Ecological control of the gastrointestinal tract. The role of probiotic flora

The "new" lifestyle-a threat to health? It is increasingly evident that human diseases are most often related to lifestyle, and should in theory be preventable. The stress of modern life, our reduced physical activity, and our consumption of manipulated and processed foods, and of chemicals-including pharmaceuticals-all contribute to our decreasing resistance to disease. Much evidence supports the fact that our genes, adapted during millions of years to the lifestyle of our prehistoric ancestors, tolerate poorly the dramatic changes in lifestyle that have occurred, especially in food habits during the past 100 years. 1 Changes in food habits in Western countries that no doubt constitute stresses to the human body and that may predispose to inflammatory, infectious, ulcerative, degenerative, and neoplastic diseases include the following: the consumption of 100 lb refined sugar per individual per year; the 10-fold increase in sodium consumption; the fourfold increase in consumption of saturated fat; the doubled consumption of cholesterol; a much reduced consumption of vegetable fibres, and of minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and chromium; and a considerable reduction in consumption of n-3 fats, membrane lipids, vitamins, and antioxidants. In severe disease, important food ingredients, such as arginine, glutamine, taurine, nucleic acids, vitamins, and antioxidants, such as glutathione, are often not supplied in large enough quantities.