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Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
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Regular consumption of dairy foods containing lactose can promote a colonic bacteria adaptation, enhancing a favorable microbiome, which allows people with primary lactase deficiency to diminish their intolerance and to consume more dairy foods. The way to induce tolerance is based on progressive exposure, consuming smaller amounts frequently, distributed throughout the day. Lactose intolerance can also be managed by ingesting live yogurt cultures containing lactobacilli that are able to digest the lactose in other dairy products. This may explain why many South Asians, though genetically lactose intolerant, are able to consume large quantities of milk without many symptoms of lactose intolerance, since consuming live yogurt cultures is very common among the South Asian population.
Environmental factors—more specifically, the consumption of lactose—may "play a more important role than genetic factors in the etio-pathogenesis of milk intolerance".
Plant-based "milks" and derivatives such as soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, hemp milk, and peanut milk are inherently lactose-free. Low-lactose and lactose-free versions of foods are often available to replace dairy-based foods for those with lactose intolerance.
The prognosis of children diagnosed with intolerance to milk is good: patients respond to diet which excludes cow's milk protein and the majority of patients succeed in forming tolerance. Children with non-IgE-mediated cows milk intolerance have a good prognosis, whereas children with IgE-mediated cows milk allergy in early childhood have a significantly increased risk for persistent allergy, development of other food allergies, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis.
A study has demonstrated that identifying and appropriately addressing food sensitivity in IBS patients not previously responding to standard therapy results in a sustained clinical improvement and increased overall well being and quality of life.
There is emerging evidence from studies of cord bloods that both sensitization and the acquisition of tolerance can begin in pregnancy, however the window of main danger for sensitization to foods extends prenatally, remaining most critical during early infancy when the immune system and intestinal tract are still maturing. There is no conclusive evidence to support the restriction of dairy intake in the maternal diet during pregnancy in order to prevent. This is generally not recommended since the drawbacks in terms of loss of nutrition can out-weigh the benefits. However, further randomised, controlled trials are required to examine if dietary exclusion by lactating mothers can truly minimize risk to a significant degree and if any reduction in risk is out-weighed by deleterious impacts on maternal nutrition.
A Cochrane review has concluded feeding with a soy formula cannot be recommended for prevention of allergy or food intolerance in infants. Further research may be warranted to determine the role of soy formulas for prevention of allergy or food intolerance in infants unable to be breast fed with a strong family history of allergy or cow's milk protein intolerance. In the case of allergy and celiac disease others recommend a dietary regimen is effective in the prevention of allergic diseases in high-risk infants, particularly in early infancy regarding food allergy and eczema. The most effective dietary regimen is exclusively breastfeeding for at least 4–6 months or, in absence of breast milk, formulas with documented reduced allergenicity for at least the first 4 months, combined with avoidance of solid food and cow's milk for the first 4 months.
Researchers at Monash University in Australia developed dietary guidelines for managing fructose malabsorption, particularly for individuals with IBS.
Foods that should be avoided by people with fructose malabsorption include:
- Foods and beverages containing greater than 0.5 g fructose in excess of glucose per 100 g and greater than 0.2 g of fructans per serving should be avoided. Foods with >3 g of fructose per serving are termed a 'high fructose load' and possibly present a risk of inducing symptoms. However, the concept of a 'high fructose load' has not been evaluated in terms of its importance in the success of the diet.
- Foods with high fructose-to-glucose ratio. Glucose enhances absorption of fructose, so fructose from foods with fructose-to-glucose ratio 1, like apples and pears, are often problematic regardless of the total amount of fructose in the food.
- Foods rich in fructans and other fermentable oligo-, di- and mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), including artichokes, asparagus, leeks, onions, and wheat-containing products, including breads, cakes, biscuits, breakfast cereals, pies, pastas, pizzas, and wheat noodles.
- Foods containing sorbitol, present in some diet drinks and foods, and occurring naturally in some stone fruits, or xylitol, present in some berries, and other polyols (sugar alcohols), such as erythritol, mannitol, and other ingredients that end with -tol, commonly added as artificial sweeteners in commercial foods.
- Foods containing high fructose corn syrup.
Foods with a high glucose content ingested with foods containing excess fructose may help sufferers absorb the excess fructose.
