Mothers who consume lactic acid bacteria during their pregnancy and breastfeeding significantly reduce the risk of allergies in their babies. This is because probiotics are effective in helping to prevent allergies. At birth, a newborn’s gastrointestinal system is still sterile. Colonization by bacteria takes place immediately after birth. The faster and more sustainably a balanced equilibrium is formed here, the faster the babies’ independent immune defense gets going.
Lactic acid bacteria are among these first colonizers of the intestinal flora. The harmlessness and beneficial influence of lactic acid bacteria, as they are found in many yogurt and milk products or are added (bifidus milk, lactobacilli), is considered proven.
Use probiotics in a targeted manner
Finnish scientists at Turku University Hospital tested for the first time whether it is possible to use the influence of these so-called probiotics specifically to prevent allergies. Since essential functions of the immune system are located in the intestine, the physicians suspected that early treatment of the intestinal flora with lactic acid bacteria could reduce the onset of allergic diseases in at-risk children. And this already by a preventive treatment before birth.
Allergies are often inherited
Because allergies are often inherited, the researchers chose volunteers for the study from high-risk families where either the mothers or first-degree relatives had allergies. Between two and four weeks before delivery, the pregnant women received two capsules daily that either contained special lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus GG) or looked identical but had no active ingredient (placebo).
After birth, breastfeeding mothers continued to receive the capsules. Children who were not breastfed received their probiotic bacteria dissolved in a little water by spoon.
Both administration methods showed similar effects: the researchers counted similar numbers of the beneficial germs in the diaper contents of the breastfed and nonbreastfed infants.
Evaluation shows long-term effect
At two years of age, 46 of the 159 children had developed an allergic rash. Six children also had asthma, and one of them also had allergic rhinitis.
In the evaluation, only half as many cases of illness were found in the group of children who had received probiotic germs as in the group that had received a placebo.
Only 23 percent of the Lactobacillus children suffered from allergies, compared to 46 percent in the placebo children. This difference remained constant even after another medical trial at age four.
Allergy risk drops to less than half
A second Finnish study confirmed this result. When children take probiotics, their allergy risk drops to less than half. The mechanism of action of lactic bacteria is based on displacement: Researchers assume that the rapid colonization of the intestine with beneficial bacteria reduces negative influences of harmful intestinal bacteria and thus promotes healthy development of the immune system.
Studies:
- Kalliomäki M et al: “Probiotics and prevention of atopic disease: 4-year follow-up of a randomised placebo-controlled trial”, Lancet; 31/5/2003 (Val. 361).
- Rautava S et al: “Probiotics during pregnancy and breast-feeding might confer immunomodulatory protection against atopic disease in the infant” J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002; 109(1): 119-21.
