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Researchers Create New Probiotic Beer That Boosts Immunity (upi.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the health-beverages dept.

randomErr writes: A new patent has been filed for a innovative brewing technique that incorporates a live strain of good bacteria into the brewing process. Researchers at NUS (National University of Singapore) have created a probiotic sour beer that may boost immunity and improve gut health. The bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei L26 is capable of neutralizing toxins and viruses and regulating the immune system. Chan Mei Zhi Alcine, of the Food Science and Technology Program at NUS said, "While good bacteria are often present in food that have been fermented, there are currently no beers in the market that contain probiotics. Developing sufficient counts of live probiotics in beer is a challenging feat as beers contain hop acids that prevent the growth and survival of probiotics. As a believer of achieving a healthy diet through consuming probiotics, this is a natural choice for me when I picked a topic for my final-year project."

44 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. "As a believer"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As a believer of achieving a healthy diet through consuming probiotics, this is a natural choice for me when I picked a topic for my final-year project.

    Call us when you have gone through peer review by scientists who weren't hoping for a positive result before they even started. You're not doing any favours for the notion of probiotics having more scientific credibility than Revlon's latest innovation.

    1. Re:"As a believer"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Probiotics" have _Zero_ scientific validity. As in none at all and in many places, like the US and Europe, claiming that they have any validity is illegal:

      "Due to these ambiguities, the European Commission placed a ban on putting the word "probiotic" on the packaging of products because such labeling misleads consumers to believe a health benefit is provided by the product when no scientific proof exists to demonstrate that health effect.
      In the United States, the FDA and Federal Trade Commission have issued warning letters and imposed punishment on various manufacturers of probiotic products whose labels claim to treat a disease or condition."
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic

      BeauHD, you have some 'splaining to do, pushing Snakeoil on Slashdot.

    2. Re:"As a believer"? by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      So....they're invented basically Beer Kombucha?

      Just using beer ingredients (malt extract) instead of sweet tea?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:"As a believer"? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Probiotics" have _Zero_ scientific validity.

      That is true. But they used to have scientific validity. There was solid evidence that the probiotic bacteria in yogurt resulted in extended lifetimes in the valleys of the Caucasus Mountains, where yogurt consumption was unusually high, and always prepared with live cultures.

      ... but then in comparing age listed on birth certificates and baptismal records, with age determined by physical examination, there were wide discrepancies. It turns out the real reason for high longevity was forged documents used to avoid conscription during the First World War. The yogurt eaters actually had expected longevity well within the normal range.

      Oh well, it was a good theory while it lasted.

    4. Re:"As a believer"? by by+(1706743) · · Score: 2

      You're not doing any favours for the notion of probiotics having more scientific credibility than Revlon's latest innovation.

      Linked in TFA, and then there's a trivial web search:

      Probiotics are safe and appear to exert some beneficial effects in GI-related illnesses. The use of probiotics in non-GI illnesses is not sufficiently supported by current data.

      Or a little more googling and you'll find plenty of peer-reviewed articles saying they have a small beneficial effect (*for certain diseases/ailments*), with some studies recommending caution for various groups.

      No, they don't appear to be as medically useful as their "anti" counterparts, and they don't appear to cure cancer (though they can be good -- and bad! -- for cancer patients), but they are hardly in the same category as a beauty product.

      And

      Call us when you have gone through peer review by scientists who weren't hoping for a positive result before they even started.

      Seriously? a) That's why we have a peer review process in the first place, and b) do you honestly think we don't care one way or the other which way a study turns out? Obviously, it's our job to report the facts, but do you really think a scientist starts an experiment without, at some level, hoping for a remarkable result? There's no problem with personal bias, so long as it's just that -- *personal*, not professional.

    5. Re:"As a believer"? by mnemotronic · · Score: 2

      Oh well, it was a good theory while it lasted.

