Prebiotics and Probiotics

Probiotics are basically good bacteria for the gut and prebiotics are food for the good bacteria. You can get it in natural sources such yogurt (women know how to prevent a yeast infection), sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, and kombucha. Or you can also get it over-the-counter in pills. The pill form comes in many different strains with each company claiming their bugs are better than the next. Bacteria counts in pills can go from tens of thousands to billions!

And by now we’ve all heard about the advantages of probiotics, because we all want to swallow billons of bugs to make their tummy feel better or magically cure all of their allergies. Right?? Ok, well maybe that’s a stretch, but the probiotic companies will cure what ails you! Or so they say🧐…….

So first off let me tell you MY story. Two years ago, I had a nasty little intestinal bug called campylobacter. This nasty little bug that can make you very sick with nausea and vomiting for a week or so. It leaves its mark with lasting abdominal tenderness and possible later occurring problems like lymphoma (a cancer) or even Guillain-Barre (a neurological disease)! 😳 Anyway, I took a probiotic (one that had a 50 billion count) after a week of still not feeling well in my gut and literally overnight my tummy felt better! So, I naturally became a believer! We tend to trust what we’ve experienced, right? So, what does science and research say?

Well, they are not very favorable for probiotic or prebiotic pills (I done my research on UpToDate, a website for medical professionals). In fact, it tells you not to take them unless your doctor recommends them. Heck, the FDA doesn’t even regulate them! There is very limited data on probiotic pills helping you to avoid allergies. There is also limited data supporting it’s use in helping eczema. It’s not that science denies that probiotics can help. They can help with yeast infections, some intestinal infections such as C Diff, and regulate your bowels. Research is just not so sure taking a pill will do you any good, they think food is better! So bring on all the musty, stinky, sour foods, eat to good health, and be probiotic wise!