Probiotics: Dispelling the Myths Probiotics are an essential part of human and animal health. There are many different strains of probiotic, and they play a variety of roles in the body. They go by many different names: probiotics, friendly bacteria, good bacteria, gut fauna, body flora, body micro flora, microorganisms (good/friendly). What is a probiotic? It is a type of microorganism, usually a bacteria or a fungus, that performs some important function in the human body. For example, some probiotics help us to break down our food. A microorganism is only a probiotic if it does something useful; otherwise, it’s just neutral or bad. There are many myths surrounding probiotics. If you're considering taking a supplement, for example, you think you might buy Threelac, it’s important that you understand these myths, so that you can take the probiotics for the right reasons.
Myth 1: You can take probiotics instead of modern medicine. There may be some merit to this, but it is far from proven, and should definitely not be taken as fact. It can be very dangerous to take probiotics instead of medication. For example, imagine you go to the doctor for an ear infection and he gives you antibiotics that you must take for 10 days. At day 3 you read an article about a probiotic that helps with ear infections, so you
stop taking your antibiotics and you start taking the probiotics instead. This is problematic for a number of reasons: If the probiotics do not kill the infection, then the infection will learn to adapt to the original antibiotic, and thereby render that stain of antibiotics useless (this is the reason why we’re running out of antibiotics! Take them for as long as your doctor tells you to). 1.
You might be taking a probiotic that doesn’t work for ear infections at all. Where did you find the information? A random article on the internet? Don’t believe everything you read online! 2.
You might still have the infection. You'll be in pain for longer than was necessary, and your doctor might be reluctant to prescribe another one. 3.
Until there is verifiable proof that a probiotic works for a particular illness, don’t take it. Once there is proof, your doctor will prescribe it to you, or will tell you to go and buy Threelac, or whichever strain you need. Myth 2: There is no difference between probiotic supplements. There are actually several differences between supplements, so let’s have a look: 1.
They don’t necessarily contain the same strains as each other. For example, Threelac only has 3 types of probiotic, while Fivelac has 5. On top of this, the probiotics might not even be the same. For example, Fivelac won’t necessarily have the same type of probiotics as Optibac.
2.
Although they might have the same type of probiotic, they might not have the same strain. For example, a recent study found that Bifidobacterium longum helps reduce depression and anxiety. However, it was a particular strain of the Bifidobacterium longum – it has a specific number that accompanies it to show the clinical strain. If you buy a different strain, even if it’s the same name, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will do the same thing.
3.
The probiotics might be dead in one supplement. Probiotics are living organisms. If they are left too long, they might die. This is why most manufactures have an expiry date on their supplements. If there is no expiry date, then don’t buy them.
We hope that you now have a better idea about how to choose your supplement. For further help and advice, please visit the finchley clinic