BBC.OneShow.Probiotics.avi

6 minute item from The One Show, BBC1, 2 November 2007.



Probiotic drinks claim to beat bloating and boost your immune system ? but are they really an every morning must-have, or just a cunning marketing plan?



Our bodies naturally contain millions of bacteria, known as gut flora, which are essential for our health. In fact, 80% of our immune system function comes from bacterial activity in the gut.



But gut flora can be thrown out of balance by things like stress, illness, frequent travel, antibiotics, or exposure to toxic substances. As our good gut flora decrease, harmful bacteria can thrive, which can cause disease and illness.



To redress the balance, and to stay healthy, we can either top up the bacteria with probiotics, or try to encourage the existing good bacteria with a pre-biotic.





Lucy Siegle goes to Reading University to meet Professor Glenn Gibson, a microbiologist. His gut machine has thrown up some worrying results - half the probiotic drinks on sale in UK contain the wrong type and number of bacteria in them.