Vim & Vigor - Fall 2019 - UVA - 4

ASK THE EXPERT BY HOLLY FORD
Stephen Borowitz, MD
UVA pediatric
gastroenterologist

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Dig Deeper

GUT HEALTH

DO I NEED A DAILY PROBIOTIC?

Each of us has a microbiome-colonies of bacteria, fungi and
viruses that live on and in our bodies. Most reside in the gut.
"There are more than 100 times as many bacteria living in our gut than
there are cells in our body," notes UVA pediatric gastroenterologist
Stephen Borowitz, MD. "These microbes do many things for us: harvest
energy from foods we are unable to digest, synthesize vitamins and
influence the development and function of our immune system." As
scientists learn more about these microbes, you're probably hearing
more about probiotics and lesser-known prebiotics. These microbes
are found in many foods but are also sold as supplements. Dr. Borowitz
shares insight on how best to nourish a healthy microbiome.

Q

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FA L L 2 0 1 9

Prebiotics are nondigestible sugars
that stimulate the growth of the good
bacteria already residing in our intestines.
Prebiotic-rich foods include barley, garlic,
onion and asparagus.

Q

How do we get the probiotics
our bodies need?
The best way is to eat a diverse,
fiber-rich diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains and lean
proteins. The sooner we introduce these

foods into our diet, the better. Feeding
babies a variety of foods with lots of
fiber is one of the most important
things we can do to promote a healthy
microbiome, which may help lower their
risk for allergies, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

Q

Do I need a daily probiotic?
For healthy people who eat a
diverse diet, there is not a lot
of evidence that probiotic supplements
are necessary. However, probiotics
can help prevent or limit the extent of
antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Taking
a probiotic during a course of antibiotics
has been shown to decrease the risk of
getting diarrhea by more than half.
Evidence shows that probiotics
decrease your risk of getting norovirus
or may decrease the severity and duration of symptoms if you're infected. Two
of the best-studied over-the-counter
probiotics for these uses are Culturelle®
(Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) and
Florastor® (Saccharomyces boulardii). ■

LEFT PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

What are probiotics and
prebiotics?
Probiotics are live organisms
that we put in our bodies with the goal
of benefiting our health. The best probiotics have a large number of viable
bacteria that can survive prolonged
storage and in the intestinal tract.
Foods naturally high in probiotics
include yogurt, fermented foods like
sauerkraut and pickles, as well as tempeh and some cheeses, like cheddar.

Probiotics can lessen the
symptoms of irritable bowel
syndrome, a number of studies
have shown. A combination of
probiotics and prebiotics (available by prescription only) also
may reduce the symptoms of
mild ulcerative colitis. Learn
more from Dr. Borowitz at
uvahealth.com/guthealth.
http://www.uvahealth.com/guthealth
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2019 - UVA

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