Probiotics: Is this the biggest health scam today? 

Has your opinion on probiotics changed after this video?

I had IBS for 15 years and survived with Buscopan. Started probiotics, and the pain is gone, got my life back.

i grew up with a family that didnt let me go outside much + i was in hospitals and similar environments a lot. i moved out at age 18 and was a chronically sick person. i went outside a lot, out to nature, and took a gardening job. my health improved so much. sure, yes, the sun and fresh air and physical activity are huge factors, but i am also very sure that my body's own biodiversity was simply lacking and all the contact to mulch, compost, dirt, supplemented that for me.

Kefir has noticeably helped my overly sensitive digestive system. Along with fruits, vegetables, and naturally fermented vegetables. I've been trying to grow different types of vegetables to see what I like

I had major gut problems after getting sepsis and being on a very very strong dose of antibiotics for about 3 weeks. It stayed like that until I started eating high fibre and probiotic yogurt twice per day and now I can eat pretty much anything in moderation.

I was told not to take probiotics after my transplant, because they could potentially stimulate my immune system, which would be bad dor my transplabt and my lupus. After a decade of diarrhea as a side effect of immunosuppression destroying my gut flora and developing lactose intolerance, my doctors told me to take probiotics. Neat.

You asked why do the cranberry fruit extract instead of just eating cranberries? Its because it will give you a concentrated amount of polyphenols, the things you talk about later in the video. In order to get a lot of polyphenols you would need to eat a ton of cranberries and an extract increases bioavailability

I had chronic gut inflammation for years, I saw a short where you suggested that one should consume pre and pro biotics together , so every morning I started eating a banana and kefir, and haven’t had any problems at all since, thank you 🙏

I have had horrible digestion issues which has caused me to be very gassy and constantly have diarrhea and stomach pain. After taking probiotics for about a week everything is back to normal and I feel a lot better.

When I take mine like I’m supposed to they are life changing. Gut health affects everything.

I worked with a nutritional therapist a couple of years ago who recommended probiotic supplements and I’ve continued to take them on and off, however I can’t say I’ve noticed a massive difference and this video explains why! I’m definitely going to try and vary my diet more as I find I stick to the same kind of meals and definitely do not get the fibre I need. Thanks for such an informative video😃

This is extremely informative and easily understood! Thank you Dr. Karan

Probiotics changed my life. I finally have normal bowel movement. It first started back in 2014 when a trip to the local ice cream shop and getting a milk shake completely destroyed my stomach. Had stomach issues for about 3 -4 years. I finally did some research and came across probiotics, took them everyday for about a year, starting to notice a difference about 6 months in. It completely changed my life and always recommend them for to everyone.

I got MRSA that got treated incorrectly. The results was 6 antibiotics courses in total, within 2 months. The last 3 courses I took probiotics (a good one with many different strains of bacteria). It noticeably decreased the side effects while on antibiotics!

I eat a whole food plant based diet and have for years and never had any gut issues until I hit perimenopause. I started using Cultured Coconut probiotics which helped a little. I'd love to see more information on digestive changes in perimenopause and menopause as there doesn't seem to be a lot of knowledge out there

Terrific video about prebiotic and how reliant each of us are on the gut microbiome. I had no idea only 40% of our cells are human! It is a fascinating subject that doesn't get enough emphasis in day to day life.

I was having alot of issues with yeast infections. I added yogurt to my diet daily and I haven't had one in years.

Thank You so much!! My son was born with Hydronephrosis and he's 24 whenever he goes to work out at the gym someone is always trying to sell him something and his first question is, how will this product affect my kidneys?? They never have an answer! I'm so tired of bad health information spreading so fast!

You’re an asset to the community doc !

This was so brilliant! Doc K you never disappoint us with your content..so worth the wait✨

Kimchi/Sauerkraut on my salads. Kombucha when I need a little caffeine. Yogurt with whey protein as a post workout meal…. Been doing this for a few months now. And its not like I’ve had an abundance of gut problems before doing this. But I gotta admit, my mood has has felt significantly uplifted lately.

Merely a research assistant, but I’m currently running an umbrella review on integrative medicinal practices in obesity. Part of this includes probiotic supplementation. The results have been pretty mixed with fermented foods reinforced with probiotics seeming to have some effect on anthropometric measures like waist circumference. So although, micro biome augmentation through supplementation may seem clinically insignificant, the data from some large scale SR’s and MA’s on RCT’s do suggest some benefits. :)

I actually never thought they would work. But it was recommended to me by my doctor to see of it helped with a lot of the feminine area issues I was having.... they changed everything and I'm so much better now. I doubted it so much I didnt even follow through with buying them until 3 months after my appointment. But I will watch, maybe he is talking about something else.

