If you look at any traditional culture they have culture in their diets. Japanese have miso, Russians have Kefir, German have sauerkraut, and the Irish Guinness. In the USA we do not have any traditional fermented foods. If it is fermented and store bought then it is also pasteurized, therefore the beneficial enzymes are also destroyed. A study just released showed that supplementation with prebiotics and probiotics greatly reduced the toxicity markers in the colon of human subjects. This is an important study in an important nutrition journal because most studies thus far used animal models not human subjects. 37 colon cancer patients and 43 patients with polyps were given a Lactobacillicus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis strain of probiotic as well as an oligofructose prebiotics. (Our bodied create prebiotics from carbohydrate metabolism in the colon, but we can also take these as supplements. The most common one you’ll see in a supplement is FOS. The prebiotics are food to help the growth of the beneficial probiotics.)
After only 7 days of pre- and pro-biotic administration the researchers measured various biomarkers in the fecal matter. For most that would seem like a shitty job, however I find that crap fascinating. What is most interesting is the the two groups (cancer and polyps) showed different positive response markers to the supplementation. This makes sense in that the body will adapt and heal itself how it needs to when given a positive stimulus. At the end of the study at week 12 significant changes in the fecal flora were found, with increases in Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and decreases in Clostridium perfringens. After supplementation with synbiotics, an increase in the production of interferon gamma was found among the patients with cancer, and prevention in the increased secretion of interleukin 2 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was found among the patients with polyps as well as a reduction in DNA damage. The results of this study suggest that supplementation with probiotics and prebiotics may help to reduce risk factors for colorectal cancer. If you’d like to read it I’ve uploaded the entire study Synbiotics and colorectal cancer
But we know that they are important not just for cancer but also asthma, sinusitis, irritable bowel etc. Our bodies were designed to eat healthy bacteria!
In Health,
George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist & Nutritionist Dietitian
Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, & Nutrition
Boston, Jamaica Plain, Brookline, Massachusetts