The role that fructans play in fructose malabsorption is still under investigation. However, it is recommended that fructan intake for fructose malabsorbers should be kept to less than 0.5 grams/serving, and supplements with "inulin" and "fructooligosaccharide" (FOS), both fructans, should be avoided.
Treatment is directed largely towards management of underlying cause:
- Replacement of nutrients, electrolytes and fluid may be necessary. In severe deficiency, hospital admission may be required for nutritional support and detailed advice from dietitians. Use of enteral nutrition by naso-gastric or other feeding tubes may be able to provide sufficient nutritional supplementation. Tube placement may also be done by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, or surgical jejunostomy. In patients whose intestinal absorptive surface is severely limited from disease or surgery, long term total parenteral nutrition may be needed.
- Pancreatic enzymes are supplemented orally in pancreatic insufficiency.
- Dietary modification is important in some conditions:
- Gluten-free diet in coeliac disease.
- Lactose avoidance in lactose intolerance.
- Antibiotic therapy to treat Small Bowel Bacterial overgrowth.
- Cholestyramine or other bile acid sequestrants will help reducing diarrhoea in bile acid malabsorption.
Approximately one third of presumed NGCS patients continue to have symptoms, despite gluten withdrawal. Apart from a possible diagnostic error, there are multiple possible explanations.
One reason is poor compliance with gluten withdrawal, whether voluntary and/or involuntary. There may be ingestion of gluten, in the form of cross contamination or food containing hidden sources. In some cases, the amelioration of gastrointestinal symptoms with a gluten-free diet is only partial, and these patients could significantly improve with the addition of a low-FODMAPs diet.
A subgroup may not improve when eating commercially available gluten-free products, as these can be rich in preservatives and additives such as sulfites, glutamates, nitrates and benzoates, which can also have a role in triggering functional gastrointestinal symptoms. Furthermore, people with NCGS may often present with IgE-mediated allergies to one or more foods. It has been estimated that around 35% suffer other food intolerances, mainly lactose intolerance.
For patients with celiac disease, a lifelong strict gluten-free diet is the only effective treatment to date; for patients diagnosed with NCGS, there are still open questions concerning for example the duration of such a diet; for patients with wheat allergy, the individual average is six years of gluten-free diet, excepting persons with anaphylaxis, for whom the diet is to be wheat-free for life.
A gluten-free diet should not be started before the tests for excluding celiac disease have been performed, for the reason that the serological and biopsy tests for celiac disease are reliable only if the patient is consuming gluten.
Preferably, newly diagnosed celiacs seek the help of a dietician to receive support for identifying hidden sources of gluten, planning balanced meals, reading labels, food shopping, dining out, and dining during travel. Knowledge of hidden sources of gluten is important for celiac disease patients as they need to be very strict regarding eating only gluten-free food; for NCGS patients, it is not certain how strict the diet needs to be. Balanced eating is important because unless particular care is taken, a gluten-free diet can be lacking in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and be too high in fat and calories.
The inclusion of oats in gluten-free diets remains controversial. Avenin present in oats may also be toxic for coeliac sufferers. Its toxicity depends on the cultivar consumed. Furthermore, oats are frequently cross-contaminated with gluten-containing cereals.
Two reviews on avoiding common allergy-inducing foods during pregnancy or lactation concluded that there is no strong evidence to recommend changes to the diets of pregnant or nursing women as a means of preventing the development of food allergy in their infants. For mothers of infants considered at high risk of developing cow's milk allergy because of a family history, there is some evidence that the nursing mother avoiding allergens may reduce risk of the child developing eczema, but the Cochrane review concluded that more research is needed.
Guidelines from various government and international organizations recommend that for the lowest allergy risk, infants be exclusively breastfed for 4-6 months. There does not appear to be any benefit to extending that period beyond six months. If a nursing mother decides to start feeding with an infant formula prior to four months the recommendation is to use a formula containing cow's milk proteins.
