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Background: Probiotics purportedly reduce symptoms of gastrointestinal and upper respiratory-tract illness by modulating commensal microflora. Preventing and reducing symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness are the primary reason that dietary supplementation with probiotics are becoming increasingly popular with healthy active individuals. There is a paucity of data regarding the effectiveness of probiotics in this cohort. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a probiotic on faecal microbiology, self-reported illness symptoms and immunity in healthy well trained individuals., Methods: Competitive cyclists (64 males and 35 females; age 35 ± 9 and 36 ± 9 y, VO2max 56 ± 6 and 52 ± 6 ml.kg-1.min-1, mean ± SD) were randomised to either probiotic (minimum 1 × 109 Lactobacillus fermentum (PCC®) per day) or placebo treatment for 11 weeks in a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial. The outcome measures were faecal L. fermentum counts, self-reported symptoms of illness and serum cytokines., Results: Lactobacillus numbers increased 7.7-fold (90% confidence limits 2.1- to 28-fold) more in males on the probiotic, while there was an unclear 2.2-fold (0.2- to 18-fold) increase in females taking the probiotic. The number and duration of mild gastrointestinal symptoms were ~2-fold greater in the probiotic group. However, there was a substantial 0.7 (0.2 to 1.2) of a scale step reduction in the severity of gastrointestinal illness at the mean training load in males, which became more pronounced as training load increased. The load (duration×severity) of lower respiratory illness symptoms was less by a factor of 0.31 (99%CI; 0.07 to 0.96) in males taking the probiotic compared with placebo but increased by a factor of 2.2 (0.41 to 27) in females. Differences in use of cold and flu medication mirrored these symptoms. The observed effects on URTI had too much uncertainty for a decisive outcome. There were clear reductions in the magnitude of acute exercise-induced changes in some cytokines., Conclusion: L. fermentum may be a useful nutritional adjunct for healthy exercising males. However, uncertainty in the effects of supplementation on URTI and on symptoms in females needs to be resolved., Trial Registration: The trial was registered in the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12611000006943).

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the dose-response effects of supplementation with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis (BB-12) and Lactobacillus paracasei subsp paracasei (CRL-431) on blood lipids, recovery from feces and bowel habits. Changes of the fecal microflora was analyzed in the 10(10) CFU/day probiotic and placebo group., Design: The study was designed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, parallel dose-response study., Subjects: Healthy young adults (18-40 years) were recruited by advertising in local newspapers. Of the 75 persons enrolled, 71 (46 women, 25 men, mean age 25.6 years (range 18-40 years)) completed the study., Intervention: The volunteers were randomly assigned into five groups receiving either placebo or a mixture of the two probiotics in the concentration of 10(8), 10(9), 10(10) or 10(11) CFU/day in 2 weeks run-in period, 3 weeks intervention and 2 weeks wash-out. Diary reporting bowel habits and well being (abdominal bloating, flatulence and headache) was kept for all 7 weeks and blood lipids, fecal recovery of BB-12 and CRL-431, as well as fecal microflora was tested before, immediately and 2 weeks after intervention., Results: The fecal recovery of BB-12 increased significantly (P < 0.001) with increasing dose. In the group receiving 10(11) CFU/day BB-12 was recovered from 13 out of 15 volunteers. CRL-431 was not recovered in any of the fecal samples. Supplementation with probiotics did not change the fecal bacterial composition. A significant linear increase in fecal consistency (looser stool) with increasing probiotic dose (P = 0.018) was observed. No overall dose-response effect was found on the blood lipids. High doses of probiotics were well tolerated., Conclusion: A dose-related recovery of BB-12 from feces was observed.

Background: Studies of long-term intake of industrially produced trans fatty acids (TFA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) suggest opposite effects on cardiovascular disease risk. Common mechanisms of action are probable., Objective: To examine the effects on cardiovascular risk markers of dietary enrichment with TFA or n-3 PUFA., Design: Randomized, double-blind, parallel intervention trial., Setting: Department of Human Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University., Subjects: In all, 87 healthy males included, 79 completed., Intervention: Subjects were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of a daily intake of 33 g of experimental fats from either partially hydrogenated soy oil containing 20 g of TFA, 12 g of fish oil with approximately 4 g of n-3 PUFA and 21 g of control fat, or 33 g of control fat. The experimental fats were incorporated into bakery products. Plasma lipids, blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), arterial dilatory capacity, compliance, and distensibility were recorded before and after intervention and at follow-up 12 weeks after the intervention., Results: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) decreased in the TFA group and triglycerides and mean arterial blood pressure decreased in the n-3 PUFA group compared to the control group. HRV, arterial dilatory capacity, compliance, and distensibility were unchanged., Conclusion: The results indicate that the association between coronary heart disease risk and intake of TFA and n-3 PUFA relates only modestly to changes in traditional risk markers., Sponsorship: Danish Medical Research Council (Grant no. 22-01-0390), Center of Advanced Food Research (Copenhagen, Denmark) (Grant no. KVL-R-2001-107), the Danish Heart Association (Grant no. 99-2-3-45-22748), Novozymes (Bagsvaerd, Denmark), Aarhus Olie (Aarhus, Denmark), and from private sources. The experimental fats were provided by Pronova Biocare (Aalesund, Norway) and Aarhus Olie (Aarhus, Denmark).