Probiotic - Side Effects

Side Effects

In some situations, such as where the person consuming probiotics is critically ill, probiotics could be harmful. In a therapeutic clinical trial conducted by the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group, the consumption of a mixture of six probiotic bacteria increased the death rate of patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis.

In a clinical trial conducted at the University of Western Australia, aimed at showing the effectiveness of probiotics in reducing childhood allergies, researchers gave 178 children either a probiotic or a placebo for the first six months of their life. Those given the probiotic were more likely to develop a sensitivity to allergens.

Some hospitals have reported treating lactobacillus septicaemia, which is a potentially fatal disease caused by the consumption of probiotics by people with lowered immune systems or who are already very ill.

There is no published evidence that probiotic supplements are able to replace the body's natural flora when these have been killed off; indeed bacterial levels in feces disappear within days when supplementation ceases.

Probiotics taken orally can be destroyed by the acidic conditions of the stomach. A number of micro-encapsulation techniques are being developed to address this problem.

Recent studies indicate that probiotic products such as yogurts could be a cause for obesity trends. However, this is contested as the link to obesity, and other health related issues with yogurt may link to its dairy and calorie attributes.

Some experts are skeptical on the efficacy of many strains and believe not all subjects will benefit from the use of probiotics.