A different consideration occurs when there is a family history - parent or older siblings - of milk allergy. In this situation there are recommendations to avoid formula that contains intact cow's milk proteins. Options are substituting a product containing extensively hydrolyzed protein, or non-dairy protein, or free amino acids. The hydrolyzing process breaks intact proteins into fragments, in theory reducing allergenic potential. In 2006 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a health claim proposed by Nestle that a formula based on partially hydrolyzed whey protein would reduce risk of developing allergy. Ten years later the FDA reconsidered and allowed a health claim, with the caveat that the claim include wording to the effect that the scientific evidence was weak at best. A meta-analysis published the same year disputed this, concluding that based on dozens of clinical trials there was no evidence to support a claim that a partially hydrolyzed formula could reduce the risk of eczema.
Once an infant has demonstrated milk allergy symptoms to a formula containing intact cow's milk proteins, a dairy-based hydrolyzed formula is not appropriate. Soy formula is a common substitution, but infants with milk allergy may have an allergic response to soy formula. Hydrolyzed rice formula is an option, as are the more expensive amino acid-based formulas.
After exclusion of celiac disease and wheat allergy, the subsequent step for diagnosis and treatment of NCGS is to start a strict gluten-free diet (GFD) to assess if symptoms improve or resolve completely. This may occur within days to weeks of starting a GFD, but improvement may also be due to a non-specific, placebo response.
Recommendations may resemble those for celiac disease, for the diet to be strict and maintained, with no transgression. The degree of gluten cross contamination tolerated by people with NCGS is not clear but there is some evidence that they can present with symptoms even after consumption of small amounts.
Whereas celiac disease requires adherence to a strict lifelong gluten-free diet, it is not yet known whether NCGS is a permanent or a transient condition. A trial of gluten reintroduction to observe any reaction after 1–2 years of strict gluten-free diet might be performed.
Sucrose intolerance can be caused by genetic mutations in which both parents must contain this gene for the child to carry the disease (so-called primary sucrose intolerance). Sucrose intolerance can also be caused by irritable bowel syndrome, aging, or small intestine disease (secondary sucrose intolerance). There are specific tests used to help determine if a person has sucrose intolerance. The most accurate test is the enzyme activity determination, which is done by biopsying the small intestine. This test is a diagnostic for GSID. Other tests which can aid in the diagnosis of GSID but which are not truly diagnostic for the disease are the sucrose breath test, and a genetic test which tests for the absence of certain genes which are thought to be responsible for GSID.
Sucrose (also termed "saccharose") is a disaccharide and is a two-sugar chain composed of glucose and fructose which are bonded together. A more familiar name is table, beet, or cane sugar. It was believed that most cases of sucrose intolerance were to do an autosomal recessive, genetic, metabolic disease. Based on new data patients with heterozygous and compound heterozygous genotypes can have symptom presentation as well. GSID involves deficiency in the enzyme sucrase-isomaltase, which breaks apart the glucose and fructose molecules. When disaccharides are consumed, they must be broken down into monosaccharides by enzymes in the intestines before they can be absorbed. Monosaccharides, or single sugar units, are absorbed directly into the blood.
A deficiency of sucrase may result in malabsorption of sugar, which can lead to potentially serious symptoms. Since sucrose-isomaltase is involved in the digestion of starches, some GSID patients may not be able to absorb starches as well. It is important for those with sucrose intolerance to minimize sucrose consumption as much as possible. Dietary supplements or medications may be taken as a substitute for the enzyme missing or to introduce healthy bacteria into the immune system.
Treatment of HFI depends on the stage of the disease, and the severity of the symptoms. Stable patients without acute intoxication events are treated by careful dietary planning that avoids fructose and its metabolic precursors. Fructose is replaced in the diet by glucose, maltose or other sugars. Management of patients with HFI often involves dietitians who have a thorough knowledge of what foods are acceptable.
Other cereals such as corn, millet, sorghum, teff, rice, and wild rice are safe for people with coeliac to consume, as well as noncereals such as amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat. Noncereal carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes and bananas do not contain gluten and do not trigger symptoms.
Most people find it necessary to strictly avoid any item containing dairy ingredients. Milk from other species (goat, sheep...) should not be substituted for cow's milk, as milk proteins from other mammals are often cross-reactive. Beyond the obvious (anything with milk, cheese, cream, butter or yogurt in the name), food ingredient lists need to be examined:
- Ghee
- Some Margarine (!)
