Probiotics have become immensely popular over the past few years and are claimed to cure just about any health complaint. So, do probiotics help to reduce your Endometriosis symptoms?

Well, that depends … What symptom are you trying to improve?

The challenge here is that there are many different types of probiotics and within each type there are different strains. What you need to remember is that probiotics are bacteria and there are more variety and strains of bacteria then there are people in the world.

Different types of bacteria do different things.

So it is crucial to get the right type of probiotic for a specific health concern and then within that type you need the right strain.

For example, let’s say you want to take a probiotic to help reduce your constipation – a common symptom in Endometriosis. Popular probiotics that you can buy in the supermarket or from the chemist claiming to be good for constipation usually contain Lactobacillus acidophilus.  Unfortunately there is no scientific evidence that Lactobacillus acidophilus has any effect on constipation at all. So you’d be taking a supplement that is not improving the symptom you’re trying to improve!. A better probiotic that has been tested with women who were constipated is Bifidobacterium animalis or Escherichia coli Nissle, which you won’t find in any over the counter probiotics. Lactobacillus casei Shirota can also reduce constipation. It is mostly know as a dairy-based drink, but not recommended if you are on an anti-inflammatory diet.

There is one specific probiotic that can help to reduce menstrual pain and has been tested on women with Endometriosis: Lactobacillus gasseri. It has also shown promise in preventing further growth of endometrial tissue and reducing existing tissue.

As I wrote in a previous article ‘Should You Take Supplements’, supplements that can be bought in the supermarket or at the chemist are mass-produced, cheap and non-therapeutic products. They may contain a range of ‘fillers’ and in the case of probiotics, the strains included are those that are easiest to source.

A practitioner only probiotic is designed for therapeutic use and contains probiotic strains that have been proven to improve certain conditions.

A final note on taking probiotics: a probiotic adds good bacteria to the microbiome, but unless you also provide your gut with prebiotics those bacteria have nothing to eat and will starve. Eating a wide variety of high-fibre foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, pulses and whole grains (gluten-free), you’ll be wasting your money!