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In this podcast I interview world renowned Gastroenterologist Eamonn Quigley M.D. He is a Professor of Human Physiology at the University College in Cork Ireland. Our interview is all about Probiotics.
We all know that probiotics are so important to our health and more and more research is coming out to show that. Health food stores are packed full of many different brands of probiotics and this sometimes makes it hard to decide which one is best to use.
In this interview we start out by my asking Dr Quigley “What is a probiotic?” and his answer is very straightforward “It is a microbe which is alive and which when given to man transfers a health benefit.” He then goes on to point out that the microbe must “make it” through our gut to get to the large intestine where it is meant to work.
We talk about how probiotics work and I ask him why we should take probiotics. I also ask if all probiotics are the same and how safe are they to take.
We discuss a lot of the medical research on probiotics, which Dr Quiqley is very familiar with. He mentions research in which factory workers were given probiotics and they had less colds as flus than the workers who did not take probiotics.
He points out that researchers have bought probiotics at the health food store and analysed them at the lab and found that they contained NONE of the organisms on the label, or they have different organisms than the labels stated.
He also mentions several strains of probiotic which have been researched to prove their benefit for the immune system. Specifically a lot of research has been done on Bifidobacteria Infantis and Bifidobacteria Breve.
We discuss if it is better to get probiotics from food sources e.g. yoghurt or from supplements. The yoghurt companies do study the strains of probiotics that are in their products to prove their benefits and with some research you can decide which ones would be best for you and your family.
Disclosure: Dr Quigley does have a financial relationship with Proctor and Gamble.
Other references on these friendly bacteria include
You can get Dr Quigley’s book Probiotics and Digestive Health here
and on Kindle here
and the DVD called Microwarriors-The Power of Probiotics that he consulted on is here
You can watch a trailer of the DVD HERE
Dr Quigley does have a financial relationship with Proctor and Gamble
Please leave your comments below or send questions which I will answer on my podcast to me at questions@askdrsoram.com . You can also leave voicemail questions at 310 499 0275.
About Dr. Soram Khalsa
As an MD, Dr Soram specializes in Integrative Medicine combining diet, nutrition, acupuncture, herbs and nutrition. Visit Dr Soram’s Healthy Living Store where you’ll find high-quality nutritional supplements:
