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Yogurts and fermented drinks containing
"good" bacteria have been embraced by the health-seeking
public.
Investigators recently identified non-invasive
tests that could provide a way to assess the effectiveness
of probiotics. One is a urine test to check the permeability
of the intestine, and the other is a breath test that measures
the metabolic activity of bacteria in the intestines.
Excess intestinal permeability -- or
"leaky gut" -- is common in diarrhea.
Another study, presented for the first
time at the conference, examined patients with inflammatory
bowel disease. There are two conditions categorized as IBD:
ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, both of which are
characterized by severe inflammation of the intestines.
The researchers wanted to see if
5 days of consuming a probiotic preparation would change the
metabolic activity of bacteria in patients' large
intestines and the levels of short-chain fatty acids, which
are believed to be beneficial for digestive health, in their
feces.
The probiotic was given to 17 healthy
people and 11 IBD patients, who all consumed
150 grams of two types of yogurt per day.
The fecal short-chain fatty acid levels
in the IBD patients were significantly different from those
of the healthy individuals at the outset of the study, but
were normalized after the
patients took the probiotic.
Asia
Pacific Digestive Week Conference Sydney, Australia September
28, 2001
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