Probiotics

Probiotics won't help you lose weight. Only less in that out can help with that.

What they may do is help with digestion, so your body is getting more out of the (hopefully healthy) food you're putting in.

I suffer from IBS and lactose intolerance and have found that taking a good probiotic and Lacteze (when needed) has really helped with bloating and generally feeling healthier.

For me this makes it easier to make healthy choices.

I should add there have been some studies exploring different strains of probiotic bacteria for weightloss - these tend to be small studies (ie until a study has been replicated and done with a big enough group of people you can’t 100% trust it is correct). From what I can gather it tends to make more of a difference to women than to men.

A recent research paper evaluating all the studies that have been done so far about probiotics and weightloss concluded “ dietary agents for modulation of the gut microbiome are essential tools in the treatment of obesity and lead to significant reductions in BMI, body weight and fat mass when compared to placebo. Further studies are needed to determine the ideal formulation for supplementation and to identify specific populations of overweight patients who would benefit most from gut microbiome modulation, in addition to assessing the durability of this effect.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5867888/

And here is an article that is easier to read that gives a brief summary of key studies and mentions which strains might be most beneficial (with caveats). http://www.thegoodgut.org/do-probiotics-help-with-weight-loss/

Personally I am in favour of exploring this space, alongside calorie counting, exercise, healthy eating etc. It is likely to do more good than harm.

Use of probiotics are the same as the use of any food or vitamin - we all have different needs, and have to work out what works for us.

If someone were to randomly give a bunch of people an iron supplement, it would harm some, benefit some, and be useless for many... yet someone who is lacking in iron and is not absorbing enough from their diet (even if they are eating enough iron sources) will find a supplement necessary.

(And you can say the same of apples, or peanuts, or any substance! Some people will find it beneficial, some will find it harmful, and many will not notice any discernable difference!)

For example, my family tends towards anemia (obviously something in our genetics, because we eat more than the recommended iron and still tend towards anemia), so I consciously seek out more iron foods than the average person, sometimes take a multi-vitamin to get extra, or, on a doctor's recommendation after blood tests, might take a strong dedicated iron supplement. If a study comes out saying that many people don't need iron supplements, is that relevant to me and other people with anemia?

Giving a person who already has a healthy microbiome probiotics may be useless, or could even be the wrong mix of bacteria for them, but for other people it is beneficial. Only you know what your body is like, what you have been eating, etc. Many people in the modern world have had antibiotics wipe out their gut flora at some point, and have eaten some of the wrong kinds of foods (processed, highly refined, sugar, etc) which unhealthy bacteria flourish on, so it would be my guess that some of us (not all, but certainly some) would benefit from being a bit more mindful about prebiotic and probiotic foods.

Every day we are all consuming bacteria, and the question is whether you want to consciously decide what some of those bacteria are, and if you want to seek out some foods that have bacteria that is generally considered good for us. You still need to put it to the test if it works for you specifically. Some people love yoghurt, others can't handle dairy. Ditto for pickles, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi etc.

(Sidenote: beware of strangers offering generic advice. I think it odd if someone simultaneously claims that probiotics "don't do anything" but then also claims they can cause harm. They either do something, or don't, it can't be both. Bacteria plays an important role in our body; some strains are helpful to us, and some are not; the unhelpful strains tend to be the ones that dominate when we eat highly refined foods- it is when they dominate they become a problem - and if you suspect that your diet to date (or antibiotics) may have caused an imbalance, then it doesn't hurt to change what you're eating to help the beneficial bacteria out.)

P.S. If instead of asking "should I take probiotics" you had asked "is lacto fermented yoghurt, sauerkraut, pickles, okay for me to eat while losing weight" I doubt anyone would have jumped in with statements like "they don't do anything" "they are a waste of money" etc. And even if we are talking about probiotics in a pill; the first time I had them it was recommended by my doctor, after I had tried several rounds of the standard medical thrush treatment that had not worked, my doctor recommended a particular type & brand of probiotics that has been designed for this condition plus the consumption of more probiotic and prebiotic foods - and this worked where the standard medical treatment hadn't.

If you do want to have a probiotic "pill" maybe discuss with your doctor or a nutritionalist what would be best for you.