# Probiotics - I genuinely need your information, my dad is ill **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007 "2011-01-17T22:39:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007/21 "2011-01-19T01:42:31Z")
I can’t give any brand names, but any decent, wide-spectrum probiotic can’t HURT. Geez, my family Dr. from a decade ago (full disclosure, he was an MD, a Naturopath, an Osteopath and a Chiroprator, but overall very conservative in overall approach) ALWAYS prescribed probiotics whenever he prescribed antibiotics and generally considered them a beneficial thing regardless. I hope your dad improves. Seems like the Drs have done about all they can/know how, so good for you for taking on the task of seeking other treatments/cures on his behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007/22 "2011-01-19T01:59:57Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > My father is limited to Kaiser and the VA, so he has to accept what he’s dealt in the doctor department. In all of the Kaiser system and the VA, there’s only one doctor that can be seen? I find it hard to believe that out of the thousands of physicians available there is no one knowledgeable about probiotics who can be consulted. And while probiotics are generally regarded as safe (though safety concerns exist), there is considerable [variation in quality](http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/probiotictp.htm) of these supplements. _“Probiotics may be unreliable in content. For example, [ConsumerLab.com](http://ConsumerLab.com) analyzed 25 probiotic products only to find that the number of live organisms identified did not come close to the manufacturers’ claims. United States and foreign studies that independently analyze commercial probiotic products demonstrate that lower microorganism counts exist than the manufacturers claim and that products may not even contain the organisms that the manufacturers claim.”_ So, what to do? Get reliable recommendations from a professional who’s knowledgeable in the field, or depend on the advice of strangers on the Internet and try various products hoping that something will work (a poster on another forum referred to this as “guinea pigging” herself)? Your father deserves better than that. > [@carnut](#): > > …some (doctors) prefer to use evidence that had been published more recently than 30 years ago or even evidence that wasn’t sponsored by a drug company. And some (referencing your comment that doctors “pooh-pooh” Ayurvedic drugs) are familiar with a recent journal article that found [potentially dangerous levels of lead, mercury and arsenic](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18728265) in one-fifth of Ayurvedic products sold over the Internet. Then again, lead, mercury and arsenic _are_ natural. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007/23 "2011-01-20T02:39:31Z")
Jackmannii, I said nothing about ayurvedic drugs. I just said ayurvedics. In the ayurvedic experiences I have had, I have been given advice about diet, exercise and lifestyle, not drugs. And the diet part emphasizes organic foods not herbal concoctions. I do understand where you are coming from because there are a number of shady operators out there many of whom run natural remedy companies, many others who run “legitimate” drug companies and some of whom are real, licensed M.D.s. Let the buyer beware on _everything_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007/24 "2011-01-20T03:10:23Z")
I can’t see how trying some probiotics can hurt. I suggest starting with that Activa yogurt product, _then_ some pills. Any decent health food store should be able to sell you some good probiotics for under $20. It’s one “Natural” product that definately works- although I doubt if it’s a “miracle Cure”. But starting with a Food product is likely the safest. Although I can’t see how probiotics could be dangerous except for someone with a very strange medical condition, Jackmanni has a point in that supplements do vary as to quality. However, do note that CR found _nothing dangerous at all_, and generally recommends them. My MD recommends them, esp after a course of antibiotics. He first suggested them to me to combat mild lactose intolerance and gas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probiotics-i-genuinely-need-your-information-my-dad-is-ill/568007.md?page=1)