I started drinking Kefir last year about October and I must say I _do_ feel better both psychologically and physically.

I didn't really need an excuse to eat more kimchi, but I'll take it!

Yea whenever I'm having persistent stomach issues, taking probiotics in pill form usually fixes it. It was like a miracle the first time I tried it. Taking them daily seems to lessen their effects when I do get indigestion

I can tell you put a lot of work on this video, thank you for the information and effort. I learned a lot, and the farts fact is interesting

My friend just told me all my back pain was because i didn't take prebiotics and not the compression of the disc.

I've asked this big question that you answered for me Doc I love how informative your videos are.

No matter what his take is on probiotics, I know they work because when I don't take them for over a month I have major stomach issues. If it wasn't for probiotics I probably would have needed some stomach surgery because I had an ulcer from not eating right. So, probiotics healed my stomach and today I still take them.

My wife and my self have IBS and both take probiotics and we have noticed a big difference for the better

Bro. The link non-specific colitis to autism is the single most batshit theory ever written.

That was awesome thank you I suffered with IBD / ulcerative colitis for 10-years no medication worked went on a ketogenic diet and improved in every aspect mental health overall health and definitely going to toilet like a normal person now got my life back but what you said makes a lot of sense thank you

I am really glad for those people that probiotics worked for. Nothing like getting your life back. I've tried probiotics twice now, and each time I was a prisoner in my bathroom! Believe or not, plain old spinach has been a lifesaver. 👍

Took cranberry pill extract yesterday for a UTI and the pain disappeared by the end of the day. Def important to keep around

A very high percentage of IBS is actually SIBO. Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth, you have to ask your GP for a test (it's non-invasive) then it's cleared up with antibiotics. Most GP'S don't actually know about it so you may have to educate them .

I have ibs and started having acid reflux so bad I had to go to the ER twice. I tried probiotics and it fully cured my acid reflux in just a few weeks. They also cured my bloat and helped my skin out as well. It also made me regular in the bathroom, I don’t have to stay so long in the toilet lol! It definitely doesn’t work on everyone, but I’m glad it worked for me

I tried yakult for a couple of days and it messed up my digestion. It got me constipated for months. Now I know why. Thanks Doc.🙏

Absolutely agree with the probiotics food part. Has issues with digestion since I hit puberty, countless probiotic supplements didnt help. Then from 2019 to 2021, three full years I religious consumed curd twice a day, everyday. My digestion has improved and i feel a lot better throughout the day and the best part, can now digest food that I previously could not (in limited amounts, still a lot better than nothing, eh?). Edit: also added fibers to my diet, especially consuming unsweteend dalia every morning, along with a mix of fruits and veggies throughout the day.

It's funny you raised the question as is probiotics the biggest scam today. Well I must tell you. I recently had two feet of my colon removed from the sigmoid back. Due to diverticulitis and constant constant stomach pains. The sigmoid colon was pretty much dead in my body. They removed it I was supposed to never have a diverticulitis event again. Fast forward 3 years after my surgery I ended up with diverticulitis again. Freaking out thinking that I was going to die now. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I decided screw my doctors. They do not know what is going on with my gut. They only know how to cut it out and replace. Their medicines cause me extra problems. There's not a straight fix when it comes to letting a doctor decide how to fix your colon. Because from what I have learned doctors are smart, they're awesome, but they do not know what they're talking about when it comes to diverticulitis and colon issues. Because shoving fiber at a problem is not necessarily a good idea. As fiber is like sandpaper to a damaged or injured colon. So any doctor that says if you have diverticulitis just add fiber to your diet. Does not know what they're talking about. I had to learn this the hard way. Now that is not saying that fiber is not good for you. What they don't tell you, is that there is a time for fiber and there is a time to stay away from fiber. Both times are included during a diverticulitis attack. I stopped taking the lynzess. Let me tell you something. $2,000 for a vial of linzess? That is not a good idea. First off linzess just gives you diarrhea. Now I will say before my surgery the five months I had to stay alive to be able to go through my surgery were because of linzess. But at $2,000 for one container of the linzess? There's no way I purchased that junk unless I'm about to die without it. So if that being said there is a better way. Probiotics / fiber. Together they can work miracles with your gut. Probiotics mainly. I feel that my body does not provide probiotics. I must introduce them to my gut otherwise I do not digest food well. This is caused me to use the $60 billion culture probiotic once in the morning, then once just before I go to bed. No food can be eaten within 30 minutes before you go to bed with this procedure. And after every single meal I do add fiber pills. All of my digestive issues have gone away. I can eat corn. I can eat strawberries. I can drink alcohol. I can do whatever I want. As so long as I stick to this regimen. 60 billion cultures in the morning 60 billion cultures before bed fiber after every meal. NOT FIBER WITH EVERY MEAL. Only after every meal. Meaning.. you eat, finish your food, and 15 to 20 minutes later then come the fiber pills. My problems went away 100% by doing this. So there is no way on this Earth that probiotics are a gimmick. I will say this though. Many companies use probiotics as a selling point because of its following. Though those companies may have false claims toward their probiotics. That does not make probiotics a gimmick. And the fact that probiotics and fiber only have gotten me to where I do not have to see a GI and take this stupid medication. I believe that there is no way probiotics are a gimmick. There is only a way that companies have used probiotics as a gimmick. But probiotics themselves are definitely NOT a gimmick. Anyone who says that they are does not know what they're talking about, and is only interjecting their own personal thoughts into a fact-based theory. That does not work.

