Probiotics: Useless Or Useful?

by Eric Bakker N.D.

I found this interesting report that said, “Probiotics are useless. They may even be damaging your health. Stop taking them.” This news article basically said that all dietary supplements were pretty much useless. This reporter that she’s going to stop taking all her supplements because they’re junk, and science has proven that they’re useless.

I’d also read a report in the paper that a supplement called chromium could cause cancer in humans. When I had a very close look at the study, they were testing chromium on hamster cells in a laboratory. They were injecting the cells with a solution that contained bleach and chromium. The researchers noticed that the cells became very sick and began to act weirdly. Then the news reports announced that chromium causes cancer. What they later found later was that it was the bleach that caused a lot of problems for the cells. Studies like this show how “science” can get things horribly wrong.

I’ve seen studies that compare the effects of probiotics to fecal transplants (of their own stool) in people taking antibiotics. The group that took probiotics had good recolonization of the gut, but the bacterial community wasn’t necessarily the one present before the antibiotics. The subjects who had fecal transplants, responded quickly and beautifully after antibiotics. But, here’s the thing, fecal transplants aren’t feasible on a large scale. Further, my question is, why give the subjects antibiotics in the first place? Half of my time in the clinic is spent trying to clean up the mess caused by antibiotics.

We have no shortage of articles in the paper saying that probiotics may be harmful. Yet, the news never seems to talk about antibiotics, which literally means “anti-life” in Latin.

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Please don’t listen to newspapers that get it wrong. There are hundreds of credible studies that support probiotics work. You can see some of the research on websites from Harvard and the Mayo Clinic.

There can be problems with probiotics because corrupt businesses are willing to sell poor-quality products to the consumer. At one point, up to 50% of probiotics on the market weren’t probiotics at all. They were just milk powder or other cheaper substitutes.

That’s why it’s essential when you read studies about probiotics to know the details about the probiotics. What strains were used? What brand? What diets were the subjects following? I can tell you that when the right strains are correctly administered, you’re going to get a powerful effect from probiotics.

Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS1 are some of the best-known probiotics. There are thousands of scientific studies supporting their effectiveness.

It is important to bear in mind that some people do react quite strongly to probiotics. There are many reasons why people feel sick when they take probiotics. They take too much. They take them at the wrong time. They take the wrong strain. They don’t have the right diet to support probiotics. Sometimes people need digestive enzymes to benefit optimally from probiotics. These are all critical considerations. That’s why it’s essential to get advice from someone who understands how to use probiotics properly.

I’d be careful about who I believe when it comes to strong statements about natural treatments not working. Make up your own mind.

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About Eric Bakker N.D.

Eric Bakker ND has completed almost ten years of study and has almost almost 25 years of clinical experience in natural and integrative forms of medicine, and has pursued continuous post-graduate study in Australia, America, India as well as in New Zealand.

Eric is the past Vice President of the NZ Natural Medicine Association and is currently on their editorial advisory board.