(WFN) According to the results of a randomized, double-blind trial reported in last November’s issue of Environmental Health, the use of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri (Probiotics) can reduce sick days from work. This study, and others like it, show unequvicolly that use of these naturally occurring bacterial and yeast cultures can aid digestion, help eliminate disease, be anti-aging and are especially important for people who have been taking antibiotics for any period of time.
In fact, the term probiotic, which means “for life”, was first coined in 1953 as a way of contrasting these life benefiting microbes from antibiotics which kill off the healthy ones in the body.
“Short term illnesses, usually caused by respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases are disruptive to productivity and there is relatively little focus on preventative measures,” writes Py Tubelius, MD, from the Tetra Pak Occupational Health and Safety AB in Lund, Sweden, and colleagues. “This study examined the effect of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri protectis (ATCC55730) on its ability to improve work-place healthiness by reducing short term sick-leave caused by respiratory or gastrointestinal infections.”
In this study, 262 healthy employees (day-workers and shift-workers) were randomized to receive a daily dose of either 108 colony-forming units of L. reuteri or placebo, administered with a drinking straw, for 80 days. Of 181 subjects who complied with the study protocol, 94 received L. reuteri, and 87 received placebo.
During the study, sick leave for defined causes occurred in 26.4% of the placebo group and in 10.6% of the L. reuteri group (P < .01). Overall frequency of sick-days was 0.9% with placebo and 0.4% with L. reuteri (P < .01). In the subgroup of 53 shift-workers, 33% in the placebo group but none in the L. reuteri group reported being sick during the study period (P < .005).
“In the studied population sick-days caused by respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases could be reduced by 55% by the use of L. reuteri … as compared with … placebo,” the authors write. “Translated to the total Swedish work-force, this translates to a total of 4.3 million working days of improved productivity per year (3.9 million employed, 220 working days per year and 0.5% “saved” days). Our results indicate that the effect on shift-work productivity could probably be even more profound but this issue should be addressed in further studies.”
The facts are clear on Probiotics and their immense health benefits. The question is how to get all the proper benefits available? Eating yogurt, though generally very healthy, can have some negative effects, especially when commercial brands are loaded with sugars and often contain high fructose corn syrup.
To learn more about how you can safely and naturally add the healthy-benefits of Probiotics into your diet visit: http://www.truehealthyproducts.com/index.php/9-a-Day-Plus.html
