Air Date: Monday, April 3, 2006
Healthy bacteria
Have you had your extra helping of bacteria today? Believe it or not, new products are out in stores that are serving up more bacteria. And the experts say it may be good for you. 7Healthcast reporter Dr. Deanna Lites has the story.
Your next spoonful of yogurt or glass of milk could have an extra helping of bacteria in it. Sound yummy? New products are popping up on store shelves, offering an extra boost of bacteria in them. But, can that be good for you?
Dr. Caroline Apovian of Boston Medical Center says, "Healthy bacteria are bacteria that normally live in your GI tract, that help you maintain immune function and help prevent growth of other unhealthy bacteria.
Small amounts of healthy bacteria or probiotics are already in some milks and yogurts, even bananas and artichokes. But now, more and more companies are adding probiotics to their products.
Bailey Stoler of Whole Foods Market says, "We noticed an interest and expanded our line, and we have a number of the products now. Our customers tell us that they really love them, and they ask for them."
Dannon is now stocking "DanActive" on the shelves. It's a dairy drink that contains probiotics. Stonyfield Farm adds six live active cultures to all its yogurts. "We've seen in studies that probiotics can help people who don't have enough healthy bacteria get better or develop more of an immune function," says Dr. Apovian.
Now a new study in the journal Environmental Health finds eating more probiotics may be good for you. In the study, 181 factory workers in Sweden were given a drink everyday. Some contained probiotics; others were given a placebo. The study found that "those who took this product had less sick days than those who did not," says Dr. Apovian. She stresses that more studies need to be done and on a larger scale to confirm what if any benefits there are when it comes to taking in extra healthy bacteria.
"In the end it may or may not help you not get that one extra cold a year," says Dr. Apovian.
Probiotics are not for everyone.
People who have compromised immune systems like the elderly should only take probiotics if their doctor gives them the ok.
Related links:
DanActive
Stonyfield Yogurt
(Copyright (c) 2006 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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