You might perceive bacteria as a threat to your health, but in some cases, bacteria can help relieve symptoms and prevent diarrhea. Probiotics are friendly bacteria that live in your body, where they confer numerous benefits to your health, and marketers capitalize on these effects with advertising that points out the presence of probiotic bacteria in food products such as unpasteurized yogurt and cultured buttermilk. Live probiotic microorganisms also are available freeze-dried and packed in capsules for easy consumption. Probiotics have demonstrated effectiveness in relieving three types of diarrhea.
Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea
Antibiotics designed to rid the body of harmful pathogens can have the unfortunate side effect of decimating your body's natural flora as well. When the probiotic organisms that live in the human body are eliminated by antibiotic use, diarrhea can result. In 2006, the "American Journal of Gastroenterology" published a meta-analysis on the effects of probiotics on antibiotic-associated diarrhea in patients suffering from Clostridium difficile disease. Probiotics might help in antibiotic-associated diarrhea by replenishing the intestinal flora. Dr. L.V. McFarland of the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle found that several strains of probiotic bacteria were effective in reducing antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and one strain of probiotic yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, helped fight Clostridium difficile disease itself.
Pediatric Infectious Diarrhea
Acute infectious diarrhea is especially serious when it strikes children, as it is a major cause of childhood death. Probiotics might offer relief from pediatric infectious diarrhea, according to Dr. C. C. Chen of the Division of Gastroenterology at Chang Gung Children's Hospital in Taiwan. Chen's study, which was published in the February 2010 issue of "The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal," found that probiotics reduced the severity and duration of hospitalization of children with acute diarrhea. Chen surmises that probiotics bolster the immune system's protective abilities to help fight this disease.
Traveler's Diarrhea
It's been called Montezuma's revenge, but traveler's diarrhea isn't specific to any one vacation destination. Dr. Johnnie Yates of the CIWEC Travel Medicine Center in Kathmandu, Nepal, states that probiotics can help prevent traveler's diarrhea by colonizing the gastrointestinal system and crowding out harmful pathogens. Yates suggests Lactobacillus GG as a probiotic that is effective in fighting traveler's diarrhea, but notes that the optimal dosing for this probiotic has not been determined.
Probiotic Products
Probiotics are available in several forms. Natural foods stores offer probiotics as supplements or as ingredients in foods. Read the labels on any probiotic supplements you purchase and follow the manufacturer's suggestions. You also can try eating probiotic foods. Yogurt and other fermented dairy products with "live and active cultures" listed on the label contain probiotics.
References
- PubMed.gov: Meta-analysis of Probiotics for the Prevention of Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea and the Treatment of Clostridium Difficile Disease
- PubMed.gov: Probiotics Have Clinical, Microbial and Immunologic Efficacy in Acute Infectious Diarrhea
- American Family Physician: Traveler's Diarrhea
- USProbiotics: Probiotic Basics
