(NaturalNews) Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms similar to the "friendly" bacteria found naturally in the body's digestive system. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), there's evidence from a variety of studies that probiotic formulations can help treat diarrhea, urinary tract infections, irritable bowel syndrome and dermatitis (eczema) in children; probiotics may reduce the recurrence of bladder cancer, too.
Now Canadian researchers have published
research in the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) journal that explains why certain strains of
probiotics are particularly soothing to indigestion related problems. It turns out the
probiotic strain
Lactobacillus reuteri, which occurs in the
gut of many mammals and is found in human
breast milk, immediately and directly affects nerves in the gut.
For their study,
scientist Wolfgang Kunze of the McMaster Brain-Body Institute and Department of Psychiatry at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Ontario, Canada, and his research team took isolated pieces of small intestine removed from healthy and previously untreated mice. Then they added
Lactobacillus reuteri to a warm salt solution which was sent flowing through the lumen, or hollow part, of the intestine. The pressure caused by
natural contractions in the intestine sections was measured before, during and after adding the probiotic-containing solution. The scientists tested the electrical activity of single intestinal sensory nerve cells, as well.
The results?
The researchers documented that the force of muscle contractions in the gut tissue decreased within minutes of exposure to the probiotic solution. This discovery explains why intake of probiotics can often alleviate symptoms of a whole host of digestive disorders such as
irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel
disease and constipation.
"Scientifically and evidence-based approaches to nutrition to correct potential bacterial imbalance in the intestine and thereby promote better
health could possibly restore health in diseases associated with these imbalances," Kunze said in a statement to the media.
This is the latest of a growing
body of research backing up what many natural health advocates have said for decades -- probiotics (which can be found in supplements and in many foods including yogurt, kefir, fermented and unfermented
milk, miso and tempeh, as well as breast milk) can promote health and protect from illness. For example, as
NaturalNews previously reported, researchers have found that taking probiotics may help people lose excess weight (
http://www.naturalnews.com/028023_intestinal_bacteria_obesity.html). And a study published in the journal
Postgraduate Medicine concluded that taking probiotics regularly boosts the immune system in a specific way which helps the body fight off flu infections (
http://www.naturalnews.com/026265_probiotic_health_probiotics.html).
Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
For more information:http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/fj.09-153841v2http://nccam.nih.gov/health/probiotics/
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