Why might probiotics benefit patients with both irritable bowel and inflammatory bowel disease?
We do believe these conditions may be turned on, in some way, by various species of micro-intestinal flora. And perhaps, if you modify the intestinal micro flora and get rid of a species that’s stimulating diarrhea and cramps in people with irritable bowel or if you modified a species that’s pro-inflammatory in people suffering with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, you might help people out. So there’s a sound theoretical rationale for trying these things. But the evidence supporting their efficacy is not there yet. Where does this leave the probiotic manufacturers and supplement makers who are touting the benefits of probiotics? There are lots of people making extravagant claims, and there’s a snake-oil component to this. Since the FDA does not approve these supplements, there’s the opportunity to take preliminary research and run with it from the marketing standpoint. What do you tell patients about brands of probiotic supplements that haven’t been well-studied? There are a lot of new
