Probiotics can aid digestion and help maintain gut health
What are the benefits of taking probiotics? Bacteria are known for causing disease, so the idea of spending billions on your health every day may seem - literally and figuratively - hard to swallow. But there is growing scientific evidence that you can treat and even prevent some diseases with foods and supplements containing certain live bacteria. Northern Europeans eat large amounts of these beneficial microorganisms called probiotics (from pro and biota, meaning "lifelong") because they have a tradition of eating foods fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt. Probiotic drinks are also big business in Japan.
Some digestive disease experts recommend probiotic supplements for conditions that preclude conventional medicine, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Since the mid-1990s, clinical studies have shown that probiotic therapy can help treat a variety of gastrointestinal conditions, delay the development of allergies in children, and treat and prevent vaginal and urinary tract infections in women.
Self-administration with bacteria isn't as strange as it seems. An estimated 100 trillion microorganisms, representing more than 500 different species, inhabit every normal, healthy gut. These microorganisms (or communities of microorganisms) don't usually make us sick. Most are helpful. Gut bacteria control pathogens (harmful microorganisms), aid digestion and nutrient absorption, and aid immune function.
Benefits of taking probiotics
Not all probiotics are the same. Different strains of bacteria have different effects. For example, one strain might fight the organisms that cause cavities in our mouths and don't need to survive in our guts.
Research has been promising for these friendly little creatures. Potential benefits of probiotics already in treatment or prevention
- diarrhea
- irritable bowel syndrome
- ulcerative colitis
- Crohn's disease
- Helicobacter pylori (cause of ulcers)
- vaginal infection
- urinary tract infection
- bladder cancer recurrence
- Digestive tract infection caused by Clostridium difficile
- Pouchitis (a possible side effect of surgery to remove the colon)
- Eczema in children.
Probiotics and Gut Health
The best example of probiotic therapy is in the treatment of diarrhea. Controlled trials have shown that Lactobacillus GG can shorten the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children (but not adults). Although studies are limited and data are inconsistent, two large reviews combined show that probiotics reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea by 60% compared with placebo.
More common than diarrhea is the opposite problem - constipation. When looking for studies on the benefits of probiotics for treating constipation, researchers found that probiotics slowed down "intestinal transit time" by 12.4 hours, increased bowel movements by 1.3 times per week, and helped soften stools, making them easier to pass. But when it comes to the benefits of probiotics for constipation, the jury is still out on concrete recommendations.
Probiotic therapy can also help people with Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical trial results are mixed, but several small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission in ulcerative colitis and prevent recurrences of Crohn's disease and pouchitis, a complication of surgery to treat ulcerative colitis ) recurrence. Because these conditions can be so frustrating to treat, many people try probiotics before all the evidence is out for the specific strains they use. More research is needed to find out which strains are best suited for what conditions.
Probiotics and vaginal health
Probiotics can also be used to maintain urogenital health. Like the intestines, the vagina is a very balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacillus strain usually makes it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But the system can be thrown out of balance by a variety of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatments that restore flora balance may help resolve common female genitourinary problems such as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, and urinary tract infections.
Many women eat yogurt or insert it into their vaginas to treat recurring yeast infections, a "folk" remedy that has limited support from medical science. Oral and vaginal administration of lactobacilli may be helpful in treating bacterial vaginosis, although there is insufficient evidence to recommend it over traditional methods. (Vaginasis must be treated because it creates pregnancy-related complications and the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease.) Probiotic treatments for urinary tract infections are under investigation.
Probiotics are generally considered safe - they are already present in the normal digestive system - although there are theoretical risks for people with compromised immune systems. Make sure the ingredients are clearly listed on the label and that you or your healthcare provider are familiar with them. There is no way to tell the safety of an unknown mixture.
