Probiotic supplements are widely available now and have evolved from only one strain of Lactobacillus or Bifido bacteria to as many as 30 different strains.
Research studies show they are potentially beneficial to those with depression, constipation, diarrhea, vaginal Candida infections, intestinal disorders, pregnant women, allergies, immune system disorders, inflammation, and those who have taken antibiotics recently. There are even studies on how athletes benefit from taking probiotics.
But are they good for you? And how would you know? How would you make this decision?
6 Strategies for Deciding to Take a Probiotic
There are many criteria that could be used for this decision.
Which method below are you most likely inclined to use?
- I would read articles on the topic online at my favorite websites.
- I would buy one and try it.
- I would research the top probiotic supplements and read testimonials for the product.
- I would ask my doctor for advice.
- I would consider that my doctor isn’t trained in nutrition/probiotics and seek out a health professional who does know about these things.
- I would go to original research studies and find out the things that aren’t generally published online, and any precautions. Then I would make my decision.
Most likely you are using a number of the above strategies.
Limitations of These Strategies
There’s a potential problem with each one of these strategies. The first option may be giving you biased information, and not be based on accurate information or not enough accurate information. Writers have a limitation on their time to research a topic. Thus, they may have inadvertently overlooked really important information that is pertinent to you.
The second one is a hit or miss strategy. It’s essentially choosing a supplement randomly without the information behind you to make an informed decision.
The third strategy is problematic in that some of the testimonials may be fictional while others were created by competitors in the same market.
The Two Top Best Strategies to Find Your Best Probiotic
Asking your doctor for advice is often similar to asking a plumber to fix the electrical problems in your house. If a doctor isn’t trained about probiotics, he doesn’t know them, period. On the other hand, seeking out a doctor who really understands probiotics is a plus, and an excellent strategy.
The reason why #6 is the best way to go about making your decision is that your body is different from everyone else’s body. The health habits, diagnoses and symptoms you have will not match everyone else’s health profile.
Thus, when you research whether or not you should take a probiotic, you are automatically placing yourself in the ‘picture’ of what’s happening in the research.
For example, let’s say you are reading a study on how antibiotics affect the gut bacteria negatively for years to come. They stabilize the type of bacteria that are harmful and resistant to treatment.
Three months later after treatment with the antibiotic Clindamycin, the gut flora still hadn’t returned to its normal variety of strains. And recent evidence showed that even 2 years later, the gut flora wasn’t back to normal because of the antibiotic use.
If you have taken antibiotics, especially Clindamycin, your attention will be pretty high while reading about this information. You may have taken different antibiotics throughout your whole life for acne, infections, pneumonia, infected wounds, and dental infections.
You would realize that hmmm… my use of antibiotics in the past could have altered my gut flora. Your next thought would be how to get back to ‘nature’ and regain that flora. And that’s where the answer would be to use fermented foods that contain probiotics, take a comprehensive probiotic supplement, or both.
When you read as much as you possibly can about a topic, your brain starts filling in the gaps of what you don’t know while correcting misinformation. After a lot of study on a topic, you are well equipped to make better decisions on what you should do for your body.
And that is what is one of the most important keys here.
The reality of your doctor-patient relationship is that he knows – and remembers SOME things about your case. He has hundreds of patients. He doesn’t review your entire medical record before he sees you for your visit. He may scan some of the important things but the details will not be present in his mind.
This is why you have to understand that you should always be the one to make the final decision, and not put all your trust in your MD for your health. Don’t overlook your exceptionally powerful sense of intuition and your great research skills about probiotics, and all the revelations that occurred when you did all your homework. YOU alone must be in control of your health.
This isn’t about not going to your doctor… instead, it’s about deciding your MD is good for general advice on your health. He might be a GI specialist who has found that a certain brand of probiotics has been helpful for his other patients with Crohn’s disease.
But if you don’t have Crohn’s disease, then you will have to consider his advice cautiously. What is your research telling you? What is your intuition telling you? What did he not consider about your case? All these questions should be answered to help you make your decision.
