John Myers
Lactobacillus Helveticus is a lactic acid bacterium that should be included in quality probiotics. Lactic acid bacteria live in a healthy intestinal flora and contribute to human health there. Therefore, when buying probiotics, make sure that they contain L. Helveticus.
Lactobacillus Helveticus – A lactic acid bacterium that packs a punch
Lactobacillus Helveticus belongs to the so-called good intestinal bacteria, the lactobacteria.
Along with bifidobacteria, lactobacteria and their beneficial effects on health have been the focus of much scientific attention lately.
And so many lactobacteria strains have been extensively researched (e.g. L. lactis, L. casei, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. brevis, etc.). For a long time, however, little attention was paid to Lactobacillus Helveticus.
But now the omission has been made up for and it has been found that Lactobacillus Helveticus has such beneficial effects on the human organism that it should not be missing in any probiotic.
High-quality probiotics protect against numerous diseases
Probiotics are preparations that usually consist of a mixture of a wide variety of microorganisms.
They are taken to build up the intestinal flora (e.g. after antibiotic therapy) or to correct an imbalance in the intestinal flora.
Anyone who thinks that healthy intestinal flora only has an effect on digestion, for example alleviating flatulence and preventing irregular stools, is completely wrong.
A healthy intestinal flora is of such great importance for health that there is hardly a symptom that cannot be influenced in some way by the state of the intestinal flora.
New scientific findings are published almost every day, showing that almost every disease is accompanied by a disturbance of the intestinal flora or is even caused by such a disorder. Even stubborn obesity is associated with a specific intestinal flora disorder.
All of this is no wonder since a healthy intestinal flora is a basic requirement for an efficient immune system and thus not only ensures strong resistance to diseases of all kinds but also high-stress resistance and physical and mental fitness.
We have already reported on a number of health problems, all of which are associated with disturbed intestinal flora.
A HEALTHY intestinal flora, on the other hand, can protect against all these problems or accelerate their recovery or make such a recovery possible in the first place.
However, there is now an unmanageable number of probiotic preparations on the market, all of which promise healthy intestinal flora.
It is therefore important to know the range of effects of the different lactobacteria and bifidobacteria in order to then be able to select a suitable probiotic with this knowledge.
We have already presented here and here the highly interesting effects of Lactobacillus reuteri, an actinobacterium that – just like Lactobacillus Helveticus – should definitely be included in your probiotic.
Probiotics with Lactobacillus reuteri – For healthy gums and less plaque
L. reuteri is a lactic acid bacterium with exceptional properties. For example, it has the ability to improve dental health.
L. reuteri has been proven to relieve gum inflammation and reduce plaque, which of course in turn reduces the risk of tooth decay.
In babies, L. reuteri leads to a lower risk of allergies and also promotes the healthy development of the child’s digestive system and immune systems.
In addition, L. reuteri ensures that babies suffer from colic much less frequently or that it no longer lasts nearly as painfully and for a long time as before.
For this purpose, it would be ideal if the nursing mother took a probiotic containing L. reuteri. The baby is then supplied with the necessary lactic acid bacteria via breast milk.
Lactobacillus Helveticus has a completely different spectrum of activity but complements that of L. reuteri excellently.
Lactobacillus Helveticus – For strong and healthy bones
While L. reuteri is so beneficial to dental health, Lactobacillus Helveticus is a boon to bones.
In cooperation with calcium, Lactobacillus Helveticus increases bone density and improves bone metabolism – for very different reasons, as a review by various universities from 2014 shows:
- Lactobacillus Helveticus increases the solubility and bioavailability of bone-important minerals (calcium, magnesium, boron, etc.).
- Lactobacillus Helveticus ensures an increased production of certain enzymes (phytases). Phytases inhibit the mineral-binding effect of phytic acid. Phytic acid is a secondary plant substance that is mainly found in cereals, legumes, and nuts and is able to bind minerals in the intestine so that they can no longer get into the bloodstream. The less active the phytic acid is, the better and the more minerals can be absorbed – and Lactobacillus Helveticus helps with this.
- Lactobacillus Helveticus reduces inflammatory processes in the intestine. However, the less inflammation is present, the higher – as we know – the bone density.
- Lactobacillus Helveticus promotes the formation and activity of osteoblasts. Osteoblasts are cells that build bone, while osteoclasts break down bone. In menopausal women, the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts is often shifted in favor of bone-degrading cells. threatened with osteoporosis. Lactobacillus Helveticus can help restore the healthy balance between these two cell types and help the osteoblasts regain their assertiveness.
A double-blind, randomized, crossover study with 20 women (all of whom had gone through menopause and had an average age of 65 years) showed that taking a milk product fermented with Lactobacillus Helveticus increased the level of calcium in the blood – even when the parathyroid hormone level was low.
The low levels of parathyroid hormone indicate that calcium is not being removed from the bones and that the calcium now circulating in the blood is actually coming from the diet. Because this can now be absorbed much better with the help of Lactobacillus Helveticus.
This effect was not evident in the control group, which took the milk product without Lactobacillus Helveticus.
If you want to improve your bone health with Lactobacillus Helveticus, you should take the probiotic (containing Lactobacillus Helveticus) together with a calcium supplement (e.g. the Sango Sea Coral) or with a calcium-rich diet.
Lactobacillus Helveticus supports the detoxification of the body
However, the Lactobacillus Helveticus not only helps – as mentioned under 1. – to a better bioavailability of calcium and other bone-friendly minerals, but also generally to a significantly increased usability of nutrients of all kinds and thus to a much better overall supply of nutrients and vital substances People.
