Happy mid-July, everyone! Finally summer seems to have arrived in the Northwest (knock on wood).
If being overly-crazy about antioxidants wasn't enough, it seems this year the rage is with probiotics.
Probiotics are basically live bacteria that are supposed to give you health benefits. That's right, people, you're eating live bacteria. No, E. Coli is not a menu item on the drive-thru at Jack in the Box (although it used to be.)
Not to say that you don't eat bacteria everyday...there's always bacteria on many of the foods we eat, but they never make it alive through the nasty acidic environment of your digestive system. There is some bad bacteria that can make it through your digestive system and make you sick (salmonella, anyone?), but proper cooking and food storage/handling usually gets rid of most of those.
In fact, there are live bacteria sitting in your large intestine right now, eating away at any undigested food that makes it down there. You might be freaked out to know that you have E. Coli sitting in your intestine right now. Don't worry...most forms of E. Coli are harmless...it's not the strain you might find in undercooked meat. The E. Coli you have in your intestine is helpful to you...it helps form vitamin K, and also prevents bad bacteria from taking over.
But let's get back to probiotics. The idea is, by eating these bacteria, you will get all sorts of benefits from a healthier immune system to less allergies to cheaper gas prices.
OK, I'm being facetious, but you get my point. Food manufacturers are taking advantage of the hype by adding probiotics to all sorts of foods. You can even get probiotics as a pill-type supplement.
Is there any substance behind this hype?
Yes and no.
First, you need to realize that not all probiotics are created equal. You can have bacteria strains that have the same Latin name but have different effects. For example, there are beneficial strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, and then there are strains that just make yogurt. So, just because you're eating yogurt that has "live active cultures" doesn't mean the bacteria is going to give you any benefit. In fact, some bacterial strains don't even make it through your stomach intact!
Some food manufacturers don't even list the exact strain on the ingredient label. The label may say Lactobacillus acidophilus, but there are thousands of strains of this bacteria. If the label doesn't tell you the exact strain, you have no idea if what you're getting will benefit you.
The amount of bacteria is also something you need to look at. You usually need millions or billions of colony-forming units (CFU's). If the amount of bacteria isn't listed on the label, then avoid the product. Also, vague statements like "proprietary formula" are a red flag.
You also need to consider why you're taking the probiotic. In fact, probiotics have no benefit to already healthy people. There's not a shred of good scientific evidence that taking a probiotic will help you if you already have a healthy digestive tract.
Probiotics can help people with certain conditions, however:
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Lactobacillus casei immunitas, found in
DanActive, has been found to reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
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The bottom line is, if you're on antibiotics, if you're traveling, if you're irregular, or if you have IBS, probiotics may benefit you, as long as you stick with the particular strain that's been shown to help with your condition. But if you're already healthy, eating probiotics will only eat into your wallet.