Daily Mail

By the way ... I wouldn’ t bother with pro biotic pills

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DO I need to take probiotics? I am often asked this question and, increasing­ly, I am inclined to say ‘no’.

Such enquiries have been driven by greater public awareness about the microbiome, the vast colony of micro-organisms that live within us, and which we are beginning to realise are a vital part of our health and metabolism.

I recall a few years back asking a dietitian in my practice about probiotic supplement­s, which had just burst onto the scene. Our conversati­on developed around whether or not these healthy bacteria taken by mouth (for example, the lactobacil­li found naturally in live yoghurt and kefir) could survive the very strong acid conditions in the stomach, as well as the digestive enzymes of the small intestine.

We set about looking for research on the subject — and I’ve found that, in fact, many of these friendly bacteria in supplement form won’t survive the journey to their proposed home, the large intestine.

I have since been introduced to the term prebiotic, which is not a culture of living organisms, but food (or rather, a type of plant fibre) — also available in supplement form — that nurtures and amplifies the colony of friendly bacteria already in our guts. A prebiotic supplement will survive stomach acid and the digestive process, so I believe this is where the value lies.

There is much research into the entire area and plenty more to come.

We will soon hear a lot more about prebiotics, which may turn out, as food supplement­s, to be much more important than probiotics.

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