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The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined probiotics as “living microorganisms which, when administered in adequate quantities, are beneficial to the health of the host”. The concept of probiotics, commonly referred to as beneficial bacteria, was first used by Nobel laureate Mechnikov in the early 20th century as he studied the bacteria that had lodged in the gut. He said: “The gut microbiome changes with food and you can ingest useful microbes to replace harmful microbes.”
Recently, as various research findings suggest that gut health is not only related to digestion, but also to improved immunity and brain health, gut microbes are getting attention. In general, there are around 100 trillion microorganisms in the gut, and beneficial and harmful bacteria are balanced through the gut environment. If the intestinal environment is not good, the body may be out of balance.
However, no agreement has yet been reached on whether probiotics will be treated as pharmaceuticals or health-promoting foods. Although probiotics are generally known to be safe, there is still a lack of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of consuming live microorganisms.
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