Probiotics – Prebiotics

Is there any evidence that even the best probiotic supplements can improve your health?

What a silly question. Surely if the best probiotic supplements are the best then they have to be good. By definition.

Not necessarily. You see there is an assumption behind that question. The assumption is that probiotics products are effective. It they’re effective then why not look for the best probiotic supplements?

But if probiotics products aren’t effective, then even the best ones aren’t effective. By definition

That might all seem a little convoluted, but what we’re getting to is a discussion on the effectiveness of probiotics in general. Do probiotics products work, and if so what do they do?

Next question is, how do we know if probiotics work? On what criteria do we make this judgement? Well the only criteria that we can think of is that there is credible scientific evidence in support of the contention that probiotics are good for you. Not only that but that independent bodies are prepared to accept the scientific evidence.

We have already written before about the fact that every single application to the European Food Safety Authority for approval of health claims made for probiotics products has been rejected.

This has again occurred, with the EFSA again, in July 2011, rejecting more applications on behalf of probiotics products for approval of the health claims made about them.

The record remains that no health claims made on behalf of probiotics products have ever been accepted by the EFSA. Every single application made to the Authority has been rejected.

Of course scientists working on behalf of the probiotics and prebiotics industry are crying foul.

As you would expect. These people are working for the probiotics industry and will therefore not be happy until the health claims made on behalf of probiotics are approved. To date none have been.

As we said earlier the best way, in our view, to decide whether or not there is solid and credible scientific evidence on behalf of the health claims made about the health benefits, if any, of probiotics, is whether independent authorities who are presented with the evidence are able to say that the evidence is clear enough to support the claims made on behalf of probiotics.

And to date one such authority, the EFSA, has not been able to satisfactorily validate any of the evidence put forward on behalf of the health claims made about probiotics.

And that suggests to us that even the best probiotic supplements aren’t worth taking. In fact if probiotics supplements don’t work how do you determine which are the best?

And are there health benefits to taking probiotics in pregnancy?

Probiotics in pregnancy. It’s an interesting subject, and one that prompts women to ask if probiotics are safe to take during pregnancy. And not only are they asking the question about whether it’s safe to take probiotics during pregnancy, but they are also asking whether there are positive health benefits to doing so. Lets consider this question.

Firstly lets consider the safety of probiotics in pregnancy. It has been known for a long time that there are bacteria in the digestive system of everyone. In fact suggestions are that there are over 500 different types of bacteria in your digestive system. So taking a probiotics product is not introducing bacteria into an otherwise bacteria free system, it is merely restoring the balance between good, or friendly bacteria and bad ones which might be making you sick, perhaps by causing diarrhoea.

There are various strains of Lactobacillus (lactic acid bacteria) and Acidophilus, and these are the most commonly found in most probiotics products. There is no evidence of any serious ill effects to the health from taking high quality probiotics products that contain these microorganisms. This includes in pregnant women. A little gas or a mild digestive upset may ensue for a short time but this should be mild and brief.

That being said anyone considering taking any form of supplement should always consult your doctor first. This particularly applies to pregnant women. In some specific circumstances, for example in people who are particularly immunosuppressed, or people taking any medication, medical advice is very important.

However as the strains of bacteria present in probiotics products are not regulated care should be taken. There are some more esoteric forms of probiotics that include such bacteria as soil-based microorganisms, and care should be taken with these.

However whether it is safe to take probiotics during pregnancy or not, there is no point in doing so unless there is some positive benefit attracted from their use. Are the health benefits to taking probiotics in pregnancy?

The benefits of probiotics during pregnancy have been examined by many experts. Many claim that there are specific reasons for pregnant women to take probiotics. These benefits include an improvement in the health of the digestive system, a strengthening of the immune system, the management and prevention of eczema in the child as well as reducing the risk of diarrhoea. But solid peer reviewed scientific evidence is a little thin on the ground.

A study in Finland has found that taking probiotics in pregnancy may help reduce the risk of a serious form of obesity called adiposity. Another study has also suggested it may reduce the risk of diabetes and even reduce the risk of obesity during the life of the baby, so it would seem there is some evidence pointing to positive benefits from taking probiotics during pregnancy. But there’s little else.

Unless you take a specific supplement designed to improve your digestion.

As suggested there is no point in taking probiotics when you’re pregnant, safe or not, if there are no positive benefits. It would seem that, despite the fact that there are some studies suggesting some benefits from taking probiotics during pregnancy, the evidence of a general health benefit from taking probiotics during pregnancy is limited.

Should you be eating probiotic yoghurt for the probiotics, or the yoghurt?

Even if you’re new to probiotics chances are you’ve heard about probiotic yoghurt. It’s very common in the stores, and you’ve probably seen yogurt with with probiotics already. But what exactly is probiotic yoghurt?

In all yoghurt there is bacteria. Commonly you will find Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in normal yoghurt, both of these are common bacteria recognised by the USDA and the FDA, and come from the starter that is used to produce the yogurt.

Probiotic yoghurt is yoghurt that has specific beneficial bacteria included with it along with those already mentioned. These “good” bacteria can be beneficial for our health because they will survive in our gut and help reduce the amount of bad bacteria that is commonly found there. Commonly the good bacteria introduced into the yoghurt are Lactobacillus acidophilus, although others can also be used.

However there can be some problems with buying probiotic yoghurt.

Of course yoghurt is a wonderful food and well worth eating for its own sake. However if you are buying the yoghurt for the probiotics it is worth knowing that not all yoghurts have high levels of Lactobacillus acidophilus, and it’s very difficult to know how much of these good bacteria are actually in there.

And it’s also not a given that even if these strains are to be found in the yoghurt that they are found in any and if so what amounts, and whether or not they will do any good for your health.

Often the first two yoghurt strains will simply kill the third. Secondly it is usually almost impossible to tell from the labelling on the container exactly how much of the good bacteria have been added to the yoghurt. And thirdly, because yoghurt is a moist environment, any bacteria reproduce and die extremely fast, and chances are that all of them have died before you eat the yoghurt.

And there are no regulations governing exactly which bacteria are “friendly” bacteria, and you will often not know from reading the label exactly which bacteria you are getting. The benefits that you get from increasing the levels of probiotics in your diet are directly related to the strain of bacteria in the probiotics.

If you are looking for the health benefits of probiotic products it is much better to take a supplement specifically targeted to producing the outcome you want, namely a digestive system that works better.

That way you know exactly what you’re getting and you can keep eating your yoghurt not for it’s beneficial health effects, because these may be limited, but just because it’s yummy.