Probiotics may help fight antibiotic resistance, says study

The study published in European Journal of Public Health states that 'probiotics provided to reduce the risk for common acute infections, may be associated with reduced antibiotic use in infants and children.'

There is a growing need for reducing antibiotics use across the world and is a widely adopted public health goal. A new study has observed that 'given evidence that consuming probiotics reduce the incidence, duration and/or severity of certain types of common acute infections,' probiotics are associated with reduced antibiotic use. The study was based on controlled trials to study the impact of probiotic supplementation (any strain, dose or duration), compared to placebo, on antibiotic utilization for common, acute infections in otherwise healthy people of all ages. For the study, trials were conducted on 17 infants and/or children with a primary aim of preventing acute respiratory tract infections, acute lower digestive tract infections or acute otitis media. They used 13 probiotic formulations, all comprising single or combination Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium delivered in a range of food or supplement products. Mean duration of probiotic supplementation ranged from 4 days to 9 months.

Probiotics refer to live bacteria and yeasts that are extremely beneficial for our digestive system. Previous studies have shown that probiotics help improve digestion, ease IBS, improve bowel movements, regulate cholesterol and blood sugar levels, improve gut health, colon health and even delay cognitive decline.

This research on the association between probiotics and its ability to reduce antibiotics resistance is an important one since antibiotics resistance is on the rise across the world. Dr Daniel Merenstein, Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC said to Medical News Today that 'since most of the human immune system is found in the gastrointestinal tract, ingesting healthy bacteria may competitively exclude bacterial pathogens linked to gut infections and may prime the immune system to fight others.'

Some natural sources of probiotics include:

Fermented soy milk

Kimchi

Kefir or kewra Kombucha tea

Miso soup

Olives stored in brine

Home-made pickles

Yoghurt

Buttermilk