In an earlier post we discussed the connection between Ulcerative Colitis and gut bacteria (microbiota). Research has shown that pathogenic (harmful) gut bacteria may contribute to gut inflammation.
Our readers then usually ask: would you recommend probiotics? How do probiotics compare to naturally fermented foods, which are also rich in healthy bacteria?
Our answer is the following: If your physician has prescribed and recommended you probiotics (or prebiotics, or synbiotics), we – as always – recommend that you follow your physician’s advice. Period.
However, if you are considering adding over-the-counter probiotics to your regimen, we bring you the research on how probiotics compare to naturally fermented foods. Two researchers at the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Health have found that:
“Naturally fermented foods (NFF), in contrast to pre, pro or synbiotics, do not consist of isolated species of bacteria or homogenous non-digestible food scaffolds. […] One study of naturally fermented dry Greek salami found no fewer than 348 lactic acid bacteria alone, including Lactobacillus curvatus, L. sake, L. plantarum, Weissella viridescens, W. hellenica, and countless other unidentifiable isolates. […] Thus, the sum total of items in NFF [naturally fermented foods] may be orders of magnitude greater than pro, pre or synbiotics. [emphasis added]” [Ho and Prasad, 2013]
What this means: naturally fermented foods appear to have a greater diversity of healthy bacteria than pre, pro, or synbiotics. Moreover, this study highlighted the benefit of Naturally Fermented Foods for Ulcerative Colitis patients:
“A randomized trial by Ishikawa [author] among ulcerative colitis patients showed that the addition of bifido-bacteria-fermented milk (BFM) to standard treatment improved relapse rates from 90% to 27% versus standard treatment alone [9]. In this study, a probiotic and fermented food showed additive benefit when combined with standard treatment.” [Ho and Prasad, 2013]
What this means: fermented milk (yogurt) may help prevent flares in UC patients.
In fact, the Ishikawa study for ulcerative colitis found that:
“Supplementation with the BFM [bifidobacteria-fermented milk, i.e. yogurt] product was successful in maintaining remission and had possible preventive effects on the relapse of ulcerative colitis.” [Ishikawa et al. 2003]
The Colitis Blog has a simple and delicious homemade yogurt recipe. In the weeks to come we will discuss the why homemade yogurt may have benefits over store yogurt. Subscribe to never miss a post!