      Or perhaps we have not reached the pinnacle of ultimate medical knowledge. As they say, practicing medicine. Today's gospel is tomorrow's heresy is next year's gospel. And don't confuse probiotics with homeopathics, aka placebos.

      The human GI tract is well studied and documented but watch out if you ever get an intestinal parasite or disorder.
      Earlier this year I was infected with Cryptosporidium. My doctor tried a couple different treatments that seemed to work then didn't. I was basically a research project for something that you would think is pretty well understood. Let me tell you; it sucked. After 6 weeks of puking and diarrhea, sometimes almost simultaneously, pictures on request, I had lost 25 lbs. The doctor prescribed Metronidazole. This became a case of the treatment almost being worse than the disease. It got rid of the crypto but drastically increased my reaction to niacin and had other nasty effects. My farts smell chemically toxic. Several months later, my resting heart rate is 10 beats higher than before the crypto and Metro. Nobody has an explanation for that. Probiotics fixed the fart problem. All my doc can say is that the gut is a mystery.

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    6. Re:"As a believer"? by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      I'm surprised your doctor didn't try a "fecal transplant" from a healthy person. It's one of the new things being researched nowadays, but it sounds kinda yucky.

      The gut is a mystery. We haven't even identified all the various bacteria that live there and have no clue what all of them actually do for or against us.

    7. Re:"As a believer"? by chuckr30 · · Score: 1

      I agree. Probiotics have no validity. We know that a family of bacteria in the gut is needed for good health, and bad health is indicated by the "bad" family of bacteria in the gut. But 1. How does the bacteria survive the alcohol? 2. How much of the bacteria actually survives a gut containing toxic chemicals in the first place?

    8. Re:"As a believer"? by Bengie · · Score: 1

      Probiotics got rid of my heartburn. Chronic heartburn can directly cause esophageal cancer. Removing the heart burn means I no longer have the risk of esophageal cancer caused by heart burn. Probiotics have reduced my risk of cancer. Stop taking probitoics, 2-3 weeks later, heart burn is back, noticeably reduced heartburn after 3-4 days, as in I don't wake up in the middle of the night from pain. I was on Prilosec for a few years before I gave probiotics a try.

      There are peer reviewed research for certain patented probiotic strains of bacteria that have very reliably reduced or nearly rid IBS symptoms or reduced the rate at which immunocompromised people got sick from regular seasonal illnesses.

      I also no longer need to consume Metamucil to have regular bowel movements. I had to start consuming Metamucil regularly after getting constipated enough to have to go to the doctor. After I started consuming probiotics, I stopped consuming Metamucil to see if I would have any issues. I did not. But if I stopped taking probiotics and Metamucil , my constipation would start to come back after 1-2 weeks as not perfectly timed bowl movements every morning or feeling bloated at night. I have tried this several times during an experimental year when I was trying to see if I needed to continue consuming supplements. I would try different combinations for different lengths of time, and I decided to make these supplements a regular part of my life after the issues would reliably go away and return depending on me taking them.

    9. Re:"As a believer"? by Bengie · · Score: 1

      Probiotic bacteria in yogurt does absolutely nothing for my heart burn but even the cheapest probiotic supplement makes a world of difference for me. Not all probiotics have perceptible, yet alone measurable, benefits.

    10. Re:"As a believer"? by toonces33 · · Score: 1

      Well lying about your age is something lots of people do, but they usually want to drop a few years and not the other way around.

  2. Look for the disclaimer by Chewbacon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

    --
    Chewbacon
    The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
  3. Starbucks Ice by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    Let's just hope they are using different approach to the one which Starbucks et al seems to be using. (It's probably a good idea to finish your coffee before clicking!)

  4. How much do you have to drink by ozduo · · Score: 4, Funny

    To get a healthy beer gut?

    --
    I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
  5. More famous last words ... by sk999 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "No, No, these are the GOOD kind of bacteria."

