Many types of yogurt contain live Lactobacillus acidophilus cultures, a probiotic that helps maintain the balance of friendly bacteria in the body. In lieu of eating yogurt, some people prefer to take Lactobacillus acidophilus supplements as a natural way to treat some symptoms by introducing healthy bacteria into the body. Discuss your supplement use with your health-care provider, particularly if you're considering probiotic supplements to help eliminate a specific symptom or problem.
Benefits
Probiotics, and Lactobacillus acidophilus in particular, are helpful in reducing and preventing diarrhea. Supplements with L. acidophilus can help children with rotavirus get over diarrhea up to half a day earlier than normal, and they can help prevent diarrhea from antibiotics or chemotherapy. Women on antibiotics have a greater risk of developing a yeast infection, but using probiotic vaginal suppositories for the duration of the antibiotic treatment can help reduce the risk of a yeast infection and minimize symptoms if one develops. Probiotics are also used to help reduce eczema symptoms in children with milk allergies, to reduce bloating and stomach pain from irritable bowel syndrome and to reduce lung infections in children.
Types and Dosage
Probiotic supplements come in pill form, as well as freeze-dried powders and liquid preparations. Dosage for these supplements depends on why you're taking the supplements and how many billion living organisms are in each dose. Most of the time, you'll want supplements that contain between 5 billion and 10 billion live organisms. Taking probiotic supplements in split doses two or three times per day is ideal for most conditions. Talk to your doctor for specific dosage recommendations.
Considerations
Be particularly careful about giving probiotic supplements to infants and children or people with weakened immune systems. Even though the bacteria found in these supplements are beneficial to most people, the supplements can increase the risk of infection in children and people with medical conditions that weaken their immune systems and people who take immunosuppressant drugs. Yogurt with live cultures is usually fine for toddlers and older children, but talk to your child's pediatrician if your child has a chronic medical condition or another nutritional concern.
Warning
While probiotic supplements are safe for most people, they can cause problems in people with certain medical conditions and people who take certain prescription medications. Don't take supplements with acidophilus if you have an artificial heart valve. Acidophilus is normally a helpful type of bacteria, but it can lead to a serious bacterial infection if you have an artificial heart valve. Stay away from supplements and yogurt that contain live cultures of L. acidophilus if you take sulfasalazine for ulcerative colitis. The probiotic can interfere with how your body metabolizes the drug.
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