The hundreds of millions of gut bacteria, including good ones and bad ones, form a rich and diverse microbiota. Therefore, to be healthy, maintaining the balance of gut microbiota is important. However, this balance is very subtle, and can be disturbed by aging or changes to diet or health in everyday life.
Probiotics, as the “friendly bacteria”, are the dominant flora found in the gut. Through a series of metabolic activities in the gut, such as competing with harmful bacteria for nutrition, producing lactate and acetic acid to lower the intestinal luminal pH value, or competing for attachment points to prevent pathogens from attaching to epithelial cells, probiotics help to suppress the growth of harmful bacteria, maintain a balanced gut microbiota and promote the regulation and enhancement of the immune functions.
