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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: 2) by quixote on Friday January 29 2016, @11:18PM
Interesting! And good news for those of us trying to improve our large intestine bacteria.
It is still true, though, that the largest effect on those bacteria is the environment they're given. If your diet is meat+sugar, just as an extreme example, the occasional dose of probiotics won't help much. If you have one of those healthy Mediterranean diets they're always on about, you'd be very likely to have good intestinal flora without any added probiotics. (Although yoghurt is or can be part of that diet, so there's that.)
Anyway, cool to learn something new with good links to sources. :D