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Babies that are fed so called
"good" bacteria while they are being weaned may be less likely
to develop the allergy-related skin condition eczema.
Previous research has found
that children with food allergies are more likely to have a "disturbed
balance between beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria in the large
intestine.
A
healthy balance of gut microorganisms is essential for the normal development
of the immune system.
The establishment of such a balance in infancy is thought to nudge the
immune system away from allergic reactions to harmless substances in the
environment.
In the current investigation,
the team of researchers evaluated 21 breast-fed infants who were previously
diagnosed with eczema and therefore had a heightened risk of allergies.
Infants were weaned to whey
formula that either did or did not contain good bacteria, and stool samples
were tested for the presence of good and bad bacteria. Those who did not
get the good bacteria-laden formula were more likely to have higher concentrations
of "bad" bacteria. What's more, the presence of these bad bacteria
appeared to be related to immune system responses and the extent of eczema.
Gut
July 2002;51:51-55
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