What are probiotics good for? First thing to know: our digestive system is home to more than 100,000 billion (!) of bacteria, which are not dangerous to health. These fulfill essential functions: they contribute to the digestion process, stimulate the immune system, help in the synthesis of vitamins…
Numerous scientific studies have focused on the intestinal microbiota: researchers have thus discovered that a deficiency in “good” bacteria could lead to the development of certain pathologies – Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, IBD, cancer, type 2 diabetes…
This is where probiotics come in: according to the World Health Organization (WHO), these dietary supplements contain “live microorganisms which, ingested in sufficient quantity, exert beneficial effects on the health of the host“. The goal? To support the work of the intestinal microbiota. The most well-known probiotics come from the genera Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces.
Probiotics, responsible for the production of lactic acid
Problem: according to several recent publications, probiotics are not totally beneficial to health. Thus, according to a study by Augusta University (in the United States), probiotics could be responsible for undesirable symptoms in some patients.
The American researchers (who published their work in the specialized journal Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology) brought together 30 patients consuming probiotics on a regular basis. They first observed that all the volunteers suffered from bloating and flatulence: in addition, 22 of them had cognitive disorders – difficulty concentrating, mental confusion…
The cause ? American researchers observed abnormally high levels of a variant of lactic acid in the urine and blood of volunteers. However, this variant of lactic acid is a product of the breakdown of probiotics: this molecule is known to be temporarily toxic to the nervous system.
The researchers’ advice is therefore very simple: do not underestimate the health impact of probiotics and seek medical advice before consumption…
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