By: Jack Whalen
Probiotics! This word is constantly thrown all around the health industry, but for most, the specific actions probiotics have on the body, the type there are, or even what they do are still a mystery for most people. This article will help explain all about probiotics understandably while also diving into how they can affect aspects of learning differently. Let's start with an overview: probiotics, in more simplified terms, are living organisms that naturally reside in your body, predominantly in the gut or digestive system. These probiotics consist of a mix of bacteria that serve purposes. While certain bacteria and microorganisms can harm our health, probiotics are beneficial. They offer many positive effects on our well-being. The way probiotics work is that when they are consumed through food or supplements, they can restore balance to the body if it is otherwise unbalanced. Harmful bacteria can throw the body off balance, making you sick, but the good bacteria (which you get more from probiotics) help fight this sickness. Probiotics don't only help when you are sick: they can also help digestion, vitamin creation, and support cells that line your gut.
Probiotics can be increased from a multitude of foods, supplements, and drinks. Most people consume things already that are full of probiotics without even knowing. Yogurt, certain types of bread and cheeses, fermented vegetables, and even certain types of soup all contain probiotics. Many individuals may not require supplementation as they likely already consume the mentioned foods. However, if necessary, probiotic supplements can be considered. The probiotics used are Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, but other bacteria can also serve as probiotics. It is not solely restricted to these two types. These two bacterias have different functions but are both positive for health. Lactobacillus is mostly found within the digestive system, which most people use when needing digestive support. Some secondary effects of this bacteria are that it can help people digest lactose for lactose intolerant people. It can help support immune function as well. Bifidobacterium, the other most common bacteria for supplements, is mainly found within the colon. These factors can significantly contribute to the system's maturation and development, making them particularly beneficial for infants. Additionally, Bifidobacterium has been shown to support bowel movements and alleviate symptoms associated with bowel syndrome.
Now that you know some of the basics of probiotics, we can dive into how probiotics can affect ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. For ADHD, the research has been positive on how probiotics help kids' symptoms. One study by Wang LJ, Yang CY, and Kuo HC included 30 kids between the ages of 4 and 16, and this study analyzed the effects of probiotic supplementation on the gut microbiomes of these kids with ADHD. For eight weeks, each participant took a specific probiotic supplement that was constant throughout, once in the morning and once in the evening. The findings demonstrated that Children with ADHD who took the probiotic supplement and saw improvements in their hyperactivity/impulsivity and other clinical symptoms. Supplementation also considerably changed the composition of the gut microbiota. Another study was done on autism that showed the positive impact that probiotics had. For this study on Autism, the effect of a probiotic mixture was evaluated on 85 preschoolers with ASD with a mean age of 4.3 years. The children were given a controlled dose each day. Children who completed the experiment were given two sachets per day for the 1st month and one sachet for the next 5. The group treated with probiotics demonstrated a reduction in GI symptoms along with improvements in adaptive functioning and sensitivity biographies. These results clearly showed the beneficial effects of probiotics with improvements in core symptoms among ASD children, whether the child had digestion problems or not. Dyslexia, unfortunately, had limited research on the topic.
Bibliography
Khanna, H. N., Roy, S., Shaikh, A., & Bandi, V. (2022). Emerging Role and Place of Probiotics in the Management of Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Euroasian journal of hepato-gastroenterology, 12(2), 102–108. https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1384
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of dietary supplements - probiotics. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Probiotics: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Probiotics%20are%20live%20microorganisms%20that,dietary%20supplements%2C%20and%20beauty%20products.
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