Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG - Many Names, Many Health Benefits
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, also known as "L. rhamnosus GG" or "LGG" is a probiotic bacteria with many health benefits. As you learned on the Lactobacillus rhamnosus general page, this species of bacteria has some unique characteristics depending on the strain. LGG stands alone as being one of the most different strains currently known in this probiotic species.
What is LGG ?
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG was isolated from the intestinal tract of a healthy human. Dr. Sherwood Gorbach and Dr. Barry Goldin from Boston, MA filed for a patent in April of 1985, and called it “GG” because of their last names. Therefore, unless a product specifically says that it contains this strain, it does not contain L. rhamnosus GG, and you're not getting what you may hope to be paying for.
LGG® is a registered trademark of Valio Ltd., Finland. In the patent application, it was claimed that Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can survive in normal human stomach acid at pH of 2.5 for 30 minutes and is bile stable. This means that it can survive passage through the stomach and small intestine. They also claimed that LGG was able to vigorously adhere to human intestinal cells, a claim that is disputed because some studies show that it can adhere only moderately to mucus cells.
LGG Has Many Studies to Back It
I plan on publishing a guide on the uses of LGG shown in research. Here is a taste of what that research shows:
ALLERGY: Probiotic LGG may make a difference in allergy signs and symptoms in children with cow's milk allergy.
"Children with cow's milk allergy (CMA) have an increased risk of other allergic manifestations (AMs)...parallel-arm randomized controlled trial to test whether administration of an extensively hydrolyzed casein formula (EHCF) containing the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can reduce the occurrence of other AMs in children with CMA."
Children were followed for 3 years and the conclusion was that compared to EHCF only, "EHCF+LGG reduces the incidence of other AMs and hastens the development of oral tolerance in children with IgE-mediated CMA.."
Where to Find Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG
At the time of this writing, LGG is found in many products all over the world. For example, Aktifit® by Emmi Switzerland is a yogurt drink containing LGG with Streptocucus thermophilus, although the amounts of each in a serving are unknown. Since there are so many products, the best advice is to always, always, read product labels.
In the USA, LGG is
found in at least 4 mainstream supplement products,
- Culturelle (this link leads to a page about it on my site)
- Solgar Advanced 40+ Acidophilus Vegetable Capsules,
- Solgar Advanced Multi-Billion Dophilus® Vegetable Capsules,
- Solgar Multi-Acidophilus Powder
It is also found in practitioner-only supplements from Metagenics and others which I can order for you as a client.
Return to Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
Learn more about Lactobacillus species here.
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