Could probiotics help with allergies?
/If you have a child, or work with children, you would be familiar with the myriad allergies of modern day kids. It comes as no surprise to most adults that our children today have more issues with allergies than the generation before. Cow’s milk, peanut, soy, egg, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and wheat (gluten) are the 8 most common childhood allergies. However we are seeing a rise in lesser known allergies from fruits and vegetables such as corn, avocado, and banana.
The dramatic increase in food allergy prevalence and severity globally is demanding effective strategies. Parents at at their wits end and they want answers! No one wants to see their child suffer, yet often allergies can go undiagnosed for prolonged periods as they may present with common signs of poor immune function, rather than more expected skin signs such as rash and hives, or distinguishable respiratory problems.
Why do kids get allergies?
Food allergy derives from a defect in immune tolerance mechanisms. Let’s look to the gut: Immune tolerance is modulated by gut microbiota function and structure, and microbiome alterations (dysbiosis) have a pivotal role in the development of food allergy. Environmental factors, including a low-fibre/high-fat diet, cesarean delivery, antiseptic agents, lack of breastfeeding, and drugs can induce gut microbiome dysbiosis, and have been associated with food allergy. All these environmental factors act mainly on a modulation of gut microbiota structure and function which in turn could be responsible for the epigenetic regulation of genes involved in immune tolerance.
What can we do to help?
Research is showing that selected probiotic strains could act on immune tolerance mechanisms. The mechanisms are multiple and still not completely defined. But studies are providing useful information on the choice of optimal bacterial species/strains, dosage, and timing for intervention. The increased knowledge on the crucial role played by gut microbiota is helping scientists to target strains that can provide most benefit to the prevention, reduction, and elimination of childhood allergies.
Some factors shown to reduce food allergy occurrence include increased family size, exposure to pets and/or rural environment, healthy diet (full of fibres, fermented foods, antioxidants, omega-3), breastfeeding and the use of probiotics.
The Food Allergy Pyramid
Source: Front Immunol. 2019; 10: 191. Published online 2019 Feb 15
Children with food allergy (FA) present an increased risk of developing other conditions such as allergic disorders, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), and neuropsychiatric disorders. Several genetic factors are implicated in the development of these conditions, but recent evidence suggest the pivotal role of gut microbiome dysbiosis (induced by environmental factors). Emerging evidence support the hypothesis of dysbiosis as the first hit in the development of alterations in intestinal barrier and immune system function (responsible for the occurrence of FA and allergic disorders) and dysregulation of the brain-gut endocrine-immune system axis (responsible for the occurrence of FGIDs, IBD, and neuropsychiatric disorders), at least in part through an activation of epigenetic mechanisms.
So basically, heal the gut and you could heal the childhood allergies!
Gut microbiome as a target of intervention against food allergy: What can we do?
Source: Front Immunol. 2019; 10: 191. Published online 2019 Feb 15. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00191
This diagram represents the ways we can influence gut health and thus allergy responses. There are many environmental factors that we have direct control over such as the quality of our food choices, the ability to provide breast milk to an infant (from the mother or donor), and the addition of probiotic therapy.
Another journal publication has just been released about the benefits of probiotic use in children with allergies. The team conducted a systematic review of “Effects of probiotics in the treatment of food hypersensitivity in children: a systematic review”. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31477401
The research team conducted a systematic review based on clinical trials published in the PubMed and Web of Science databases. The searches were carried out using the MeSH terms "Food Hypersensitivity," "Probiotics," "Lactobacillus," and "Bifidobacterium".
The conclusion?
“The use of probiotics is beneficial in promoting immunomodulation and reducing clinical symptoms.”
Whilst they did note that more methodologically based research is needed to clarify the effect from each type, dose, and time of using them for the establishment of definitive care protocols, is was evident the the use of common probiotic strains such as lactobaccilis can help children with allergic responses.
In conclusion
If you have a child with allergies then the evidence currently supports the use of quality child-specific probiotic supplementation. If you need further support, please contact your primary health care provider or child health specialist.
