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American Morning
Paging Dr. Gupta: Bacteria is Your Friend?
Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bacteria is your friend, that is the message from those who tout the health benefits of probiotics.
Medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to tell us why these bugs might be good for what ails you -- hey, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It was considered fringe medicine for quite a long time, probiotics, good bacteria. That's what we're talking about here. But it's grown into a $200 million a year industry, dietary supplements, all sorts of things. But what exactly are these probiotics and why are they good bacteria?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Bacteria, most people think of disease and Petri dishes. But is there a bacteria that can be good for you?
DR. MARTIN BLASER, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Probiotics are natural products, often bacteria and other microorganisms, that can be used hopefully to augment normal bodily functions.
GUPTA: Probiotics, meaning for life, live in a healthy human gut. For years, people have been taking probiotics in powders and pills for gastrointestinal problems caused by antibiotics.
LISA GEORGETTI, INTEGRAL YOGA APOTHECARY: So you need the probiotic to balance out the antibiotic, to replenish the good bacteria that's been destroyed with the antibiotic.
GUPTA: Yogurt is probiotic food. Now while raw or unpasteurized yogurt is loaded with good bacteria, most of the yogurt in supermarkets are pasteurized and have only some probiotic benefits. But the evidence for other benefits, such as better digestion, relief of yeast infections and better overall health, is still lacking.
BLASER: Most things have not been tested in a rigorous manner and I'm not sure that most of them are any better than a placebo right now.
GUPTA: Although more research is needed on probiotics, rest assured there is bacteria that can be good for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Two pieces of trivia, interesting. Four hundred species of bacteria live in your intestine. You have more bacteria by a ratio of 10 to one, more bacteria than you do human cells in your body. That's important to consider. And Actimel, which is a very popular probiotic drink, is more popular than Coke is in Spain.
O'BRIEN: Really?
GUPTA: So it's really catching on and, you know, again, replenishing good bacteria after you've taken antibiotics probably its most valid use at this point.
O'BRIEN: Not a bad idea.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, nice to see you.
GUPTA: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
GUPTA: Yup.
Take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bacteria is your friend, that is the message from those who tout the health benefits of probiotics.
Medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to tell us why these bugs might be good for what ails you -- hey, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It was considered fringe medicine for quite a long time, probiotics, good bacteria. That's what we're talking about here. But it's grown into a $200 million a year industry, dietary supplements, all sorts of things. But what exactly are these probiotics and why are they good bacteria?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Bacteria, most people think of disease and Petri dishes. But is there a bacteria that can be good for you?
DR. MARTIN BLASER, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Probiotics are natural products, often bacteria and other microorganisms, that can be used hopefully to augment normal bodily functions.
GUPTA: Probiotics, meaning for life, live in a healthy human gut. For years, people have been taking probiotics in powders and pills for gastrointestinal problems caused by antibiotics.
LISA GEORGETTI, INTEGRAL YOGA APOTHECARY: So you need the probiotic to balance out the antibiotic, to replenish the good bacteria that's been destroyed with the antibiotic.
GUPTA: Yogurt is probiotic food. Now while raw or unpasteurized yogurt is loaded with good bacteria, most of the yogurt in supermarkets are pasteurized and have only some probiotic benefits. But the evidence for other benefits, such as better digestion, relief of yeast infections and better overall health, is still lacking.
BLASER: Most things have not been tested in a rigorous manner and I'm not sure that most of them are any better than a placebo right now.
GUPTA: Although more research is needed on probiotics, rest assured there is bacteria that can be good for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Two pieces of trivia, interesting. Four hundred species of bacteria live in your intestine. You have more bacteria by a ratio of 10 to one, more bacteria than you do human cells in your body. That's important to consider. And Actimel, which is a very popular probiotic drink, is more popular than Coke is in Spain.
O'BRIEN: Really?
GUPTA: So it's really catching on and, you know, again, replenishing good bacteria after you've taken antibiotics probably its most valid use at this point.
O'BRIEN: Not a bad idea.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, nice to see you.
GUPTA: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
GUPTA: Yup.
Take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
