Yogurt vs. Probiotic Supplements

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Since we are on a whole foods thread, I thought I would add this to

the mix...

Misty.

http://www..com

 

 

Yogurt vs. Probiotic Supplements:

 

If you're a health conscious person, you've probably seen the hype

over probiotic supplements. However, some of the literature from the

probiotic supplement manufacturers has become a little overzealous.

 

These manufacturers are forgetting their roots, in that yogurt,

kefir, and other fermented foods serve as the basis for their entire

industry. We asked ourselves, is it fair for a probiotic supplement

manufacturer or reseller to produce literature against yogurt,

kefir, and other fermented milk products in order to increase their

market share?

 

Here's what we found:

 

Claim 1. " Our product contains 15 billion bacteria at the time of

manufacture. It would take ten tubs of yogurt and a dozen bottles of

kefir to get the same amount of bacteria. "

 

To answer this claim we went digging into the scientific literature.

From several different references, we were able to determine an

average concentration of yogurt. Homemade yogurt that is fermented

for 24 hours, as recommended in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle,

will have an average concentration of 3 billion cfu/mL of yogurt.

What does this mean? Well, if you were to eat a small bowl (500 ml)

of 24 hour fermented homemade yogurt, you would receive 1.5 trillion

beneficial bacteria - 100 times more bacteria than a 15 billion

capsule.

 

Furthermore, freshly made kefir can have an average microbial count

as high as 10 billion cfu/ml. This includes a mixture of various

bacteria and yeast strains. This means that a 500 ml glass of

homemade kefir could contain as many as 5 trillion beneficial

microorganisms or even more!

 

Claim 2. " Our probiotics have more bacteria than commercial yogurt

and kefir. "

 

We wrote to several yogurt manufacturers to see what the standards

were. The National Yogurt Association has set the standard for

commercial yogurt with live cultures as: " Refrigerated yogurt must

contain at least 100 million cultures per gram at the time of

manufacture, and at least 10 million cultures per gram at

consumption (i.e. throughout shelf life). "

 

In their response to our inquiry, Stonyfield Farm stated that their

yogurt far exceeds this standard, " Stonyfield Farm yogurt

consistently far exceeds the NYA minimum culture counts (hundreds of

billions). " At a minimum, depending on shelf life, the manufacturer,

and other factors, one would receive 5 billion bacteria in a small

bowl of commercial yogurt. Because of the variability of commercial

yogurts, shelf lives, and lactose contents, we recommend fermenting

your own yogurt for 24 hours.

 

We were not able to find any information on commercial kefir at this

time.

 

Claim 3. " Our X technology (enteric coated capsules, special matrix,

etc.) allows the bacteria to survive the trip down your

Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract. The bacteria in yogurt and kefir have

no protection and will not survive. "

 

Again, to answer this claim we checked the scientific literature. Do

fermented milk products have any properties that might help the

bacteria survive in your GI tract? The answer is yes.

 

Fermented milk contains many substances that nourish and protect the

lactobacillus species. A recent study demonstrated the ability of

calcium phosphate to protect lactobacillus acidophilus from bile

acids but had no effect on salmonella.

 

Milk products also serve as excellent buffering agents and will help

neutralize stomach acidity. A common recommendation from poison

centers is to drink milk when confronted with a poison situation.

 

Furthermore, the bacteria in yogurt are alive and well, not in a

dormant cycle as the bacteria in probiotic supplements are, making

them more fit to adapt to sudden changes in their local environment.

 

Claim 4. " Our probiotic supplements are more effective. Yogurt,

kefir, and other fermented milk products are nothing more than fancy

desserts. "

 

All fermented milk products should be considered functional foods.

Why? Because they are foods that functions as a health promoting

substance. Probiotic supplements can only offer one thing: bacteria.

Fermented milk offers so much more than just bacteria: minerals,

vitamins, protein, amino acids, L-carnitine, fats, CLA,

antimicrobial agents, and much more!

 

A recent study demonstrated the ability of fermented milk to kill H.

pylori infections when bacteria alone could not. Another study

monitored two groups of people for allergy symptoms. The group that

consumed yogurt on a daily basis suffered far less allergies than a

control group. In addition, the complex microflora found in kefir

have demonstrated a keen ability to stimulate our immune systems,

ward of infections from bacteria such as salmonella, and in some

cases, even fight cancer.

