How safe are probiotics for you?

Probiotics, often referred to as “good bacteria”, are live microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed in adequate amounts. They are commonly found in foods like yogurt and supplements. While probiotics are generally considered safe for most people, it’s essential to understand their potential risks and benefits before using.

Probiotics are mostly used to support gut health by maintaining a balanced microbiome. They can help with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, and even some skin conditions. Specific strains of probiotics may also support sleep and help dealing with stress. They are widely used and are generally safe for healthy individuals, with some minor side effects observed such as bloating and stomach upset which usually subsides after a few days after first starting probiotics. There are isolated rare cases of reported infections in people with weak immune system.

Although probiotics are safe and easy to use, most problems comes from the quality of the probiotic product you are using. There are a lot of products without any documented safety and efficacy report. A study in US reviewed 384 products and only one-third provided information on safety. Locally, the consumer council also discovered over 60% of the tested probiotic products on the market failed to disclose probiotics strains according to the guidelines, including heavily marketed and reputable brands listed as dangerous and not recommended for consumption.

Supplements are not registered and tested vigorously like medicine and drugs. Without regulatory control, a lot of supplements are able to market and causes confusion to end users. It also makes it difficult to select the best probiotics for you. Before making your choice, we recommend you to look for products that mentioned the number of CFU of probiotics, probiotics with specific strain, and whether it also comes with safety and clinical studies.

How to choose the right probiotics?

Newdirran is one of the brand with all the above information and you should look for similar products on the market. Take Newdirran IBS probiotics as an example. The product specifically mentioned “Bifidobacterium longum W11 >5 Billion”, where bifidobacterium longum is the probiotic name, W11 is the strain of the probiotic, and 5 billion is the amount of probiotics present. Moreover, safety and efficacy reports can be seen clearly, with statistical figures such as “Stool frequency also significantly increased from 2.9 to 4.1 per month”. This provides the information you need and what expectations can be expected from the product. Newdirran is also one of the recommended probiotics by consumer council.

With the knowledge in choosing the best quality probiotics, the risks of probiotics are minimized and are generally safe to use. We recommend you to try first to see if you experiences any side effects, and continue using the product for 3 months to check the expected outcome.