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Probiotics are packed in all sorts of pills and products promising to keep our guts healthy. Researchers believe that not only most insects do not stay in our body, they could harm us.
According to recent estimates cited by the authors of two studies published in the journal, up to 3.9 million American adults take prebiotic or probiotic supplements. Cell. Users blow up the pills in the hope of relieving everything from gastrointestinal problems to strengthening the immune system, defending against infectious diseases and preventing cardiovascular disease.
Although probiotics may help patients with specific digestive problems, there is little concrete evidence to substantiate the apparent benefits to an average person, said Israel-based authors at the Weizmann Institute and Tel Medical Center. Aviv. Probiotics are therefore a controversial topic among health experts.
In what is believed to be one of the first studies of its kind, the team recruited 25 volunteers to undergo upper endoscopies (where surgeons use a camera to monitor internal organs) and colonoscopies (to examine the large intestine and part of the small intestine). ). Of the total, 15 were divided into two groups and received generic strains of probiotics, while the others received a placebo. Two months later, the participants then repeated the invasive exams.
The team moved away from examining only the excrement of patients: a method commonly used to map the microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tract. The scientists hypothesized that, although it is a useful method, the direct examination of intestinal colonization would probably be more revealing.
The team found that probiotics did not colonize the guts of all participants. The groups were classified as "responders" and "non-responders" or "persevering" and "resistant". In the first case, the probiotics filled their bowels, changed their microbiome and influenced their gene expression. But others have not seen the same effects.
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It is therefore unlikely that a single probiotic product will benefit the general population, the authors concluded.
Dr. Eran Elinav, an immunologist with the Weizmann Institute of Science and lead author of the study, said: Newsweek"The current practice, followed by millions of people who consume probiotics in hopes of improving their health and preventing the disease, must be adapted to that of the individual."
In addition, the researchers warned that taking probiotics after a series of antibiotics in the hope of helping the growth of bacteria could be harmful.
Although sometimes necessary, the consumption of antibiotics eliminates even the so-called good bacteria in our body. However, taking probiotics inhibits the regrowth of native bacteria in the gut for several months. This could lead to long-term implications for the health of an individual, said Elinav.
But when the intestine was reconstituted with native microbiome collected before taking antibiotics, the gene expression profile of the intestine returned to normal within a few days.
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"This again demonstrates that a person-specific live bacterial approach is far superior to empiric probiotics, which in this context may even adversely affect post-antibiotic reconstitution of the healthy host and microbiome" said Elinav. the use should be abandoned, he argued.
Elinav described the results as "very surprising and even alarming, given the widespread use of these over-the-counter supplements, but this represents an opportunity to move live bacterial therapy towards more individualized, effective and safe therapy."
"Our studies demonstrate in a very direct way that the effects of probiotics in healthy conditions are at best personalized and transient, and if you take a probiotic that you buy in your local supermarket, you have no way of knowing the right thing. other or colonize your gut, where it may or may not induce health effects. "
Chloe Hall, a qualified dietician and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association who did not participate in the study, said: Newsweek Previous research that suggested taking probiotics with antibiotics may reduce the risk of developing Clostridium difficile because the bacteria can cause diarrhea.
"However, the study only uses a very small number of people in good health," she said. More participants are needed to give more significant results and more research is needed on probiotics that can function under specific conditions and in specific population groups. Hall commented.
"Probiotics can be effective in some people with specific conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or pouchitis, but they will not work for everyone."
Dr. Satish S.C. Rao, director of neurogastroenterology and motility at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, who did not participate in the research, said: Newsweek the study is "very interesting and provocative".
If the research can be confirmed "this would significantly challenge our current clinical practice of prescribing probiotics to patients with antibiotic-induced diarrhea," he said.
Hall concludes, "Probiotics can be expensive and there is not much evidence to support general health claims about them and, therefore, I would not recommend them to healthy people without symptoms that could indicate it, be safe to use in those who have a healthy immune system. "
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