Indian Dietetic Association, Pune Chapter Organizes A Symposium On Probiotics
Online, June 10, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Indian Dietetic Association, Pune chapter organized a symposium on probiotics to deliberate on emerging scientific evidence for the use of probiotics in prevention and treatment of diseases. Dr. Geeta Dharmatti, President, IDA, Pune chapter stated that "with the entry of probiotic foods in India, consumer interest in their role for improvement and maintenance of health is rapidly growing. The objective of the activities of the Indian Dietetic Association (IDA), Pune chapter is to share the latest developments in the field with dieticians and medical experts, so that this knowledge can be passed on to the common man in all sections of the population, for the betterment of their health. We are very happy to organize a symposium in one of the most important rapidly growing areas of science and we hope that the symposium would have provided an insight into the potential role of probiotics in improving health of both children and adults".
The conference was addressed by Dr. Philip Abraham, Sr. Gasteroentologist & Hepatologist, P.D. Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai, Mrs. Anita Jatana, Chief Dietician, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, New Delhi and other prominent speakers. Dr Philip Abraham critically reviewed the scientific evidence, both from India and abroad, for the use of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of various gastrointestinal conditions in children and adults; he also touched on their use in non-gastrointestinal conditions. "He stated that probiotic benefits are strain specific and health-care professionals should assess the scientific data backing these claims."
Mrs. Anita Jatana said that "probiotics have been included as a dietary recommendation for many of the patients at the hospital, and we found probiotic intervention to be effective when used in conjunction with conventional medicine." During her presentation she presented cases and gave an insight on the utility of probiotics in various disease conditions making it useful for the medical fraternity to understand its utility and role.
Dr. Neerja Hajela, Head - Science of Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd, gave an over view of the science behind probiotics exemplified by Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS), a strain of bacteria that has more than 75 years of scientific research to back its safety and efficacy. She stated that "Yakult, a probiotic drink that contains 6.5 billion live beneficial bacteria (LcS) in every bottle meets the labeling and other requirements in compliance with the recently established ICMR- DBT guidelines for probiotic foods. Yakult is backed by its own dossier of scientific evidence for the benefit that it imparts in improving digestion and building immunity when consumed regularly."