WEBVTT - What Can Probiotics Really Do?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vogelbam. Here. What if you could take a pill

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<v Speaker 1>that would treat depression, constipation, diarrhea, eczema, urinary tract infections,

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<v Speaker 1>and allergies while also preventing cavities and strengthening your overall immunity.

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<v Speaker 1>And what if it promised to shield you from the

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<v Speaker 1>impurities of the world and re establish a right and

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<v Speaker 1>correct balance in your body's ecology. First of all, everybody

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<v Speaker 1>settled down, there is no such thing as a pill

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<v Speaker 1>that does all of that. But to hear some people talk,

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<v Speaker 1>probiotics might just come close. The popularity of products containing friendly,

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<v Speaker 1>live microorganisms has exploded over the past decade. At this point,

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<v Speaker 1>you can walk into almost any grocery store and find

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<v Speaker 1>probiotics and capsules, lozenges, gum, facial toner, and yes, even

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<v Speaker 1>in pet products, in addition to the more traditional delivery

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<v Speaker 1>systems like culture dairy products, yogurt, and fermented products like

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<v Speaker 1>sarakraut and kombucha. Some folks are making a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>money on these little bacterial helpers, but what are they

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<v Speaker 1>actually able to do for us? And are they safe?

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke with Dr Chris Irwin, a dietitian and lecturer

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<v Speaker 1>in nutrition and dietetics at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

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<v Speaker 1>He said that unless you have an extremely poor diet

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<v Speaker 1>or drink alcohol to excess, there's not a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that a probiotic dietary supplement will help your overall health.

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<v Speaker 1>He said. If you're taking probiotics, you'll likely need to

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<v Speaker 1>take them every day, and it's best to feed the

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<v Speaker 1>healthy bacteria with prebiotics. The bottom line is that healthy

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<v Speaker 1>people are likely to get more benefit from getting regular exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>avoiding smoking or consuming too much alcohol, and having a

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<v Speaker 1>diet rich in foods that increase fiber and natural prebiotics

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<v Speaker 1>intake like vegetables, fruit and whole grains, rather than consuming

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<v Speaker 1>a probiotic supplement. However, probiotics might be an effective treatment

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<v Speaker 1>for specific cases or conditions. While there's not a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of evidence supporting the idea that probiotics could help with

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<v Speaker 1>your exema, allergies, or dental woes, sorry they might actually

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<v Speaker 1>help people looking to avoid vaginal yeast infections or upper

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<v Speaker 1>respiratory infections picked up from a cold virus. Other studies

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<v Speaker 1>have found that probiotics can help with digestive issues like

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<v Speaker 1>irritable bell syndrome, and may improve the frequency and consistency

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<v Speaker 1>of your poop. So, as a consumer, what should you

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<v Speaker 1>look for in a probiotic If you want to get

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<v Speaker 1>the most bang for your buck. Basically, you've got some

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<v Speaker 1>homework to do, Irwin said. Different probiotic strains have different effects,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's important to look for a probiotic supplement that

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<v Speaker 1>contains the strains of bacteria most likely to match your condition.

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<v Speaker 1>The dose of bacteria called colony forming units or CFU,

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<v Speaker 1>is also important and should be high enough to meet

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<v Speaker 1>benefits observed in clinical trials. The short answer here is,

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<v Speaker 1>if someone is looking for probiotic to take, go for

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<v Speaker 1>something that provides the greatest diversity in bacterial strains and

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<v Speaker 1>the highest CFU. Irwin also suggests getting advice from your

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<v Speaker 1>doctor or dietitian for the strains that might be right

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<v Speaker 1>for you, and making sure you're buying probiotic strains that

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<v Speaker 1>are reputable and have committed to transparency in scientific research. However,

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<v Speaker 1>that latter is more easily said than done. A study

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<v Speaker 1>published in Jamma Internal Medicine in ten pointed out that

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<v Speaker 1>there's very little government oversight of factories that manufacture probiotics,

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<v Speaker 1>and the US Boon and Drug Administration, or FDA, found

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<v Speaker 1>that about half of the six and fifty factories that

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<v Speaker 1>manufacture probiotics supplements in the United States were cited for violations,

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<v Speaker 1>most having to do with the product not living up

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<v Speaker 1>to what was promised on the label. The study also

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<v Speaker 1>said the probiotics may lead to infections in people with

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<v Speaker 1>immune deficiencies. Another study published this year in the journal

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<v Speaker 1>Cell suggests some people may be resistant to supplemented probiotic bacteria,

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<v Speaker 1>and therefore we'll get no benefit from it at all.

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<v Speaker 1>The researchers also investigated whether probiotics can help the gut

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<v Speaker 1>microbiome bounce back after a round of antibiotics, and they

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<v Speaker 1>found that though probiotics might have helped with diarrhea related

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<v Speaker 1>to the antibiotic, they seem to have delayed the reconstitution

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<v Speaker 1>of gut bacteria. Of course, more research is needed to

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<v Speaker 1>understand just how helpful probiotics are to our overall health,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's important not to give them more credit than

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<v Speaker 1>their due. Irwin said it's unlikely probiotic supplements are dangerous,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't think that they're a magic bullet. Healthy

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<v Speaker 1>people are likely to get more benefit from having a

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<v Speaker 1>diet rich in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. On the

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<v Speaker 1>other hand, if someone has a poor diet and doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>exercise regularly, they're digestive. Bacteria may benefit from probiotic supplements,

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<v Speaker 1>but they'll likely need to keep taking them to get

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<v Speaker 1>lasting effects. Stay's episode was written by Jesselyn Shields and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other gutsy topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot com.