Research has been promising for these friendly critters. Potential benefits of probiotics have been seen in the treatment or prevention of. The best case for probiotic therapy has been in the treatment of diarrhea. Controlled trials have shown that Lactobacillus GG can shorten the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children but not adults.
More common than diarrhea is the opposite problem — constipation. In a search for studies on the benefits of probiotics in treating constipation, researchers found that probiotics slowed "gut transit time" by But the jury is still out on specific recommendations when it comes to the benefits of probiotics for constipation.
Probiotic therapy may also help people with Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical trial results are mixed, but several small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission of ulcerative colitis and prevent relapse of Crohn's disease and the recurrence of pouchitis a complication of surgery to treat ulcerative colitis.
Because these disorders are so frustrating to treat, many people are giving probiotics a try before all the evidence is in for the particular strains they're using. More research is needed to find out which strains work best for what conditions. Probiotics may also be of use in maintaining urogenital health. Like the intestinal tract, the vagina is a finely balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacilli strains normally make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive.
But the system can be thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatment that restores the balance of microflora may be helpful for such common female urogenital problems as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and urinary tract infection.
Many women eat yogurt or insert it into the vagina to treat recurring yeast infections, a "folk" remedy for which medical science offers limited support. Oral and vaginal administration of Lactobacilli may help in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, although there isn't enough evidence yet to recommend it over conventional approaches.
Vaginosis must be treated because it creates a risk for pregnancy-related complications and pelvic inflammatory disease. Probiotic treatment of urinary tract infections is under study. Probiotics are generally considered safe — they're already present in a normal digestive system — although there's a theoretical risk for people with impaired immune function. Be sure the ingredients are clearly marked on the label and familiar to you or your health provider.
There's no way to judge the safety of unidentified mixtures. In the United States, most probiotics are sold as dietary supplements, which do not undergo the testing and approval process that drugs do. Other Conditions. Research has identified mechanisms by which probiotics, either taken orally or used topically applied to the skin , might influence acne. Hepatic Encephalopathy.
When the liver is damaged and unable to remove toxic substances from the blood, the toxins can build up in the bloodstream and affect the nervous system.
This may lead to impairments of brain function called hepatic encephalopathy. A review looked at 21 studies 1, participants of probiotics for hepatic encephalopathy and concluded that they were generally of low quality.
There was evidence that compared with a placebo an inactive substance or no treatment, probiotics probably had beneficial effects on hepatic encephalopathy, but it was uncertain whether probiotics were better than lactulose, a conventional treatment for liver disease.
Upper Respiratory Infections. Probiotics have been tested for their effects against upper respiratory infections a group that includes the common cold, middle ear infections, sinusitis, and various throat infections.
A evaluation of 12 studies with 3, total participants indicated that people taking probiotics may have fewer and shorter upper respiratory infections. However, the quality of the evidence was low because some of the studies were poorly conducted. Urinary Tract Infections.
A review of 9 studies participants of probiotics for the prevention of urinary tract infection did not find evidence of a beneficial effect. Can probiotics be harmful? Probiotics have an extensive history of apparently safe use, particularly in healthy people. The risk of harmful effects from probiotics is greater in people with severe illnesses or compromised immune systems. When probiotics are being considered for high-risk individuals, such as premature infants or seriously ill hospital patients, the potential risks of probiotics should be carefully weighed against their benefits.
Possible harmful effects of probiotics include infections, production of harmful substances by the probiotic microorganisms, and transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from probiotic microorganisms to other microorganisms in the digestive tract.
Some probiotic products have been reported to contain microorganisms other than those listed on the label. In some instances, these contaminants may pose serious health risks. In addition to the previously mentioned studies on diet-microbiome interactions in the digestive tract, recent topics include: The mechanisms by which probiotics may help to reduce postmenopausal bone loss Engineering probiotics to synthesize natural substances for microbiome-brain research The mechanisms by which certain probiotics may relieve chronic pelvic pain The effects of a specific Bifidobacterium strain on changes in short-chain fatty acid production in the gut that may play a role in antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
This is especially important if you have health problems. Anyone with a serious underlying health condition should be monitored closely while taking probiotics.
Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions. For More Information. Toll-free in the U. MedlinePlus To provide resources that help answer health questions, MedlinePlus a service of the National Library of Medicine brings together authoritative information from the National Institutes of Health as well as other Government agencies and health-related organizations.
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Use of complementary health approaches among children aged years in the United States: National Health Interview Survey, National health statistics reports; no Long-term effect of early-life supplementation with probiotics on preventing atopic dermatitis: a meta-analysis.
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