7 years ago
5
Do probiotics actually do anything?
The supplement aisles of most grocery stores and pharmacies in the United States are bursting with probiotics. These billions of bacteria stuffed into once-a-day capsules claim to provide digestive relief, among other benefits. They're extremely popular, with sales of $36.6 billion in 2015. And for good reason. For many people, various gastrointestinal issues come and go pretty much forever, causing chronic discomfort or worse. But according to gastroenterologists and other scientists, these tiny bugs might not be doing the jobs they claim to do.
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http://www.popsci.com.au
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+5Submitted 7 years ago by Gozzin
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+4Submitted 7 years ago by Gozzin
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+2Submitted 7 years ago by AdelleChattre
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I can give an antidotal example of them helping my dysbiosis after they were prescribed by gastroenterology if you want. The problem came back so I'm back on them now. It takes a few days for them to kick in and I have no clue when they will,but for me and my biome,they are doing something. I think to really stop this forever,I'd need a fecal transplant or at least poop pills. I still think in the future,our gut biome will be treated with bacteria from other people in addition to probiotics. Still,I'm happy to use these since they get the job done and keep gastro from pulling out the big guns (drugs.)
That being said,I've included a link involving a fmri machine, some folks with ibs and some probiotics, plus a control group.
It's good they're working for you. I sell probiotics regularly in my job and there do seem to be some animals that depend on them (I work in a pet store) and most foods come with both pre and probiotics. Feedback appears to be that they make a difference.
Yep. Diagnosed with antibiotic induced irritable bowel last week. Gastro has me taking the probiotic VLS3 and Florastn 3. I only use the ones tested in double blind studies. They do ease gut cramping. I'll sure be glad when they change the name for this since it's not a "syndrome" and can be caused by stupid stuff like antibiotics and food poisoning. There is a blood test for it too,but I digress.
It seems it would be beneficial to prescribe (or at least recommend) a course of probiotics alongside a course of antibiotics. I was reading an article on alternative feeding for pets and I believe it mentioned in that how antibiotics can cause problems for the natural gut flora.
Hippocrates tells us “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Also, that “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” Well, Matthew Ciorba sure does have a lot of opinions.