- Medical food beverages (Ensure, etc.)
- "Non-dairy" coffee creamer
- Eggnog
- Sherbet
- "Cream of..." soups
- Creamy pasta sauces
- Creamy salad dressings
- Nutella
- Simplesse
- Bread
- Baked goods
- Crackers
- Cereals
- Some Chewing gum (!)
- Some Hot dogs (!)
- Instant mashed potatoes
- Flavored potato chips
- Caramel and nougat candy
- casein (milk protein
- whey (milk protein)
- Lactalbumin (milk protein)
- lactoglobulin (milk protein)
- lactoferrin (milk protein)
Probiotic products have been tested, and some found to contain milk proteins which were not always indicated on the labels.
At present, the only effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. No medication exists that will prevent damage or prevent the body from attacking the gut when gluten is present. Strict adherence to the diet allows the intestines to heal, leading to resolution of all symptoms in most cases and, depending on how soon the diet is begun, can also eliminate the heightened risk of osteoporosis and intestinal cancer and in some cases sterility. The diet can be cumbersome; failure to comply with the diet may cause relapse.
Dietitian input is generally requested to ensure the person is aware which foods contain gluten, which foods are safe, and how to have a balanced diet despite the limitations. In many countries, gluten-free products are available on prescription and may be reimbursed by health insurance plans. Gluten-free products are usually more expensive and harder to find than common gluten-containing foods. Since ready-made products often contain traces of gluten, some coeliacs may find it necessary to cook from scratch.
The term "gluten-free" is generally used to indicate a supposed harmless level of gluten rather than a complete absence. The exact level at which gluten is harmless is uncertain and controversial. A recent systematic review tentatively concluded that consumption of less than 10 mg of gluten per day is unlikely to cause histological abnormalities, although it noted that few reliable studies had been done. Regulation of the label "gluten-free" varies. In the European Union, the European Commission issued regulations in 2009 limiting the use of "gluten-free" labels for food products to those with less than 20 mg/kg of gluten, and "very low gluten" labels for those with less than 100 mg/kg. In the United States, the FDA issued regulations in 2013 limiting the use of "gluten-free" labels for food products to those with less than 20 ppm of gluten. The current international Codex Alimentarius standard allows for 20 ppm of gluten in so-called "gluten-free" foods. Several organisations, such as the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA), and the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), also certify products and companies as gluten-free.
Gluten-free diet improves healthcare-related quality of life, and strict adherence to the diet gives more benefit than incomplete adherence. Nevertheless, gluten-free diet doesn't completely normalise the quality of life.
Malabsorption is a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Impairment can be of single or multiple nutrients depending on the abnormality. This may lead to malnutrition and a variety of anaemias.
Normally the human gastrointestinal tract digests and absorbs dietary nutrients with remarkable efficiency. A typical Western diet ingested by an adult includes approximately 100 g of fat, 400 g of carbohydrate, 100 g of protein, 2 L of fluid, and the required sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, vitamins, and other elements. Salivary, gastric, intestinal, hepatic, and pancreatic secretions add an additional 7–8 L of protein-, lipid-, and electrolyte-containing fluid to intestinal contents. This massive load is reduced by the small and large intestines to less than 200 g of stool that contains less than 8 g of fat, 1–2 g of nitrogen, and less than 20 mmol each of Na, K, Cl, HCO, Ca, or Mg.
If there is impairment of any of the many steps involved in the complex process of nutrient digestion and absorption, intestinal "malabsorption" may ensue. If the abnormality involves a single step in the absorptive process, as in primary lactase deficiency, or if the disease process is limited to the very proximal small intestine selective malabsorption of only a single nutrient may occur. However, generalized "malabsorption" of multiple dietary nutrients develops when the disease process is extensive, thus disturbing several digestive and absorptive processes, as occurs in coeliac disease with extensive involvement of the small intestine.
