Sales of probiotics are increasing as awareness grows on the benefits these ‘friendly bacteria’ can have – not only on our digestive tracts but also on immunity and overall health. There’s even research to suggest they can impact on weight loss. But what’s the scientific evidence for their efficacy – and is one probiotic product as effective as another?
A recent paper (2008) carried a story claiming that a “yoghurt drink could beat hospital superbug”. Patients in a couple of UK hospitals were going to be given yoghurt containing probiotics to reduce the risk of becoming infected with the bug C.difficile, which is killing an increasing number of patients.
The move marked something of a breakthrough for probiotics – strains of those friendly bacteria in our guts. They have long been promoted as a way of preventing all sorts of conditions from eczema and irritable bowel syndrome, to cancer and the gut problems that can follow an intensive course of antibiotics.
It’s a breakthrough because, despite mounting evidence that the complex colony of bacteria and micro-organism in our guts is vital to our health in all sorts of ways, doctors have remained resolutely sceptical about the value of taking probiotics. Many claimed that the evidence for their effectiveness was poor and also that anyway, when the bacteria in our guts was measured in multi-trillions, taking a few million couldn’t possibly have any effect.
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Using probiotics to treat gut infections
How probiotics ‘talk’ to the brain
The link between probiotics and allergies
Why probiotics may help weight loss
The role of probiotics in cancer prevention
