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Probiotics, including pills and supplements, are often advertised as having positive effects on the digestive system and treating intestinal problems. However, their effectiveness is largely unproven and inconsistent due to a lack of regulation. Probiotics have been shown to help treat diarrhea in children, but their ability to treat other conditions such as Crohn’s disease and allergies is uncertain.
Many people have seen somewhat embarrassing yogurt commercials about regulating the digestive system and improving those pesky little irregularities. Those commercials are talking about the benefits of probiotics, including treating intestinal problems and boosting the digestive system. What the commercials don’t say is that probiotics, including probiotic pills and supplements, have not been scientifically proven to have the positive effects that marketers claim. Also, probiotic pills are largely unregulated, so consistency of their quality and the benefits one might derive from them cannot be guaranteed.
Probiotics are good, healthy bacteria that occur naturally in the human body. Sometimes harmful and bad bacteria negatively affect good bacteria and cause disease. Probiotic pills and other sources of probiotics, including yogurt, can replenish good bacteria in the digestive tract, treat some intestinal diseases, and help boost the immune system.
Perhaps the best known benefit derived from probiotic research to date is the treatment of diarrhea in children and infants. Studies have revealed that probiotics shortened the duration of infectious diarrhea symptoms by up to 60 percent. The probiotics helped youngsters with diarrhea, but the treatment did not prove effective in adults.
Although probiotics are readily available, their effectiveness can vary between products. Probiotic pills are considered supplements rather than drugs, so production is largely unregulated, which can lead to inconsistencies. Specific probiotic strains treat specific diseases, but the required strain may not be present in all available probiotic supplements.
There are claims about the ability of probiotics to control intestinal problems such as Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but research in this area is lacking. Some small studies have shown that probiotics can reduce Crohn’s disease flare-ups, but the particular strains and how they should be used for the best results are uncertain. Probiotic pills are readily available, which is why many people who suffer from the discomfort of intestinal problems take probiotic supplements regardless of their proven effectiveness.
Probiotic sources, including pills and yogurt, are sometimes used to treat recurrent yeast infections, as well as urinary tract infections and vaginal infections. Birth control pills, spermicidal creams, or antibiotics can strip the vaginal canal of good bacteria. Replenishing healthy bacteria with probiotics can balance the internal environment and treat or prevent infections. Although studies have not shown that probiotics definitively improve levels of good bacteria, the practice of using yogurt to treat yeast infections is common.
Some claims about the benefits of using probiotics involve preventing allergies in children and fighting cancer. As of 2010, scientific research had not confirmed those claims, but some consumers have been drawn to probiotics due to advertising and hype. This could lead to inappropriate and unnecessary use of probiotic pills by some people.
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