  6. Homer Simpson said it by Megahard · · Score: 1

    "Beer, is there anything it can't do?"

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
    1. Re:Homer Simpson said it by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      "Beer. The cause of - and solution to - all life's problems."

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  7. What was old becomes new again... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Before scientists figured out that clean water was safer to drink, people drink alcohol all the time because the fermentation process killed most bacteria.

    1. Re:What was old becomes new again... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      DRANK, you hairy-fingered simian! Why do you have such a hard time getting tenses correct?

      This is Slashdot, not a literary magazine.

  8. Someone IMPROVED on "Beer" ? by Zurkeyon3733 · · Score: 1

    Buy that Man a NEW AND IMPROVED BEER! :-D (I mean shit, at that point what else would you get him....)

  9. Really? by kenh · · Score: 1

    Researchers Create New Probiotic Beer That Boosts Immunity

    Poop beer?

    --
    Ken
  10. Re: Wrong product by kenh · · Score: 1

    I was under the impression that beer companies want to sell a lot of beer, not 'one per' drinker...

    Imagining someone grabbing a six-pack of this 'poop beer' and jumping in a row boat to go fishing - I imagine it could get 'messy' when that 6x dose of probiotic emzymes hits their digestive system...

    --
    Ken
  11. Boost immunity? by SuicidalLabRat · · Score: 2

    What the hell is that supposed to mean?

  12. Re: Wrong product by Zurkeyon3733 · · Score: 1

    This all depends on how "regular" you are... This could be the perfect beer if you find yourself trying to crap a concrete silo every morning :-P

  13. Probiotics is horseshit by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    There is a lot more to maintaining healthy gut bacteria than just drinking them down. There have been precious few studies that show "probiotic" foods or drinks actually do anything, and almost none that show effects that are more than extremely temporary.

    If you want to have healthy gut bacteria, you've got to eat a variety of healthy food that have been minimally processed or not processed at all. And stay off the antibiotics. Fermented foods and foods that are advertised as having "live bacteria" just won't get the job done.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Probiotics is horseshit by sad_ · · Score: 1

      eating varied and healthy, skipping my nice fat, salty and suggary processed foods sounds too much trouble.
      i'd rather just go for feces transplantation instead...

      --
      On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
    2. Re:Probiotics is horseshit by Evtim · · Score: 1

      Fermented foods and foods that are advertised as having "live bacteria" just won't get the job done

      That sir, is a fallacy :)

      Yogurt that has no live bacteria inside is a simple protein shake, so why would you buy it in the first place - get the shake instead! My apologies to all you reasonable /. readers and writers; I am well aware that "official medicine" has not figured out the GI tract yet. However, I simply cannot discount my own experience here - when you get cured [by fermented foods and some probiotics] within few months after suffering for 7 years [ and now 3 years later without probiotics, just good diet and some fermented foods] and being given every possible "medically approved and tested" treatment I can only say "figure out the science instead of blatantly disregarding so many successfully treatments".

      I mean, nobody disputes the importance of the little monsters in our guts [even here we get 1 story per month about it; check the TED talks too, etc.]. But we don't know everything there....OK one thing we DO know is that the food of today is sterilized. So where do you get the bugs from if due to illness or antibiotic they are decimated? From the appendix, says the latest research - but many people have that one removed [BTW, here is another "approved scientific fact" - that the appendix has no useful function - that turned out to be quite wrong!]. Many bugs would come from the air but some can be found ONLY in non-sterilized food.

      But it gest worse - not only is the food sterilized but in a green house environment [alas, not only] the bugs are missing from the "soil" itself...guess what, many minerals we get from food are present in the plant because those microorganisms in the soil put them there....

