Probiotics – The Trend That’s Here To Stay
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 14 /PRNewswire/ — Each March the United States of America celebrates National Nutrition Month(R)** as the perfect time to revaluate lifestyle choices and eating habits. A recent addition to the nation’s dietary vocabulary is “probiotics,” or the healthy bacteria, found in products like Dannon’s new DanActive(TM), a probiotic dairy drink that is clinically proven to help strengthen the body’s defenses when enjoyed daily. Different probiotic strains provide unique benefits, and DanActive contains the proprietary probiotic L. casei Immunitas(TM) culture.
Lack of sleep, stress, and a hectic lifestyle can weaken the body’s defense system and affect overall well-being. Because these challenges may arise in the course of everyday life, consumers can take proactive steps to help counteract some of the negative effects. By educating themselves about incorporating good bacteria into their diets, people can be better prepared to help maintain a strong defense system and good diet habits.
The body has several natural systems to defend itself, and one of the most important is in the digestive tract. It is a little known fact that about 70 percent of a person’s immune system is located in the digestive tract. This is where DanActive, with its unique probiotic culture, goes to work.
Hannah Keeley — author, mother of seven and creator of TotalMom.com — recommends DanActive to busy families as part of their wellness routine. After getting her seven kids up, dressed, fed, and shuttled to and from activities, Hannah knows first-hand the effects a hectic lifestyle can have on her family.
“Think about your most frenetic morning, and then add seven kids to the mix,” Keeley says. “Through all the challenges our family faces daily, we try to keep up our body’s defenses! Out of sheer necessity, I’ve devised a number of coping strategies over the years, and some of the most important ones have to do with helping keep your body’s natural defenses running strong.”
“National Nutrition Month(R) is a good opportunity to take stock of you family’s dietary decisions, and a product like DanActive is such a simple way to help strengthen you family’s natural defenses for the day ahead,” she added. “It takes only a few moments for you and your kids to enjoy a bottle every morning, and, as a bonus, it’s a good source of calcium. Probiotic drinks are big in Europe, and we’re seeing the beginning of something big here, too.”
The word probiotic literally means “for life.” Probiotics are live cultures that, when consumed in sufficient quantities, give health benefits beyond basic nutrition. In a recent survey, only 15 percent of adult American women said they know what probiotics are. But an international probiotics expert and microbiologist notes that probiotics are receiving new attention.
“Recent research has uncovered a great deal about how the microbes naturally colonizing our bodies can help keep us well and how we can bolster these effects by consuming health-promoting bacteria called probiotics. A key to how microbes can help keep us healthy is their influence on the immune system in the digestive tract,” said Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., Executive
Director of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP).
In many countries, probiotic drinks are a part of daily routines. Across Europe and Asia, DanActive has been enjoyed for years under the brand name Actimel. More than 6 million bottles are consumed daily around the world.
Clinically Proven Benefits
Each serving of DanActive contains 10 billion active cultures of Lactobacillus casei Immunitas(TM) — a strain available only from Dannon that’s proven to survive, in very high quantities, passage through the digestive tract and remain active once there. In studies performed over more than 10 years, scientists have confirmed that DanActive helps maintain three distinct lines of the body’s defenses:
* DanActive has a positive effect on the balance of the intestinal microflora — it helps to regulate the level of “friendly” bacteria when poor diet, stress, and other environmental conditions create an imbalance.(1) * DanActive helps strengthen the function of the intestinal lining by favoring the integrity of the intestinal wall enhancing this barrier function.(2) * DanActive helps optimize the functioning of the digestive tract’s immune system by enhancing the restoration of specific immune responses.(3,4)
Drinking a bottle of DanActive every day as part of a healthy diet provides a simple, effective, enjoyable way for everyone — adults, seniors, and children — to help strengthen their body’s defenses. DanActive is great any time of the day, and drinking it at breakfast is an easy way to make it part of the whole family’s wellness routine.
DanActive has the terrific taste consumers expect from Dannon and is available in four delicious flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, and Cranberry Raspberry. DanActive contains no artificial flavors or preservatives.
