How do I know if probiotics will help or hurt my health?

The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center's Rekha Chaudhary was featured in a National Geographic article discussing groups of people that should stay away from taking probiotic supplements.

Probiotic supplements have become more popular and touted as a miracle cure for digestive issues, mental health ailments and hormonal imbalances, but some populations like cancer patients and those who are immunocompromised can be hurt rather than helped by the supplements.

Chaudhary explained cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy could experience negative outcomes after taking probiotics. Having a wide variety of bacteria in the microbiome seems to correlate with health and wellbeing.

“But probiotics are like the lionfish of the sea,” said Chaudhary, MD, adjunct professor in UC's College of Medicine and a Cancer Center integrative oncologist. “They're an invasive, destructive species and your microbiome diversity can go markedly down when you take probiotic [supplements].”

Over-the-counter probiotics are helpful for specific situations, like infectious diarrhea, Chaudhary said. But overall the promise of these supplements has not lived up to their reality yet.

Read the National Geographic article.

Featured photo at top of probiotic bacteria. Photo/Anusorn Nakdee/iStock Photo.