Lactobacillus Casei

What is Lactobacillus Casei?

Living in our guts are thousands of species of bacteria, and Lactobacillus is one of the best known and most studied groups of them. Lactobacillus casei is one of these organisms.

What does the research say about Lactobacillus Casei?

Lactobacillus casei has been studied extensively in relation to the digestive system. A clinical trial of a yoghurt with added live cultures, including Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis, looked at the transit time of food through the digestive tract in healthy women. A review of the L. casei group covers its history and the many areas in which it has been researched. A Lactobacillus preparation containing L. casei has also been studied in people taking antibiotics, and a drink containing the L. casei Shirota strain has been studied for its effects on bowel habits.

Because the gut is involved in so much of what the body does, gut bacteria have been studied well beyond digestion. Researchers have looked at their relationship with blood cholesterol levels, for example, and a review of Bifidobacteria, a different group of gut bacteria, looked at this area.

It's important to remember that bacteria like L. casei require fibrous prebiotics as their food, so we need to include these in our diet too. One of the most important of these is Inulin, which can be found in a range of fruit and vegetables.

Form: Live bacteria.

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