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Health

Out with the bad, in with the good

Too much bad bacteria can make us sick, but good bacteria is essential to digestive and immune system health. Enter "probiotics."

By YVONNE SWANSON
Published April 17, 2007

American consumers spend an estimated $600-million each year on antibacterial products such as soaps and household cleaning products. But there is a simultaneous movement to introduce live bacteria - the "good" kind - into our bodies, through foods, dietary products and supplements known as "probiotics."

What gives?

The seeming contradiction can be answered by a quick lesson in human biology. About 400 species of bacteria - small, single-celled organisms - are found in the body. A healthy person's immune system should keep these trillions of organisms in balance. When that's not the case, doctors often prescribe antibiotics to kill the bad bacteria.

But those drugs also kill the good bacteria, which are considered essential to a healthy digestive and immune system.

To build up the good organisms in the intestinal tract, most probiotic products contain micro-organisms from two groups of bacteria: lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, says Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D. and executive director of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, a California nonprofit group.

These foods and supplements have been popular for decades in Europe and Asia, where they're touted to improve health and help eliminate ailments such as diarrhea, yeast infections and irritable bowel syndrome.

However, conclusive research on the benefits of probiotics is lacking. It is not clear which strains of bacteria or combination of strains work best, nor how much and how often these products must be consumed.

Although probiotics are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as nutritional supplements, the agency doesn't regularly review health claims on product labels or test that the listed microbe types, counts and shelf life are accurate.

So how do you know which products to buy? Experts recommend refrigerated supplements, which should contain more active bacteria than nonrefrigerated products and last longer.

Multistrain formulas with billions of live bacteria are better than a single strain, says Brenda Watson, a certified nutritional counselor in Dunedin and author of Renew Your Life, on digestion and bacterial balance.

The bacteria "have to adhere to the gut wall," Watson said. "We are all genetically different, and some strains that adhere to me won't adhere to you."

Because stomach acid kills live bacteria, you should eat a snack or meal before taking a probiotic supplement or food, to buffer the acids. Enteric supplemental tablets are a good choice because their coating makes them resistant to stomach acid and they have a better chance of surviving in the intestines, Watson said.

Some people report bloating and gas when taking probiotics, so don't overindulge when you get started.

Fermented foods such as some yogurts, sauerkraut and pickled dishes provide probiotic benefit, but it's a challenge to consume a significant amount of live microbes unless you're only eating unprocessed, fresh foods.

When shopping for yogurt, look for the National Yogurt Association's "Live & Active Cultures" seal on the package, which certifies that the product contains at least 100-million cultures per gram when manufactured.

Other products, such as yogurt-covered pretzels and candy and yogurt-based salad dressings, do not have live cultures because they've been heat-treated to prolong their shelf life.

Yvonne Swanson is a St. Petersburg freelance writer.

[Last modified April 17, 2007, 06:25:19]