Probiotic drinks: What are they?

Probiotic beverages have been on sale in grocery stores for decades and are considered essential diets. But the question is “what exactly are probiotic beverages?” and why has the consumption rate of this drink increased?

Basically, probiotics are live bacteria that maintain an individual’s overall health, mostly the health of the digestive system. Even though we think of bacteria as organisms that cause sickness and diseases, it is worthy to note that the human body cannot function optimally unless there is a balance of the good and bad gut flora.

Probiotics are termed “good bacteria” because they contribute to the “good” health of your digestive system, counteracting the activities of the “bad” bacteria in the digestive system. When there is an imbalance between good and bad gut flora, the bad flora triggers inflammations, infections, and other gut issues.

In addition to its health benefits to our gut, probiotic beverages and probiotics have been integrated into modern medicine for the treatment of conditions such as gastroenteritis and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical studies conducted since the mid-1990s have shown a host of benefits associated with probiotic therapy, delaying allergy development in kids, preventing infections of the urinary tract in females, etc.

This explains why there has been an increase in patronage of probiotic supplements, foods, and beverages. Although yogurt still leads the probiotics market, other products with the microorganisms, including juices, confectionery items, baked goods, and even wine and beer, are gaining popularity. Multiple other products are being advertised as good sources of probiotics, including kefir, which is a fermented drink made from milk; sauerkraut and kimchi, both made from fermented cabbage and kombucha, which is fermented green or black tea.

Is there a future for probiotic drinks?

As Mordor Intelligence reports, the global probiotic beverage market, growing at a rate of 8.44% should be valued by $46.09 billion by 2024. With high patronage from loyal consumers who are most conscious of their health, probiotic drinks seem to be a force to reckon with in the health beverage sector. Many people are willing to drink probiotic beverages because of the well-known health benefits of “good bacteria.”

The health benefits that customers seek are directly related to the number of live cultures of probiotics in their product of choice. Most shoppers are confused about the right amount of “dosage” of probiotics and exactly how much is good for them.

Therefore, manufacturers should consider advertising details of their probiotic dose more clearly on their labels and consider adding some accessible educational materials about their health benefits. Making health claims on food and beverage labels can be risky, so it's important for companies to stay within regulatory bounds.

All in all, the future of probiotic drinks looks bright with lots more interesting, ground-breaking research in human health still to come!