Are probiotics really that good for your health?

Asked by: Rachel Corben, Penzance

Not especially. Probiotics are foods with live cultures of bacteria similar to the strains that live in our intestines. There is some research to suggest that they might be beneficial for sufferers of Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. They have also been found to reduce the duration of episodes of diarrhoea in young children (though not in adults).

But in 2010, the European Food Safety Authority conducted a review of the claims that probiotics strengthened the immune system and improved digestive health, and concluded that there was no sound scientific basis for these claims.

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