VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Dominika Wilk

Probiotics have become extremely popular recently. Therefore, you get the impression that they are a remedy for everything, and any random probiotic from the pharmacy heals just as well as other pharmaceuticals of this type. However, this is a misconception. What should you know about probiotics?

Recently, a lot of myths have arisen around probiotics. Whether a probiotic actually treats a condition depends on the type of strain, the quality of the supplement, and whether it has been clinically tested. Why can't you believe every revelation about probiotics? Why does silage not have the same healing properties as is commonly believed? Learn the most common myths about probiotics.

Pickles are probiotics - MYTH

Although fermented vegetables are very he althy and contain valuable strains of bacteria that can support the he alth of our gut, they are not considered probiotics in the medical world.

And that's because no research has been done on their effectiveness. It is difficult to find such studies when fermentation and the conditions for its carrying out are variable (especially if it is performed at home), which affects both the type and amount of bacteria in the silage. When eating silage, we cannot be sure about the "healing" effect obtained.

Why can't we call silage probiotics? Because probiotics are such supplements and remedies that contain bacterial strains proven by clinical trials. This means that there must be evidence of their effectiveness - and there is no such evidence for silage. In addition, a probiotic is a product in which selected bacterial strains do not antagonize each other.

Is it like that in silage - we don't know. In addition, the quantity and quality of the bacterial strains placed in the probiotic must be known and accurately described on the packaging, which is impossible with silage.

A probiotic agent must have proven resistance to passing through the acidic gastric juice into the intestines, where it is to work. It cannot be toxic and show side effects. The silages do not meet the above-mentioned requirements, therefore we cannot call them probiotics.

Probiotics for intestinal ailmentsare always indicated - MYTH

Although probiotics help with many intestinal ailments, e.g. diarrhea, sealing the intestinal barrier, there are diseases in which the administration of a probiotic can do more harm than good. One of them is SIBO, i.e. an overgrowth of the bacterial flora consisting in an excessive multiplication of intestinal bacteria in the small intestine.

We have the largest amount of intestinal bacteria in the large intestine. There, they are used to break down food residues, to produce valuable vitamins, or to produce butyric acid. We also have some in the small intestine, but definitely less than in the large intestine.

Sometimes, however, as a result of various disorders, e.g. a history of a viral infection, after antibiotic therapy or in the case of a defect of the ileocecal valve, the composition of the microbiome may be disturbed and some bacteria from the large intestine may settle in the small intestine.

This will cause ailments in the form of flatulence, excess gas, abdominal pain. These types of ailments may make us want to reach for a probiotic. However, we should not be doing this. In any case, we must not reach for it without consulting a doctor.

Most of the bacterial strains can exacerbate symptoms and increase the amount of gas. In particular, this may happen after feeding the Lactobacillus strain.

With SIBO, the only safe strains are:

  • Sacharomycces Boluardi
  • and single strains of Bifidobacteria.

However, their tolerance is an individual matter. It happens that even a single strain of Bifidobacteria can increase flatulence.

For this reason, before taking a probiotic, it is necessary to visit a doctor who will either refer us to a treatment aimed at getting rid of excess bacteria, and then propose a probiotic, or choose the right strain for our ailments.

Any probiotic is good for diarrhea - MYTH

Just because probiotics are generally recommended for diarrhea doesn't mean that every probiotic strain will have a calming effect on our gut. There are probiotics that are used only in constipation and those that inhibit excessive intestinal peristalsis.

A strain called Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC 53 103 (LGG) will work well for viral infections and accompanying diarrhea. Repeated research proves that this strain of LGG works very well in acute infectious diarrhea in children, as well as in so-called travelers' diarrhea.

L. reuteri Protectis DSM 17938 strain will also work for diarrhea. Other strainshowever, they may not work as well, and even harm the normal functioning of the intestines.

The fact that not all probiotics work equally well in diarrhea is evidenced by a comparative study by Canni et al., Who studied 500 children aged 3 months to 3 years. Due to the infectious diarrhea, the kids were given various strains of probiotic bacteria.

Children therefore received:

  • Lactobacilus rhamnosus GG,
  • Bacillus clausii,
  • Sacharomycces Boluardii,
  • Enteroccocus faecium,

as well as the mixture:

  • Lactobaclus acidophilus,
  • Bifidobacterium bifidum,
  • Streptoccosus thermophilus,
  • Lactobacilus delbrueckii var. Bulgaricus.

The control group received only the oral rehydration fluid. The research showed that the LGG strain worked best, reducing the duration of diarrhea by 32 hours compared to the control group. In children, the quality of stools improved and the frequency of passing stool decreased.

Similar results were obtained when administering a mixture of probiotics. On the other hand, the Sacharomycces Boluradii strain, as well as Enteroccocus faecium and Bacillus clausii, did not shorten the diarrhea and did not reduce other related ailments, and the bodies of children who took them behaved similarly to the toddlers in the control group.

This type of study proves that not every strain of probiotics is able to work with the same strength in the case of diarrhea.

Probiotics should be selected on the basis of a stool test - MYTH

The variability of the bacteria found in our intestines is so great that it is difficult to conclude on the basis of a single-day examination of the existing deficiency or excess of intestinal bacteria in a general context.

The stool test makes sense when it is possible to determine pathogenic bacteria in it, which should be eliminated quickly from our body, as they will threaten our he alth (a good example is Clostridium Difficile, which causes persistent diarrhea, threatening dehydration and malnutrition of the person who got infected with it).

Determining the diversity of the gut microbiota on the basis of a stool sample is not recommended for various reasons. First of all, the composition of the microbiota can change from day to day as a result of, for example, experienced stress or food consumed. We will then match the probiotic to the results of our microbiota from 7 days ago (and it may have changed during this time).

Besides, science hasn't gone so far as to be definableall species of bacteria that live in us. Most species are still one big mystery for scientists, so choosing a probiotic based on a stool test is not a good idea.

Probiotics permanently change the composition of our gut microbiome - MYTH

Many people believe that it will improve their gut microbiota the moment they take probiotics. They believe that the strains of bacteria taken in the probiotic will permanently populate their intestines and thus change the composition of their microbiome to a favorable one. This will not happen, however, because the bacteria in the probiotic do not stay in the intestines permanently, but are only there for a certain period of time.

However, in the period when they pass through the intestines, they are able to exert a beneficial effect on them, e.g. by, for example, competing with "bad bacteria" for food, which reduces the number of harmful bacteria. They also inhibit the synthesis of harmful compounds and facilitate their excretion. This action alone results in an improvement in the condition of the intestines.

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