A look at claims by “functional beverages” and whether the drinks boost energy, immunity and mood.
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Physical and Mental Health - Exercise, Fitness and Activity
Healthy body, healthy mind! Physical Exercise, Fitness, Running, Jogging, Gym and Activity. Twitter Hashtag: #GymEd Curated by Peter Mellow |
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A look at claims by “functional beverages” and whether the drinks boost energy, immunity and mood.
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Probiotics, which are live organisms taken as pills or powders, can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the intestinal tract of healthy people.
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“Very few things are solved just by popping a pill,” Dr. Swanson said.
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Antibiotics can destroy the good bacteria in your gut. But some foods can help get it back to normal.
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Whether contained in yogurt or taken in capsules, probiotics are popular among the health conscious, with millions thought to use them. But a new report from the American Gastroenterological Association said they largely don't do much for gut health.
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An apple contains about 100 million bacteria—a more diverse range than any dietary supplement.
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There are potential harms as well as benefits, and a lot of wishful thinking and imprecision in the marketing of products containing them.
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Dr Eran Elinav said it was wrong to expect an off-the-shelf probiotic to work for everyone.
He says that in the future probiotics will need to be tailored to the needs of individual patients.
He told the BBC: "And in that sense just buying probiotics at the supermarket without any tailoring, without any adjustment to the host, at least in part of the population, is quite useless."
The research group also looked at the impact of probiotics after a course of antibiotics, which wipe out both good and bad bacteria.
Their trial on 46 people, also in the journal Cell, showed it led to delays in the normal healthy bacteria re-establishing themselves.
Dr Elinav added: "Contrary to the current dogma that probiotics are harmless and benefit everyone, these results reveal a new potential adverse side effect of probiotic use with antibiotics that might even bring long-term consequences."
I do like James Hamblin's review of the article:
Translation: for rebuilding the gut microbiome after taking antibiotics, those expensive probiotics at places like Whole Foods are less effective than ingesting one’s own feces. (pre-antibiotic stockpiles of it, administered in a medical setting, not a DIY project).
https://twitter.com/jameshamblin/status/1037749875948048384
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We also found little evidence that probiotic supplements can reduce cholesterol in healthy adults. And there is little evidence to show that probiotics can improve glucose (blood sugar) and insulin responses in healthy adults. Taking probiotics won’t reduce heart disease risk, or prevent you from developing type 2 diabetes.
So if you have a poor diet (you eat too much take-away food and not enough fruit, vegetables and whole-grain products, or you drink alcohol too much and too often) and don’t exercise regularly, your digestive bacteria may benefit from probiotic supplements, though you’ll have to keep taking them to get lasting effects.
But if you are otherwise healthy, probiotic supplements are likely to be a waste of money. Here’s some simple advice: take what you spend on probiotic supplements, and use it to buy and eat more fruit and vegetables.
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If you want to help your bacteria, build them a nice place to live.
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Probiotics may be described as friendly bacteria, but they may not be doing much for your budget or your gut, says a new study that finds little evidence t