Why is plain yogurt considered good for digestion? What’s it doing down there?
In: 58
Answer: yogurt and some other fermented foods contain “good” bacteria called probiotics which might have beneficial health benefits for some people. Possible benefits range from “gut health”, “diarrhea prevention”, possibly boosting mood and cognitive functions among the other benefits.
A good summary of the current state:
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know
A great deal of research has been done on probiotics, but much remains to be learned about whether they’re helpful and safe for various health conditions.
Probiotics have shown promise for a variety of health purposes, including prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (including diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile), prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis in premature infants, treatment of infant colic, treatment of periodontal disease, and induction or maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis.
However, in most instances, we still don’t know which probiotics are helpful and which are not. We also don’t know how much of the probiotic people would have to take or who would be most likely to benefit. Even for the conditions that have been studied the most, researchers are still working toward finding the answers to these questions.
Other good links that detail the current state of research:
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/probiotics-online/
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-Consumer/
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/probiotics-may-help-boost-mood-and-cognitive-function
Latest Answers