Probiotics, your first line of defense

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Shared with permission by the author, Donia Alawi.

Probiotics: Your First Line of Defence

 

 

 

Humans have had a long-time, symbiotic relationship with over 400 species of

friendly microorganisms (probiotics) that live in the gastrointestinal tract.

Their role in health and longevity is well known among health practitioners as

they use probiotics therapeutically to balance and strengthen the immune system.

 

Therefore, probiotics is one of the most important supplements to use in any

natural healing program. But what is the relationship of probiotics and the

health of your immune system? Almost all degenerative conditions fall into three

categories of immune system malfunction. First, the immune system can be

weakened and the result is called an immune suppression disease (cancer and

AIDS). Second, the immune system can overreact and become hyper responsive to

normal stimuli; this occurs in asthma, eczema, migraine, and food allergies.

Third, a malfunctioning or a confused immune system can cause auto immune

reactions (auto immune diseases) where antibodies target its own tissues, as in

rheumatoid arthritis or lupus (Trent, pg. 60).

 

In order to heal the body from a degenerative condition, one should work towards

balancing the immune system and this is where the role of probiotics becomes of

the utmost importance.

 

How do you regain the immune system balance? 80% of the protective immune

globulines are produced in the gut. This means that a significant portion of

your immune function is strategically located in the gut. Having a hyper, a

weak or a confused immune system condition means that your gut is probably not

functioning right and is deficient of many ingredients that can keep the immune

system in balance; namely probiotics and enzymes.

 

Today, probiotics as an important daily supplement is finally being recognized

by the medical establishment as a very important supplement to consume daily not

just for reversing a certain degenerative condition but also for keeping us

healthy in our stress-filled lifestyles. Dr. Oz in Oprah's show mentioned the

importance of probiotics a few weeks ago, CNN had a segment on probiotics

recently and just about everywhere, some doctor is referring to the importance

of probiotics.

 

This is why this month's Health Tips E-Newsletter, is about summarizing the

results of the most recent probiotics research from a symposium called Clinical

Applications of probiotics in Human Health that took place September 14 and 15,

2007 at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. The symposium provided

attendees with cutting-edge information on the use of probiotics to enhance

health.

 

After you read the following summaries, you'll note the importance the

probiotics supplement for so many degenerative conditions; allergies, IBS,

colitis, autism, eczema, cancer....etc.

 

...................

 

.. " Dr. Lynne McFarland, from the University of Washington, a world-class

authority on probiotics, Clostridium difficile, and antibiotic-associated

diarrhea, summarized the history of probiotic use and outlined guidelines to

assess probiotic health claims, safety, and product quality. In a second

lecture, Dr. McFarland reviewed data from 216 clinical trials of probiotics in

health conditions ranging from antibiotic-associated diarrhea to allergies and

eczema. She noted that clinical research has substantiated the efficacy of

Saccharomyces boulardii for recurrent C. difficile disease, pediatric diarrhea,

and traveler's diarrhea. She also reviewed highly positive data for the use of

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, L. casei, and multispecies probiotics in a variety

of clinical conditions, including the prevention of antibiotic-associated

diarrhea and reduction of the risk of pediatric allergic diseases.

 

.. Dr. José Saavedra, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins

University School of Medicine and pioneer in pediatric probiotic research,

closed the first day of the symposium by presenting compelling data on the

importance of the intestinal microbiota for immune system maturation and

modulation and the role of microbiota disruptions in the current epidemic of

childhood allergic diseases. He reviewed mechanisms by which the normal

microbiota modulates the immune system through the function of regulatory T

cells. Dr. Saavedra highlighted the importance of Bifidobacterium lactis to

improve secretory immune function and enhance gut maturation in preterm infants,

decrease rotavirus shedding in children, and enhance innate cellular immunity

and phagocytosis in adults.

 

.. Dr. David Traver, a pediatrician specializing in the biomedical treatment

of children with autism-spectrum disorders began the second day of the symposium

by reviewing the high prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders that afflict

children with autism. He noted that alterations of gut barrier function are

common and well-documented in these children and that the absorption of

exorphins from incompletely digested casein and gluten may significantly

contribute to the neurological manifestations of autism. Dr. Traver presented

data showing that exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics may be a trigger in the

development of autism and findings that the intestinal microbiota of children

with regressive autism is disrupted with an increase in Clostridium and

Ruminococcus species. Dr. Traver reported that the use of probiotics has become

a cornerstone in the biomedical treatment of autism-spectrum disorders and

observed that clinical trials are sorely needed.

 

.. Dr. Stig Bengmark, chief of surgery for over 20 years at Lund University

Hospital in Sweden and now Visiting Professor at University College London, gave

a highly engaging lecture on the combined use of prebiotics, food fiber that

stimulates the growth and/or activity of healthful bacteria, with probiotics for

the control of acute and chronic diseases. Dr. Bengmark stated that his research

interest in probiotics began in 1986, when he and colleagues reviewed the

incidence of infections in their patients undergoing liver resection and found

that all the post-operative infections occurred in those treated with

antibiotics and no infections developed in patients who had not received

antibiotics. He speculated that many of the chronic diseases now prevalent in

industrial societies are related to lack of dietary consumption of important

probiotic species such as Lactobacillus plantarum and L. paracasei. Dr. Bengmark

presented new data on the beneficial use of a new symbiotic - a multispecies

probiotic and prebiotic formulation - for chronic liver disease, decreasing the

incidence of infections in patients undergoing surgery for intra-abdominal

malignancies and reducing infection, intensive care unit days, need for

mechanical ventilation, and mortality in patients with severe multiple trauma.