Make Your Decision Even More Rock Solid
Another way to add additional information to the research you are doing online is to consider position statements by medical organizations.
A position statement is a decision made by an organization on whether or not something should be used to treat patients. It might also be a decision on whether or not a philosophy is one that the organization holds true.
Now there’s something you should know first about these position statements: no medical or health organization ever wants to be proven wrong so they will always error on the side of caution.
They would rather say something doesn’t have enough studies to make a decision than tell you it’s okay to get this or that treatment. These organizations like to wait decades before saying that something is good, generally speaking.
The problem is that you don’t have decades to wait. You could be in the grave before they made their decision.
Then how do you use these position statements to your advantage?
The best way to explain it is to give an example. Probiotics have been found to be useful for athletes. Let’s consider the International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand on Probiotics.
Why choose this organization for the position statement? They are up to date on nutrition and what works for athletes. Athletic individuals frequently are prescribed supplements and if anyone knows which ones work, it would be an organization that embraces nutritional supplements.
You’re starting out with an organization who wants to find the truth about supplements.
An organization that is anti-supplements is always going to be against supplements. However, an organization that is pro-supplements will have an open mind and attempt to ferret out the ones that work and the ones that don’t.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition tells us:
- Probiotics, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. (The host is you.)
- Probiotic administration has been linked to a multitude of health benefits.
- The benefits depend on the strain and the dose.
- Athletes gut flora is different than those who are sedentary.
- Probiotics given to athletes can increase the absorption of amino acids from protein.
- When athletes work out excessively, their immune system suffers and they become more susceptible to lung infections. Athletes traveling to competitive events have an increased exposure to microbes that can cause infections. Yet 70% of the immune system is located in the gut and probiotic supplementation has been shown to promote a healthy immune response.
- Research has shown that specific probiotic strains can reduce the number of episodes, severity, and duration of respiratory infections in athletes.
- When athletes exercise in the heat and for prolonged periods of time, gut permeability increases. This can make them more susceptible to infections that cause toxemia. Yet, specific probiotic strains can improve the gut barrier function so this doesn’t happen.
- Certain strains of probiotics reduce inflammation, which in turn improves recovery from muscle-damaging exercise.
- The minimal effective dose and potency per serving of a probiotic strain depends on validation studies. Probiotic companies have to list this on the label of their product.
- Studies have shown potential probiotic benefits in athletes that include higher testosterone levels, lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels, increased lean body mass, increased neurotransmitter levels, and improved cognition and mood.
Their final statement is that these potential benefits require validation in more rigorous human studies and in an athletic population.
Do you see how their final statement is in accordance with the organization’s desire to be cautious? However, they have given you a lot of information that you can now use to make your own decision. You’ve learned things about probiotics you didn’t know before and they are contributing to your decision-making process.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition did not cite any bad effects of probiotics whatsoever. They did state that probiotic effectiveness is related to dose and strain. This means you could conceivably choose a probiotic that didn’t have the right balance for your body, and thus wouldn’t get results or wouldn’t see a difference.
And that means you could develop symptoms while trying your first probiotic. Or that you would have to try a few different brands to see which one works best with your body.
Many people make the mistake of going to health professionals – or looking up position statements from organizations who are anti-alternative medicine. This is an error of logic, and again, it’s like going to the plumber for electrical work.
You may consider the articles on our site to be well-researched, which saves you a lot of time reading through the research studies and still getting the nuggets of wisdom you need to make your decision.
Takeaways
Making a decision of whether or not you need a probiotic is something that may be discussed with your informed doctor, but there still is a lot of ‘homework’ on your part.
The homework involves reading articles on the topic of probiotics and what they do and building a library of information on probiotics in your brain. Once you start collecting info, your brain will be constantly asking the question, “Does this pertain to me? How can I be helped by this info?”
And that’s when the revelations begin unfolding that lead to your smart and accurate decision.