Reports from a microbiologist come out today warning people that probiotic supplements are not recommended for people without health problems and in addition could be detrimental for those with weak immune systems.
Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology at University College London, stated that there was insignificant evidence to show drinking one a day was beneficial. In addition he commented that the idea of giving the gut “good bacteria” was based on “a lot of shaky understanding”.
The idea of drinking/eating bacteria-enhanced products dates back to Biblical times.
More recently however the probiotic drink/supplement has turned into a £200 million a year market and companies advertise it as an essential daily addition to our diet.
Professor Wilson added that only those suffering from specific conditions like antibiotic-associated diarrhoea could benefit from probiotics, according to the results of clinical trials. He recommends further trials be carried out to fully establish how safe the supplements are.
“There are certain instances when probiotics are useful but the problem is there’s no regulation,” he said. “They are regarded as food supplements not medicinal products - anyone can get a suspension of bacteria and market it as a probiotic. With medicinal treatments, the pharmaceutical industry makes sure the things they produce are safe.
There’s none of that with probiotics and the point is we just don’t know.
“It’s all well and good saying that certain bacteria are good for you, but we don’t know about all the other species in the gut and how they all interact. We are basing a lot of probiotic understanding on shaky ground. You need to know you are using appropriate strains for appropriate conditions in appropriate people and we just don’t know those things.”
Prof Wilson, an expert in the indigenous microbiology of humans who spoke today at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, said that the human body holds a minimum of 2,000 species of bacteria with millions in each strain.
He went on to say he could see sense in topping up with ‘good bacteria’ to a degree, but that too much of the wrong bacteria in a person who is ‘immuno-compromised’ could lead to a host of negative reactions including septicaemia blood poisoning.
“No bacterium is totally innocuous. If you are healthy there is probably no harm in taking probiotics, but there is also no benefit. But to increase the bacterial burden if you are immuno-compromised is asking for trouble.” Pofessor Wilson added that doctors were unlikely to pick up on probiotics being the cause of a problem.
“It doesn’t get attributed to probiotics, because the first thing doctors ask is not are you taking probiotics. You have got to be very careful. Even with the best will in the world, even if GPs did have the training, the fact is we know so little about microbiota.”
