We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how some experts think probiotic yoghurt drinks don’t pack the gut-boosting punch you’d expect.
That’s partly because the acid in our stomach kills off a lot of the bacteria the products contain ― which don’t always appear in high enough numbers to make a difference to begin with.
Nor are the bacterial strains necessarily the right kinds.
Still, eating prebiotic and probiotic foods is known to be great for our guts.
So it’s a good thing gastrointestinal (GI) surgeon Dr Karan Rajan has shared five red flags signs a prebiotic product (be that a food, drink, or supplement) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
These are:
1) Labels which include “lactobacillus” or “bifidobacterium”, but no other details
Though some strains of these bacteria can be beneficial, they’re not all good for us in the same way.
For instance, the American Society for Microbiology says that while Bifidobacterium “lactis BB-12 + S. thermophilus” is good for preventing antibiotic-caused diarrhoea, the subspecies “lactis W52 + B. bifidum W23″ helps to reduce eczema risk for kids who are highly susceptible to it.
An unnamed strain of bacteria on a probiotic is therefore “about as useful as labelling a zoo animal ‘mammal’ ― you need the genus, species, and strain,” Dr Rajan says.
2) Probiotics which claim more CFUs are inherently better
CFUs refer to the amount of colony-forming units, or “live bacteria,” in a product.
But more is not always better, Dr Rajan explains.
“Five billion, 10 billion, 50 billion ― it doesn’t matter if they don’t survive the stomach acid and colonise your gut,” he shared.
For instance, there’s evidence that 1 billion CFUs of a certain form of Bifidobacterium is as good at getting rid of IBS symptoms as 10 billion CFUs of the same strain.
3) Expired probiotics or products whose bacteria have next to no shelf life
It sounds basic, but yep ― like spices, the expiry dates on probiotics really do matter.
“Live bacteria degrade over time,” Dr Rajan says, stressing the importance of phrases like “viable through end of shelf life” guarantees on the label.
If your probiotics only offer a certain number of CFUs “at the time of manufacture,” that’s a pretty big red flag sign the helpful bacteria won’t actually be available to your gut by the time you actually consume the product.
4) Random bacterial strains that have no clear, specific purpose
You should look for “function-specific” bacteria when buying a probiotic, the doctor says.
For instance, he points out that Bifidobacterium Infantis 35624 is great for managing bloating, while other subspecies can help with your gut lining or prevent the runs.
If you’re not sure why you’ve bought the bacteria you’re consuming, that could be a sign your probiotic won’t do the job you’d like it to.
5) Strains on strains on strains
A product which offers 15 strains of bacteria has to be better than one which focuses on two, right?
Well, wrong, according to Dr Rajan.
“A 15-strain probiotic sounds impressive, but if they’re all fighting for survival in your gut, it’s just a bacterial Hunger Games,” he says.
“Some strains compete or even cancel each other out,” he adds.
Looks like my medicine cabinet is due a clear-out...