When people take antibiotics they frequently experience diarrhea as a side effect. That’s because broad spectrum antibiotics often upset the natural balance of flora in our digestive tracts. A new review in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that probiotics may be helpful against antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
The investigators analyzed 63 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 12,000 participants. The analysis shows that people taking probiotics can reduce the likelihood of developing antibiotic-associated diarrhea by over 40 percent. The most commonly used probiotic in the studies was Lactobacillus. Other good bacteria that were used in the studies included Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces. The researchers could not determine which strain of probiotic might be most effective or what the best dose would be.
