FRIENDLY BACTERIA PROBIOTICS MAY HELP SOME MEDICAL PROBLEMS CAN PROBIOTICS HEALTH FOOD HELP DIARRHEA OR URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS

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Probiotics are the so called "friendly bacteria, live microorganisms that are similar to beneficial microorganisms found in the human gut". Some studies imply that probiotics may help fight some medical problems.In the United States alone, retail sales of probiotic containing foods and supplements totaled an estimated at $764 million in 2005 and are projected to reach $1 billion in 2010. Probiotics are available to consumers mainly in the form of dietary supplements and foods.








According to the National Institutes of Health (which is studying probiotics) there is "limited evidence supporting some uses of probiotics. Much more scientific knowledge is needed about probiotics, including about their safety and appropriate use. Effects found from one species or strain of probiotics do not necessarily hold true for others, or even for different preparations of the same species or strain."



Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the most common type of microbes used in probiotics. They have been used in the food industry for many years, because they are able to convert sugars (including lactose) and other carbohydrates into lactic acid. This not only provides the characteristic sour taste of fermented dairy foods such as yogurt, but acts as a preservative, by lowering the pH (pH measures acidity) and creating fewer opportunities for spoilage organisms to grow.



The NIH says" Why this interest in probiotics? It starts on a universal scale; the world is full of microorganisms (including bacteria), and so are people's bodies, in and on the skin, in the gut, and in other orifices. They take up residence in babies soon after birth. Friendly bacteria are vital to proper development of the immune system, to protection against agents that could cause disease, and to the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients. Each person's mix of bacteria (good and bad)varies. Interactions between a person and the microorganisms in his body, and between the microorganisms themselves, can be crucial to the person's health and well-being".



This bacterial "balancing act" can be thrown off in two major ways:

By antibiotics, when they kill friendly bacteria in the gut along with unfriendly bacteria. Some people use probiotics to try to offset side effects from antibiotics like gas, cramping, or diarrhea. Similarly, some use them with the intent to ease symptoms of lactose intolerance, a condition in which the gut cannot digest significant amounts of lactose, the major sugar in milk.

"Unfriendly" microorganisms such as disease-causing bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and parasites can also upset the balance. Researchers are exploring whether probiotics could halt these unfriendly agents in the first place and/or suppress their growth and activity.

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"In November 2005, a conference that was convened by the American Society for Microbiology explored.. possible uses of probiotics. According to the conference report, some uses for which there is some encouraging evidence from study of specific probiotic formulations are as follows" according to the NIH:

To treat diarrhea (this is the strongest area of evidence, especially for diarrhea from rotavirus)

To prevent and treat infections of the urinary or reproductive systems, such as urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis

To treat irritable bowel syndrome









The National Institutes of Health is hosting a conference (in December,2007)where top scientists will discuss recent advances. According to the New York Times "Even without all the answers from science, probiotics are a multibillion-dollar global industry. In the United States alone, retail sales of probiotic-containing foods and supplements totaled an estimated at $764 million in 2005 and are projected to reach $1 billion in 2010".

An Introduction to Probiotics from The National Institutes of Health



In a related development probiotic bacteria might shield severely burned patients from the ravages of severe infection."Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the most common type of microbes used in probiotics. They have been used in the food industry for many years, because they are able to convert sugars (including lactose) and other carbohydrates into lactic acid. This not only provides the characteristic sour taste of fermented dairy foods such as yogurt, but acts as a preservative, by lowering the pH and creating fewer opportunities for spoilage organisms to grow". Israeli scientists have published an article about their findings using lactobacillus probiotic bacteria. Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast.

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"Experts have debated how to define probiotics more specifically. One widely used definition, developed by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization, calls probiotics "live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host." (Microorganisms are tiny living organisms--such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi--that can be seen only under a microscope.)"



"Lactobacillus bacteria food additives may be clinically beneficial in patients with a total burned body surface area of 41% to 70," Lior Koren wrote in the journal Burns.



Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and The Burn Unit and the Skin Bank of Soroka University Medical Center studied the effects of probiotic supplementation on 28 patients with second and third degree burns on less than 70 per cent of their body.



"The retrospective cohort study recruited 56 burns patients and half were given placebo and half were given lactobacillus supplements - 25 patients received capsules containing Lactobacillus acidophilus (Solgar Company) and three received "Actimel" yogurt containing Lactobacillus casei.



At the end of the study, the researchers report that, while no significant difference was observed in mortality with respect to all the participants, among those with burns covering between 41 and 70 per cent of the total body surface a significant benefit of probiotic supplementation was observed.



In that subgroup, none of the patients died, compared to five patients in the corresponding control group.

Probiotics Show Potential Against Burns

Good Bacteria Can Save Severely Burned Patients

Burns (Elsevier)
August 2007, Volume 33, Issue 5, Pages 594-598, doi:10.1016/j.burns.2006.09.007
"The effect of Lactobacillus bacteria supplement on sepsis and its complications in patients with acute burns"
Authors: L. Koren, R. Gurfinkel, R. Glezinger, Z.H. Perry, S. Lev-Ari and L. Rosenberg