Elderly people should take
probiotic supplements, according to scientists.
They said the drinks, yoghurts
or capsules could help protect older people against
bowel conditions, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS).
People over 60 have about 1,000-fold
less "friendly" bacteria in their guts compared
with other adults.
But experts, speaking at a briefing
in London, also warned that some of the smaller
brands on sale in the UK were not effective.
The human gut contains different
strains of bacteria, some of which are "friendly",
such as bifidobacteria or lactobacilli, some that
help with food digestion and some that are disease-causing.
Having a balance of friendly
bacteria is thought to stop harmful forms taking
hold and causing disease.
Probiotics, meaning "for life",
are products that contain live strains of bacteria
incorporated into yoghurts, fruit juices or freeze-dried
powders, which boost levels of the friendly bacteria
in the gut.
Drop in bacteria
Glenn Gibson, professor of food
microbiology at Reading University, said: "The
(scientific) literature has reported about 80
human studies with positive results against bowel
conditions like travellers diarrhoea, irritable
bowel syndrome and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea."
He said, while probiotic products
were useful for the healthy population - helping
to prevent bacteria which cause food poisoning,
such as E.coli or campylobacter, from taking hold,
they would be even more beneficial for older people.
Dr Sandra McFarlane, from the
microbiology and gut biology group at the University
of Dundee said that as people got older they had
reduced levels of friendly bacteria and increased
levels of disease-causing bacteria.
She said at about the age of
60 there was a big drop in bacteria levels, and
older people had 1,000-fold less friendly bacteria
than other younger adults.
They were also more susceptible
to gastrointestinal infections and bowel conditions,
like IBS, she added.
Professor Gibson added that it
was no surprise the 21 people who died in an E.coli
outbreak in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1996, were
all elderly.
The scientists said this population
would benefit from a boost in friendly bacteria,
and it would help to protect against acute and
chronic bowel diseases.
They also said people of all
ages on antibiotics would benefit from probiotic
products because antibiotics reduce levels of
all strains of bacteria in the gut.
Rogue products
However, the researchers also
cautioned consumers to check that the products
being consumed were effective.
Professor Gibson said of about
50 brands available to buy in the UK, about half
did not live up to their claims.
He said while the larger manufacturers
such as Nestle, Danone, Seven Seas and Yakult,
made products that were effective, other smaller
brands did not.
He also said some "bio-yoghurts"
on sale were not the same as probiotics, rather
they just had bacteria strains that were useful
for making yoghurts.
He explained that it was important
the product contained the correct strain of live
bacteria, such as bifidobacteria or lactobacilli,
that they had scientific evidence that the bacteria
survived the digestive process, and that there
was at least 10 million bacterium in the product.
He added that consumers should
check this information with the manufacturer if
the label did not specify these details.
Recently introduced EU legislation
will mean probiotics manufacturers will have to
provide a dossier of scientific evidence for their
product, as well as safety information. Professor
Gibson said this would help to reduce the number
of "spurious" products.
However, Peter Gibson, professor
of gastroenterology at Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia, added a note of caution, warning the
increasing use of probiotic products was not matched
by an equivalent amount of research.
"What we still debate is whether
probiotics are going to have much impact in improving
the health of our community.
"There are only a few specific
areas where probiotics have proven benefit so
far."