At the same time, Lactobacillus Helveticus eliminates allergens and other undesirable molecules, so in its presence, the risk of allergies decreases significantly and the toxic load on the body can decrease – as shown by an Italian study published in Frontiers in Microbiology in 2012.
Anyone who can remove allergens and toxins may also have no problem with pathogens (infectious agents) – and this is exactly what applies to Lactobacillus Helveticus.
Lactobacillus Helveticus protects against dangerous infections
First of all, Lactobacillus Helveticus prevents those infections that are closest to where you live – namely in the gastrointestinal area.
Here, the Lactobacillus Helveticus drives out all kinds of diarrheal bacteria, including the dreaded EHEC bacteria (enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia Coli). Lactobacillus Helveticus prevents their adhesion to the intestinal mucosa cells and in this way interrupts the potentially fatal EHEC infection process.
But bacteria that trigger urinary tract diseases or lead to bacterial vaginal inflammation are also massively restricted in their activity by Lactobacillus Helveticus so that infections in these body areas can also be prevented or alleviated if the intestinal and vaginal flora accommodate a sufficiently large Lactobacillus Helveticus troop.
L. Helveticus against candida infections and vaginal thrush
In addition to allergens, toxins, and bacteria, Lactobacillus Helveticus also ensures that fungi such as e.g. B. Candida cannot multiply excessively.
For example, if Lactobacillus Helveticus is administered for a vaginal infection, the number of viable Candida fungi decreases quite significantly. Lactobacillus Helveticus appears to actually act like a toxin on Candida.
At the same time, the inflammatory processes that often occur parallel to a vaginal fungus decrease significantly. Lactobacillus Helveticus reduces the activity of a number of inflammatory messengers in the vaginal mucosa (e.g. myeloperoxidase, pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes, NF-kB, etc.)
A probiotic with Lactobacillus Helveticus is therefore extremely suitable for preventing Candida infections or for the accompanying therapy of frequent vaginal or intestinal fungal infections – ideally as part of an intestinal rehabilitation program.
Of course, the anti-inflammatory effect of Lactobacillus Helveticus not only helps to improve the situation of the bones (see above) and not only to a fungus-free body but also to an overall reduced risk of almost all chronic diseases.
L. Helveticus against chronic diseases
Probably every chronic disease is accompanied by initially imperceptible inflammatory processes, which can then – depending on the personal situation, nutrition, and genetics – manifest themselves in this or that chronic disease.
A study from 2013 showed that Lactobacillus Helveticus inhibits inflammatory processes because Lactobacillus Helveticus reduces the activity of a specific substance (NF-κB). NF-κB sits in the inflammatory control center, so to speak, and gives the starting signal for all inflammatory messengers. NF-κB really gets the inflammatory processes going.
If NF-κB is stopped – e.g. B. by Lactobacillus Helveticus – inflammation decreases and the risk of developing a chronic disease decreases.
In addition, Lactobacillus Helveticus also strengthens the immune system and health of the intestinal mucosa, which of course also helps to increase resistance to diseases of all kinds.
Because it is too often the pitiful condition of the intestinal mucosa that can lead to chronic complaints and here in particular autoimmune diseases.
Argentine researchers published the following findings in the journal BMC Immunology in 2007:
Lactobacillus Helveticus administration improves the function of calcineurin, an enzyme that can activate the immune system in the gut and increase the immunity of the gut mucosa.
L. Helveticus for good sleep
Lactobacillus Helveticus also promotes sleep, which is of course more than desirable in healing processes of all kinds – from chronic or acute diseases.
A 2006 Japanese study found that elderly people (aged between 60 and 81) who took a probiotic preparation containing Lactobacillus Helveticus for three weeks slept better and woke up less than they did before taking it and also in comparison to the placebo group, which had to do without Lactobacillus Helveticus.
L. Helveticus lowers blood pressure
Another Japanese study proved that Lactobacillus Helveticus reduces blood pressure without side effects, which means a welcome additional effect for many people.
After four weeks of taking a probiotic containing Lactobacillus Helveticus, a reduction in blood pressure was observed for both blood pressure values, while blood pressure remained elevated in the placebo group.
Lactobacillus Helveticus lowered the diastolic value in people with normal but slightly elevated blood pressure by an average of 5 mmHg and the systolic value by 3.2 mmHg.
In people with mild but pathological high blood pressure, the blood pressure fell by 11.2 mmHg (systolic) and 6.5 mmHg (diastolic) under the influence of Lactobacillus Helveticus.
Of course, no side effects were found.
The antihypertensive effect is also likely to have an impact on the relaxing and anxiolytic properties of Lactobacillus Helveticus described below:
Lactobacillus Helveticus relaxing on the psyche
The influence of intestinal flora on the psyche has long been known. As we report here, it happens again and again that people never had anxiety or depression until one day they developed gastrointestinal problems.
The gastrointestinal problems had long since disappeared, but suddenly there were oppressive feelings, a certain melancholy, or even massive panic attacks.
If the intestinal flora – which got out of balance during the gastrointestinal problem – is regulated again, the psychological complaints can also subside.
Studies from 2013 found that anxious or stressed behaviors are increased by a typical western diet, but that this influence of the diet can be reduced by the administration of Lactobacillus Helveticus.
However, the probiotic was able to work better the healthier the person ate and the fewer chronic inflammatory processes were present.
A healthy diet is easy to implement, and chronic inflammatory processes are e.g. – as explained above – alleviated by Lactobacillus Helveticus. You can find the bacterial strain Lactobacillus Helveticus, for example, in the well-known brand Combi Flora.
If you suffer from one of the problems described, we recommend a change in diet in combination with the intake of a high-quality probiotic. Contains Lactobacillus Helveticus and is ideally available in enteric-coated capsules.
