2008 Woodie Awards
Health and the Cigar: Prebiotics and probiotics
Narkiss Pressburger
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
03/27/08 - A few weeks ago I walked into Rhody Market to buy a cone of soft-serve ice cream to celebrate the end of the week. On the sign I read: "Helps to support your body's defenses."
I thought this was interesting and read it out loud to the man behind the counter and to my friend, neither of whom had anything to say about the statement. Later, I found that the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features research guiding dietitians in how to use Probiotics and prebiotics in practice.
It is clearly a hot topic of discussion and it is hard to miss the advertisements scattered throughout magazines and newspapers publicizing products containing these ingredients.
Dietitians and their students have known that the products now with added benefits of probiotics and prebiotics confer great health benefits. However, only relatively recently has there been scientific support and discussion surrounding the health effects of these functional foods.
Before I try to define these mystery bacteria, it is important to note that there is no legal definition for probiotic. Therefore, although there has been an increase in the number of products featuring probiotics, there is no promise that they are what they claim to be.
Also, the Food and Drug administration does not require pre-approval for structure function claims on food labels, the statements of nutritional support.
Probiotics are scientifically defined as live organisms that, when given in sufficient amounts, provide health benefits to the host. Some of these benefits include regulation of immune function, enhancing gastrointestinal tolerance to antibiotics and some control of symptoms associated with lactose intolerance. The benefit of improving the immune system is probably of most interest to college students with not a minute to spare spent sick in bed. This explains the sign attracting students at Rhody Market.
Prebiotics on the other hand are food ingredients that promote the growth of bacteria for the benefit of host (human) health. They influence the end products of the food bacteria digest, which provide benefits to us. The most widely held effects of these are associated with enhancing function of the colon and metabolism. There is also evidence of the fact that prebiotics may help support the survival of probiotics and therefore are often used together in products.
Besides the Freshens frozen yogurt and ice cream at Rhody Market, probiotics and prebiotics can be found in other frozen yogurts and ice creams as well as yogurts. Look for words in the ingredients list that look like they could be names of bacteria and are harder to pronounce. Some common ones that are found in yogurts are L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. casei, and bifidus.
If the immune and digestive benefits are not enough to convince you to start eating foods with these "healthy bacteria," let me just add that most of these products contain the all-important calcium; but I think we all got the memo about that one.
I thought this was interesting and read it out loud to the man behind the counter and to my friend, neither of whom had anything to say about the statement. Later, I found that the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features research guiding dietitians in how to use Probiotics and prebiotics in practice.
It is clearly a hot topic of discussion and it is hard to miss the advertisements scattered throughout magazines and newspapers publicizing products containing these ingredients.
Dietitians and their students have known that the products now with added benefits of probiotics and prebiotics confer great health benefits. However, only relatively recently has there been scientific support and discussion surrounding the health effects of these functional foods.
Before I try to define these mystery bacteria, it is important to note that there is no legal definition for probiotic. Therefore, although there has been an increase in the number of products featuring probiotics, there is no promise that they are what they claim to be.
Also, the Food and Drug administration does not require pre-approval for structure function claims on food labels, the statements of nutritional support.
Probiotics are scientifically defined as live organisms that, when given in sufficient amounts, provide health benefits to the host. Some of these benefits include regulation of immune function, enhancing gastrointestinal tolerance to antibiotics and some control of symptoms associated with lactose intolerance. The benefit of improving the immune system is probably of most interest to college students with not a minute to spare spent sick in bed. This explains the sign attracting students at Rhody Market.
Prebiotics on the other hand are food ingredients that promote the growth of bacteria for the benefit of host (human) health. They influence the end products of the food bacteria digest, which provide benefits to us. The most widely held effects of these are associated with enhancing function of the colon and metabolism. There is also evidence of the fact that prebiotics may help support the survival of probiotics and therefore are often used together in products.
Besides the Freshens frozen yogurt and ice cream at Rhody Market, probiotics and prebiotics can be found in other frozen yogurts and ice creams as well as yogurts. Look for words in the ingredients list that look like they could be names of bacteria and are harder to pronounce. Some common ones that are found in yogurts are L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. casei, and bifidus.
If the immune and digestive benefits are not enough to convince you to start eating foods with these "healthy bacteria," let me just add that most of these products contain the all-important calcium; but I think we all got the memo about that one.