Probiotics—typically present in yogurt and kefir, a fermented milk drink, and more recently found in cheese, cereal, and fruit juice—were on many top-10 food trends lists for 2008. But a class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Jan. 23 against Dannon alleges that the company made misleading claims that its yogurt product Activia has been “clinically proven to help regulate the digestive system” and that its yogurt drink DanActive is “clinically proven to help strengthen your body’s defense systems” as opposed to other yogurt products. In a statement in response to the suit, Dannon said that it stands by its claims based on the clinical studies the company has conducted with its products.
On a recent morning run, my friend Christine, a lawyer herself, asked me what I thought about the impending Dannon suit since she knows I’m a fan of probiotics: I ingest them daily and swear by them for my own waste-management issues. She was also wondering whether probiotic products like Kashi Vive and DanActive were worth the premium price she was paying for the billions of bugs.
I told her that I didn’t think the lawsuit would hold up in court. From what I’ve seen, there are ample studies to back up the digestive-health benefits of probiotics and plenty of evidence on how the GI tract contains immune system cells. Besides, it’s so unnecessarily risky for big companies such as Dannon to make up statements out of thin air that it’s hard to fathom why they’d do it.
Probiotics are live bacteria found in foods and beverages that, when eaten in the right quantity, survive in the lower GI tract where they thrive and can ultimately affect the way your GI tract works. With complex names like Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, or Streptococcus, and with numerous strains, such as Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010, it’s easy to see why manufacturers refer to the strains generally as probiotics.
While probiotic research is still considered an emerging science, more and more studies show that consumption of some probiotics may improve a host of GI issues, from diarrhea to constipation. Some probiotics in yogurt cultures can also help make lactose easier to digest for those with lactose intolerance. Other human studies suggest that probiotic consumption may lead to a decrease in the duration of colds and winter infections.
We’ll have to wait to see how the lawsuit plays out. Meantime, these basics can help you determine which probiotic products to toss into your shopping cart.
Probiotics such as Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus reuteri may be helpful for GI issues, while Lactobacillus casei may have more immune system benefits.
“Consumers should look for products that have been ‘clinically proven’ to be effective,” suggests Miguel Freitas, PhD, the scientific affairs director at Dannon. “You should be able to find all the clinical proof on a company’s website, if they have done the research.
The FDA does not require companies to provide the number of probiotic bacteria that are alive and active when you eat a particular product, but many, like Dannon, do so anyway. This number typically ranges from 1 billion to 10 billion per serving. The key point is that, to be effective, the probiotic bacteria must be alive through the entire shelf life of the product until the time you eat it, not just at the time of production. If you see claims that a certain number of bacteria are alive on the production line, it doesn’t mean that all of those bacteria will still be alive when you eat the product.
The FDA does require that companies be able to back up any claim that a product has been “clinically proven” to offer health benefits; this means that, in order to back up that health claim, the same amount of probiotics that demonstrated a specific benefit in the clinical studies must be present at the time of consumption.
Comments (14)
Yogurt is good for anyone regardless of digestive problems or not. It is simply good bacteria and has always been a staple in our home. If you have a milk allergy, then research it further.
Since I have been eating some type of yogurt daily. I have not been getting the colds that others around me at work have. I’m pretty sure the probiotics are working for me here.
I’ve been eating Dannon and Yoplait yogurt with probiotics for a little over a month now and am thrilled with how they regulate my digestion. They have completely changed my concept of “regular.” I never considered the fact that I haven’t gotten sick recently while everyone at work has come down with the flu and stomach virus may be due to the Probiotics – thanks for that feedback!
I was curious on your thoughts about yogurt that have artificial sweetners opposed to ones that are all natural and/or organic. I am recently in the process of switching over to natural bc I feel that the artifical sweetners are causing headaches/stomachs and maybe doing the opposite in digestion since it makes me bloated.
The artificial sweetener debate is a good one. While I believe that the artificial sweeteners on the market are safe and tend not to be linked with negative symptoms, I do think that continually driving the preference for intensely sweet foods is not good.
However, I’ve got a real sweet tooth and I find it VERY hard to tame, so I def. opt for many products with sweeteners.
The artificial sweetener debate is a good one. While I believe that the artificial sweeteners on the market are safe and tend not to be linked with negative symptoms, I do think that continually driving the preference for intensely sweet foods is not good.
However, I’ve got a real sweet tooth and I find it VERY hard to tame, so I def. opt for many products with sweeteners.
Personally, I believe all artifical additives are bad. Aspartame/nutrasweet gives me a migraine everytime. And it’s in tons of food. There are studies that demonstrate people who consume diet sodas are heavier than those who don’t. Also the coloring yellow #5- my daughter & I are both allergic to it. Not really sure why so much food has to has such fake colors. Do we really need rx to be colored? It’s banned in much of Europe. Going to do groceries is quite a task.
I have Crohn’s disease and try to stick to all natural products as much as I can. Any preservative can throw my system into a tail spin (no pun intended). I’ve been eating Dannon All Natural but it’s suddenly missing from the store shelves. Not sure if it boasts live active bacteria or not but I do know it’s one of the few yogurts I can find without high fructose corn syrup. I am appalled by the number of products where it’s the number 1 or 2 ingredient.
I have been a registered nurse for 29 years and it is very important to replenish the good bacteria that is present in our digestive tract. Since we have through the years abused antibiotic use which strips the natural flora and in turn causes our immune system to become less effective in fighting off infections. So replacing the natural flora is the bodies first defence system against bacterial and viral insult.
So take care of your bodies and the good health you have.
So make good choices to benefit your health because once you loose it takes 10x’s more effort to get it back.
i’ve got major GI problems and I found that a great way to get my dose of probiotics (which I swear by!) is by eating Laloo’s Goat Milk Ice Cream. A woman named Laura Howard started the company a few years ago and the ice cream and frozen yogurt is made from, you guessed it, goat milk. There is a very good explanation here of her desire to be a part of the slow food movement as well as the benefits of probiotics:
http://www.goatmilkicecream.com/sharethelove.php
Great point about finding yogurt without high fructose corn syrup! Add to that finding it without artificial sweeteners, too. Finding healthy choices that don’t break the bank at all anymore has become a real challenge.
Thank you so much for this article.
I question if the probiotics can survive much in combination with added sugars and still be a factor in replenishing the GI tract with good bacteria. You need a big probiotic colony to survive in the gut. Sugars may harm the product’s probiotic capabilities. Best to eat the unflavoured products and get used to them.
If we eat several foods containing probiotics, take Florastor for travel and when using antibiotics and also take probiotics for UTI problems, can we be putting TOO MANY in our system? Does one negate another? I also take Asacol for colitis. How does all this fit together?
I eat plain yogurt with fresh/frozen fruit for sweetness but was told by an owner of a health food store that this would destroy the probiotics in the yogurt. It has to be eaten plain with no fruit sugar added. Haven’t been able to find much info on this topic.