Probiotics are live microorganisms that can provide health benefits when taken in adequate amounts.
A probiotic product may contain one specific strain or several different strains of microorganisms. Different products can therefore have very different compositions and effects.
Why can probiotics affect people differently?
The effect of a probiotic depends partly on the microorganisms and strains it contains, the dose and how long it is taken.
But the person taking it also matters.
Each person already has an individual gut microbiome. Diet, medications, health conditions, age and lifestyle can influence this microbial environment and may affect how it responds to an intervention.
This helps explain why the same probiotic may not produce the same effect in everyone.
What do we know about probiotics and healthy ageing?
Probiotics have been studied for their effects on the gut microbiome and different aspects of health, including digestive, immune and metabolic functions.
Some have shown benefits in human studies. Results, however, vary between probiotic preparations and between individuals.
There is currently no single probiotic or combination of probiotics proven to create an ideal gut microbiome for healthy ageing.
The number of strains in a product is also not a measure of how effective it will be. A product containing many strains is not automatically better than one containing a single well-studied strain.
For healthy ageing, the important question is therefore what a particular probiotic has been shown to do and whether that evidence is relevant to the individual person.
