*Bacteria a Day Could Keep Kids' Colds Away*
Bacteria that are present in the body naturally and sometimes are added
to food or dietary supplements might help ward off children's colds,
researchers say.
A study done in China found that small children who drank a mixture of
such bacteria — known as probiotics — in milk twice a day during the
winter and spring had fewer colds, needed fewer antibiotics, and missed
fewer days of school than children who drank plain milk.
Researchers have shown in some studies that probiotics can benefit those
who are already ill with various conditions, and the bacteria are
thought to boost the immune system's response to invaders. Whether they
were effective at preventing sickness, however, was unclear.
The study in China involved 326 children, ages 3 to 5, who were assigned
randomly to three groups: one given milk with a bacterium called
Lactobacillus acidophilus mixed in, another that received the same
organism along with a strain of another bacterium, Bifidobacterium
animalis, and a third that received just milk with placebo.
In the journal Pediatrics, the researchers report that the Lactobacillus
group had 53 percent fewer fevers, 41 percent fewer cough episodes, and
28 percent fewer runny noses than the placebo group.
The Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium group had even larger reductions in
symptom rates: 72 percent fewer fevers, 62 percent fewer coughs, and 59
percent fewer runny noses.
Furthermore, when children in the test groups did get fevers, coughs or
runny noses, they recovered significantly faster. Compared with the
placebo group, the length of illness was decreased by 32 percent with
Lactobacillus and by 48 percent with Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium.
The investigators also noted that antibiotic use was 68 percent lower in
the Lactobacillus group and 84 percent lower in the
Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium group, compared to the placebo group.
Finally, they said, children who received the probiotics were absent
from day care 28 to 32 percent less often than children in the placebo
group.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, August 2009.
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