If you plan on dodging that nasty summer cold rolling around the neighborhood with an onslaught of bubbly beverages, you might want to rethink your strategy.
Probiotics and prebiotic beverages have increased in popularity in recent years. Several companies have begun offering over-the-counter probiotic and prebiotic products boasting benefits ranging from digestive improvements and improved mental health to cardiac wellness and clearer skin. Some even theorize that they can curb the likelihood of contracting common viruses.
Emphasis on gut health has swept the wellness world by storm. There are even lines of celebrity supplements with probiotic and prebiotic SKUs. People fill their coolers with brightly covered wellness drinks thinking they are a cure-all, but their advantages are complicated.
A 2020 article from Foods clarified that “The term” “health “benefit,” (often” stated on the label) is not a regulated specificity, nor has a clear medical meaning.” This has not stopped consumers from chasing after them by purchasing probiotics and prebiotic beverages (like Oilpop, Culture Pop, and Poppi). They are the cornerstone of the functional beverage market, joining protein shakes and collagen concussions as perceived miracle potions.
“The public awareness of diet-related issues and ever-increasing evidence about probiotic health benefits have increased consumer interest in probiotic foods,” according to a 2023 article in Frontiers in Microbiology.
That article expressed the importance of probiotics being administered in “adequate” quality.” Poppi,” a major player in the beverage industry, is facing legal challenges for their health claims in the form of a class-action suit that alleges that they did not infuse an adequate amount into each of their cans. Still, the amount of “adequate” can vary for each person.
The market has swelled to over ninety billion dollars despite this. “From an”industrial perspective, there are always challenges related to adding health-enhancing components, including probiotics, to food matrix,” according to Foods.
Not only are the benefits of probiotic beverages difficult to determine but there are potential risks associated with prebiotics and probiotics being examined by researchers. These can potentially be increased in select marginalized publics like those late in their pregnancies, immunocompromised individuals, and chronically ill children.
Dr. Janese S. Laster, a board-certified doctor in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Obesity Medicine, and Nutrition and the founder of Gut Theory Total Digestive Care in Washington, D.C., explained that probiotics and prebiotics are best introduced to a regimen that includes physicians.
She also said that more information is coming to the public about probiotics and prebiotics as efforts to design and execute productive studies are expanding.
We don’t have enough data and so there’s a bunch of research going on,” explained Dr. Laster. “But right now, we don’t have enough information to make a determination.”
What do you need to know about probiotics and prebiotics before using them?
Their usage affects everyone differently.
“We don’t know what that perfect makeup is. The only thing we know currently is that people who tend to be the healthiest people, people who have no GI symptoms, tend to have a really, really high diversity of all types,” said Dr. Laster. “We don’t know which is the perfect one each person needs. So that’s the big issue and what we’re trying to figure out and determine.”
There are different kinds of probiotics.
“Not all of them are created equal,” said Dr. Laster. “Most things won’t make it through to your small bowel where they can actually have some effects.”
Research the strain you are considering and discuss it with your doctors before working it into your diet.
Probiotics can be affected by heat.
The way you store your probiotics matters. Research best practices for how to store the probiotics you are taking so that you can obtain the most benefits from them.
Probiotics don’t outweigh a poor diet.
Chugging probiotic-infused soft drinks will not undo the damage caused by an unbalanced diet. (Think about integrating these 10 prebiotic foods into your diet.)
Dr. Laster declared that foods that are high in fiber, like certain fruits and leafy vegetables, are still crucial to achieving one’s health goals. “These are things that we know actually change the microbiome,” she said.
“If you put fertilizer on the ground with Cheetos, nothing’s growing,” she said. “But if you put it there with apple seeds, you’ll get an apple tree at some point. So it’s about sort of what you’re feeding your gut, and just having a probiotic on top of a diet that is completely processed isn’t going to do anything.
It’s difficult to tell what probiotics you lack.
Tests claiming to identify the perfect probiotic cocktail for you might not be entirely accurate. “There’s no real good ways to test that at this point,” said Dr. Laster. She noted that it’s important to understand that many of these tests have legal disclaimers explaining that they can not be used for medical management.
“People will go online and come and see us and say oh, I got this test done that I wasted $700 on, now you tell me what to do with it.”
