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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/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 28 2016, @09:37AM
Eating a proper diet goes a long ways towards proper health, but considering how much exposure people get to antibiotics and the general antiseptic nature of modern society, you have to replace the bacteria somehow. The question is which ones and how much. A tiny pill is unlikely to have enough to make a meaningful difference in most cases.
You should still get plenty of probiotics from a proper diet. Your proper diet should of course include things like home made kambucha, home made yogurt with live cultures, home made wines, beers, and ciders and I like to eat a good amount of the organic goodies I grab out of my garden unwashed so that I can be sure there are plenty of germs and fungi still on them. Basically a lot of home made cultured goodies should take cares of your gut bacteria and help you get adequate nutrition as well.
Pick up a book by Sandor Katz. It will change your life.
I don't like to take a probiotic supplement, because typically they only include one or two species, What if I cause an imbalance of species with unexpected side effects?