It’s hard to see any commercial that doesn’t tout the benefits of probiotics. But are they as good for you as the commercials like to tell you that they are? Scientists can’t even get on the same page about the safety and effectiveness of probiotics. There are a lot of misconceptions that people have about probiotics and the goal here is to sift through the information to help you out.
One of the biggest misconceptions about probiotics is that all of these supplements are the same. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are some probiotics that contain a single strain of organisms while there are other probiotics that have multiple strains of organisms. But this is just one of the many differences that probiotic products have.
There are also different strains of each organism, which affects the body differently. The concentrations of microbes are vastly different between each of these products. Because of all of these reasons, it can be extremely difficult for researches to determine what health benefits can be achieved by which probiotic.
There has also been some evidence that there may even be some negative side effects to using probiotics. Scientists think that they have been able to link probiotic use and bacterial overgrowth along with disorientation or brain fogginess. What this means is that some people have reported that they have difficulty concentrating and suffer from impaired judgement while taking probiotics. As previously mentioned, not everyone will end up with these side effects since probiotics aren’t the same across the board.
The Experts Have Their Say:
According to Ankit Rathi, Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs at Specialty Enzymes & Probiotics, not all probiotics are the same, ” It is very common in shops that we see customers (and marketers alike) looking to buy (or sell) high potency probiotics because of a common misconception that the more probiotics you have in the product – the better. That may not be true in all cases. The human body is complex and depending on what condition our body is correctly formulated probiotic is important. For example, if you were recently on an antibiotic dose due to being ill, you might need a higher probiotic dose to bring back your probiotic levels in your body. Once you are back at being normal (or in normal cases), small but regular dose helps in maintaining and enhancing probiotic levels. While formulating probiotic blends, body pH, temperature, mixture of various bacteria’s and yeasts and their interaction with the body and with each other are among many factors that needs to be studied. Consumers need to invest time and determine which formulation suits best for them and choose from best formulations, preferably from well established companies, which havea wealth of experience in formulating probiotics that work the best.”
What All of This Means?
What all of this means is that maybe there should be some level of regulation with probiotics as you can find in any other drug on the market. This will make the products more consistent and allow consumers to get a better idea of exactly what they are taking. Fortunately, in the case of brain fogginess, the effects are only temporary so you don’t have to worry about any long-term consequences from these medicines. If you experience these cognitive issues or other problems like bloating, you should consider stopping the probiotics intake. It can also be a good idea to see a doctor to see if there are any more serious underlying issues to manage.