      What I see here is the perfect scam that always results when things are left in the hands of "money". We deprive our food from beneficial microorganisms and minerals and instead we manufacture those as pills and sell them for top buck WITHOUT having good understanding about how those things are assimilated by the body. Will probiotic deliver the bugs in the large intestine - most of the time the answer is NO! Same with the milti-vitamin pills and mineral pills - this way of assimilating is not what the body is used to and many times the delivery mechanism fails. I mean, if it was that easy, why don't we feed ourselves directly with glucose - after all the nutrients end up in the blood stream as sugar. Bypass the whole thing - feed yourself directly with sugar and vitamins and see what that would do. But no - it does not work....you need the food, all of it - the plants, the meat, the fish, diary and so on....you need the bugs in the food and the minerals.

      Only humans are so stupid as to try replacing the excellent, optimized, perfectly evolved and adapted way of living and interacting of our bodies with the environment with artificial, engineering constructions. Like the idiots that want to build a mirror in space [or create clouds with ships, or created nuclear winter by dispersing sulphur in the air] to deflect sun light instead of lowering the bloody green house emissions!

      Bottom line: probiotics are largely a scam due to failed delivery mechanism not because the bugs do not help! Fermented foods are not scam and they do help, period!
      Remember - the fact that carbon trading is a scam does not mean there is no global warming! Do not throw the baby with the water!

    3. Re:Probiotics is horseshit by dj245 · · Score: 1

      There is a lot more to maintaining healthy gut bacteria than just drinking them down. There have been precious few studies that show "probiotic" foods or drinks actually do anything, and almost none that show effects that are more than extremely temporary.

      If you want to have healthy gut bacteria, you've got to eat a variety of healthy food that have been minimally processed or not processed at all. And stay off the antibiotics. Fermented foods and foods that are advertised as having "live bacteria" just won't get the job done.

      There has been a lot of scientific activity lately that shows that the bacteria in the gut play a large role in every aspect of both mental and physical health. There is correlation that fat people and thin people have different ratios of different types of bacteria. Cause or effect, who knows, but the correlation is there.

      My personal pet theory (based on basically nothing) is that it is reasonable to assume that bacteria which are successful in breaking down food outside the body may also affect how food is broken down inside the body. In our refrigerated, sanitize everything western society, we may be damping down such kinds of good bacteria. In my wife's culture, it is acceptable to leave stews, soups, and sauces on the countertop for much longer than most people in the USA. Leaving a stew, covered, at room temperature for 24-48 hours is common in her culture. The food is reheated before eating, but even so, this practice is almost unthinkable to most Americans. This difference in practice could result in differences in bacteria, either directly by allowing bacteria to grow on the food, or indirectly by breaking down the food outside the body and giving certain internal bacteria an advantage over other types.

      Even if we are eating the exact same foods, the exact details of how it is prepared may matter.

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    4. Re:Probiotics is horseshit by Bengie · · Score: 1

      there is correlation that fat people and thin people have different ratios of different types of bacteria. Cause or effect, who knows, but the correlation is there.

      There have been a few fecal transplants where a fat person got one from a skinny person, then the fat person lost nearly all of their excess weight after the transplant without a change to their diet or exercise.

  14. What's next? by markdavis · · Score: 1

    Perhaps vitamin C added to cigarettes or Omga fatty acids in pot brownies or high protein potato chips or super fiber added to mega caffeine energy drinks? Hmmm.

    Or you could just eat those without the carriers?

  15. Meaningless Drivel by ContextSwitch · · Score: 1
    "Boost the immune system" means what exactly?

    " neutralizing toxins" - what are these "toxins"?

    "Good bacteria" - over-simplification.

    /. - you're better than this!

  16. Re:Dr. Banjo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you don't think bacteria is important to proper digestion then I suggest you go on antibiotics for a month and see how well you can digest things.

    That said, all things in moderation.

