Stig Bengmark is a professor emeritus, author of the book Välj Hälsa (available in Swedish only) and creator of the dietary supplement Synbiotic. For the past 30 years, Stig has been studying the gut flora and its effect on human health; but how did it all start?
After completing his studies at Lund University, Stig enjoyed a long, successful career as a professor of surgery, chief surgeon and clinic manager at Lund University Hospital. Stig specialised in liver surgery, but an incident at the clinic opened Stig’s eyes to a new specialty – the gut flora and its significance for human health.
A young doctor at the clinic had been tasked with studying the 81 most recent major liver surgeries. When he reported the results of the study, Stig was shocked. They had neglected to give the patients the antibiotics that, according to standard practice at the time, should be given for a week after the operation. This was unacceptable, especially at a university hospital that should set a good example! But much to Stig’s surprise, the young doctor went on to report that all infections arising after surgery were in the patients who took antibiotics – those who did not receive antibiotics were infection-free!
Stig’s curiosity was piqued – had the antibiotics depleted the beneficial gut flora? And if that was the case, how could it be restored?
Stig started to study the gut flora more closely, and his theories were confirmed both by his own research and by others’ research. The studies showed that gut flora could be tremendously important for human health – 70 per cent of the immune system turned out to be in the gut! This fuelled Stig’s interest in pursuing further research, and he started to investigate the most effective ways to reintroduce the good gut bacteria.
The studies showed that gut flora could be tremendously important for human health – 70 per cent of the immune system turned out to be in the gut!
Stig therefore initiated a research project in 1999 together with a few colleagues. The goal was to identify the elite of the good intestinal bacteria, bacteria that could work together to strengthen the other bacteria’s properties and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Four unique strains of lactic acid bacteria were singled out and patented. The bacteria were then combined with four types of fibre that have been shown to help the bacteria to reproduce in the gut.
The combination of good bacteria (probiotics) and fibre (prebiotics) is called synbiotics, so Stig and his colleagues therefore chose to name their composition Synbiotic 2000. In the years that followed, several studies were conducted using Synbiotic 2000, which showed good results. Synbiotic 2000 proved effective in suppressing inflammation, reconditioning the gut flora and strengthening the immune system.
Synbiotic 2000 proved effective in suppressing inflammation, reconditioning the gut flora and strengthening the immune system.
Two of the bacterial strains have also been shown to be an important part of the gut flora in people who have not adopted a Western lifestyle. These strains are often absent in the gut flora of many Westerners, especially in people with severe obesity.
The dietary supplement Synbiotic was formulated and developed based on the research done on Synbiotic 2000. Synbiotic contains the same bacterial cultures and fibre used in the research but in two different formulas – Synbiotic15 and Synbiotic40 Enhanced. Synbiotic15 contains 15 billion lactic acid bacteria and 4 grams of fibre per dose and is suitable for people who want to strengthen and maintain the beneficial gut flora. Synbiotic40 Enhanced contains 40 billion lactic acid bacteria and 8 girrams of fibre per dose and is intended for people who have a severe imbalance in their gut flora or whose body is exposed to stress.
Research on the gut flora and its connection to overall health is more popular today than ever, with focus areas including IBS, chronic inflammation and the gut-brain axis (the link between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain). At Super Synbiotics, we believe that gut health is one of the keys to a long and healthy life and are passionate about inspiring and informing people so that they may achieve better gut health. You can read a number of articles about digestive health on our blog or try our Synbiotic dietary supplement here.
Det ser ut til at du er i Norge. Besøk vår norske nettside her www.supersynbiotics.no