Antibodies to α-gliadin have been significantly increased in non-celiacs individuals with oral ulceration. Anti-α-gliadin antibodies are frequently found in celiac disease (CD), to a lesser degree CD, but are also found in a subset who do not have the disease. Of people with pseudo-exfoliation syndrome, 25% showed increased levels of anti-gliadin IgA. Other patients that are also at risk are those taking gluten despite having the disorder, or whose family members with CD. In addition patients with autoimmune conditions are also at risk for CD. It has just been found that there is a risk of death in CD. Therefore gluten intake should be limited before or even after the diagnosis. One fourth of people with Sjögren's syndrome had responses to gluten, of 5 that had positive response to gluten, only one could be confirmed as CD and another was potentially , the remaining 3 appear to be gluten-sensitive. All were HLA-DQ2 and/or DQ8-positive.
Glucose-galactose malabsorption is a rare condition in which the cells lining the intestine cannot take in the sugars glucose and galactose, which prevents proper digestion of these molecules and larger molecules made from them.
Glucose and galactose are called simple sugars, or monosaccharides. Sucrose and lactose are called disaccharides because they are made from two simple sugars, and are broken down into these simple sugars during digestion. Sucrose is broken down into glucose and another simple sugar called fructose, and lactose is broken down into glucose and galactose. As a result, lactose, sucrose and other compounds made from carbohydrates cannot be digested by individuals with glucose-galactose malabsorption.
Sucrose intolerance, also called sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID), or genetic sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (GSID), is the condition in which sucrase-isomaltase, an enzyme needed for proper metabolism of sucrose (sugar) and starch (i.e., grains and rice), is not produced or the enzyme produced is either partially functional or non-functional in the small intestine. All GSID patients lack fully functional sucrase, while the isomaltase activity can vary from minimal functionality to almost normal activity. The presence of residual isomaltase activity may explain why some GSID patients are better able to tolerate starch in their diet than others with GSID.
The highest prevalence rates are seen in the Inuit populations of Greenland (5–10%), Alaska (3–7%) and Canada (about 3%). European descent prevalence ranges from 0.2% to 0.05%. There is a lower prevalence reported in African Americans and Hispanics compared to Caucasians.
Management of wheat allergy consists of complete withdrawal of any food containing wheat and other gluten-containing cereals (gluten-free diet). Nevertheless, some patients can tolerate barley, rye or oats.
In people suffering less severe forms of wheat-dependent exercise induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA), may be enough completely avoiding wheat consumption before exercise and other cofactors that trigger disease symptoms, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and alcohol.
Wheat is often a cryptic contaminant of many foods; more obvious items are bread crumbs, maltodextrin, bran, cereal extract, couscous, cracker meal, enriched flour, gluten, high-gluten flour, high-protein flour, seitan, semolina wheat, vital gluten, wheat bran, wheat germ, wheat gluten, wheat malt, wheat starch or whole wheat flour. Less obvious sources of wheat could be gelatinized starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, modified starch, natural flavoring, soy sauce, soy bean paste, hoisin sauce, starch, vegetable gum, specifically Beta-glucan, vegetable starch.
Because of the ease of therapy (dietary exclusion of fructose), HFI can be effectively managed if properly diagnosed. In HFI, the diagnosis of homozygotes is difficult, requiring a genomic DNA screening with allele specific probes or an enzyme assay from a liver biopsy. Once identified, parents of infants who carry mutant aldolase B alleles leading to HFI, or older individuals who have clinical histories compatible with HFI can be identified and counselled with regard to preventive therapy: dietary exclusion of foods containing fructose, sucrose, or sorbitol. If possible, individuals who suspect they might have HFI, should avoid testing via fructose challenge as the results are non-conclusive for individuals with HFI and even if the diagnostic administration fructose is properly controlled, profound hypoglycemia and its sequelae can threaten the patient's well-being.
There is no broadly accepted standard of care for infants with DG. Some healthcare providers recommend partial to complete dietary restriction of milk and other high galactose foods for infants or young children with DG; others do not. Because children with DG develop increased tolerance for dietary galactose as they grow, few healthcare providers recommend dietary restriction of lactose or galactose beyond early childhood.
