Dr. Betty Murray explains why generic probiotics often don't work: your gut microbiome is mostly set in early childhood and shaped by genetics, intestinal structure, and specific sugars on your gut lining that feed certain bacteria. The host environment determines which microbes survive, not the supplement.
What are your opinions on just taking a probiotic in general and then some of these very specific ones?
I'm not against probiotics or prebiotics. I think that some people get relief from taking them. The issue is that your gut microbiome is kind of established early in life. And so, you know, when you're a child, you had a very specific ecosystem in place that is kind of like keystone, like the major groups of microbes that are thriving in your intestinal tract. And it's not just because of what mom fed you. That's a part of it, but also part of it are your genetics, the folds of your intestine. And what's a really interesting thing that I found when I was doing research at the School of Medicine, I had a practitioner actually showing me pictures of the lining of the intestine that had sugars. The lining of the intestine had sugars. It was feeding a very specific strain of bacteria. So I understood that the intestine itself Was actually giving these groups of bacteria the food they needed. And so they were actually able to thrive in these specific regions of the intestine because the intestine was feeding them. So I was like, wow, so it's not just about what you ate. It's not just about how mom fed you, breastfeeding or formula. It has to do with a lot more than that.
