People at high risk of diarrhea after antibiotics may benefit from consuming probiotic—as well as prebiotic—foods daily. There is also emerging evidence that combining specific probiotics and prebiotics can increase the beneficial effects of both.
If the thought of talking to your doctor—or anyone—about constipation, diarrhea, bloating, hemorrhoids, and other similar issues gives you stomach cramps, you aren't alone.
Changes to the gut microbiome are known to affect metabolic health. Physiologists at Laval University in Canada have discovered that diets containing low fiber and high fat cause significant shifts in the composition of the gut microbiome—the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other multicellular microorganisms that live in the gastrointestinal system. The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.
