Probiotics are also known as good bacteria and these are microorganisms that are usually said to have a positive effect on the health of the host body in this case human being. These findings will only be part of a mixed string of results that have been acquired in the past.

The Study on kids

The study was carried out by a team of researchers who were led by Marie Jensen from the University of Western Australia and involved 123 kids. The kids were divided in half in no particular order. Half of the kids were given the probiotic every day in the first six months after birth while the other babies were given a placebo. What was common to all the babies was a high risk of allergies owing to the fact that their mothers suffered from allergies. The first string of results were taken when the babies had reached the age range of 1 to two and a half years old while the second string of results were taken when the kids were 5 years old.

The results of the studies

Both string of results showed that the probiotic had no benefit on the children. Forty four percent of the group that had received the vaccine had developed one type of allergy or the other while 38 percent of the 57 kids who were given the placebo ended up with allergies such as asthma, food allergies and nasal allergies. The difference between the two results wasn’t significant enough to prove that probiotics had any actual benefit.

It has been known that there are certain probiotics may have a beneficial effect later in the lives of children that were given the supplements earlier in life, but these benefits are thought of as modest at best. In theory, it would make sense that the probiotics administered to the children early in life should have an effect in helping the kids to fight allergies because the probiotics would help to ensure there is a balance of microbes in intestines. A balance of microbes in the intestines is good for promoting the normal immune function. However, the results of this study seem to show otherwise.

Other studies

In other studies, it was found that administering probiotics to infants was only of benefit if the infant had been born by C-section. Children born by C-section are known to be at a greater risk of asthma and other allergies because they are not exposed to the beneficial bacteria that are found in their mother’s birth canal. All in all, it seems that the despite being available as a supplement to both food and diets, the actual benefits of probiotics are quite small. Selling of supplements is of course not illegal, unless they are claimed to treat or prevent a disease.