Shine OnProbiotics during pregancy linked to lower risk of childhood allergies
New research is shedding light on the connection between the amount of good gut bacteria a woman has during pregnancy and the risk of her child developing allergies later in life.
The study review, published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that babies who were exposed to probiotics in the womb and received probiotic supplements after birth had a 12 per cent lower risk of allergies in the following months and years than kids who did not.
The researchers also looked at a possible link between probiotics and asthma, but did not find a statistically significant correlation.
"Based on our findings, probiotics have a protective effect against allergies, but we still have things to learn before we can give general advice to the public," senior author Dr. Erick Forno of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh tells Reuters.
Also see: Allergies are on the rise for children
His team analyzed the results of 25 study trials that involved probiotic supplements given during pregnancy or within the first year of a child's life. All of the studies compared mothers and babies randomly assigned to take probiotics with those given placebo supplements.
The balance of good to bad bacteria living in the gut and digestive tract has been linked to immune system health. Since allergies and asthma both spring from hypersensitive immune responses, several trials have set out to assess the effect of probiotic supplements on those conditions.
Getting enough of the good bacteria to balance out the bad bacteria is dependent a number of factors, the most commonly known one being eating foods high in probiotics, such as yogurt and cottage cheese.
Also see: Do you really need probiotics?
"Our hope is that with the results from our study, researchers will move on from trying to determine ‘if' probiotics help prevent allergies, and into ‘how' or what the best approach may be," says Forno.
Mimi Tang, director of the department of allergy and immunology at Royal Children's Hospital in Australia, tells Reuters that probiotics are regarded as safe and studies have not found serious side effects, but it's still not clear which specific microbes are best and at what dosage.
What are your thoughts on the probiotic supplement trend? Do you take supplements, and if so, have you noticed a difference in your health? Tell us your experience in the comments.
