Robert Filice, M.D. - Dr. Bob's Newsletter

Probiotics, Infections, and Kids in Day Care

In a study of 18 daycare centres in Helsinki, Finland involving 571 healthy children who were between 1 and 6 years, 282 (mean age 4.6 years) received 260 ml of milk with Lactobacillus GG while 289 control children (mean age 4.4 years) received milk without Lactobacillus GG.

Children in the Lactobacillus group had fewer days of absence from daycare because of illness at 4.9 days compared with 5.8 days in the controls.

After adjusting for age, days of absence from daycare were 5.1 in the Lactobacillus group versus 5.7 days for the control group.

There was a relative reduction of 17% in the number of children having respiratory infections with complications and lower respiratory tract infections and a 19% reduction in courses of antibiotics for respiratory infections in the Lactobacillus group.

“Does Probiotic Milk Prevent Infections in Children Attending Daycare Centres?” Hatakka K, Savilahti E, et al, BMJ, 2001;322:1327-1329. 42552

Dr Bob Commentary: Here is an absolutely delightful study to see reported in the British Medical Journal. The study is well designed, easy to interpret, and absolutely clear in its results. It supports what alternative health practitioners have known for years. Probiotic supplements help the immune system resist infections. The down side of this study and the reason the difference between the two groups was not wider than reported is they used milk as the vehicle for the acidophilus organisms, and acidophilus milk does not provide a very adequate dose of beneficial bacteria.  So many children are allergic to milk, and it is so mucogenic, that I consider it a stress food for most. If the study group had gotten their acidophilus as a powder, capsule, or liquid supplement and with some other drink, the results would have been even more dramatic.

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