Probiotics History and Benefits
The history of probiotic bacteria starts in 1907 when they were discovered by Ilie Metchnikoff, a russian scientist most known for the discovery of white blood cells, for which he received a Nobel Prize. What led to their discovery or what made Ilie Metchnikoff discover them was something that drew his attention. In some villages or a specific village in Bulgaria, individuals were living long and healthy lives, longer than the average life span and he wondered why that is and what influenced this. There are many lifestyle and enviromental factors that influence our lives, more specifically our health, both mental and physical, as well as our performance. In the end he associated their health and longevity with probiotic bacteria, because most of these individuals if not all of them were regularly consuming fermented yogurt which had strains of probiotic bacteria in it.
Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, pickles and other similar foods and beverages have one thing in common, they have bacteria in them and lots of it, but not just any bacteria, healthy bacteria. Why are these bacteria in these foods? Well actually these bacteria gather naturally in acidic enviroments and reproduce and as a result of their action, fermentation happens.
Sugar in grape juice is converted and wine is the result, this is an example of fermentation. The starch and the sugar in a container with vegetables are converted and the result is pickles with a sour taste and which can last longer than normal, this is also fermentation but in vegetables instead of grape juice or wine. Aside from their health benefits, the best thing about probiotic bacteria is how available they are, you do not have to pay money for supplements, anyone can get probiotic bacteria by making pickles at home, or kefir, or cheese, etc. Many people make their own pickles or kefir, I had no idea what kefir was actually but then I found out because of probiotics one day and I even tried it not so long ago and it's actuallty pretty good, it tastes pretty good.
Anyway, what probiotics help with is keeping your body safe and protected from pathogens, reducing the risk of infection, which is why it's important to have them. They inhibit the growth of pathogens and because there are so many, they can prevent them from reproducing and being actively harmful.
