“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”– George Santayana

There are many historical examples of irreversible damage to biodiversity: think of the ruddy duck, grey squirrel, or Japanese knotweed. Currently the probiotics industry is driving the use of unnatural levels of laboratory-evolved ‘super’ strains to try and balance a human ecosystem that is home to thousands of diverse microorganisms.

There are no long-term studies across diverse populations of the effects of taking specialised probiotic strains in their billions upon the delicate, natural biodiversity of the digestive microbiome.

Although probiotics are generally deemed to be safe, there is a distinct lack of long-term studies in this field of research. One of the problems we have is that due to the inability to culture most bacteria species, we have only studied approximately 10% of the bacteria in the human digestive tract. More worrying is the growing volume of studies suggesting that ‘mega-dose’ probiotics and laboratory-evolved strains may actually be harmful. You can read about some of this new research here.

Probiotics are in fact mostly composed of sugar. Have you ever questioned why probiotics come as a white powder? If not, you should. To stabilise bacteria, they need to be bound to an inert substance – usually maltodextrin. Since it makes up an integral part of the manufacturing process, this sugar does not have to be declared on the label, and can form as much as 60% of the weight of a probiotic.

Ecosystems are holistic and must be considered as such. If your digestive microbiome is compromised (clinically described as ‘dysbiosis’) there will always be an effect on digestive function. All elements of digestion are intrinsically linked, and one element affects the other: the terrain (gut lining), pH, digestive flow, stimulation of hormones and neurotransmitters, etc.

As for the best approach to managing this complexity, we could take some inspiration from the film Field of Dreams: ‘If you build it, they will come’. What farmer in his fields would try to grow crops or foods without nourishing the soil first? We must take the same approach in nourishing the unique terrain of the digestive tract.

To best support any digestive function the answer must be food based. There is no greater natural influencer of digestion—including all its processes and inhabitants—than food itself.