The rationale for NOT restricting dietary galactose exposure of infants and/or young children with DG: Healthcare providers who do not recommend dietary restriction of galactose for infants with DG generally consider DG to be of no clinical significance—meaning most infants and children with DG seem to be doing clinically well. Further, these providers may be opposed to interrupting or reducing breastfeeding when there is no clear evidence it is contraindicated. These providers may argue that the recognized health benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the potential risks of as yet unknown negative effects of continued milk exposure for these infants. For infants with DG who continue to drink milk, some doctors would recommend that blood galactose-1-phosphate (Gal-1P) or urinary galactitol be rechecked by age 12 months to ensure that these metabolite levels are normalizing.
The rationale FOR restricting dietary galactose exposure of infants and/or young children with DG: Healthcare providers who recommend partial or complete dietary restriction of galactose for infants and/or young children with DG generally cite concern about the unknown long-term consequences of abnormally elevated galactose metabolites in a young child's blood and tissues. Infants with DG who continue to drink milk accumulate the same set of abnormal galactose metabolites seen in babies with classic galactosemia – e.g. galactose, Gal-1P, galactonate, and galactitol – but to a lesser extent. While it remains unclear whether any of these metabolites contribute to the long-term developmental complications experienced by so many older children with classic galactosemia, the possibility that they might cause problems serves to motivate some healthcare providers to recommend dietary galactose restriction for infants with DG. Switching an infant with DG from milk or milk formula (high galactose) to soy formula (low galactose) rapidly normalizes their galactose metabolites. This approach is considered potentially preventative rather than responsive to acute symptoms.
If dietary galactose restriction of any kind is followed, healthcare providers may recommend that the child have a galactose challenge to re-evaluate galactose tolerance before the restrictive diet is discontinued. Most infants or young children with DG who are followed by a metabolic specialist are discharged from follow up after a successful galactose challenge.Options for those choosing to restrict dietary galactose in infancy and/or early childhood: Dietary restriction practices for Duarte galactosemia vary widely. In the US, some healthcare providers recommend full dietary restriction of milk and all dairy products for the first 12 months of life, followed by a galactose challenge. Some providers recommend the galactose challenge before 12 months, others after. Some providers who recommend dietary intervention suggest a "compromise approach" if the parent wishes to breastfeed, such that the parent alternates feedings of breast milk and low galactose formula. Finally, some parents choose to continue some form of dietary galactose restriction for their child with DG beyond early childhood.
What is a galactose challenge? The goal of a galactose challenge is to learn whether a child is able to metabolize dietary galactose sufficiently to prevent the abnormal accumulation of galactose metabolites, generally measured as Gal-1P in the blood. For infants with DG who showed elevated galactose metabolites at diagnosis, this test can be used to see if their ability to process galactose has improved enough to discontinue dietary galactose restriction.
To test galactose metabolism, a baseline Gal-1P level is measured while the child is on a galactose-restricted diet. If the level is within the normal range (e.g. <1.0 mg/dL), the parent/guardian is advised to "challenge" the child with dietary galactose—meaning feed the child a diet that includes normal levels of milk for 2–4 weeks. Immediately after that time, another blood sample is collected and analyzed for Gal-1P level. If this second result is still in the normal range, the child is said to have "passed" their galactose challenge, and dietary galactose restrictions are typically relaxed or discontinued. If the second test shows elevated Gal-1P levels, the parent/guardian may be advised to resume galactose restriction for the child, and the "challenge" may be repeated after a few months.
Dietary changes by infants are generally not needed. In mothers who are breastfeeding, a hypoallergenic diet by the mother — not eating milk and dairy products, eggs, wheat, and nuts — may improve matters, while elimination of only cow’s milk does not seem to produce any improvement. In formula-fed infants, switching to a soy-based or hydrolyzed protein formula may help. Evidence of benefit is greater for hydrolyzed protein formula with the benefit from soy based formula being disputed. Additionally both these formulas have greater cost and are not as palatable. Supplementation with fiber has no benefit.
No clear beneficial effect from spinal manipulation or massage has been shown. Further, as there is no evidence of safety for cervical manipulation for baby colic, it is not advised. There is a case of a three-month-old dying following manipulation of the neck area.
No evidence supports the efficacy of so-called "gripe water", and its use poses risks, especially in formulations that include alcohol or sugar. Evidence does not support lactase, or supplementing formula with probiotics. The use of the probiotic "Lactobacillus reuteri" in babies who are breastfed has tentative evidence.