Things They Don’t Teach You

For years, the staggering benefits of probiotics have been ignored by “official medicine.”  Patients in hospitals for extended periods of time were found to develop bed sores rapidly, and generally spiral downhill the longer they stayed in the hospital  — except for people in the country whose families brought them raw sauerkraut and/or raw yogurt.  These people seemed to fair better than others.

 

We now know there are good bugs and bad bugs.  The bad bugs can be beaten down and out-competed by the good bugs.  Additionally, good bugs produce a wealth of by-products, e.g., vitamins and enzymes.

 

Now, as Dannon and every other mega food corporation jumps on the band wagon, so too does the medical establishment.

 

The publishing of a new study states that a variety of ailments in children can be averted, and kids are actually healthier if they eat these bugs.

The subjects (kids) took probiotics (or placebo) twice a day over a 6-month period during the 2005-2006 winter season. The children were randomized into 3 groups, with 1 treatment group receiving Lactobacillus acidophilus (single-agent) in a powder and the second treatment group receiving a combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis (combination), also as a powder. The control group received a powder placebo that was indistinguishable from the treatment granules.

All participants took their powders twice a day with milk. Weekday administrations were conducted by preschool personnel, and families administered the compounds on weekends.

Episodes of illness were recorded by either the preschool staff (weekdays) or parents (weekends) in symptom diaries.  The authors also evaluated absenteeism from school via school record review.

Three hundred twenty-six children were randomized, with 104-112 subjects per group having complete data at the end of the study.

 

When looking at school attendance, 28% of all children were absent at least 1 day during the study period, but this rate was much higher among placebo children (49%) compared to either treatment group (18% each).

The single-agent group had lower rates of fever, cough, and use of antibiotics compared to placebo, while the combination treatment group had lower rates of fever, cough, rhinorrhea, and antibiotic use compared to placebo. For almost all symptoms, the combination group had rates lower than those of the single-agent group (eg, 6-month incidence rate of “fever” was 64% in placebo, 28% in single-agent treated, and 16% in combination agent treated subjects).

 

The authors conclude that use of probiotics reduced the incidence and duration of upper respiratory symptoms and antibiotic use. The authors also suggest that there appeared to be a trend toward a greater effect among participants in the combined treatment group compared to the single-agent treatment group.

Viewpoint

These data are interesting for the magnitude of potential benefit they show. Reducing preschool absentee rates by > 50% is remarkable.  But, really now, couldn’t they have just asked Great-Grandma?  She already knew the secret!