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No Magic Bullets, Part III

September 29, 2009 on 2:44 pm | In Food, Health, Nutrition | No Comments

Another in a our ongoing series of pieces that examine the seemingly innate human need to find that one thing, be it pill or seed or delectable piece of dark chocolate that will make us younger, thinner and possibly immortal.

Today’s installment focusses on “probiotics,” those (possibly) beneficial bacterium that we consume that may or may not lead to improved health. If you’ve cruised the supermarket shelves lately you’ve doubtless noticed many new products featuring added probiotic ingredients. These products often include claims for improved health and often, improved digestion. The NY TImes examines some of those claims in their health column, The Well:

So what health problems can probiotics really help? After gathering at a Yale workshop to review the available evidence, a panel of 12 experts concluded that there was strong evidence that several probiotic strains could reduce diarrhea, including that associated with antibiotic use. Several studies have also suggested that certain probiotics may be useful for irritable bowel syndrome, with the strongest recommendation for Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, the probiotic in the Procter & Gamble supplement Align.

Whoa, wait, what? A magic bullet that really works? Tell me more:

(Two members of the panel had ties to Procter & Gamble; three others had ties to other companies that sell probiotics.)

Hmm, that sounds like a conflict of interest, anything else I should know?

A variety of other claims for probiotics, like lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, preventing cavities and reducing cancer risk, were not reviewed by the panel.

And scientists continue to debate whether probiotics offer a meaningful benefit to the immune system.

“The evidence for the general immune strengthening is just not there,” said Barry R. Goldin, a Tufts professor who helped discover LGG but no longer receives royalties from the patent.

Okay, so probiotics are not a cure-all but there is evidence that shows improvement in digestive health. I can get behind that.

You can read the entire article, here.

Posted by: Dan