Probiotic Effect on pH Balance

The pH level, acidity of a given environment or substance, of the human digestive tract is known to play a role in how bacteria that cause disease survive after ingestion. Certain probiotics, like Lactobacillus--present in many yogurt products--have been found to lower the pH level and thereby be potent antibacterial agents. By eating a diet rich in probiotics it may be possible to effectively lower your pH level to maintain a protective shield against some pathogens.

Identification

• According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, probiotics are live organisms that are similar to healthy bacteria that already live in the human digestive tract. They are considered "friendly" or "good" and have been found to help treat conditions such as diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome.

Function

• In a 2005 study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology by Domitille Fayol-Messaoudi and a team of French researchers at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, several strains of the probiotic Lactobacillus were found to lower the pH levels in a cultured environment.

Effects

• The researchers found that by lowering the pH level, the Lactobacillus strains were able to effect a complete inhibition of a type of salmonella bacteria. The probiotics also affected the lactic acid level and produced several anti-bacterial compounds on their own.

Types

• The types of probiotics used in the study were Lactobacillus johnsonii La1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and Lactobacillus casei. Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG are commonly added to yogurts, cheeses and other fermented dairy food products.

Potential

• Most probiotics can survive and reproduce in the human digestive tract for extended periods of time. By supplementing your diet with yogurt, and other sources of these friendly probiotics ,you may be able to sustain a low pH level in your digestive tract that may prove to be beneficial in warding of certain infectious diseases that are passed through oral ingestion