Probiotic Yogurt Helps Protect Against Heavy Metal Poisoning In Pregnant Women And Children

Numerous studies have discussed the benefits of probiotics, oftentimes sourced from yogurt. Now, recent findings published in the journal mBio show that they could help to protect children and pregnant women against heavy metal poisoning.

For the study, researchers from Canada and Tanzania tested the effects of consuming yogurt that contained the probiotic bacteria known as Lactobacillus rhamnosus. According to lead study author Dr. Gregor Reid of the Canadian Center for Human Microbiome and Probiotics, L. rhamnosus tends to bind to toxic heavy materials and protect against certain environmental health damages that can occur in oftentimes poorer regions of the world.

"Reduction in these compounds in the mothers could presumably decrease negative developmental effects in their fetus and newborns," said Dr. Reid, in a news release.

For the study, researchers gave out the probiotic yogurt to pregnant women and children near regions of Lake Victoria--a body of water that's polluted with pesticides and heavy toxic metals. Then, the researchers measured the two groups' levels of toxic metals before and after the experiment.

Findings revealed that the probiotic yogurt effectively protected pregnant women against arsenic and mercury. Furthermore, they also found that many children had reduced levels of toxins, though these findings were not statistically significant due to the small size and duration throughout the experiment.