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posted by martyb on Wednesday January 27 2016, @03:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the avoid-the-amateur-biotics dept.

The "good bacteria," or probiotics, that fill the pomegranate drink are everywhere these days, in pills and powders marketed as super supplements. Probiotics are said to improve digestive and immune health. They're touted as potential treatments for conditions ranging from inflammatory bowel disease to eczema to tooth decay. Some marketing campaigns even hint that they can prevent the flu.

Scientific evidence, however, does not necessarily support those claims.

Studies in rodents and small groups of humans point to possible health benefits of consuming probiotics. But there have been only a few large human trials — in large part because Food and Drug Administration rules have dissuaded food companies and federally funded researchers from conducting the types of studies that could confirm, or refute, the proposed benefits of consuming "good" microbes.

http://www.statnews.com/2016/01/21/probiotics-shaky-science/


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 27 2016, @06:23PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 27 2016, @06:23PM (#295446)

    You are grossly misinformed if you think the FDA could be doing more. They were hamstrung by Congress in the 1990s, specifically by Orrin Hatch, with legislation written by the supplement industry. The law forbids regulation and specifically exempts them from even needing to prove it is safe, which was the standard before. The only concession the FDA got was that the industry cannot claim to cure anything without going through actual tests to show that they do, which is where that standard "This product does not treat, cure, etc." comes from. That law needs to be overturned first before the FDA can do anything more.