Everyone from Activia-hawking Jamie Lee Curtis to The Economist is talking about the health benefits of probiotics. But bacterial bugs come in a bewildering variety of strains, and what good-for-you bacteria do is, we’re learning, highly dependent on what strain they are and how much you get of them.
For instance, your spoonfuls of Activia yogurt contain something called Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010, and while this strain seems to provide some relief from constipation, the FTC wants you to know that it takes three servings a day, every day, to “stay regular.” Worth it? You’d better love yogurt.
But what does the truly “clinically proven” science say? Gastroenterologist Karlee J. Ausk has a post at the Swedish Medical Center site about that very thing. Because probiotics are currently considered dietary supplements, manufacturers can get away with unsupported claims about their healing power (all they have to do is note that the claim has not been verified by the FDA). And solid research, from a consumer’s perspective, is in its infancy. Ausk writes:
There are a wide variety of bacterial and yeast strains available, and trials evaluate many different combinations. To achieve the best chance of probiotics being helpful, I recommend choosing the type and dose of probiotic that has been best studied for your individual symptoms.
That said, researchers are hard at work, and the results are often promising.
In the November 3rd edition of The Economist, a story titled “Bugs in the system” further explores advances in bacterial medicine–which if you’re squeamish about fecal transplants, probably can’t come soon enough. “Trevor Lawley and his colleagues at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute,” says the story, have succeeded in cultivating fecal bacteria (in mice) and transplanting just the bacteria. The bacteria cocktail not only mowed down a bug called Clostridium difficile, but it promoted the growth of other helpful bacterias.
In France, Nathalie Vergnolle, of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, is working on employing Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei to introduce a human protein called Elafin to reduce bowel inflammation. Most people have the anti-inflammatory Elafin in good supply, but it vanishes in people with chronic problems like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. As you may already know, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready could tell you all about this. (The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America has a webinar on advances from 5 to 6:15 p.m. tonight, if you’re interested.)
