Our bodies (especially guts) depend on the balance of bacteria to “maintain healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels” but “you have to feed bacteria.” So say PhD Mehmet Oz– Cardiac surgeon turns to the daytime TV host, enthusiastic RFK Jr. supporter, Believers Proven co-treatment Hydroxychloridenow may be the head of Medicaid and Medicare for the Trump administration – who begins the Senate confirmation process On Friday.
To help with the intestinal balance process, ounce Already push the benefits of both Prebiotics and Probioticsincluding his role as a global consultant iherb Brand supplements.
Both have been under scrutiny recently, including through this week’s Washington Post Opinion Articles Trisha Pasricha, a lecturer and physician at Harvard Medical School, Probiotics “Waste money”, but suggest High-fiber diet.
So which doctor is right? This is what science tells us.
What are probiotics?
The human gastrointestinal tract was colonized by a range of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi and protozoa, explained National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dietary Supplement Office. The activity and composition of these microorganisms, commonly known as the gut microbiome, may affect human health and disease.
Probiotics, according to The International Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics Science is a “living organism that may benefit if given in sufficient quantities” Intestinal microbiome work.
Although they are naturally found in fermented foods – including homemade turmeric yogurt Instagram Regarding probiotics (pictured above), they can also be added to foods and can be used as dietary supplements.
“However, not all food and dietary supplements labeled as probiotics on the market have proven health benefits,” NIH noted.
That’s where all kinds of opinions come into play.
Who says probiotic supplements?
As Pasricha pointed out More than 1,000 Clinical trials of probiotic supplements, tested too many different strains, and found that they can be universally useful.
one 2024 Comments Existing evidence, published in Nutritional progress The diary, on the one hand, concluded: “There is sufficient evidence that clinicians and consumers can consider using specific probiotics to achieve certain indications, such as the use of probiotics to support intestinal function during antibiotic use, or to reduce the risk of respiratory infection.”
However, these researchers concluded: “We did not find sufficiently high evidence to support our unconditional, scoped recommendations for other prevention endpoints for healthy people review. Although some evidence of certain signs of probiotics’ prevention benefits, additional studies are needed.”
When looking at the body’s scientific evidence on the effects of probiotics on seven different health issues, NIH reports the following:
Atopic dermatitis
A large number of studies have examined the effects of probiotics on this most common form of eczema. Overall, there is evidence that probiotic use may reduce the risk of atopic dermatitis, but may also provide only limited relief. The effect also depends on the strain used, the time of administration and the age of the patient.
Acute diarrhea in children
While one massive review found that unit and polygranular probiotics significantly shortened the duration of symptoms, another probiotic found that it was no better than placebo.
Antibiotic-related diarrhea
Overall, there is evidence that probiotic treatment is initiated with strains (Lactobacillus) or Saccharomyces boulardii Within 2 days of the first antibiotic dose, it helps reduce the risk of diarrhea in patients aged 18 to 64 years old, but not in older people.
Inflammatory bowel disease
IBD is a chronic inflammatory disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and does not exist in cure. In many reviews studying the effects of probiotics, researchers have come to similar conclusions—certain probiotics may have moderately beneficial effects on ulcerative colitis, but have no effect on Crohn’s disease.
Irritable bowel syndrome
IBS is a common dysfunction in the gastrointestinal tract and is associated with stress and intestinal microbiota. Overall, the available evidence suggests that probiotics may alleviate certain symptoms, but other clinical trials are required to confirm details of strain, dose and treatment duration.
High cholesterol
Researchers have studied the use of probiotics to improve lipid spectrometry. Overall, studies have shown that using multiple probiotic strains may reduce total cholesterol levels, but more research is needed.
obesity
Again: More research is needed. The NIH concluded that the results “suggest that the effect of probiotics on body weight and obesity may depend on several factors, including probiotic strains, dose and duration, and certain characteristics of the user, including age, gender, gender, and baseline weight.”
The most important thing is: the jury is still there. Whether you choose to try supplements or not (usually considered harmless, although long-term safety research is still required), be sure to eat a lot of fiber and fermented foods. These include yogurt, kefir, fermented cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables (such as Oz’s approval) and kombucha tea, which show Stanford University researchers Increases microbial diversity and reduces inflammation.
More information about supplements:
- The gastroenterologist said probiotics are “a waste of money.” This is what you should do
- Experts say don’t waste money on beetroot supplements, try this
- Coca-Cola is Olipop and Poppi’s latest probiotic soda competitor. But is “healthy” soda really good for you?
This story was originally fortune.com
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