A recent newspaper article states that self-prescribing probiotics causes bloating, gas, brain fogginess and mental confusion. The research article advised against self-prescribing too much probiotics as large bacterial colonies were discovered in the small intestine, afterwards.
Firstly, newspaper publications of research articles often leads to generalisation and misconceptions. Journalist are usually not experts on the topic of publication which creates a biased synopsis. This type of information further polarises orthodox medicine and alternative medicine and confuses the public.
Secondly, in the research article, the probiotics were not self-prescribed but administered by 'experts'. Therefore the mistake lies with the experts. What was meant by 'too much', was not determined. Additionally, this may be a case of the wrong probiotics and digestive tracts unprepared to receive probiotics. There was no indication that the researchers established that Small Intestine bacterial overgrowth, (SIBO) didn't pre-exist before prescribing probiotics. If an individual has SIBO, then introducing probiotics to the digestive system must be performed with the correct clinical protocol. This includes prescribing the correct probiotics of which at present there are many hundreds known to be suitable to humans.
Self-proscribing of any form can and will eventually lead to problems. Indeed, practitioners run the gauntlet of self-prescribing regularly, ignoring their own advice. Individuals who introduce probiotics without first establishing a healthy diet and managing pre-biotics are risking bloating, yet many if not most individuals safely self-prescribe probiotics. They may not be achieving the best outcome but in their defense, the recommendation to self-prescribe often comes from practitioners both orthodox and complimentary.
Their is a plethora of evidence based research regarding the benefits of probiotics. This does not mean that self-prescribing cannot lead to side-effects nor does it mean that the side-effects aren't a necessary requirement to establish a better functioning digestive tract. One study does not a conclusion make.
In Chinese medicine, the Spleen dominates digestion. This form of severe bloating, known as food stagnation, impairs the Spleen function (Spleen according to Chinese medicine), which leads to other Spleen symptoms i.e. impaired mental function. This is similar to the Christmas dinner food coma. Individuals prone to food stagnation have pre-existing Spleen pathology which in a Chinese medicine clinic should be diagnosed with diet and lifestyle adjusted to support normal Spleen function, before introducing new substances.
Finally, in research, individuals subjected to digestive studies should be categorised according to the Spleen function and therefore the results would be better understood. It would appear that most of the study subjects had pre-existing digestive problems. I would not conclude that the probiotics were the problem, but perhaps a failure of the digestive systems or the research methods
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