Pharmabiotics are good for you … and you make them yourself!

Cute boy is making science experiments in a laboratory.


Oh gosh, in the world of your health, there are so many little things that add up to a big impact on your good health  … or … lack of good health!  So, here is more information for you in the category of  “Gee, I didn’t know that!”  Today, we’ll be talking about Pharmabiotics.  Wait, didn’t we talk about this already?  Ahhh, nope.  Back on Sept 21st I talked about prebiotics.  On July 5th fellow Oatie Linda talked about Probiotics.  Today, we add Pharmabiotics to the mix!!

To understand Pharmabiotics, we must first visit (or revisit) Probiotics and Prebiotics. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test on this!   Here’s a quick review:

  • You have “friendly” bacteria living inside your GI tract (probiotics).
  • Certain types of fiber (prebiotics) are digested by the friendly bacteria to produce different molecules, many of which are used directly by the cells lining the intestine as their main fuel source.
  • The friendly bacteria also digest other components of the foods we eat and the results of these digestive processes create other health promoting substances.
  • “Pharmabiotic” is a fairly new term that encompasses all of the different substances produced by friendly bacteria in the digestion of foods (including the prebiotics).

OK, so…. Pharmabiotics are good things.  There are many different pharmabiotics that have been identified so far:

  • Small Chain Fatty Acids  – needed by the cells lining our GI tract
  • Conjugated Linoleic Acid  – also directly found in some foods and helpful for immune health, heart health, healthy cholesterol
  • Exopolysaccharides  –  this is a sort of sticky film that covers the lining of the GI tract to prevent bad things from entering into our bloodstream
  • B Vitamins
  • Vitamin K
  • And other molecules that seem to influence brain function

You get the idea  –  if you have a healthy population of probiotics  … and you feed it right with wholesome foods including prebiotcs … you’ll make more pharmabiotics!!  That should add up to health benefits for you!

Next month, the first International Pharmabiotics Conference will be held in Paris.  It is such a new and exciting area of health and medicine.  It is new and exciting because physicians and scientists are finally looking at it  …. not because it is something new that is happening inside our bodies!!  If we eat right first, and supplement as necessary, we’ve got the magic.  Our bodies are so incredible, busy doing wonderful good things like producing pharmabiotics!  Nice work!!

Additional Resources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026447/pdf/bbug0102_0079.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25196939

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