Can a dose of bacteria a day keep the doctor away?

Yes, according to a study of Swedish workers who took supplements containing microorganisms: those on the 'friendly' bacteria pills stayed home sick half as much as their colleagues taking a placebo. The findings lend support to claims that foods with live bacteria can boost the body's immune system.

Workers at a packaging plant received daily liquid doses of either a placebo or Lactobacillus reuteri, a bacteria that is cultured in some yogurts, for 80 days. While 23 of the 87 volunteers receiving a placebo reported sick during that period, only 10 out of the 94 volunteers that took the L. reuteri said they were ill. The results of the blind study appear in the journal Environmental Health.

Steve - I blogged this because it appeared in the Nature, a fairly mainstream journal. We have known for a long time how probiotics help the immune system, but to see it promoted in a journal such as this is exciting.