 Probiotics Study Shows Dramatic Reduction in Childhood illness
Date: 08/10/09 Source: Kevin Hill for Vitalchild.com
More scientific research is confirming that probiotics are powerful in dramatically reducing childhood illness by as much as 70%.
Probiotics help create healthy bacteria in the gut and intestines. Our intestines is environment that carries both friendly and harmful bacteria. Having a greater number
of healthy bacteria is being shown to be a great step towards the prevention of illness.
The healthy bacteria keep cells in the intestinal tract healthy and has been shown
to fight off or reduce the duration of colds and flu.
A
new study published in the August 2009 edition of the prestigious
journal Pediatrics examined the use of probiotics in children. A total
of 326 children from China, between the ages of three to five years
old, participated. The children were randomly assigned to three
different groups. One group was given milk with a bacterium called
lactobacillus acidophilus, another group was given the lactobacillus
along with another strain of bacterium called bifidobacterium, and the
third group was just given milk (placebo). The children were given
these formulas twice daily from November 2005 to May 2006. Researchers
found that compared to the placebo group, the lactobacillus group had
53% fewer fevers, 41% decreased incidence of cough episodes and 28%
less nasal congestion and runny noses.
The group that was given
the combination of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium had even larger
improvement in symptom rates. This group had 72% fewer fevers, 62%
fewer cough episodes and 59% fewer runny noses. Additionally, it was
found that those children given the friendly probiotics, aside from
having fewer symptoms, also recovered significantly faster. Compared to
the placebo group, the length of illness decreased by 32% with the
lactobacillus and 48% with the combination of lactobacillus and
bifidobacterium. The researchers noted that antibiotic use was 68% less
in the lactobacillus group and 84% less in the
lactobacillus/bifidobacterium group compared to placebo. Finally, it
was noted that the children who were given the probiotics had less lost
time from daycare by about 30% compared to those in the placebo group.
There
was an article2 published in the September 2009 edition of the
International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents in which researchers
evaluated a total of fourteen randomized controlled trials using
probiotics to study their benefits for upper or lower respiratory tract
infections. Various forms of lactobacillus strains and bifidobacterium
strains were utilized. The authors concluded that probiotics may have a
beneficial effect on the severity and duration of symptoms related to
poor respiratory tract health, but do not appear to reduce the
incidence of poor respiratory tract health.
1. Leyer G, Li
S, Mubasher M, et al., Probiotic Effects on Cold and Influenza-Like
Symptom Incidence and Duration in Children, Pediatrics, August 2009, Pp
172 – 179.
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