5 Probiotic Myths Everyone Should Know

Probiotics are living strands of bacteria and yeasts thought to be good for your health, especially your digestive system. While we normally associate the word “bacteria” with disease, in reality, our body is flooded with bacteria, both good and bad.

This form of bacteria is often called “good” or “helpful” because they help keep your gut healthy.

“There is scientific evidence that specific strains of probiotic microorganisms confer health benefits on the host and are safe for human use,” says the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (NCBI).

The site went on to say that, “probiotics have potential health benefits for conditions such as gastrointestinal infections, genitourinary infections, allergies and certain bowel disorders, all of which afflict a considerable proportion of the global population.”

What misconceptions do people have about the use of probiotics?

MYTH 1. All probiotic supplements are the same.

Not at all. In fact, some probiotics have a single strain of organisms, while others contain multiple strains. Naturally, different strains of the same species may even be different and could have different effects on your health. With hundreds of species, it makes sense that researchers have yet to study them all. So, do your research for high-quality supplements!

MYTH 2. Supplement labels provide accurate “live bacteria” counts.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) proposed to update the labeling on food packages to reflect the latest diet and nutrition trends.

While some food and supplement labels may state that it contains “live cultures” or “live bacteria,” or even the genus and species names – for example, far too often, products don’t have a fair or accurate microbe count.