Probiotics and side effects.

We don't take the pills or anything, but I do make and consume fermented, probiotic rich foods like sauerkraut, milk kefir and water kefir (if you're not familiar with it: the former is a cultured milk product, and the latter is basically the same but made with sugar and water).

I drink kefir occasionally though not much lately because it's kind of calorie heavy. I had some temporary gas and bloating the first few times and had to cut back on the amount, which fixed the problem. Besides feeling less bloated, my gut became a lot more regulated. When my husband started taking it daily, he experienced gas and some BM issues then got a sort of rash/felt flushed as the good bugs populated his gut and the yeast and such died off. (it's actually called die off, if you Google the phrase there are a lot of sites with info). It happened once or twice and then he was fine.

Too much probiotic can cause gas, loose stools and conversely, constipation. Generally speaking, I'd steer clear of the bottled pill or pearl form of probiotics and go for fermented or cultured foods. There's more live cultures, better stability of the cultures and more variety, which is good.