Probiotics...

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Medscape August 12, 2009: http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/707328

 

With all the hype about the upcoming flu epidemic, and the pros and cons of

vaccination, how can we protect our children and ourselves?

 

According to the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study reported in

the August issue of PEDIATRICS, probiotics may be useful to prevent cold and

influenza-like symptoms in children.

 

Of 326 healthy children three to five years old, 104 were randomly assigned to

receive placebo, 110 received _Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM_ and 112 received

a combination of _L acidophilus NCFM_ and _Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis

Bi-07_.  The children were treated twice daily for 6 months.

 

Compared with the placebo group, the groups receiving single and combination

probiotics fared significantly better in several ways.

 

The difference in rates of fever, coughing, etc. were compared with placebo:

 

Single probiotic: 

 

  Fever:    53% less

  Coughing: 41.4% less

  Rhinorrhea (runny nose): 28.2% less

 

Combination probiotics:

 

  Fever:    72.7% less

  Coughing: 62.1% less

  Rhinorrhea:  58.8% less

               

Children who received the probiotic were sick for a shorter period of time - -

32% shorter with the single probiotic and 48% shorter with the combination.

 

Antibiotic use was 68.4% lower for the children who received the single

probiotic and 84.2% lower for those getting the combination.

 

" Daily dietary probiotic supplementation for 6 months was a safe effective way

to reduce fever, rhinorrhea, and cough incidence and duration and antibiotic

prescription incidence, as well as the number of missed school days attributable

to illness, for children 3 to 5 years of age, " the study authors write. " No

notable adverse events were attributed to study probiotic strains. "