“Oh to be in England now that April’s there… .” Well, with all due respect to Robert Browning and his “Home Thoughts from Abroad,” April in England might be just lovely, but April in Los Angeles can be downright hellish for those of us who suffer from allergies. T.S. Eliot’s famous line seems more appropriate, “April is the cruelest month.”

Cruel indeed. The flowers bloom. The trees shed their pollen. The leaves start budding. Birdies are hatching. And suddenly … everyone is hacking and wheezing and sneezing and dripping and runny and irritated (and irritating). 

One morning we notice our cars covered in yellowish dust, and we frantically run to the pharmacy hoping to circumvent the onset of symptoms. But all to no avail. For we try one antihistamine after another with few, if any, results. Then, desperate, we try mixing and matching them, hoping to stumble upon the perfect allergy relief cocktail, and end up drowsy … or wired … or more miserable … but definitely not relieved of our maladies.

Now there is new hope for those of us who suffer in varying levels of silence and resentment from strange pollens breeding with LA's rarified smog mixture. The road to our salvation runs through … our stomachs. Or rather, in our small intestines.

Just what is this new wonder that promises a bright, allergy-free future? One word: probiotics. What, you ask, are probiotics? The opposite of antibiotics? Well, sort of. Just as antibiotics kill off the harmful bacteria that cause infections, probiotics promote (notice the repeated “pros” here) the establishment and growth of colonies of beneficial bacteria in our digestive tracts that help us digest our food properly, and keep our immune systems running properly.

Put simply, allergies occur when our immune systems treat environmental substances such as pollen or dust as if they are actually foreign infectious agents, and start attacking them. That is why allergy symptoms are often the same as cold symptoms. But new science—and a whole lot of food products marketing—suggests that by re-balancing the flora in our digestive tracts, we can get our immune systems back on track so that they actually fight infection rather than ambient substances.

And there is science to support the claims that probiotics boost immunity, especially in infants whose mothers take probiotics during pregnancy and lactation. According to Dr. Rita Kachru, an allergist/immunologist at the Allergy Medical Clinic in Los Angeles, “When you use probiotics, especially together with other anti-inflammatories like Omega-3 fatty acids, you improve tolerance to allergies.”

Tolerance is the key word here, because as Dr. Kachru stresses, “Probiotics can help control an allergic profile, not cure it.” That’s an important distinction.

FILL THE SHELVES

Chances are you don’t really want to think about eating live cultures, or the Petri dish that teems in your intestines, but soon you might not be able to help it as more and more food companies try to cash in on this latest trend.

Most are greedily eyeing the success of Dannon’s Activia line of yogurt products, which the company claims help you stay regular in the restroom, as well as boost your immune system. They have even named one of their trademarked live cultures “L. Casei Immunitas” to advertise the company’s claims for their products boosting immunity. The science has not yet rendered a definitive verdict on Dannon’s claims, but with more than $100 million in sales in its first year on the market, the food industry is taking notice.

Kashi Cereals is starting a new brand called Vive. Attune makes several probiotic “Wellness Bars” in a variety of flavors. Kraft LiveActive cheddar cheese will soon be on the market, and Yoplait is introducing Yo-Plus later this year as an alternative to Dannon’s Activia products. A company called Zukay Live Foods is even rolling out a line of condiments. Probiotic ketchup anyone?

But probiotics also come in a variety of more traditional, non-corporate forms — from your average cup of yogurt, to kombucha tea, to tofu and sauerkraut. Basically they are in anything fermented and non-pasteurized, but don’t go pounding the kefir just yet.

Dr. Kachru says “any kind of yogurt that has live cultures in it is just fine, and will give you a low level of probiotics.” However, like many others in her field, she remains skeptical of some of the newer probiotics products. It is unclear if pill-form supplements and food bars will survive the digestion process in your stomach to be absorbed in the intestines.

Keep in mind, you need to digest between 5-10 billion live, active bacteria in order to have any impact since fewer than that will not likely survive the stomach’s acidic environment to make it all the way to the intestines. You also have to eat them regularly, because if you stop, you lose the benefits almost immediately and have to start all over again.

FUNCTION OVER FORM

Probiotics are part of a larger movement towards “functional foods,” or foods with a purposes in addition to satisfying hunger. Other examples of functional foods are bran, which lowers cholesterol and helps prevent colon cancer. Green tea, with its anti-oxidant punch boosting the immune system and fighting inflammation in the body, is another popular “functional food.”

So while probiotics have not yet become the new Atkins Diet — after all, it is rather hard to base a diet solely on fermented foods — they seem destined to become a cornerstone of our conception of healthy eating and living. There has already been a plethora of media coverage, from a recent article in Time, to the New York Times, to ABC News to medical journals.

And now, you can find probiotics practically anywhere you go. Specifically in Los Angeles, they can be found in specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Rainbow Acres, but also in your local vitamin store and some pharmacies. If you really want to go whole hog, er, bacteria, you can even try the powerful pre-mixed liquid probiotics available at some of these outlets and see if you notice any difference after a week or two.

DINING IN AND OUT (ON PROBIOTICS?)

It might not be long before we even see a probiotics restaurant or two. After all, many restaurants are starting to filter their own tap water rather than using bottled water, as well as preparing their own condiments and infusions. Soon we may see home-fermented or home-cultured items, other than pickles and sauerkraut, on menus as well.

In his book, “The Probiotics Revolution,” Gary Huffnagle, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, says that probiotics certainly help with intestinal problems, but the research on their effects on allergies, immunity, and disease is still inconclusive. But as Dr. Kachru says that, “In my completely informal clinical observations, there is improvement in kids’ asthma when they are started on yogurt and omega 3’s.” The bottom line is that it is still early in the research process into the benefits of probiotics, but that so far, they seem to have a positive effect on many people.

So next time you’re at the grocery store, take a moment to stock up on your yogurt, or try a new fermented food, and see if you can make your springtime a little less runny and a little more sunny.

-- Eric Rosen