LIFESTYLE- FOOD: Probiotics, Fermented Dairy Products

Buttermilk, curd and other fermented dairy products are being used in India from time immemorial without knowing the health benefits. Our AyurvedicAcharyans used to prescribe buttermilk as a remedy for many intestine-related infections. Almost all fermented dairy products has different types of bacteria.

Probiotic, a word derived from Latin, means 'for life'. A long time before the awareness of probiotic microorganisms, fermented products, such as beer, bread, wine, kefir, kumis and cheese had been very frequently used for nutritional and therapeutic purposes. It is widely believed that fermented products were probably found, or better to say, discovered spontaneously. The legend tells that YOGHURT  is most likely resulted from a fermentation process within the animal skin bags used for transportation of water and milk in regions with low humidity and high temperatures (Middle Asia and the Middle East). The history of probiotics goes parallel with the evolution of the human race and, thanks to the sophisticated techniques at the moment, can be traced back to the ancient times, nearly 10,000 years ago. The aims of this review are to highlight the important events for probiotic history, to correct the widely available anonymous misinformation in the literature and to remind the reader's important characters in its history.

The history of probiotics innovations dates back to the 19th-century scientist Ilya Ilyich Metchnikoff, the Nobel Prize-winner, director of the Pasteur Institute, and, in some circles known as the grand-daddy of probiotics. During his travels across the Balkans in the late 1800's, Elie noticed that rural people in Bulgaria, despite a brutal climate and extreme poverty, lived much longer than rich European city-dwellers (many over the age of 100). After researching the modest daily lives of these people, Elie concluded that the X-factor in their lifestyle was a good bacteria found in the “soured milk” that was a staple of their diet. Elie used his conclusion to prescribe a treatment for old age: eating soured milk (a.k.a. yogurt) or alternatively by skipping the food altogether and simply eating more of the good bacteria he found in it.

With that, the first intentional probiotic was born! It was a turning point. From then on, people have been all about eating probiotics – good microbes – to benefit their health, Probiotic drinks. Probiotic supplements. But like Elie’s experience with L. bulgaricus, these probiotics are eaten without knowing much about them. Even today, people still don’t know the specific type (the “strain”), behavior, or purpose of many of the probiotics we encounter.Well, with all due respect to Elie, most serious microbiologists just didn’t care enough to focus on researching probiotic microbes. Instead, they were researching bad microbes – the ones that cause disease. The result was that early probiotics products just weren’t scientifically backed. It was a sad state of affairs.

Granny’s Treat promoted by AVM Food Specialties based in Indore is an emerging fermented milk drink Brand considered to have added with live active bacteria which are most natural or regular contains billions of probiotic (friendly) bacteria such as Streptococcus thermophillus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacteriumlactis , Lactobacillus  caseiwhich are beneficial for human health. Studies have shown that regular consumption of probiotics helps to restore the imbalance of the intestinal micorflora which in turn leads to the strengthening of body’s natural defense mechanism.  

Research shows that daily consumption of probiotics provides health benefits in children including a reduction in infections.

Health Benefits of probiotic:

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