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Feces: It’s What’s for Dinner
A new probiotic sausage gets its health benefits from an unlikely source.

By Madeline Lumley

 
People will try anything these days to improve their health. Weeklong juice cleanses, acupuncture or meditation sessions — apparently even a dinner made from used diapers. Yes, you read that right: The latest experimental “health” food is made from baby poop.

Food scientists in Spain recently extracted bacteria from 43 fecal samples straight out of infants’ diapers. Their goal: to create a healthy meat product (specifically, a probiotic sausage) that could be eaten in the place of other probiotic-rich foods, like yogurt or kefir, a type of fermented milk.

After the extracted bacteria is cultured, researchers implemented the strains into six bundles of a Catalonian fermented sausage called “fuet,” according to LiveScience.com. A co-author of the study, food microbiologist Anna Jofre, told LiveScience, “Probiotic fermented sausages will give an opportunity to consumers who don’t take dairy products the possibility to include probiotic foods to their diet.”

Probiotics are live microorganisms — commonly considered “good” bacteria — credited for providing a range of health benefits for consumers.

But not everyone agrees. Jonathon Spages, clinic director and founder of the Integrated Health Center of New Jersey, said he’s only a partial fan of including probiotics in one’s diet.
“I see, on a continued basis, that yogurts and probiotics are not full-spectrum. This can create dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) of the gut,” Spages said. “It can create weight gain, tiredness and a series of other health problems.”

A 2003 study on the effects of probiotics on human health conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) claims the opposite is true.

“Several probiotics microbial strains have been characterized, and health effects associated with the intake of these probiotics have been reported in human studies; including alleviation of lactose intolerance, immune enhancement and a decrease in fecal enzymes and mutagenicity,” the ARS found.

The USDA also claims every adult needs three full glasses of milk every day. It could be right, but taking its recommendations with a grain of salt probably wouldn’t hurt.

“How often do I find patients out of balance because they eat yogurt? Sixty percent of the time,” Spages said. “It’s a real pain to try to fix it, too. My philosophy is to not guess, but to really know what is going on in the intestines before just taking a probiotic because a TV commercial says to take one.”

The probiotic sausages may have potential as a health food, despite the unappetizing source of bacteria. When asked how the sausages taste, Jofre and her colleagues apparently tried them all and enjoyed them. Whether the health benefits are real or not, there’s no question this new meat is not for the faint of heart. For now, we’ll stick with our Greek yogurt.

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Photo by Health Gauge

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