Made up of 100,000 billion bacteria, intestinal flora is a living entity which has a relationship of mutual dependency with our body. As well as being vital for our health, it is also dependent on us, our environment and lifestyle. Within the digestive system, flora covers most of the intestinal walls. It acts as a “protective agent” and is one of the main barriers in our body’s defence system. When it is weakened, intestinal flora allows harmful bacteria and other invasive germs to enter the body. An unbalanced diet, poor sanitary conditions, microbial proliferation, as well as stress and certain medication are some of the most frequent causes of disrupted intestinal flora. The result is digestive problems, a weakened immune system, fatigue, etc. However, we can take preventive action to strengthen our intestinal flora and help it to stay healthy and resistant. In the case of an imbalance, we need to restore the flora as quickly as possible to allow it to continue to play its essential role in our health. 

Prebiotics nourish our flora. These indigestible dietary fibres are ideal nourishment for certain strains of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics Probiotics are beneficial bacteria which reinforce existing flora. To be classed as probiotic, bacteria must be beneficial and capable of arriving alive in sufficient quantity at the area to be colonised. Hence the interest of multi-strain probiotics. Each strain of bacteria offers specific resistance to the different parts of the digestive system depending on the level of acidity. Symbiotics A symbiotic is a complete product which provides the body with both probiotics and prebiotics, i.e. “nourishment AND reinforcement”.