General information

The microbiome includes all microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.) in the body and, as a complex system, makes an important contribution to our health. It produces messenger substances to regulate metabolism, influences digestion and forms part of the immune system in the organism. The community of microorganisms is a fragile system that only functions properly when its composition is balanced.
The microbiome can be disturbed by internal and external factors, so that the microbiota can be miscolonized with pathogenic bacteria and, for example, digestive problems can occur. These factors include stress, poor eating habits, but medications such as antibiotics also have a negative impact on the microbiome.
Bloating, flatulence, irregular bowel movements, unpleasant odors - these are all symptoms that disturb well-being and lead to discomfort and suffering. Digestion is a topic that, despite today's openness, is still associated with feelings of shame and taboo. And this despite the fact that, according to Statista, over 50% of people experience gastrointestinal complaints in the form of flatulence or diarrhea at least once a month and around a third suffer from bloating.

In a survey of the German population alone, 13% of 2050 people reported flatulence and 13% reported abdominal pain in the 7 days prior to the survey. There are many reasons for this.

What influence do antibiotics have on the microbiome?

The use of antibiotics for bacterial infections also plays a major role in the occurrence of digestive complaints. An analysis of antibiotic use from 2009 showed that 31% of women and 25% of men took antibiotics at least once during the year.

Unfortunately, there is no more recent data available for Germany, but internationally there has been a sharp increase in antibiotic consumption of around 65% in recent years.

In addition to the desired treatment of a bacterial infection, however, a large part of the healthy intestinal microbiome (dysbiosis) is also destroyed, resulting in a weakening of the immune system, digestion and well-being with digestive complaints. In one study, twelve healthy young volunteers were given antibiotics and the microbiome was observed and examined for 6 months. After antibiotics were administered and the microbiome was destroyed, it took a total of 6 months for the intestinal flora to gradually return to normal.

Some bacterial species could not be restored. Current study reviews come to the conclusion that after approx. 1.5 months only a basic colonization of the intestinal flora has been restored, but even 6 months after antibiotic intake, some bacterial strains were no longer permanently present - i.e. the diversity of the intestinal flora was permanently damaged. For this reason, it is important to provide the body with the best possible supply of probiotic bacteria during/after taking antibiotics and to support the regeneration of the microbiome.

Complex: immune system

In addition to the importance of the effects on digestion, probiotics also play an important role in relation to the immune system. This is because 70-80% of the immune system is "located in the intestinal microbiome".

In a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled study (gold standard), the effect of supplementation with the specific probiotics Bl-04®, NCFM® & Bi-07® on respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases was investigated in healthy, active men and women. Results:

• Significant reduction in the risk of upper respiratory tract infection (-27%) in subjects supplementing with Bl-04® (p=0.022)
• Shorter duration of upper respiratory tract infections (-1 day) in the subjects supplementing Bl-04®, but not statistically significant as the distribution of the duration of illness of the different subjects was too broad (p=0.25)
• Significantly more training volume (+9%) in the subjects who supplemented NCFM® & Bi-07® (p<0.003)
• Reduction in risk of gastrointestinal disease (-24%) in subjects supplementing Bl-04®, CFM® & Bi-07®, but not statistically significant as too few subjects experienced gastrointestinal disease during the study period (p=0.12)

Why probiotic products??

• The microbiome in the gut is constantly influenced and can be thrown out of balance by external and internal factors. The result is a so-called dysbiosis.
• Factors that can unbalance the microbiome include, in particular, diet (too little pro- and prebiotic food) and medication (antibiotics).
• Dysbiosis of the intestinal flora can lead to poor nutrient absorption/utilization, which manifests itself in irregular digestion and bloating.
• Once the microbiome is out of balance, it cannot easily restore itself, as bacteria must be supplied from outside in sufficient quantities for colonization.
• Once important bacterial strains have disappeared from the microbiome, they do not simply form again. If even unhealthy (pathogenic) bacterial strains have colonized, the healthy bacterial strains find it even more difficult to colonize again and / or are displaced.

Probiotics & ESN

At ESN we currently have Biotics+ in our range. This is our response to the current needs of customers in the probiotics sector.

You can find more information, questions and answers about Biotics+ in this article.