Who Should Be Taking Probiotics for Gut Health?

The term “gut health” has become increasingly prevalent as many realize just how much our gut can influence our overall health. When it comes to maintaining a healthy gut, another word that gets thrown around is probiotics. Walk through any health store or pharmacy and you will see shelves of probiotic supplements promising to improve digestion and your health as a whole. Sadly, they aren’t cheap, often costing more than $20 per bottle. 

However, before you consider which probiotic supplement or food source is best for you, let’s discuss what probiotics are in the first place. 

What are probiotics?

Simply put, probiotics contain live bacteria that are meant to help populate “good” bacteria in your gut microbiome. The idea behind probiotics is that a healthy gut microbiome can be conducive to better overall health and may help specific conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or even vaginal yeast infections. However, the science behind probiotics is still controversial and more studies are needed. 

To shed some light on the topic, I tapped a gastroenterologist and gut health expert, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, to explain how probiotics work and help you determine whether they are right for you. 

What do probiotics do?

When it comes to probiotics, it’s important to understand that there are several different strains of probiotics that can all have potentially different effects on your body. Even though it’s difficult to explain how each strain works, the concept behind the popular probiotics on the market is similar — to populate healthy bacteria in your gut. 

“The theory with probiotics is that they mimic the effects of our intact microbiota. In other words, just like our healthy gut microbes, these probiotics should optimize our immune system, reduce inflammation, inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria, correct leaky gut and restore gut barrier integrity, reestablish intestinal motility [and] even improve mood,” says Dr. Bulsiewicz. 

You can purchase probiotics in supplement form, but they are also found naturally in food — particularly food that is fermented. Examples of probiotic-rich foods include yogurt, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut.

Since you can get probiotics from food, you might be curious about why you would even want to take a supplement. Besides the convenience factor, one benefit of probiotic supplements is that you can choose products with targeted strains for certain issues with a supplement. On the other hand, if you eat fermented foods, you can still get probiotics, but you may not know exactly which strains or how much. 

If you’re interested in probiotics for a specific reason (like IBS or constipation) then you may benefit from looking into specific strains of bacteria that can help. For example, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is a probiotic strain that researchers found particularly helpful for diarrhea. Another factor to note is that probiotic supplements do not have to be approved by the FDA before they’re sold. Otherwise, for the general benefits, eating probiotic-rich foods like yogurt each day can do the trick. 

Who should or shouldn’t take probiotics?

Although technically anyone can take them, certain groups of people can benefit the most from probiotics. For example, probiotics have been studied for the potential to help with a wide variety of ailments like diarrhea and urinary tract infections, just to name a couple. Plus, probiotics are considered relatively safe for most people. 

“Probiotics have been used widely for decades now by the general population, and the safety record has been excellent in both health and disease,” Dr. Bulsiewicz said. 

There are also certain groups of people who could be vulnerable to issues or complications from probiotics, so you should always consult your doctor before starting any supplement, including probiotics. According to Dr. Bulsiewicz, some studies found that there is an increased risk of complications for people with severe acute pancreatitis who took probiotics, and some people with motility disorders had issues with severe brain fog, gas and bloating. 

“This may sound scary, but consider the millions of people taking a probiotic on a daily basis for decades now, and that these possibilities are at the most extremely rare. To me, the main question with probiotics is not their safety. The main question is whether the benefit of the probiotic is worth the cost, which frequently runs $40 to $60 per month,” Dr. Bulsiewicz said.

Are probiotics worth the money?

The science behind probiotics is promising, but there’s a lot we don’t know. For example, scientists don’t know for sure which specific strains of probiotics are most helpful and how much you actually have to take to see the benefits. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, few in-depth or detailed studies on probiotic safety exist.

According to Dr. Bulsiewicz, even though probiotic use is widespread and relatively safe, he is uncertain that most supplements actually do what they claim. 

“The bottom line is that you want and should expect results from your probiotic. Unfortunately, many do not get results, and are left confused and frustrated that they spent so much money. To increase the odds of success with a probiotic, you should opt for the strain and quantity that has been proven in study to work for whatever medical condition you are trying to address,” Dr. Bulsiewicz said. 

The best way to do that is to consult with your doctor, a dietician or a nutritionist to figure out which strains of bacteria may benefit you. That way you aren’t wasting precious time and money on supplements that may not even target the issue you hope to improve. 

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