Most Women Unaware That Digestive Tract Contains Majority of Immune System
Only 21% of women realize that about 70% of a person’s immune system is in their digestive tract — one of the body’s most important natural systems to defend itself, however, many women understand what challenges the body’s defenses. Most women realize that stress (91 percent), lack of sleep (90 percent) and eating poorly (87 percent) weaken the body’s defenses.(5)
About Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can help affect the positive balance of bacteria in the digestive tract, where about 70 percent of the body’s immune system is located. Different strains of probiotics usually provide specific benefits. Health benefits of probiotics vary, depending on the strain of probiotic bacteria used, the activity of the strain, the quantity consumed and how they are delivered. Probiotics must be identified, food-grade and alive in adequate amounts at the time of ingestion. In addition, research shows that probiotic cultures that survive and are active in the human gastrointestinal tract confer the most benefits. For more information about probiotics and their role in human health, please visit the Dannon Probiotics Center Web site, http://www.probioticscenter.com/, a comprehensive online resource for health professionals, consumers and the media.
About DanActive
DanActive is a delicious probiotic cultured dairy drink that contains a unique strain, L. casei Immunitas(TM), and is clinically proven to help strengthen the body’s defenses. DanActive, known as Actimel worldwide, is sold across 35 countries where it has been a global success with more than 6 million bottles consumed daily around the world.
Dannon, a leader in probiotics, also recently introduced Activia, a lowfat yogurt that contains a different probiotic strain than DanActive and provides a different benefit. Activia contains Bifidus Regularis(TM), a natural probiotic culture, and can help regulate the digestive system by helping with slow intestinal transit (the time it takes food to pass through the digestive system). Dannon is also adding the world’s most researched probiotic culture for children, Lactobacillus GG (LGG(TM)), to its existing Danimals line of lowfat yogurt cups and drinks made for kids. Starting in January 2007, Danimals Drinks and Danimals XL(TM) varieties contain “Only the Good Stuff,”(TM) no artificial colors, no artificial flavors and no high fructose corn syrup, and will include LGG, which has been clinically proven to have positive effects on gastrointestinal function, the function of the immune system and the maintenance of oral health when consumed as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
DanActive is available at grocery stores and other food retailers across the United States. More information about the probiotic benefits of DanActive cultured dairy drink, and a list of retail locations that offer it, is available online at http://www.danactive.com/.
About The Dannon Company, Inc.
The Dannon Company, Inc., is America’s founding national yogurt company and continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative cultured fresh dairy products in the United States. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; and West Jordan, Utah. The company produces and sells approximately 100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of cultured fresh dairy products. Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone, one of the world’s leading producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone.
With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company, Inc. is committed to encouraging healthy eating and living and strives to innovate with one goal in mind: to create foods for families and individuals with their health and enjoyment in mind. For more information, please visit http://www.dannon.com/.
About Hannah Keeley
Hannah Keeley is a writer, television personality, founder of TotalMom.com, and mother of seven children. Her first book, “Hannah’s Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality,” helped readers de-clutter, clean, organize, and decorate their homes. Her second book, “Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life” (Little, Brown & Co) will hit the shelves in April. She has appeared on TLC, when she did a two-room makeover for a busy mom of six, and appears weekly on WTVR CBS 6 in Richmond where she hosts her own Total Mom Moment. She has a monthly Q&A column, “Hannah, Help Me!” which will begin appearing in Richmond Parents Monthly in May. She has been featured in numerous magazines, such as Woman’s Day, Redbook, Family Circle, and Real Simple.
Survey
Nationwide consumer survey on knowledge and understanding of probiotics conducted September 2006.
** National Nutrition Month(R) is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the American Dietetic Association, which is not affiliated with The Dannon Company, Inc. or DanActive. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. (1) The Danone Group, 2004. DanActive Immunity: Scientific Summary for Healthcare Professionals. 2004. Available online at http://www.danactive.com/images/DanActive_Scientific_Summary.pdf. (2) Ibid. (3) Ibid. (4) http://www.niaid.nih.gov/dir/labs/lir/hiv/packet2.htm. (5) StrategyOne on behalf of Dannon. Telephone omnibus survey among Americans regarding their knowledge and understanding of probiotics and their immune system. September 2006. Media Contact: Ashley Cheng/Edelman (212) 704-8258 ashley.cheng@edelman.com
The Dannon Company, Inc.
CONTACT: Ashley Cheng, Edelman, +1-212-704-8258,ashley.cheng@edelman.com for The Dannon Company, Inc.
Web site: http://www.dannon.com/http://www.danactive.com/http://www.probioticscenter.com/