I’m A Doctor ― This Common Gut Health Buy May Be A Waste Of Money

It’s well-known that if you’re going on antibiotics, you’ll need to supplement the tablets with probiotics to protect your gut’s microbiome, right?

The medication wipes out the “good” bacteria along with the bad, and you need something like a specially-designed probiotic drink to restore it, the common argument goes.

But Dr. Karan Rajan, who’s known for spreading his medical know-how on TikTok, recently shared a video explaining that the relationship isn’t as straightforward as that. 

Why not?

“Whilst there are some strains of bacteria known to have a protective effect at reducing the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, there’s no guarantee your average supermarket probiotic [drinks] contain these strains, even if they claim to,” he says.

“And even if they do contain it, are they even alive or present in sufficient concentrations to have any effect?” he asked.

He’s not alone in doubting the supermarket supplement.

Women’s Health writes that “the benefits [of supermarket probiotic drinks] are negligible,” with or without antibiotic use; dietitian Sophie Medlin told Which?, ”[the effect of probiotic supplements] depends on what bacteria is already present in your gut. This is why it’s hard to prove probiotics offer the same benefit to everyone.”

Medlin and Women’s Health both agree that research into the effectiveness of probiotic drinks is thin on the ground.

It’s not that nobody thinks any probiotic drink can help; it’s just that proving they do can be harder than you’d think.

“The jury is still out about which strains and which dosages are the most effective,” Dr. Karan Rajan says. 

“So instead of spending your money on [probiotic drinks], there is something more evidence-based and effective that you can do during and after taking antibiotics.”

Which is? 

I hate to be this person, but; plain ol’ fruits and veggies, apparently. 

“Add more prebiotic fibres to your meals,” the doctor advised. “These plant fibres feed and encourage the growth of the existing good bugs.” 

He added that “you can get these prebiotics in the form of supplements like psyllium husks or fibre-rich plants ― fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses.” 

The doctor went on to say that brightly-coloured plants “tend to have a higher concentration of polyphenols, which our good gut bugs love.” 

“Instead of these store-bought probiotics, go for the stuff naturally found in food ― they’re more likely to contain live bacteria in the form of lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which happen to be two of the most researched strains of probiotics,” Dr. Rajan ended his video. 

Of course, listen to your doctor first, and if you’ve noticed benefits from drinking probiotic drinks then continue enjoying them.

Though some argue there’s not much proof for their effectiveness, there’s no definitive proof they don’t work, either.

But as dietician Kaitlin Colucci told Which?, while they “can be beneficial” for people who are unwell, “For healthy people without symptoms there’s no need to take probiotic supplements.”