Reasons To Avoid Probiotic Drinks
For sure you have heard about the issue that probiotic drinks are not as healthy and beneficial as most of us thought. When going to supermarket, you can find several probiotic drinks in the chilled section such as, Yakult, Align, Bio-Kult, Probio 7, Activia and many more. Most of us down our morning shot of we good bacteria because of what we assumed beneficial especially to our diet.
Of course, probiotics are really great. There are a lot of health benefits when consuming probiotics and it was discussed in the article of Mark Sisson, fermented foods. As we all know our gut health is connected to our overall health, so feeding our gut with good bacteria in the form of good probiotics is really vital.
Personally I always eat a wide range of probiotic foods such as kimchi & kombucha. However, I was so shocked when I heard the news about probiotic drinks that is now going viral online.
Many probiotic drinks are likely to have no health benefits, according to a report by Daily Mail UK.
The said ‘good bacteria’ bare even made it to the ‘target’ area, the small intestine.
In the same article published by Daily Mail Uk, University College London scientists put eight probiotic-based products through three tests and only one passed the said investigation. UCL’s Schools of Pharmacy, study author, Dr. Simon Gaisford said: ‘Just swallowing them is no good if the stomach then ki||s everything.”
On the first test conducted, Align, Biobalance, Bio-Kult and Probio 7 did not pass. Yakult contained enough bacteria but have failed in the next 2 stages, while its rival, Actimel fell short on the number of bacteria surviving the stomach.
However, a representative from Yakult USA and a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, Adam Fox speaks to FoodNavigator-USA about this very sensitive topic.
“For more than 75 years, the lactobacillus culture in the beverages sold by Yakult USA have been subjected to intense study, resulting in numerous published articles that have withstood the scientific scrutiny of peer view”
However, there are several articles published contradicting about the health benefits of Yakult. In a blog by Alex Fergus, he stated: “11 Reasons to avoid Yakult and other probiotic drinks”.
He highlighted that probiotic drinks are really good and we should be ingesting them. However, drinking them in sugar laden, ultra-processed drinks enhanced in plastic bottles is perhaps not the best method. He also added that instead of drinking those processed probiotic products, eating fermented foods is a much healthier and a cheaper option.
What are probiotics? According to the World Health Organization, probiotics are “live microorganisms that when administered in adequate amount confer a health benefit on the host”.
Do you drink daily probiotic drinks? After reading this, will you continue to buy them? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to share this blog post with your family and friends online. And also, visit our website more often for more updates.