The NYTimes Discovers Probiotics

[Guest guest]

Snort - they had to resort to a conference at "Yale" to figure this out...?http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29well.html?_r=1 & ref=instapundit______"So what health problems can probiotics really help? After gathering at a Yale workshop to review the available evidence, a panel of 12 experts concluded that there was strong evidence that several probiotic strains could reduce diarrhea, including that associated with antibiotic use..."_____And then there's this one: _____"Several studies have also suggested that certain probiotics may be useful for irritable bowel syndrome, with the strongest recommendation for Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, the probiotic in the Procter & Gamble supplement Align. (Two members of the panel had ties to Procter & Gamble; three others had ties to other companies that sell probiotics.)" ___Hmm, objective panel there! And then they're still debating whether bacteria plays a partin immune system health. LOL!____"And scientists continue to debate whether probiotics offer a meaningful benefit to the immune system.“The evidence for the general immune strengthening is just not there,” said Barry R. Goldin, a Tufts professor who helped discover LGG but no longer receives royalties from the patent.But the gastrointestinal tract is an important part of the immune system, and studies show that intestinal bacteria play an essential role in immune defenses. These bacteria not only aid digestion but essentially help form a protective barrier inside the intestine.___Gee, ya think? And the conclusion. Wait for it!!!______The Yale group, whose report appeared in The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in July 2008, concluded that the “immune response is definitely affected by the administration of probiotics.”“Such findings,” the authors wrote, “suggest that probiotics might be of value for incorporation into the daily diet of healthy people for the purpose of staying healthy.”______Really out on a controversial limb there!! ZOMG, laughing!!Mara