Probiotic supplements may do the opposite of boosting your gut health.

[Cattledog]

Probiotic supplements have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, spurred by claims that the products will populate your gut with bacteria that can boost your health in numerous ways.

But beware of the hype: In healthy people, probiotic supplements offer little benefit, and they can potentially do more harm than good.

Studies show that taking probiotic supplements — for overall health or to counter the effects of antibiotics — can alter the composition of your microbiome and reduce the levels of microbial diversity in your gut, which is linked to a number of health problems.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/03/28/probiotics-supplements-gut-health-microbiome/

[Grokenstein]

1. I took a variety of probiotic supplements for years with zero improvement. But

But consuming a couple of foods considered probiotic--natto and kefir, to be specific--did wonders for me, in terms of everything from regularity to weight management. Fortunately I learned I love natto while stationed in Japan (it has a reputation for being "yucky" which I consider completely unearned).

[Laffy Kat]

2. According to my GI doctor (I have IBS), the only type of probiotics that work...

Are suppositories. The reason is simple: Your stomach digestive juice is basically hydrochloric acid and it kills most all bacteria; it doesn't know the "good" bacteria from the "bad" bacteria, so spending money on probiotics is a waste. It's your large bowel that can put the right bacteria to use, so probiotic suppositories--and in extreme cases--fecal transplants are much more successful. I mean, it makes sense to me. Some people still swear by certain probiotics, however, and if it works for you, I'd say keep it up. They never really worked for me.

[Warpy]

3. They also lighten your wallet considerably

If you're taking antibiotics and lower GI distress becomes a problem, eating yogurt with live cultures generally helps a bit, it seemed to help a great deal when I was taking a long term dose for Lyme disease. It also tastes good, boots your calcium and gives you protein.

We're in the infancy of understanding any of what goes on in our guts, from the bacteria which are beneficial, and what role the whole business plays in a lot of illness remote from our GI systems.

I've shied away from this stuff because we don't understand what's going on and one size never fits all, in any case.

This is an older article but it is a great overview: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190121-what-we-do-and-dont-know-about-gut-health

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Surprise, surprise.

There's so much bullshit out there about things like supplements. Ignore them all. Understand that we humans evolved as omnivores, meaning we eat a wide variety of food, including animal protein. Your specific ancestors evolved within their specific food resources, and perhaps those are best for you. Figure it out.