I started probiotics about a year ago and I have seen drastic improvements especially when it comes to bloating.

I have the worst gastric problems (either constipation or diarrhea, always gassy stomach, pain everywhere in my stomach, nausea, chronic fatigue, etc) without speaking about anxiety and depression Started lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut and Kimchi and also, kefir milk, yaourt and cheese It's working better than all the probiotics pills.

Turn on notifications for the premiere to chat & watch it with me in real time!

Great video! I would like a sequel on fecal transplants and probiotic enemas.

Thank you for this video. I’ve noticed people fall for these type of gimmicks, when it’s more harmful for them 🙁

Eating fermented food, and more fruits, while also taking some prebiotic and probiotic helped my eczema calm down. I also started eating more fish for the Omega fatty acids, and I take Omega supplements here and there too, and it reduces the inflammation a lot. I also take Nutritional yeast, but i don't know about that one. But a diet change is necessary for results, also going to the gym or just being active in general helps a lot too.

been following probiotic development for 20 years, nearly. A couple of things I'd like to have seen you raise>> - efficacy of fecal transplants - how long development into probiotics stalled for, and why; which leads to why development suddenly took off relatively recently (an interesting story in itself) - the benefits of time-release probiotics (or just enclosing the tablet/capsule in a stomach resistant capsule before swallowing)

Prebiotic would've kept me out of the ER when I was on antibiotics for just over a month. 30 days after stopping I got c-diff, didn't know it and my bf at the time wouldn't take me to the clinic. Was told if I waited another day it would've been a close call. 4 days. Now I take probiotics when I take antibiotics

Dude explained a whole textbook

Love the long style video Doc! Keep up the fight against medical misinformation! 😉

I have treatment resistant MDD. A holistic psychiatrist prescribed me a prescription-only probiotic normally given to folks with diverticulitis. It did wonders for my mental health. I cannot even emphasize how much difference I experienced. I’ve tried other OTC probiotics since. None come close to the effectiveness of the prescription one, which was formulated and developed by a team of GI docs. They apparently were picky about exactly which strains went into it, and my body and mind are very happy with those strains. I’ve found OTC probiotics actually give me GI problems I don’t normally have. I also have very sensitive skin and hormonal acne. I use a probiotic moisturizer. It’s the only moisturizer I can put on my face that doesn’t worsen my acne. And it has completely cleared up that acne. Also do just plain greek yogurt face masks for acne too.

This video kept me engaged and intrigued..I appreciate the way you break things down and the illustrations are a great help as well..I suffer with a range of digestive related issues and I struggle on a daily basis trying to figure out what's beneficial for me to eat.. Basically everytime I eat,I pay for it in one way or another.. 🚽 😩 The pain is the hardest part.. Thanks Doctor K.. This has given me great ideas..

This was a really informative video. The message was super clear and concise. I spend quite alot of money to purchase probiotic supplements for my children so this information is really helpful in weighing up if it is really benefiting them. Think I will put that money towards quality food/produce choices for us 😊 Thanks!

This makes so much sense! Probiotic pills never helped me and maybe made things worse. Kombucha and plant-based yogurt seems to help. I need a crazy amount of fiber in my diet and dairy = destruction of that gut biome.

