Probiotics Pros and Cons List
When we think of bacteria we think of something harmful that we can’t even see and comprehend (unless we study it deeply) and as such, we just want to stay away from it to the best of our abilities. But bacteria isn’t always harmful and in our own bodies we have beneficial bacteria helping us keep our good health.
Probiotics are usually considered “healthy” bacteria and yeasts that support our general health but even though these are helpful bacteria, they can turn harmful. There is a big debate going on about the pros and cons of probiotics and in this article we are going to look at both of them in order to understand things a little bit better:
List Of Pros Of Probiotics
1. They can reduce periodontal disease
Studies have found that a diet rich in probiotics such as the ones you get from yogurt or from supplements can help reduce periodontal disease. Even though it is impossible to be 100% sure about this, these studies indicate that the bacteria help clear the plaque that builds up in the mouth and, as such, it improves oral health.
2. They prevent colon cancer
Cancer is something that keeps haunting us nowadays and the worst thing about it is that unless we tackle it early on, we are pretty much doomed to fight it for the rest of our lives and even if we survive we are never going to forget the battle we had. As such, the best thing to do is to prevent cancer in order to avoid such a battle and probiotics help prevent colon cancer.
Probiotics help your digestive system move things along and as such it helps clean up your colon. A clean colon is a healthy one and that helped scientists find the link between probiotics and prevention of colon cancer.
3. They help regulate bowel movements
We all know how it feels like when our bowels aren’t working too well and we end up in pain and in discomfort waiting for the situation to get fixed. Sometimes we drink tea and take some pills to help out our bowels but these methods aren’t really as effective as we’d like them to be.
Probiotics help regulate our bowel movements which are pretty much a necessity for good health. They help reduce constipation and, on top of that, they help our guts absorb nutrients with ease.
4. They can prevent cavities
Probiotics have been found to help prevent cavities which means that they can help us avoid those horrifying trips to the dentist we all hate. Even though they won’t completely eradicate the presence of cavities out of our mouths, they are good at helping us prevent them and they will at least delay them.
List Of Cons Of Probiotics
1. They can cause bloating and gas
Even though they are general good, probiotics can be overdone and, if so, they are going to be pretty bad so before you stock up on yogurt you should consider that probiotics are pretty powerful and as they do their thing they are going to release gases. These gases are going to make you feel bloated and since they are gasses they are probably going to leave your body through flatulence, which can be pretty embarrassing.
2. Can cause yeast infection
As said if you overdo probiotics are at risk of suffering from it and one of the things that probiotics can do to you is cause yeast infection. It can be a pretty uncomfortable thing to deal with and there are other pre-existing health conditions that will make everything worse.
For example, if you suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis you will want to control the amount of probiotics you consume to the finest detail in order to avoid complication. People with ulcers or colitis are also going to need to discuss their options with a doctor in order to make sure they aren’t getting themselves into anything negative.
3. They are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Right now, the FDA does not regulate probiotics and that is an incredibly negative thing. Probiotics are classified as food supplements and manufacturers can claim whatever they want to claim about probiotics because consumers have no real to know if it is true or not – there are no regulations.
There are different strains of probiotics and the effects that one strain has are not the effects of all strains. One type of probiotic can be incredibly beneficial and have almost no negative effects on you, while another strain can make you bloated with the smallest possible quantity. Since there are no regulations, manufacturers don’t even have to identify the strains properly before they sell probiotics to the consumers.
4. You need to be careful while purchasing probiotics
As said before probiotics aren’t regulated by the FDA and, as such, manufacturers don’t have to tell you the strain that is in their product, they just have to tell you the species. This can make the purchasing task incredibly hard since you will have to call the manufacturer in order to know the strain of probiotics that is in the product you want to acquire (considering one strain is bad for you and you want to avoid it).
Moreover, probiotics are living organism which means that if a product with them is consumed after the expiration date it can have harsh negative effects on the body of the consumer.