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A big, successful trial of probiotics

theatlantic.com

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Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#51

Post by prdonahue »

Havoc wrote: post #29

My issue isn't on the faith in probiotics side...the problem is which ones do I buy. It's near impossible to know you're getting the good stuff so to speak.

I've had a lot of luck with this brand: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-Complete-Probiotics-Supple.... Take 2 each AM.

By "luck" I mean I haven't got the common cold in over 2 years since I started taking them. I'm sure there are other variables I'm not taking into account, e.g., exercise and healthy eating, my age (35), etc. but they're inexpensive and I don't see any reason not to take them.

EDIT: here are the strains that this brand includes (notably Lactobacillus plantarum, as mentioned in the study):

Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus salivarius, streptococcus thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#52

Post by bitwize »

blurbleblurble wrote: post #41
Ovah wrote: post #26

I find the word probiotic to be inherently problematic. It includes any and all microorganisms that have a single positive health benefit, whether or not they're detrimental in other regards. That if a bacteria were to penerate gut epithelium (very bad), it would still be a probiotic if it reduced constupation. Even if the research supporting the health benefits of a supplemental bacteria is sound, a single study alw…

In my opinion, the word antibiotic is even more problematic. In a recent survey, 13% of practitioners admitted to having used sedatives or antibiotics as placebos: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023195216.h... To me, antibiotics are an example of dangerous superstition rearing its nasty head right there smack in the middle an institution that prides itself as rational and superior. I think pre-med a…

Or maybe just have Jeff Goldblum tell them that they're so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think about whether they should. And that life finds a way.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#56

Post by dflock »

culiuniversal wrote: post #37

They initially planned to include 8000 babies, but stopped early. With only a week of treatment they already found a significant decrease in sepsis rates. They stopped because they thought it'd be highly unethical to deprive the other babies of a life-saving treatment. This is a heartwarming example of when humanity and science conflict, but I'm glad humanity won

That's standard procedure for clinical trials.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#57

Post by manmal »

throwawy81717 wrote: post #35
manmal wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really depends on what you need. I would be careful around soil based species, and avoid D-lactic acid producers (which eliminates a whole lot of probiotics), but apart from that you can just get what you need. E.g. if you have a problem with histamine intolerance you could go for strains that eat/reduce histamine. If you want better mood, you could try L Plantarum 299v or Bifidobacterium Longum or L casei shirota…

If you want to lose weight, Christensenella minuta is worth examining. The research[1,2] is preliminary, and I wouldn't trust any commercial preparations without validation, but it is compelling. 1. http://www.ctl.cornell.edu/events/celebration15/posters/Wate... 2. http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674(14)01241-0

I'm intrigued by what mechanism this happens. Would be great if it changed the "fat set point" in the hypothalamus by reducing inflammation there (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14932541).

Last time I tried a strain from the clostridia family (butyricum) I had an adverse reaction, so I might not be able to use this. But, everybody's different.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#58

Post by dflock »

tatersolid wrote: post #43
skore wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VSL#3 has them (amongst others). Not sure whether it's the "ATCC strain 202195", though. https://vsl3.com/about-vsl/ Streptococcus thermophilus Bifidobacterium breve Bifidobacterium longum Bifidobacterium infantis Lactobacillus acidophilus Lactobacillus plantarum Lactobacillus paracasei Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Having had two major surgeries due to "unkillable" intestinal infection, I can advocate for the efficacy of VSL#3. My GI actually prescribed me a high-dose version post-op, and two years later i can say it has been life-changing. Other common "store shelf" probiotics are not the same for whatever reason (supply-chain refrigeration and cost might explain that somewhat).

Currently taking VSL#3 and it seems to be really helpful. How high was your dose?

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#59

Post by brianpan »

mattparlane wrote: post #53

Why the use of a placebo in a trial involving babies? Surely they would be immune to any placebo effect?

It's a double-blind study. The people conducting the study should not know who is in which group. They should be randomly administering either a probiotic or an identical looking placebo.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#60

Post by emilp89 »

btilly wrote: post #16
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #6

The 9% placebo and even the 5% treatment sepsis rate seems very high. According to http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/978352-overview#a6 the US rate of neonatal sepsis is around 2/1000 live births so around 0.2%. Given this, I wonder how applicable these results would be to neonates in the US.

The US generally has clean water. The third world, and India in particular, frequently do not. That said, the other immune boosts are interesting here. And what would be doubly interesting is to figure out probiotics that prevent allergies. We've known for years that a child who is exposed to real illnesses in a dirty environment may die from that, but won't generally go on to develop asthma. In the developed world w…

Hygiene hypothesis hasn't been proven yet.
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