Welcome to Running: A FEVER. My name is Michael Davis. This is a podcast and YouTube channel about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, happy, healthy, active life right up to the very end. I do that by loving my life enough to make it last forever.
Recently, I started hearing about probiotics. How I heard about them was through some advertisements, probably on YouTube or Amazon Prime. A particular actress, Maggie Q, was promoting them. Maggie Q is known for playing the lead role in the action/spy TV series Nikita. She’s also currently playing LAPD detective Renee Ballard in the Amazon Prime series Ballard, based on the novels of Michael Connelly. Q founded a company called ActivatedYou. They sell a wide variety of supplements, many of which focus on digestive health, including at least two probiotic products.
Then, a few weeks ago, I got some severe cat scratches, which caused an infection in my hands. I went to the emergency room and was prescribed a course of antibiotics, which worked very well. But either the doctor or nurse warned about the possibility of upset stomach, and recommended that I take the antibiotics with food. They also recommended probiotics, specifically probiotic gummies. So I did as instructed, and found the probiotics to have a beneficial effect on my digestion. So I continued taking them after I stopped taking the antibiotics, and I’m still taking them today.
However, I’m always wanting to find out more about supplements, foods, and medicines that I take, even though, as I’ve said before on this show, I sometimes jump in and don’t do my research before trying something out. In this case, a doctor recommended probiotics, and didn’t specify which brand to use. By the way, I stopped at the Dollar General store very close to my house, and bought some under the brand Oh Good, which is an exclusive brand sold only in Dollar General stores. I’ve tried another brand I got from my local grocery store, but it didn’t seem to be as potent, so I’ve gone back to the Oh Good brand.
So what are probiotics, anyway? Initially, you’d think they are the opposite of antibiotics, meaning they promote the growth of bacteria. According to the Mayo Clinic, probiotics are “living microorganisms, most often bacteria or yeast, that help the body digest food or help with symptoms of certain illnesses. Probiotics are naturally found in fermented foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut.” This is to be distinguished from prebiotics, which may be used by probiotics and are associated with fibrous foods. Or you can mix probiotics and prebiotics and get what are called symbiotics.
Probiotics are sold in gummy, capsule, or powder form. An Amazon search will bring up 20,000 results to choose from. A 2017 report estimated annual sales of probiotic supplements at $3.7 billion in 2016, and forecasted an increase to $17.4 billion by 2027. Like many supplements, they are considered food products and not drugs, so the Food and Drug Administration in the United States doesn’t regulate them strictly. If you’re in another country, check with your own drug regulation agency. Basically, supplements don’t have to provide any health benefits to be sold as such.
So what are the benefits? They are primarily theoretical and anecdotal. Research has not shown any benefits definitively. The good news is that side effects are rare, so it is safe for most people to take probiotics. I believe there have been cases of problems with premature babies taking them, which have led to severe or even fatal infections. Are consumed probiotics technically infections? It depends on whether they are harmful. A harmful bacterium in a host body is called an infection. Researchers are trying to link gut health with several diseases, including allergies, diabetes, obesity, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, dental cavities, and gum disease. Presumably, probiotics can help gut health by promoting “good bacteria.”
The purveyors of probiotics claim several benefits, including more radiant skin, improved brain health, improved mood and energy levels, support for immune function, help with diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, stomach cramps, and insomnia.
What about risks and side effects? Some of these are possible, especially for people with particular health conditions. These may include some things that probiotics are supposed to protect against, like allergic reactions, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. For people with weakened immune systems, for example, chemotherapy patients, there is a risk of bacteria entering the bloodstream and causing infection. “Some studies suggest that probiotics might transfer antibiotic resistance genes to other bacteria in the gut. Some probiotics can increase histamine levels, potentially causing issues for individuals with histamine intolerance. Endocarditis (inflammation of the heart’s inner lining), metabolic disturbances, overactive immune function, and reduced remission chances for cancer patients on immunotherapy have also been reported.
The bottom line for me is that I haven’t seen any adverse reaction to the probiotics I’m taking, and they improve my digestion, especially while I’m on this pseudo-liquid diet for weight loss. So I’ll keep on taking them for the time being. I hope you’ve gotten some enlightenment on the subject of probiotics in this episode. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel; it really helps me reach more people. And if you’ve got the fever, keep it burning. If you don’t catch the fever, and I will see you next time on Running: A FEVER.
References:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maggie-qs-activatedyou-morning-complete-reviews-over-3900-positive-reviews-across-multiple-platforms-302291532.html
https://activatedyou.com
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/probiotics/faq-20058065
https://tinyurl.com/raf-infection
https://www.amazon.com/Probiotics-Formulated-Probiotic-Supplement-Acidophilus/dp/B079H53D2B?th=1
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-benefits-of-probiotics
https://tinyurl.com/raf-probiotic-risk
https://tinyurl.com/raf-endocarditis