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 After examining the first 150 websites turned up by a Google search,
researchers concluded that the vast majority were run by companies
advertising products or news outlets that offered incomplete
information, often leaving out potential side effects, according to
the report in Frontiers in Medicine.
"This study demonstrates that a number of online claims on the
health benefits of probiotics are not supported by scientific
evidence," said coauthor Michel Goldman, a professor of immunology
at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium, and chief editor
of Frontiers in Medicine. "(For example,) online claims on the
beneficial effects of probiotics in cancer are not supported by any
evidence."
That doesn't mean the products have no use in promoting health,
Goldman said in an email.
"In (developed) countries, probiotics can clearly be helpful in the
management if infectious diarrhea, in pregnant women with
gestational diabetes, and as an adjunct to food allergy
desensitization therapy," Goldman said. "They might also be
beneficial in certain types of skin eczema and urogenital infections
in women. In developing countries, probiotics were shown to prevent
neonatal sepsis, an important cause of early-life deaths in those
regions."
To take a closer look at the information consumers might be finding
online, Goldman and colleagues cleared histories and cookies from a
computer and then searched on Google for "probiotics." They focused
their analysis on the top 150 results.
The researchers rated the web pages by four criteria: the presence
of links to scientific references supporting health claims,
cautionary notes about the level of evidence for alleged benefits,
information about safety considerations and information on the
regulatory status of the product.
They also checked to see if the sites had Health on the Net
Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) certification, which is
provided by an independent organization based in Switzerland that
addresses the reliability and credibility of health information on a
site.
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To evaluate the scientific validity of claims made on the various
websites, the researchers turned to the Cochrane library - a
database of clinical trials and meta-analyses that pool evidence
from earlier, smaller studies.
The researchers found that commercial sites and news outlets made up
the majority of the 150 webpages. They found the commercial sites to
be the least reliable, often not mentioning possible health risks or
regulatory issues.
Overall, just 10% of sites met all four of the researchers'
criteria. Just 35% referenced scientific literature, 40% had a
cautionary note about the purported benefits of the product and 25%
mentioned potential side effects, they found.
"By and large, probiotics are safe," Goldman said. However, he
noted, there are a few reports of severe infections caused by
probiotics in immunodeficient individuals including very-low
birthweight newborns.
"The new study is a reminder for consumers that probiotics and other
supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration,"
said Julia Denison, clinical nutrition coordinator at the UPMC
Magee-Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh.
"And the claims are not 100% backed up by evidence," Denison said.
"A lot of people don't know that."
Many also don't know they can get probiotics simply from consuming
yogurt and other fermented foods, Denison said. "You don't need to
take a supplement to get probiotics," she added.
For good information on dietary supplements, including probiotics,
Denison recommends U.S. government websites, such as the site of the
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Care of the
National Institutes of Health (here: https://bit.ly/36Yl41h).
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2u60g9e Frontiers in Medicine, online January
15, 2020.
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