Did you know that we are home to thousands of individuals? In fact, every day you interact with a whole host of micro-organisms without realising it. These little inhabitants inside your intestine make up what is known as the "intestinal microbiota".
What is the intestinal microbiota?
The intestinal microbiota is made up of a huge diversity of micro-organism species: more than 1,000 have been identified [1]. In total, these "inhabitants" weigh around 1 kg! Yet despite scientific advances, we still don't know our exact bacterial composition.
Despite the pejorative image we have of micro-organisms, their presence in our bodies is not only beneficial, but necessary. But living in our stomachs is also beneficial for these micro-organisms! This is known as symbiosis. Our microbiota is therefore involved in many of the body's functions, and its imbalance leads to various pathologies.
What are the dangers of an unhealthy microbiota?
Because our microbiota is involved in essential stages of our functioning, when it is not in good health, our body suffers too! A number of factors can have a negative impact on the diversity and composition of our microbiota.
Our diet is one of the main factors influencing our microbiota. Diets rich in fats, animal proteins, salt, simple sugars and additives have visible negative effects on the microbiota. So do alcohol, smoking, sedentary lifestyles and stress: hence the importance of a healthy lifestyle [2]!
Today, a symbiotic deficit is clearly associated with chronic diseases and other severe complications such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer (of the colon), obesity, allergies or eczema, and many others [2].
So how can you look after your microbiota?
As you can imagine, prevention is better than cure... You are unique, and so is your intestinal microbiota. A healthy individual with a balanced lifestyle tends to have a stable microbiota [1]. Once again, your diet plays an essential role! Your diet is the main factor likely to affect the composition of your intestinal microbiota. By favouring plants in your diet, you can choose foods rich in fibre, polyphenols and fermentable carbohydrates, which have favourable effects on the intestinal microbiota [1].
Make Granaline organic pomegranate juice your health ally for your microbiota, as the pomegranate is a fruit renowned for its polyphenol content. One study demonstrated the prebiotic effect of flavonoids, one of the polyphenols contained in pomegranates [3]. Another study suggests that other phenolic compounds in pomegranates, ellagitanins, may contribute to the growth of probiotic bacteria, influencing the health of the microbiota [4].
Under no circumstances can the information and advice offered by Granaline be used as a substitute for a consultation or diagnosis by a doctor or health professional, the only people who can properly assess your state of health.
References :
[1] Kurakawa T, Ogata K, Matsuda K, Tsuji H, Kubota H, Takada T, Kado Y, Asahara T, Takahashi T, Nomoto K. Diversity of Intestinal Clostridium coccoides Group in the Japanese Population, as Demonstrated by Reverse Transcription-Quantitative PCR. PLoS One. 2015 May 22.
[2] Jean-Michel Lecerf, Nathalie DELZENNE. Microbiote intestinal et santé humaine, Elsevier Masson SAS, 2021.
[3] Filomena Nazzaro, Florinda Fratianni, Vincenzo De Feo, Alberto Battistelli, Adriano Gomes Da Cruz, Raffaele Coppola. Chapter Two - Polyphenols, the new frontiers of prebiotics, Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, Academic Press, Volume 94, 2020.
[4] Dobroslawa Bialonska, Priya Ramnani, Sashi G. Kasimsetty, Kesava R. Muntha, Glenn R. Gibson, Daneel Ferreira. The influence of pomegranate by-product and punicalagins on selected groups of human intestinal microbiota. International Journal of Food Microbiology. Volume 140, Issues 2–3, 2010, Pages 175-182, ISSN 0168-1605.