"Diverse Gut Flora Protects Kids from Allergies"

According to a new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and reported by FoodProductDesign.com, high diversity and a variety of bacteria in the gut can protect children against allergies.

From FoodProductDesign.com:

Researchers at Linköping University conduced at comprehensive study of intestinal microflora in allergic and healthy children. Stool samples from 40 children were analyzed—20 children with atopic eczema and allergic IgE antibodies to foods, and another 20 in a control group that lacked these conditions.

Using the so-called 454-pyrosequencing, the researchers identified DNA sequences that were then simultaneously linked with a database to determine which bacterial genera was present in the samples.

Results show that diversity was significantly greater in the healthy children at one month of age compared to those children who later developed allergies. Diversity in certain groups appears to be particularly important: Proteobacteria consists of so-called gram-negative bacteria which are associated with protection against allergies and are common in children who grew up on livestock farms with cattle, and even Bacteroides which as shown in the experiments counteract inflammation.

“We conducted the study in collaboration with Karolinska Institute and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology that substantiates the so-called hygiene hypothesis. Children acquire intestinal microflora from their environment, and in our society they are probably exposed to insufficient bacteria that are necessary for the immune system to mature," they said.

The findings seem to discredit results of other studies. For example, Bifidobacteria was abundant in the study however the researchers could not identify support for any protective effect.

The full study can be found at National Institutes of Health.