Probiotic yoghurts 'may help' hay fever

Conclusion This review has identified 23 trials investigating the effect of probiotics upon allergic rhinitis, which most people experience as hay fever. Overall, it found some evidence that taking probiotic yoghurts or supplements could improve the quality of life of people with allergic rhinitis, compared to taking placebo. However, it didn't find a direct effect on overall symptoms, or on levels of IgE in the blood. The review of the data showed some of the problems with research into probiotics in relation to allergies. Many different strains of probiotic organisms were used in the study, although most were from the families Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus. It's possible that some strains work well and others don't work at all. It’s also unclear from the review what form these probiotics were being taken in – for example, in the form of yoghurt or yoghurt drinks, or as capsules or tablets. This could affect absorption and effects. The populations included in these studies are also likely to be highly variable. The age categories, for example, ranged from young children in some, to middle-aged adults in others. We also don’t know what they were specifically suffering from. For example, some could have had hay fever, while others could have had an allergy to dust mites or animal fur. Only a few studies reported their results using standardised measures, making it hard to pool data from different studies. Though 23 studies were identified, pooled analyses for effec...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news