  17. Defeats the purpose of beer by dargaud · · Score: 3, Interesting
    OK, I'll try to sum up what beer and yeast is. Yeast evolved over a long time by actually loosing the ability to turn alcohol into vinegar. Many microorganisms can digest sugars into alcohol and then vinegar in one fell swoop. When yeast lost that, it was actually an evolutionary advantage because alcohol is toxic, so by itself evolving to resist the toxicity of alcohol, it could kill of the competition (all the other microorganisms present in rotting fruits) and live happily. Men used that ability to make beer, wine, etc... Wild yeast dies off after something like 8% alcohol, but humans have been selecting it for 10ky so it resists 12% (and now up to 15% in some strong wines).

    So, my point is that making a beer with other stuff growing in it can mean only a few things: either you kill off the yeast after its work is done and replace it with probiotics, or you make a piss weak beer that won't kill off the probiotics, or it's bullshit and the probiotic's dead from the alcohol.

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
    1. Re:Defeats the purpose of beer by hawkfish · · Score: 1

      OK, I'll try to sum up what beer and yeast is. Yeast evolved over a long time by actually loosing the ability to turn alcohol into vinegar. Many microorganisms can digest sugars into alcohol and then vinegar in one fell swoop. When yeast lost that, it was actually an evolutionary advantage because alcohol is toxic, so by itself evolving to resist the toxicity of alcohol, it could kill of the competition (all the other microorganisms present in rotting fruits) and live happily. Men used that ability to make beer, wine, etc... Wild yeast dies off after something like 8% alcohol, but humans have been selecting it for 10ky so it resists 12% (and now up to 15% in some strong wines).

      Not only that, but humans have been evolving to tolerate ethyl alcohol for about 10My:

      The results suggested there was a single genetic mutation 10 million years ago that endowed human ancestors with an enhanced ability to break down ethanol. "I remember seeing this huge difference in effects with this mutation and being really surprised," Carrigan said.

      --
      You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
  18. Re: Sour beer? No thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You're having problems finding a good beer in denver ?

    You're doing it wrong.

  19. It's called Kombucha by Dripdry · · Score: 1

    It's called Kombucha, people!

    --
    -
  20. BO-RING! by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    We've already got beer that makes people more attractive.
    Also one that makes them experts at sports trivia and politics.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  21. Re:Sour beer? No thanks. by Quirkz · · Score: 1

    Try the Wynkoop brewpub. It's about halfway between the Convention Center and Coors Field.

    --
    The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  22. I've had this beer already. by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

    One of the local breweries makes a Dinosour beer with these Lactus bacterial beasties in it.

    Not bad. Not great either.

    --

    ---
    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  23. Eat Your Garlic by rea1l1 · · Score: 1

    https://authoritynutrition.com...

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/me...

    1. Re:Eat Your Garlic by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

      Thanks! I love the "This is what garlic looks like" picture :-) How can anyone not know this? My wife has IBS, SIBO and endometriosis, so we're well aware of curcuminoids, which sounds like some kind of alien life-form from Star Trek: "We are the Curcuminoids. Prepare to be Adwords-sorbed. It is the will of Land 'O Roo"

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  24. And Don't Forget Your Turmeric Too by rea1l1 · · Score: 1

    https://authoritynutrition.com...

  25. obvious flaw in claim by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    the yeast in beer and wine is a probiotic

  26. Healthy beer? Get rid of the hops! Hops = poison. by scatbomb · · Score: 1

    It's well known that hops were added to beer by the church in 1516 through the "beer purity act" in order to quell it's people, counter-act the beers used in pagan rituals, and to extract taxes. Hops contains large amounts of estradiol, which converts in estrogen in the body and causes men to become fat, lazy, less virile, and less energetic. The church first noticed this when they found that girls working the hops began menstruating very early and men had decreased sexual desire. Before the beer purity act, beer contained a large variety of herbs and roots which were used to prevent spoilage in place of hops. Beers of the pre-hops period (now called "gruits") are more refreshing and less sleep-inducing than the hops-containing beers. So if you want to make a beer that isn't destructive to the body, get rid of the hops. It's that easy. http://brewgruit.blogspot.com/...