This takes a new meaning to “you are what you eat” lol

Guess I can remove the juicer I had in my cart already and just use my old blender for fruit juice. Thank You Dr Karan!

this vid made me nervous because I cured my acid reflux /Gerd by taking probiotics and magnesium tablets everyday, i also changed my diet by having fermented foods and i’ve never felt better! before i’d vomit all night every few days, probiotics saved my life and i’ve never been healthier

Sorry man, can't watch it live, it's at a really odd timing in my country. Really wish I could😔😔

I have been making the l Reuteri yogurt with great results. Took a few months of daily intake and I feel so much better. Also, stopped eating wheat, grains, and sugars with minimal cheating. Cut out alcohol. One positive step led to another. Blood pressure is normal, glycemic index number is lower despite the cheats, energy is up. Meditation is a huge component of healing. I take no prescriptions. I’m 72, female. You can do this.

People burnt out every last happy brain cell i ever had

Hey man, love ur content, keep up the good work

this really makes me want to go into pharmaceutical research , so interesting

Noone told me i would be low on pro-biotics after a course of antibiotics, i had to get a fungal throat infection to be told it is a known factor, had i been told i could have tried some things to build them back up again but i dont think doctors do enough to include/inform their patients about the medications they are prescribing

I tend to have a twitchy gut, swing from diarreha to constipation and back. Two years ago I got served some kimchi at a friends house which she had made herself. I was hooked, it was like addiction at first bite. I knew at that moment that this weird Korean cabbage thing would become part of my life. I started eating a portion of kimchi every evening, much to the peril of my wife, who hates the smell of it. But I had to have it every day at least two spoons. After a while I noticed something weird. My poops were regular, painless and silky smooth, perfect structure. It took me a while until I realized this started when the Kimchi addiction started. I googled it and indeed I found its loaded with probiotics. Everything you say here makes sense, also the fact that the bacteria die in stomach acid - but why is it that this solved all my gut issues - and I didn't even know about the probiotics, there was zero placebo effect in my case.

Love your boisterous, fact-packed videos! Cheers Doc!

Loved your video.learnt so much from it. Thank you for being a legend and always giveing is amazing content. You are very inspiring Doctor. truely a true motivator. love all of ur videos and shorts. keep up the work. love and wishes from SWEDEN🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

Most are, due to how easily these can be conjured up, but a lot aren’t.

Having diet variety is a full-time job. And my taste preference is narrow. But I just have to suck it up.

Specific probiotic strains have been very helpful for my MCAS. Some strains make my MCAS significantly worse.

Love these types of videos, good to listen to while eating and stuff they really help cure your boredom lol

I think it depends on the brand and quality. You can’t go buying probiotics in a dollar store and think you will see results.

I have IBS and tried prebiotic supplements and I helped with my gut issues. It also helped fix my haemorrhoids. If it’s not doing any harm then I’m going to keep taking them.

I'm so pleased a medically professional has looked at vitamins and minerals supplements and given a good view point. I will be consuming the natural version from now on.😊

Very well done and interesting video! 👍

They'll help if your gut lacks them. And some people can't afford the actual food but can afford a vitamin

My stomach acid can melt steel but cant even digest corn...wtf 😂

Started taking for my neurosis, as I heard alot about them from Huberman Lab, and Omega-3 oil supplement too...

I'd really like to see you sit down with someone like Rogan that's heard all kinds of theories when it comes to health. It'd be an interesting conversation

Great info in this video @drkaran I have been making my own Kefir Milk and Kefir Water now for over a month. It cost me £10 total for the kefir grains and all I have to put in them each day is milk and water so basically pennies! I have been making my family smoothies with kefir, berries (with the skin blended in for the whole fruit fibre) chai seeds and flax seeds. There has been a noticeable Difference with all of the family! My Daughters skin has cleared up after years of problems with acne, my husbands allergies have almost disappeared and I am feeling like I have way more energy and no stomach issues.

Hi Dr. Karan, I feel like this video was really informative overall, but I think the misspeak at 7:30 was important enough to re-record, instead of just a little caption. The words are so similar that it's easy to confuse them, and any time you're talking about both probiotics and prebiotics, you really need to emphasize the difference. I think if I did not already know the difference, I might not have caught the correction in the caption, since I might have looked away for a split second, or even misread prebiotic as probiotic, since again, they look so similar.

I am very skeptical of most supplements overall, but Ive started using some probiotic and fermented products after discovering some food intolerances that tend to result in celiac-like symptoms, such as inflammation, fatigue, and diarrhea that can last for days. Probiotics have been able to significantly reduce the length and severity of those symptoms , and Ive been so happy to have discovered this. That being said, I still only recommend this sort of thing to people in my life that have a known GI issue like this, not as a cure-all. The literature just doesnt show enough demonstrable help across a wide array of issues to justify the cost (which can be so high!!!)

