Probiotics: Secret to Good Health or Crackpot Supplement Fad?

[progressoid]

Are Probiotics Really the Secret to Good Health (Or Just the Latest Crackpot Supplement Fad?)

Proponents pouring out of the woodwork claim that probiotics can prevent asthma and cure irritable bowel syndrome, colic, yeast infections, acne -- even autism. They point to dozens of studies suggesting that, say, probiotics prevent upper-respiratory infections (Hojsak, Snovak, Abdovic, Szajewska, Misak and Kolacek, 2009), forestall and shorten colds and flu (Leyer, Li, Mubasher, Reifer and Ouwehand, 2009) and enhance immunity against intestinal pathogens (Benson, Pifer, Behrendt, Hooper, Yarovinsky, 2009).

Attorney Tim Blood calls this junk science.

"Probiotics is garbage. There's no science behind it. It's a food-industry marketing ploy, called the latest and the greatest when there's really no evidence" supporting the claims. Yes, research papers abound, "but there hasn't been a single properly done study." Companies seeking to sell probiotic products, Blood says, "either conduct their own studies or search the world for some sort of garbage study: If it has some sort of data that they can use, then they say, 'Here's our clinical proof.' Well, if you do a poorly conducted study a hundred times, then sure, you're going to find some favorable data."

"We don't have proper regulation in this country for this stuff," he adds. "If there is something to a health claim, and in this case I don't think there is, then we should encourage companies to use good science, not junk science," as proof.

Dannon's Neuwirth stands firm. Probiotics, he asserts, "can be, and are very helpful to many people." While the labeling for Activia and DanActive will change slightly as a result of the settlement, he says, "The essence of our claims remains intact."

more...
http://www.alternet.org/story/145762/are_priobiotics_re...

[taught_me_patience]

1. They help if you're having diarrhea

and some digestive problems.... not much else, though.

[cliffordu]

6. They sure helped my wife with her chronic Diarrhea.

[liberal_at_heart]

10. My husband has digestive problems pretty frequently

Probiotics might just help regulate his digestive system. I may bring it up to him.

[taught_me_patience]

23. No harm in trying a cup of yogurt every morning

Just make sure its not the kind with sugar and crap added. Save the pills for acute symptoms... no need to waste money.

[begin_within]

2. I believe there is a "germ of truth" to it as it were

Our intestinal tracts need to have a healthy population of "good bacteria" to keep down the populations of bad bacteria. This has been known for a long, long time and yogurts and kefirs are one of the best sources of the good bacteria (lactobacillus acidophilus, etc.). So I believe they can help prevent excessive populations of the bad bacteria that can cause some intestinal problems. People who may be lacking sufficient poplulations of the good bacteria, for example people who recently took antibiotics which killed all bacteria, could help restore the normal "intestinal flora" by drinking yogurts and other products with the good bacteria in them. In that narrow sense I think there is something to it. But to claim that they help with all those other things seems pretty farfetched to me.

[DesertFlower]

3. hubby suffered with gas until he

started taking them. i've been taking them for years to keep good bacteria in my gut, but they are not the "cure all" that the ads claim.

[wial]

4. my gf is a pharmacokineticist

and she's very strongly in favor of probiotics. If it's good enough for a world expert in metabolism, it's good enough for me.

I can say anecdotally I didn't get sick from a bug that was going around my office last week even though I felt like it was coming on, and the Pearls with immune support she forced on me might have had something to do with it, since previously I seemed to catch anything going around and get sicker than most people.

Anyway, it does stand to reason, not least because antibiotics artificially kill off our natural gut bacteria, and when it comes to evolving solutions to new problems, of course bacteria and viruses are a lot smarter and quicker about it than we are because they breed so very much faster in such massively larger numbers. Pretty much every good biological chemical was evolved in the billions of years when bacteria were dominant, after all. And lest we forget, the less benign bacteria are hard at work cooking up new stuff too, so we want the right ones to thrive.

Humans have always been symbiotic organisms down the compound nature of our cells, let alone the various species that ride around with us performing various services for the privilege, not least importantly, those gut bacteria. Incidence of acid reflux for instance goes up with anti-biotic use. We need our little friends and we need to be replenishing them when we can.

As for claims probiotics cure just about anything, well, those would require rigorous evidence, of course.

[Hekate]

5. Eating yogurt while taking certain antibiotics can forestall a vaginal yeast infection...

... that can arise from the antibiotic killing off the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Works for me.

