteria bifidum
• Bifidobacteria longum
• Bifidobacteria lactis subsp. animalis (subsp. means a subspecies)
• Bifidobacterium animalis
• Bifidobacterium infantis

The research is nowhere near where every specific bifidobacterium has been fully investigated. Most of the results of studies with one subspecies can be found in other research with other bifidobacteria variants as well. For example, not only is the Bifidobacterium bifidus responsible for containing pathogenic bacteria, but others too.

The most widely researched bifidobacterium is that B. animalis subsp. lactis. A study by the University of Heidelberg is a good example of this. Here it was found in irritable bowel patients that various complaints were caused by the ingestion of Bifidobacteria lactis subsp. animalis could be alleviated. In particular, the symptoms of flatulence and a bloated stomach were improved in over 60 percent of the participants. Furthermore, there are, for example, health connections of this bifidobacteria strain with the health of babies and a healthy cholesterol level in adults.

Bifidobacteria and a healthy intestinal flora

Bifidobacteria are essential for healthy digestion and a strengthened immune system. Together with other important intestinal bacteria, they prevent a disturbed one Intestinal flora before. According to studies by various microbiome researchers, an unhealthy intestinal flora can lead to obesity, diabetes or depression.

Other diseases have not yet been researched enough to be able to say precisely that an imbalance in the intestinal bacteria is the trigger for them. But time and again it is observed in experiments that there are connections. For example, in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis or chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, dysbiosis (disturbed intestinal flora) is often also involved. Dysbiosis can manifest itself through a number of symptoms: Flatulence, Cramps and abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, Listlessness, tiredness or lactose intolerance. Even headache, joint pain, and muscle pain can be a sign.

It is not important to have a lot of protective intestinal inhabitants: According to the Ärzteblatt, a high diversity of the good microorganisms in the intestine ensures a high level of disease resistance. Bifidobacteria are good, but they don’t protect us alone.

Absorb bifiobacteria through food

If you want to do something for your intestinal flora, you can use foods that contain bifodobacteria. These are so-called Probiotics. These are foods and medicinal preparations that contain viable microorganisms. In addition to bifidobacteria, these also include lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, for example.

Animal milk products in particular contain bifidobacteria:

• probiotic yogurt
• kefir
• Ayran
• Buttermilk

Other foods containing bifido are:

• pickled cucumbers
• sauerkraut
• Beans and carrots fermented with lactic acid

Prebiotics on the other hand, there are indigestible food components that serve as nourishment for healthy bifidobacteria. They encourage the growth and activity of bacteria in the large intestine. Examples of prebiotics include fiber such as inulin and oligofructose. These substances are found in many types of vegetables. These include, for example:

• Onions
• garlic
• asparagus
• Jerusalem artichoke
• leek
• artichokes

Buy these foods preferentially organic farming and pay attention to regional and seasonal vegetables as much as possible.

Are preparations with intestinal bacteria useful?

Probiotic preparations containing bifidobacteria and other microorganisms are said to help strengthen the intestinal flora. However, once the intestinal flora is out of whack, good bacteria have a hard time establishing themselves. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports on a research group at the “Weizmann Institute of Sciences” that only succeeded in locating probiotic bacteria in the intestines with the help of preparations in 30 to 50 percent of the test subjects.

Another study from 2021 indicates that probiotic supplements can even be harmful if we take them together with antibiotics. The artificially introduced microorganisms can cause antibiotic resistance. The ingested antibiotics are then ineffective.

If you ingest too many high-dose probiotic preparations, you run the risk of incorrect colonization by various bacteria, according to Spektrum. This can cause symptoms such as concentration problems, gas and stomach pain.

But there are also positive observations: in test subjects who did not take antibiotics but only probiotics, the rate was reduced in an experiment Antibiotic resistance. To do this, however, the microorganisms must first be able to settle in the intestine. How this can be ensured and what other effects artificially supplied probiotics can have on our body has not yet been scientifically clarified.

Bifidobacteria – helpers or healthwashing?

Bifidobacteria and other probiotic bacterial strains are often said to have beneficial properties by companies. Above all, they advertise expensive drinks and yoghurt dishes that are enriched with additional special strains of bacteria. According to the consumer advice center, such advertising statements (about individual products) scientifically not proven and therefore must not be used for food. In addition, some of the products, such as fortified yogurt drinks, often contain a lot sugar. That makes the positive health effects even more questionable.

In addition, these probiotic drinks are filled in small plastic bottles and thus produce a lot of packaging waste. Organic natural yoghurts in reusable glasses are a better alternative. After all, every normal yogurt contains microorganisms that can strengthen the intestinal flora.

The consumer advice center also points out the positive effects of sour milk products and vegetables fermented with lactic acid. These have “a favorable influence on the intestinal flora and thus possibly also on the immune system.”

To a gut-friendly diet however, there is much more to it than that. The menu should include plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grain products and legumes stand. Getting enough fluids and exercise are also important. However, you will not be able to achieve any decisive effects in the long term with a single expensive product per day.

Conclusion: how healthy are bifidobacteria?

“Usually enough for healthy people […] a balanced diet with vegetables and whole grain products to keep the microbiome in balance, ”says nutritionist Matthias Riedl in an NDR interview. So you can stay healthy even without artificially produced preparations and fortified foods. High-dose preparations with bifidobacteria in particular can possibly even have a negative effect. Therefore, always seek medical advice before including certain food supplements in your diet.

In order not to harm the intestinal flora in the first place, you should establish a healthy lifestyle. This includes avoiding stress, consuming as few antibiotics as possible and only consuming sugar and alcohol in moderation. Probiotic and prebiotic foods can also help you naturally with this.

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