Yes it is. Ive tried to use them many times. They do absolutely nothing for my bowel health.

Awesome video. Keep up the good work. Thank from Portland Oregon

The way you said every new type bacteria brings new skills to the table just felt like watching Shark tank.

Cut out all my carbs, started on an animal based diet, heavy on fermented animal products like cheese and kefir. All my gut issues went away within 2 months. There is evidence of us needing fiber and carbs when sugar is in the equation, without sugar, the evidence quickly dissipates.

I can't wait for when my toilet texts my fridge so it adds pre-biotic foods that are low according to my last "sample"

Probiotic foods like yougurt and Kimchi need to be emphasized.

I read about poop transplant being very effective in IBS as well. Worth checking out. Probably more and more hospitals will be performing this procedure. Google showed among others this; “A single fecal microbiota transplant [FMT] done with the proper protocol improved IBS symptoms, chronic fatigue [which coexists with IBS], and quality of life in about 90 percent of IBS patients after three months, with over 70 percent of the patients maintaining these improvements after three years,” says lead study ...13 Sept 2022

1:40 The idea with extracts is that you can get a much higher concentration of what you consider "the good stuff" without having to consume a bunch of food and potentially sugars. For many clinically proven food-derived substances that show benefit, the clinical doses often require much more than what someone can reasonably get from consuming normally, like creatine as a good example.

I had to go to the ER at midnight because of my gut issue. I've had a flu and some gut virus at the same time and probiotics totally helped. I started taking them and in less than 12 hours my excretions were more solid and my gut didn't "feel bad/sick". I still was sick for another 3 days but I didn't feel like I'm dying of exhaustion and excreting water from everywhere. When I was sick I felt: weak intestines (I mean like colon and stomach), no energy, drowsy and confused (almost like I was drunk, on the way to the ER police stopped me for "driving like a drunk man"), feeling like you want to throw up all the time, feeling of no need to drink nor eat (I was starving for 4 days straight, I usually eat 4 meals a day and drank like 0,5l/day, usually I drink almost 2l/day so also severe dehydration but disgust from drinking too much and throwing up from drinking too much) It's just nasty to get really sick and then get some type of gut virus or flu on top of that. I also had "possibly infected with COVID-19" in my report... no COVID, it was "just some viruses"

Curious if the recent anti-biotics I took have brought on this recent bought of depression. Or at least made it more severe.

When I start having gastritis symptoms, my first impulse is to buy probiotic drinks or take the kefir out of the fridge and the gastritis is gone for months Been doing this for years, even before the probiotic health craze 😂

You bring good info, thanks 😊 helps to decide what's what

I always begged my parents for Yakult in the supermarket. Not because of the health benefits, just because they're absolutely delicious (but extremely expensive)

Why does this only has 12k views???? Very informative. Glad to see my college info coming in handy.

I had some issues and as soon as I took one capsule the problems disappeared. I still am in awe of probiotics…at least I capsule form.

Probiotic supplements are so common in my country (Serbia) that whenever you talk to your doctor about intestinal problems, they will just give you a probiotic (most likely the one made by the company whose notebooks and pens they use, hint, hint) and tell you to sod off. In fact, it's practically impossible to get a prescription without also getting a probiotic. I've got a pretty bad case of IBS and a ton of food intolerances, so I basically lived with chronic diarrhoea between the ages of 14 and 24 because not a single doctor I visited (and I visited a whole bunch) wanted to bother with teaching me about what to eat and what to avoid. Rather, they'd give me a probiotic and tell me to come back in a few months only to scratch their heads after I'd told them the probiotics were doing nothing. It wasn't until I paid to get a food intolerance test done and started avoiding the foods the results told me to avoid that I started feeling better. I'm so pissed at the whole probiotics industry as I feel it's mostly a scam and a way for many doctors to avoid doing their bleeding jobs. Fixing one's diet and lifestyle should come before popping pills and then more pills.

Pixar are missing a trick not doing a film about all the different things that live on us and make us work

You can just eat kombucha, sauerkraut, drink kefir milk and eat yoghurt as well as plenty of vegetables, fruits and other things that are high in fiber and you’re already doing a lot for your bowels. The added value of this one specific probiotic is dubious to say the least.

0:02 oh good lord no ... there are faaaaar bigger scams out there lol now if you'll excuse me i have to see a man about this new radium toothpaste good day