Hekate

[liberal_at_heart]

9. I can't eat yogurt while I'm on antibiotics. I get terrible stomach cramps.

[pnwmom]

14. Many antibiotics cause stomach cramps all by themselves.

I usually wait to take the acidophilus after the antibiotics are over, though. It's probably a wasted effort otherwise.

[Lyric]

26. Eating it only shows a small benefit. However, direct application

of unsweetened "live cultures" yogurt to the vagina can prevent or stop a yeast infection rather effectively. Acidophilus doesn't reach the vaginal tissues as easily when ingested as it does when directly applied, and acidophilus is THE candida-fighter--it creates lactic acid in the vagina, which lowers vaginal pH and makes it difficult for candida to survive there.

Eating it is always good, but direct application is lots better. :)

[Mz Pip]

7. Attorney Tim Blood calls it junk science

My doctor, who is a pretty by the book kind of doctor recommended probiotics for me. I'll trust his judgment about what is good for my health over an attorney.

[Lorien]

8. A specialist that I saw recently recommended that I take them

and since she's one of the areas top doctors I also trust her opinion over that of a lawyer's.

[Nay]

19. My gastroenterologist recommended I eat 2 Activia-type yogurts a day --

I trust him rather than some lawyer, too. It sure has helped regulate my digestive issues.

[pnwmom]

16. I think he's probably practicing junk law. n/t

[4lbs]

11. Well, I eat yogurt regularly now. A cup of those small Yoplait and Dannon cups

you get for around 50 to 60 cents each, with fruit in them, 3 or 4 times a week.

I used to have gastrointestinal problems once or twice a month. Now I don't anymore. Haven't had any in the 2 years I've been eating yogurt regularly.

I guess I could have bought 150 capsules of acidophilus for $9, monthly, and taken a capsule with each meal. However, 15 cups of yogurt for that price (15 x 60 cents = $9) is much more fun to consume, every other day.

As far as curing acne and forestalling/shortening the flu... I don't think so.

Acne is caused by an increase in male sex hormones, most often during adolescence, so I don't see how probiotics would fight that. And the flu is caused by a virus, which is likely to be much smaller than any microorganisms introduced by probiotic consumption. Especially since flu viruses mutate every year, how can any probiotic truly fight it all the time?

[ChicagoSuz219]

12. The term "junk science" is a red flag for me...

...it's applied to Global Warming, Stem Cell Research, etc.

Having said that, Probiotics must be f'n awesome! LOL

[pnwmom]

13. There's plenty of science on the effect of antibiotics on our intestinal flora.

Probiotics is just one of the products, including regular yoghurt, that helps bring these flora back into balance.

[Maru Kitteh]

17. There's plenty of discussion about apples - let's talk about oranges?

Fecal transplant is always a pure and natural option!

[pnwmom]

18. Your analogy fails, but you knew that and didn't care. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

21. not really. but it is a worthwhile topic, and I communicated poorly.

so I will endeavor to explain myself tomorrow, if I have the time.

[Morning Dew]

20. lol, I was going to mention that.

I guess I'd prefer the enema method to the nasogastral tube.

Cheers!

[Maru Kitteh]

22. That's a coin-toss in hell defined, isn't it?

[Hannah Bell]

15. All I know is those activia commercials with jamie lee are creepy.

everyone grinning over their yogurt & wink wink about their bowels. blecch.

[BuddhaGirl]

24. Kefir rules!

n/t

[condoleeza]

25. Recent research on this..

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-humans-carry-more-bacterial-cells-than-human-ones

Attorney Tim Blood doesn't care about anyone's health, he only cares about $ for his client. As someone with microscopic colitis, who has spent the better part of 13 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me, only to be found to have the genetics that predispose for gluten sensitivity, and whose health has been restored, I am just really pissed off with the constant attacks on anything that constantly debunks the reality that it is our environment, the food we eat, is killing us.

The pharmaceutical/food industry moles are constantly at work trying to tell us that what we eat isn't the problem. They are selling us the drugs for made-up rule-out diagnosis illnesses caused by what we eat and breathe. Big surprise. If I'd have taken all the drugs my MD"s prescribed for me, steroids, etc., I would be totally screwed by now. I'd be totally dependant on their drugs to have any quality of life. I am treating the lifelong damage caused by gluten w/o any prescription meds. What I was prescribed after my diagnosis with MC would have cost - and been paid for by my insurance - over $900 a month. It's costing me about $100/mo out of pocket to be well. I'll take that any day over paid for steroids.