ISRAEL — According to a study published in the journal Cell, probiotics were found to have "little or no effect inside the body."<br /><br />The researchers created their own "probiotic cocktail" by using 11 bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria to test how well probiotics would colonize a healthy intestine.<br /><br />Half of the participants were given the 'probiotic cocktail while the other half were given a placebo.<br /><br />In about half the cases, the probiotic went in and came out the other end, without doing anything for the body.<br /><br />In the other half, the probiotic stayed for a while before being eventually crowded out by the microbes already in the body.<br /><br />Dr. Eran Elinav, a researcher involved with the study, told the BBC, in the future probiotics would "need to be tailored to the needs of individual patients."<br /><br />The study was conducted with a small group of participants, and needs further studies to confirm the results.
