Probiotics and pancreatitis: A rational analysis

Last week's headlines screamed out that 24 people had died during a study of probiotics (acidophilus, bifidus, etc.). Unless you read the entire story, the headlines would have you believe that the probiotics were the cause of the deaths.

The Dutch study, conducted from 2004 to 2007, used a population of 296 hospitalized patients suffering from pancreatitis, a disease with a high mortality rate. That 10% of those in the study died during the three years is not surprising.

Probiotics did not in this case seem to help these severely ill pancreatitis patients. I wonder, in a way, why anyone expected them to be helpful, considering they were administered in such an unnatural way — directly into the intestines via a tube!

Read more at NutraIngredients.com.

Image: Lactobacillus bacteria

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Sugar-free gum can lead to severe weight loss and diarrhea

Sugar-free gums and other foods that contain sorbitol may be dangerous for consumers, an article in this month's British Medical Journal says.

Though sorbitol is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), its use may lead to diarrhea, stomach pain and quick, severe weight loss.

Doctors may not realize that sorbitol may be the source of patients' complaints. In one case cited in the report, a 21-year old woman complained of diarrhea and stomach pain for eight months before her doctor discovered sorbitol to be the cause. The woman lost 25 pounds during that time.

When patients stopped using sorbitol, their symptoms went away and they regained the weight they had lost.

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