Free Health Dissertations - 1995). Arguments Opposing The Use Of Probiotics And Prebiotics One Problem
1995).
Arguments Opposing the Use of Probiotics and Prebiotics
One problem with the use of probiotics involves a temporal issue. The effectiveness of probiotics depends on the amount of time the bacteria remain alive and in sufficient quantity during their transit through the intestinal system (Bourlioux et al. 2003). Because stomach acids destroy many of the useful probiotic bacteria before they reach their destination in the intestine (Gregory 2004), effectiveness can be severely diminished. The Food Standards Agency confirmed that some healthful bacteria are destroyed by acid in the stomach (Food Standards Agency 2005; Gibson et al. 2005; The Mirror 2005). To prevent stomach acids from destroying helpful bacteria, coatings are being applied to probiotic pills. Another approach being used is to administer probiotics on a repeated basis to ensure an adequate bacterial population over time. (Bourlioux et al. 2003)
Although, by definition, probiotics must be safe, some sources point to dangers associated with the use of probiotics including several reports of systemic fungemia (i.e. the presence of fungi in the blood) particularly in patients whose immune systems are compromised or who are seriously debilitated (Nayak 2005). Beckly and Lewis (2002) report eleven case reports of septicaemia arising from the use of probiotics, cautioning that there is an element of risk in using probiotics. Occasional cases of liver abscess have also been reported (Ark International 2003). Reid and associates (2003) confirm that probiotics can cause infection because they are viable organisms and claim that systemic infections have been reported, although only rarely. Probiotics may also transfer resistance to pathogens and other microbes (Nayak 2005). Caution should be used when giving probiotics to individuals with compromised immune systems or those experiencing bleeding of the intestines (Reid et al. 2003). In a joint report, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation (2002) have recommended that all probiotics undergo a series of tests to confirm safety, and the European Union Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition (2001) has proposed a scheme for testing probiotics for toxicity.
The review of the literature did not reveal any evidence of negative effects associated with prebiotics. The only evidence that may be construed to argue against the use of prebiotics is that there has not been sufficient testing of prebiotic products to assess their longevity in the intestinal tract, their preventive effects on colon cancer, or the effects of combining prebiotics with probiotics (Duggan et al. 2002).
