Posted on 10/31/2011 6:26:17 PM PDT by decimon
'Good bugs' look promising as anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, chronic fatigue syndrome
Washington, DC -- In four different studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC, researchers explored the effectiveness of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea; as an anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome; and for people with abdominal discomfort and bloating who have not been diagnosed with a functional bowel disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
These four studies will be featured during an ACG press briefing on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 entitled: "Good, Bad and Ugly Bugs: Mother Nature as a Treatment for Better Health in the GI Tract," which will highlight new clinical science that explores the role of the "gut microbiota" –the bacterial composition of the GI tract – and the efficacy of probiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation in treating various GI conditions.
Probiotics are considered "good bacteria" that help maintain the natural balance of microflora in the digestive tract where trillions of bacteria live. While most of the more than 400 different species in the gut are healthy bacteria, others, "bad bugs" have the potential to cause damage to the digestive system. At times, an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria can lead to uncomfortable symptoms or illnesses. Probiotics are bacteria, or even sometimes yeast, which may alleviate common GI symptoms and are found in many commercial products including yogurt, juices, soy products, fermented milk, tempeh and other dietary supplements. They also come in capsule, tablet or powder formulations.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
Ping
But which ones? I tried several brands when I last has antibiotics - I’m sure the probiotics made it worse.
Which are the good probiotics? The amount of gas produced is a function of the flora in your gut. Which one produces less, and which more?
Who maintains the diarrhea PING list?
Will there be any running commentary on this thread?
LOL
It Depends!
I have been taking probiotics for several years and never had problems with gas. I do take super digestive enzymes after every meal. It was explained to me that as we grow older, our own digestive enzymes diminish. I only use the NOW brand, I trust them.
If you go to Swanson web site, they will cost less (sometimes a lot less) than if you buy at the Health Food Stores.
why is this even news?.....hasn’t everyone known for ever that you take yogurt or lactobacillus milk when you’re on antibiotics for a long time?....I thought everyone knew this...
The only one I see mentioned is B. infantis 35624.
"Bifantis is the trademarked name for the patented probiotic strain Bifidobacterium infantis 35624."
http://www.bifantis.com/
The best bet is not to go for oral probiotics, but for the introduction of an engineered flora via high colonic, along with an ideal growth medium just for it. That is, genetically engineer an entire complex flora so that they prefer a particular growth medium that the existing flora finds unpalatable.
this is news? must be easy to get a grant these days
The only ones who don’t know it are the medical doctors. I’ve had relatives nearly die because they weren’t given a pro-biotic.
Trotsky.
I’ve got to run
It’s the same old story since the dawn of mankind - the constipated man wishes he had diarrhea, while the diarrheatic man wishes he was constipated!
Is there such a thing as that?
Why do you want to replace the existing flora? It’s bad flora?
Complicated answer. Either because of radiation, poisoning, disease, or antibiotics, the flora might be damaged or even pretty much imbalanced. Or, it might be having a bad interaction with an individual’s immune system.
Traditionally, a way of treating it was with what is called a “fecal transplant”, aka a “chocolate shake”, quite literally, a small amount of a healthy person’s feces put in a chocolate shake for the person with a poor flora to drink.
But this is a primitive way of doing things. Human flora contains some 300-1000 different microorganisms, though only 30-40 take up almost all the available space. And the presence or absence of any of these might be responsible for serious medical problems.
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