Tag: Probiotics

Pharmacy shelf of priobiotics

Probiotics, revisited

New guidelines do not recommend probiotics for most gastrointestinal conditions.

/ July 9, 2020

Probiotics Online

Probiotics still don't live up to the hype, and online information is mostly misleading.

/ January 15, 2020

 Five Fatal Foods

Dr. Nina Koduru identifies 5 fatal foods that endanger your life and offers a solution: an untested remedy with unsubstantiated claims.

/ January 9, 2018

Gut Check. Probiotics and Metabiome.

I always cringe when I see an acupuncture headline with ‘needle’ or ‘point’ in the title. Can’t the writer avoid the clichéd pun? I had an editor who commented that the titles of my essays are often obtuse. Probably true. In going back over my essays on SBM I often can’t tell from the title what I have written about until I...

/ January 23, 2015

VacciShield: Pixie dust for an imaginary threat

I know by now I shouldn’t be, but I am still amazed by how readily so many people buy into the seemingly endless array of bogus sCAM nostrums. Many are marketed and hawked for the treatment or prevention of diseases that are poorly managed by science-based medicine. There are countless examples of dietary supplements that are purported to effectively treat back and...

/ June 6, 2014

I’ve been prescribed an antibiotic. Should I take a probiotic?

We are not one organism, we are many organisms. And when we disturb the relationship with our symbiotic partners, we can suffer unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening consequences. One of the most fascinating areas of medical research is the study of how our bodies interact with the the various organisms that we carry around, on us and in us. A focus is the...

/ July 18, 2013

The New England Journal of Medicine Sinks a Bit Lower

I suppose it was bound to happen, but it still rankles. Here is the back cover of last week’s issue of the decreasingly prestigious New England Journal of Medicine:   Here’s the front cover: It’s the 200th Anniversary issue, no less. Some might protest that ‘probiotics’—live bacteria of ‘good’ varieties, as far as the gut is concerned—aren’t all that implausible, and that...

/ January 13, 2012

Probiotics

The Wall Street Journal has an assessment of probiotics in the Jan 13, 2009 issue entitled “Bug Crazy: Assessing the Benefits of Probiotics.” For some reason when I wander around the hospital on rounds people show me articles such as this and ask, so whatcha think about this? Probiotics are interesting. They are live bacteria given to treat and prevent diseases. It...

/ January 16, 2009

Fecal Transplants: Getting To The Bottom Of The Matter

Many Americans will be introducing more food than usual to their GI tracts on this Thanksgiving Day, and so I thought I’d provide you with a special gastroenterology-related post to complement the mood. If you have already eaten, I might suggest that you come back to this post on an empty stomach. I will be discussing the alternative medicine practice known as...

/ November 27, 2008