Probiotics claim ‘needs research’

MORE research is needed before it can be claimed that probiotics prevent common childhood illnesses, an Irish dietitian has contended.

A new report claimed children who drank a yoghurt drink every day were 20% less likely to suffer from common infections. More than 600 children aged between three and six were given either a probiotic drink or a control drink over 90 consecutive days.

Researchers found that those who drank the probiotic drink had 24% fewer gastrointestinal infections such as diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting than those in the control group.

They also found 18% of those who had the yoghurt drink had fewer upper respiratory tract infections such as ear infections, sinusitis and strep.

The study was carried out by Georgetown University in Washington and funded by Actimel makers, Danone.

But the difference in infection rates did not result in fewer missed school days or a change in daily activity.

Valerie Kelly, a dietician and spokeswoman for the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, said while the results of the research were promising, more research was definitely needed before it could be claimed that probiotics prevent common childhood illnesses.

Ms Kelly, who works in Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin, said the latest study reflected previous ones where the best results were seen in the reduction of gastrointestinal infections or tummy bugs rather than respiratory illnesses.

“I think what parents can take from this study is that there may be a mildly protective effect against childhood illnesses, especially tummy bugs, by giving your child a probiotic every day but more research is definitely needed to prove the theory,” she said.

She pointed out that not all probiotics were created equally; that different strains were used in different products and the latest study only referred to one particular product.

But, she added, yoghurt was a good source of calcium and protein for children and could provide one of the three portions of dairy needed every day to meet their calcium requirements.

Danone Ireland’s head of health affairs, Jill McCarron, said the study was consistent with the results of several other clinical trials with Actimel.

The company points out that the health benefits of Actimel have been investigated for over 15 years and the results of this research have led to 26 publications of clinical studies in peer-reviewed journals.

Last year, however, experts at the European Food Safety Agency threw out 180 claims made about probiotic ingredients. Ten claims were rejected outright while the remaining 170 could not be assessed because of insufficient evidence of their effects.

Health claims made by Danone and Yakult were not included in the study because they were withdrawn before they could be assessed.

Resubmitted health claims by Danone were withdrawn last month, the company citing lack of clarity in relation to the application process.