Posted by Charles Waisbren on December 01, 2019 at 12:16 PM

Walk into a health food store, or even a drugstore, and you’re likely to find an entire aisle, maybe two, dedicated to probiotics. Probiotics are live micro-organisms, usually bacteria, that provide health benefits when consumed at appropriate doses. Proponents argue that they improve the composition of the gut microbiome, which is involved in many aspects of health including immunity, metabolism and mood. Framed this way, probiotics may seem like a no-brainer. But before you reach for your wallet, keep in mind that while many scientists and doctors believe that probiotics have promise, they also say that a lot of products on the market don’t live up to the hype.

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