Infants And Probiotics

     One of the hottest nutritional topics today is the “good” bacteria that live in our intestines. These bacteria are called probiotic bacteria and they aid in digestion, help our immune systems, decrease the risk of allergy and produce helpful nutrients.  The most common species of these bacteria is named Lactobacillus. These bacteria live normally in our gut, but also can be taken orally in liquid form, capsules or in eating live-culture yogurt.

     We also hear a lot about prebiotics. These are sugars (“oligosaccarides”) that promote the growth of the “good” probiotic bacteria in the gut.  These sugars occur naturally in foods or can also be added in the diet.

     Research has shown that breast-fed infants have more of the helpful probiotic bacteria in their intestines than infants who are formula-fed. This may be due to the fact that there are many more prebiotic sugars in breast milk than in formula. That could result in more bacterial growth. Formula companies now add prebiotic sugars to their formulas to increase Lactobacillus in the intestines of formula-fed infants. They also add “FFA” – another nutrient that promotes Lactobacillus growth.

     A study published in JAMA Pediatrics in January of 2014 looked at 468 infants in the first 3 months of life and examined the effect that giving live Lactobacillus had on colic, spitting-up and stool patterns. They defined colic as “inconsolable crying”.  They gave the Lactobacillus in liquid drops to half of the infants and gave just the liquid drops without the Lactobacillus to the other half. The study did not discuss whether it is better to breast feed or formula feed, it only looked at whether adding extra Lactobacillus would be helpful to the infant.

     After three months, the parents were asked to report how many hours the infant spent in inconsolable crying. The infants who were given the probiotic bacteria were reported to spend only half as much time crying as the infants who did not get the probiotic drops. The infants who received probiotic drops were also reported to have almost 50% less spitting-up, more frequent stools, and less solid stools. No one is recommending adding yogurt to the diet of formula-fed infants yet, but it will be interesting to see the results of further studies.

     Almost 25% of pediatric visits to the doctor in the first 4 months of life are because parents are concerned about colic, spit-up or digestive problems. If increasing the growth of normal bacteria in the gut could reduce these problems, it could result in a decrease in clinic and ER visits, a decrease in the cost of infant care and less worry for parents.