 

Conclusion:

There is little doubt that probiotic bacteria and fermented foods

offer benefits to our health. Making kefir and yogurt at home can be

a nutritious, healthy, and fun hobby. Probiotic supplements also

offer health benefits and can be very convenient, especially when

traveling. However, to claim that probiotic supplements are somehow

superior to what you can make yourself is unfounded. Fermented foods

offer the same benefits as probiotic supplements and sometimes more.

 

Making a Case Against FOS and Inulin

 

Have you heard about Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) or Inulin yet? If

not, you will. These are the latest and greatest refined chemicals

that probiotic and yogurt manufacturers are adding to their products

for " your health " . It seems that only a few probiotic manufacturers

are against using them, with Natren leading the charge. But we like

to ask, why is this? Why would Natren be against using FOS in yogurt

and probiotic supplements? What kind of financial gain is involved

in not using the latest and greatest chemicals in your products?

None that we could think of. So we decided to investigate this

matter further.

 

1. What is FOS and Inulin?

 

Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin are types of fructo-

polysaccharides, comprised of -(glucose-fructose)- subunits. The

only difference between FOS and inulin is polymer chain length.

Inulin/FOS also goes by the name of Neosugar, Alant Starch, Atlanta

Starch, Alantin, Dahlin, Helenin, and Diabetic Sugar. Inulin tastes

sweet, cannot be digested by humans, and is soluble (unlike

cellulose).

 

2. What does Inulin/FOS do?

 

Since Inulin/FOS is indigestible by our bodies, it gets transported

to the large intestine where it feeds microbes and promotes

fermentation. Inulin/FOS has been dubbed a " prebiotic " , essentially

serving as fertilizer for the bacteria in your colon. Certain

lactobacillus species of bacteria have been shown to preferentially

ferment Inulin/FOS. For this reason, it is being promoted as a

supplement to feed the good bacteria in our guts.

 

3. Inulin/FOS feeds only good bacteria, right?

 

Wrong. Manufacturers claim that Inulin/FOS specifically feeds only

good bacteria. The reality of the situation is much different. If

you examine the scientific literature about Inulin/FOS, you will

find that this is untrue. The best example is concerning Klebsiella.

 

Recent studies have shown that Inulin/FOS encourages the growth of

Klebsiella, a bacterium implicated in Ankylosing Spondylitis and

increased intestinal permeability. Inulin/FOS may indeed promote the

growth of lactobacillus bacteria, but what other potentially harmful

bacteria are we feeding as well? Furthermore, we have not even

addressed the issue of yeast. Many different species of yeast are

able to utilize Inulin/FOS for energy.

 

Historically, microbes have demonstrated the innate ability to adapt

to almost any condition and fuel source. If bacteria can adapt to

break down industrial solvents in our soil and use them for energy,

it would be irresponible to think that they will not adapt to

utilize Inulin/FOS, a high energy carbohydrate. There are hundreds

of different species of bacteria and several yeast strains living in

our GI tracts. Studies have only looked at the effects of Inulin/FOS

on a handful of these microbes.

 

4. Why is Inulin/FOS being added to probiotic supplements and

yogurt?

 

A key principle in today's marketplace is product differentiation.

If a manufacturer can sell many different kinds of " specialty "

products, that are in essence the same thing, it can make a larger

profit.

 

Think about it for a moment. We no longer have plain old toothpaste,

instead we have such items as tartar control, sensitive, baking

soda, peroxide, whitening, gum care, and many others. Adding a new

claim to an old product adds to consumer excitement: " Brand X

yogurt - now with Inulin/FOS for your health " & " We now offer

lactobacillus capsules with Inulin/FOS. " These new claims will help

fight market stagnation and lead to greater profits for the

manufacturer. But will FOS lead to greater health for the consumer?

 

5. Is Inulin/FOS found naturally anywhere?

 

Yes. It is found naturally in asparagus, garlic, Jerusalem

Artichokes, chicory root, and others.

 

6. Since Inulin/FOS is found in natural foods it must be okay,

right?

 

Wrong. Sucrose (table sugar) is naturally found in beets, sugar

cane, oranges, and other plants. Humans have perverted this

naturally occurring substance into a refined chemical. Sucrose is

arguably one of the most unhealthy food additives in human history.

We should learn from our experiences with sucrose and apply them to

Inulin/FOS.

 

Instead of adding refined, super concentrated Inulin/FOS to your

food, eat the foods that naturally contain Inulin/FOS.

The body is genetically adapted to certain foods and if we continue

to mess with our food chain then our health will suffer the

consequences.

