Who Regulates Probiotics?
We’re all used to seeing all sorts of claims made on supplement bottles. There’s a lot of information that is often volunteered by supplement companies in an effort to boost sales, and an awful lot of marketing hype, but there’s one question nobody ever asks.
Who regulates probiotics?
It might not be the sexiest area of the wonderful world of probiotics, but it’s a good question. Are they treated as medicines? Medicines have to undergo a lot of very rigorous testing before they’re allowed to be used in humans, and given that probiotics are often marketed as having clear health benefits, it’s no stretch to think that they might fall into this category.
And if they’re not treated as medicines, then what are they treated as? And what’s actually required before they’re allowed to be sold to the public? The answer may surprise you, and reinforces the need to be selective with the probiotics you buy! In this article we’re going to have a quick look at the rules in the UK, and what the UK government requires for your probiotics to be sold on the open market. Let’s dive in…
Food Or Medicine?
You would think probiotics would be considered medicines, especially with the health claims often made about them, but believe it or not you would be wrong. In the UK probiotics are treated as ‘food supplements’, in other words, as food! So what does that mean?
It means that instead of being controlled by the MHRA (medicines and health regulatory agency), the UK body responsible for controlling pharmaceutical drugs, it’s actually controlled by the FSA (food standards agency). Medicines are required to go through clinical testing that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that they have the positive effects they’re supposed to have before they can be sold to the public. Probiotics have no such requirement. This brings it in line with a whole different set of rules, and basically requires only two major things:
1. That the probiotic is ‘safe’, in that all the ingredients are deemed safe for human consumption by the FSA.
2. That the manufacturing meets food hygiene requirements.
That’s it.
And on the label all they’re required to include is the usual food information i.e best before, ingredients list, nutritional information etc.
This surprises a lot of people! It means that that probiotic you’re taking may have no more backing than just containing ingredients that won’t poison you and observation of hygiene in manufacturing. It’s important to remember though that not all probiotics are born equal, and there are plenty out there, such as BetterGuts, who make a point of holding themselves to a higher standard! You just need to make a point of having a look to see what there actually is in terms of evidence to back their products up!
Health Claims – Fact or Fiction?
So now you’re probably wondering ‘well, if all they have to do is make sure it’s safe to consume as a food, then what about all the health claims probiotic manufacturers make?’ Well, that’s a very valid question. A lot of supplement companies make claims about what their supplements can do for you, but it’s a tricky area.
In the UK, health claims in advertising are handled by the ASA (advertising standards agency), and they decide what’s fair and what’s not. They have a framework of approved health claims that can be made, and for probiotics there are virtually none. In fact, the word ‘probiotic’ is considered a health claim in itself! This is why if you look you won’t see this word used much on product pages or websites because companies want to remain compliant.
This isn’t to say that we can’t point out the science though. As we know, beneficial bacteria, especially LGG and BB12, the bacteria used in BetterGuts, have undergone a very large amount of very high-quality clinical research. So, if we said that LGG has been shown to reduce diarrhoea during antibiotic treatment, that’s treated as a claim, and the important point here is that we have to back it up. That means that if the ASA asked us ‘what’s your rationale for being able to say that?’ we would have to provide evidence. As we know, LGG has been studied very heavily in antibiotic side effects, and there is a lot of clinical research and gold standard evidence to back that claim up, so we can prove that we’re telling the truth, not just spouting marketing hype.
How do I know what to buy then?
Because manufacturers aren’t really required to do much research into their products it falls to the consumers themselves to do a little digging before they commit to buying a probiotic supplement.
Probiotics work on delivering live bacteria to your gut, and they really have the biggest impact in long term use, as giving the bacteria a chance to get established and build a home for themselves gives them the opportunity to do their best work! So, if you’re going to commit to buying a product for a few months, or longer, it’s important to make sure of a few things.
Strain ID!
If the manufacturer tells you the strain ID of the bacteria on the label (for example LGG or BB12), that’s a good sign. It means they want you to know exactly what strain of bacteria they’ve put in there, and usually that’s because they want you to see the science backing that bacteria up. Probiotics that have generic bacteria names such as Lactobacillus or Bifidobacteria and not much else don’t tell you much. These are bacterial families that encompass dozens of different strains of bacteria, all of them with their own research and potential effects, so you wouldn’t know what you were taking! With a clear strain ID you know exactly what you’re getting, and you can see just what science backs it up.
Claims and Science
Check those claims! If it says ‘scientifically proven’, that’s a bit wooly, what does that actually mean? Well, to be able to say that they have to have something to back it up, so check their website, do a little digging, and see what science there really is and if you think it holds up. Is the research to a high standard? Are there lots of studies, or just one or two? Don’t just take the marketing hype at face value, it’s always worth seeing the evidence for yourself! We believe in this very strongly at BetterGuts, that’s why we have a whole learn hub specifically to show you the science, and bring into focus the hundreds of studies that have been conducted into the bacteria that we use.
Picking The Best
So, there you have it. If you pick up a probiotic from the shelf that doesn’t have much info on the label, you can’t be too sure of what you’re getting.
But here’s the thing, probiotics work. We know that, based upon rigorous clinical testing of the highest standard, certain strains of bacteria can have very real clinical benefits in a number of different contexts. But that only applies to those specific strains of bacteria, used in those studies, not just probiotics in general. Evidence around LGG doesn’t mean that any old Lacotbacillus will do! It’s important to make sure the science aligns with the microbe.
That’s why at BetterGuts we chose LGG and BB12 for our supplements. These two bacteria have arguably more research behind them than any other strains of bacteria in the world. Their clinical backing is not only solid, but enormous. This means that it’s not just science that we can be transparent about, it’s science we’re enormously proud of! We’re privileged to work with such well tested bacteria. To be clear, we didn’t conduct the research, it was conducted all over the world over the last 40 years by a whole variety of different health institutions, governments, and universities. That’s a good thing, by the way, it’s always encouraging when the science is conducted by people who don’t have any interest in selling you the product! Many of these studies used the double blind placebo control method, the gold standard in clinical testing specifically designed to ensure that there’s not bias.
So remember, next time you want to add a probiotic to your routine, just have a look at what’s in it, and what the proof is. There’s no government body requiring that it has to have medical benefits before you buy it, so it’s up to you to have a look and make sure it’s not a waste of your money. Don’t worry though, if the bacteria used have a solid scientific footing, the manufacturer will be proud of that! You shouldn’t have to go too far to find out what the evidence really is. Want to know what the evidence is for the bacteria we use at BetterGuts? We have a whole learn hub just for that purpose! Check out our other articles on LGG and BB12 to see a breakdown of what the science studied, what it found, and what it means!
