BACTERIA described as “life-giving” and “favourable to life”? That is the meaning of probiotics, a combination of a Latin and a Greek word to define the healthy flora of the human gut.
The health benefits of probiotics were known thousands of years ago in countries of the Middle East where fermented milk was consumed for digestive upsets. Eli Metchnikoff, the 1908 Nobel Prize winner for his work on the immune system, suggested that people should consume sour milk to slow down the process of ageing. The suggestion was based on his observation of Bulgarian farmers’ daily consumption of yoghurt and their longevity. Since Metchnikoff, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific work supporting the concept that there are clinical benefits to ingesting probiotics.