 

Of the nutritional fibers, cellulose was the most likely to be

included in a traditional hunter-gatherer diet. Cellulose is an

insoluble fiber that is slowly fermented by the microbial population

in the human colon. Inulin/FOS is a soluble fiber that is quickly

and easily fermented. The difference between cellulose (a food we

are adapted to) and Inulin/FOS (a food we are not adapted to) is

like the difference between a slow burning ember and a raging fire.

Who likes playing with fire?

 

7. Is it possible to be allergic to Inulin/FOS?

 

Yes. In one documented case, inulin caused an anaphylactic reaction.

As the use of Inulin/FOS as an additive in the food industry

increases, reports of allergic responses will probably

increase. " Inulin may be the culprit behind more food allergies than

is currently recognized. "

 

8. What are the recognized side effects of ingesting Inulin/FOS?

 

Assuming one is not allergic to Inulin/FOS, the typical side effects

will vary depending on one's level of tolerance. The list of known

side effects include: flatulence, bloating, cramps, abdominal pain,

and diarrhea. As Inluin/FOS permeates our food supply, the list of

side effects is expected to grow.

 

Conclusion -

In theory, a food additive that could specifically feed good

bacteria might prove useful for intestinal health. Given the nature

of the microbes and their ability to quickly adapt to various

carbohydrate foods sources, it seems highly unlikely that such a

chemical will be developed.

 

Inlulin/FOS has been touted as such a molecule, but seems to fail

the test as you examine it further. Even if Inluin/FOS did display

specifity for beneficial bacteria, do we know enough about the

complex microbial ecology of the human GI tract to deem a species of

bacteria better than the others?

 

The GI tract is much like a rain forest with a very complex web of

life. What would happen to a rain forest if, in our arrogance, we

decided to spread a chemical that fertilized one specific type of

tree? Would the overgrowth of one species be beneficial? Our GI

tracts have adapted to house a variety of microbes and to disrupt

this balance might be detrimental to our health.

 

With these concerns, we recommend staying far away from any product

with Inulin/FOS.

 

 

References:

 

Green, Ceri J. Fibre in Enteral nutrition, S A J Clin Nutr 2000

November Vol 13 No 4

Nutritional and health benefits of inulin and oligofructose:

proceedings of a conference, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, May 18-19,

1998. J Nutr 1999;129:Suppl:1395S-1502S.

 

Coussement PAA. Inulin and Oligofructose: Safe Intakes and Legal

Status J. Nutr. 1999 129: 1412

 

 

Gibson GR; Beatty ER; Wang X; Cummings JH. Selective stimulation of

bifidobacteria in the human colon by oligofructose and inulin.

Gastroenterology, 1995 Apr, 108:4, 975-82

 

Ingeborg M. Bovee-Oudenhoven, Mischa L. Wissink, Jan T. Wouters, and

Roelof Van der Meer Dietary Calcium Phosphate Stimulates Intestinal

Lactobacilli and Decreases the Severity of a Salmonella Infection in

Rats

J. Nutr. 1999 129: 607-612.

 

Lin Meei-yn and Chung-ming Young. Biosynthesis of Folates by

Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbruekii ssp.

bulgaricus. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2000,

Pages 195-199

 

Niness KR. Inulin and oligofructose what are they? J Nutr 1999

Jul;129(7 Suppl)1402S-6S

 

Marshall VM & Cole WM (1985): Methods for making kefir and fermented

milks based on kefir. J. Dairy Res. 52, 451-456.

 

Mitsuoka T, Hidaka H, Eida T. Effect of fructo-oligosaccharides on

intestinal microflora. Nahrung 1987;31:427-436.

 

Roberfroid M. Dietary fiber, inulin, and oligofructose: a review

comparing their physiological effects. Crit Rev Food Sci 1993,33

(2):103-48

 

 

Valyshev AV, Kirillov VA, Kirillov DA, Bukharin OV. The effect of

inulin on the biological properties of enterobacteria. Zh Mikrobiol

Epidemiol Immunobiol. 2000 Jan-Feb;(1)79-80.

 

Van de Water J., Carl L. Keen, and M. Eric Gershwin The Influence of

Chronic Yogurt Consumption on Immunity J. Nutr. 1999 129: 1492

 

Wang X, Gibson GR. Effects of the in vitro fermentation of

oligofructose and inulin by bacteria growing in the human large

intestine. J Appl Bacteriol 1993 Oct;75(4):373-380

 

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