What Are the Side-Effects of Probiotics?

Probiotics are safe to consume among healthy people. The risk of side effects from probiotics is greater in people with compromised immune systems or severe illnesses. For high-risk individuals such as seriously ill hospital patients or premature infants, potential risks of probiotics should be carefully weighed against their benefits. Due to how probiotics are regulated, we cannot always be sure about:^[1]

• The product contains the bacteria stated on the supplements fact  label;
• The product contains enough bacteria to have an effect;
• The bacteria can survive long enough to reach your gut.

Probiotics may trigger allergic reactions, such as stomach upset, bloating or diarrhoea, especially in the first few days of initiation of supplement. Those symptoms usually go away after your body gets used to them. Taking probiotics at the end of the meal may help to reduce the symptoms. 

1. (2018). 'Probiotics.' NHS UK. 27 November. Available at: <https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/probiotics/>