Probiotics seem to boost health

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that workers on daily probiotics take less time off with stomach upsets and other common illnesses.
Probiotics are products - usually yoghurt drinks - that contain so-called 'friendly' bacteria. It's said that they promote good digestive health. To look at their impact, researchers in Sweden surveyed a group of employees taking L.reuteri, a common active ingredient of probiotics.

A group of 181 staff, of whom 53 were shift workers and the rest day workers, was assigned to take a drink either with or without L.reuteri. They did this daily for 80 days.

Twenty three out of 87 in the placebo group took sick days during this time, while only 10 of the 94 on L.reuteri did. The positive effect was most marked among the shift workers. None in the L.reuteri group took time off, while nine in the placebo group did. It looks, from this study, as if probiotics may be a simple way of promoting health.

Source
Environmental Health 6th November 2005

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