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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : August 7, 2018 4:02 PM IST
A recent research found that modulating our gut microbiome through probiotics can have a number of positive health outcomes. However, a new study is suggesting the for some people probiotics can have a dark side.
According to newatlas.com report, the new research, from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, reports a connection between symptoms associated with brain fogginess, difficulty concentrating, including poor short-term memory and a particular bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine resulting from probiotic consumption. The research is published in the journal Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.
The researchers of the new study were inspired when a single patient suddenly developed symptoms of both brain fogginess and bloating immediately after eating probiotics.
One of the authors on the new study, Satish Rao notes the patient's abdominal distention was stunningly rapid, "It happened right in front of our eyes."
The team closely examined the patient's metabolic profile and found high levels of D-lactic acid in a blood sample, with it later revealed the patient regularly consumed probiotics and yoghurt. Further research found that a number of patients consume probiotics and suffer from brain fogginess.
Rao said, "What we now know is that probiotic bacteria have the unique capacity to break down sugar and produce D-lactic acid. So if you inadvertently colonize your small bowel with probiotic bacteria, then you have set the stage for potentially developing lactic acidosis and brain fogginess."
Last year, a study in rats from the University of New South Wales found that probiotics were only helpful in animals with "grossly dysregulated gut health." Not only that, but the results showed that the probiotics actually resulted in a small degree of memory impairment.
However, Rao does suggest that self-administration of probiotics should be done with caution as it could result in negative health outcomes.
Rao concludes, "Probiotics should be treated as a drug, not as a food supplement."
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