 

.. Dr. William Marks, Robert B. McMillen Chair of the Department of Organ

Transplantation and the Laboratory for Transplantation Biology at Swedish

Medical Center in Seattle, reviewed the problem of immunosuppressant-induced

diarrhea in patients following kidney transplantation. Dr. Marks presented an

elegant overview of how, in collaboration with Klaire Labs, he conceived a

double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of probiotics to reduce the

incidence of immunosuppressant-induced diarrhea. He has hypothesized that the

short chain fatty acids produced by probiotic microorganisms may improve entero-

and colonocyte function, thereby reducing the incidence of diarrhea. Klaire Labs

is supplying Dr. Marks and his coworkers with the probiotic formulation and

placebo used in the study. Dr. Marks presented preliminary data although the

study is ongoing and remains blinded.

 

.. Dr. Philippe Marteau, Professor of Gastroenterology at Paris 7 University

and Lariboisière Hospital in Paris, France and world-renowned authority on the

use of probiotics in inflammatory bowel disease, delivered the final lecture of

the Symposium. Dr. Marteau presented the clinical data demonstrating that the

clinical efficacy of a probiotic formulation containing eight species for the

management of ulcerative colitis; pouchitis, a complication of the surgical

management of ulcerative colitis; and Crohn's disease. Although the response of

Crohn's disease has been disappointing overall, Dr. Marteau outlined the

evidence for the efficacy of Saccharomyces bou/ardii and Escherichia co/i Nissle

1917 for reducing the incidence of relapse in Crohn's disease. He presented

study data indicating the efficacy of probiotics in inflammatory bowel disease

appears to be contingent on the immune-modulating properties of unmethylated

sequences of portions of bacterial DNA containing high cytosine-guanine

sequences known as CG or CpG islands. How much remains to be discovered and

understood about probiotic activities and benefits was underscored, as Dr.

Marteau presented data showing that Lactobacillus acidophilus is effective at

providing relief for mild to moderate abdominal pain through a mechanism that

involves induction of intestinal cannabinoid and opioids receptors. " (Townsend

Letter, Jan. 2008, pgs. 45-46).

.................

 

How do you select a quality probiotic supplement?

 

I'm not an expert on this subject and this is why I rely on the experts who

studied probiotics all their professional career. A world renowned probiotics

researcher is Dr. Khem Shahani from the University of Nebraska. He has written

more than 200 scientific peer-reveiwed papers that were published in scientific

journals. He clearly puts it: " Commercial preparations of cultures....shown to

be effective in the laboratory may not contain sufficient viable organisms to be

of benefit. Specialized media and techniques are required to handle, propagate

and concentrate the lactobacilli to ensure that adequate numbers of viable

organisms survive the concentration, freeze-dyring or drying process needed to

prepare a stable commercial product. " (Trenev, Probiotics, p. 17).

 

Dr. Shahani is also the developer of the DDS strain of acidophilus. If you have

read the two probiotic books written by Natasha Trenev, you'll note that she

quoted Dr. Shahani's research in almost every chapter.

 

In her article, " The Scientific Criteria for Selecting Efficacious Probiotics " ,

Natasha Trenev said the following: " Two L. acidophilus microorganisms, NAS and

DDS-1, speciated by reputable and well-known researchers, are superior in their

lists of features. .... In vitro tests have demonstrated hydrogen peroxide

production. This may help to account for the fact that both strains show strong

inhibition against major pathogens, such as: ....Candida albicans, Escherichia

coli, Salmonella.....Testing performed by Silliker Laboratories (Los Angeles)

has confirmed that both NAS and DDS-1 strains show strong in-vitro inhibition of

Heliobacter Pylori....an organism associated with stomach ulcers. In-vitro

testing has also shown good cholesterol assimilation for both strains.... "

(Trenev, pgs. 1199-1205).

 

The main probiotics product I recommend is called Spectrabiotics which has the

DDS-1 strain (DDS-1 uses a full culture process in its production

techniques)... " A full culture process is superior because it rovides not only a

host of beneficial by-products, but also a protective buffering medium that

allows for good survival through the hostile environment of gastric juices. "

(p.1204).

 

Although probiotics play a key role in good health, they are not intended to be

a substitute for a good healthy diet and active lifestyle. Certainly probiotics

and a healthy diet work best together and the synergism of one helps the other!

 

A healthy gut leads to a balanced immune system and a healthy you.

 

References:

Nichols, Trent. (1999). Optimal Digestion. New York: New York, Avon Books.

Trenev, Natasha. (November, 1994). " The Scientific Criteria for Selecting

Efficacious Probiotics. " Townsend Letter for Doctors, pgs. 1199-1205

Trenev, Natasha. (1990). Probiotics. Hammersmith: London, Harper Collins

Publishers.

Wishing you extraordinary health,

Donia

Organics USA, Inc.

 

 

Spectrabiotic can be found at http://wildwholefoods.net