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Thursday, September 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) – They're sold everywhere, but probiotics – the good bacteria found in foods like yogurts and supplements – can they really help restore digestive health?
Maybe, but only for some people, suggests new research. Israeli researchers have discovered that some people's digestive systems retain the probiotics contained in a supplement. But in others, the body has expelled the good bacteria.
And in a second study, the same team found that probiotics, taken at the same time as antibiotics, could actually delay the return to normal intestinal bacteria.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Eran Elinav, said the findings suggest that one needs to be extra careful when using probiotics and that "it is safe to use". there should not be a single approach for probiotic supplements.
"The current practice – followed by millions of people who consume probiotics in hopes of improving their health and preventing disease – needs to be changed to an individual-centered system," said Elinav. He is a professor in the Department of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.
According to the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), probiotics are living microorganisms, often bacteria, that would have beneficial health effects. They have been studied under various conditions, including antibiotic-related diarrhea, digestive disorders, tooth decay, allergies, eczema, liver disease and even colds. But there is no definitive proof that probiotics work for any of these conditions, says NCCID.
Still, probiotic supplements are very popular. According to a survey conducted in 2012, about 4 million Americans reported using a probiotic or prebiotic supplement (food substances promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria) over the past month, according to the NCCIH.
Elinav said that the use of probiotics should be subject to the same review as other medical treatments. "Any such intervention needs to be weighed against its potential advantages and disadvantages," he said.
The first study conducted by Elinav and his team included 25 volunteers. They underwent superior endoscopy and colonoscopy so that researchers could obtain samples of their "microbiome" (the native bacterium from the intestine) in different areas of the digestive system.
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