Should You Take Probiotics With Antibiotics? New Research Answers Common Question

Fast facts:

• Taking probiotics while on antibiotics does not significantly boost beneficial gut bacteria, according to new research.

• The findings debunks the previous notion that it's important to take probiotics along with antibiotics, when prescribed, to maintain the gut's microbiome.

• Experts maintain that it's better to get probiotics from fermented whole foods—like yogurt, kimchi, and sourdough bread—rather than from supplements.

Supplementing antibiotics with probiotics doesn’t restore beneficial bacteria in the gut, a new study has found.

Antibiotics fight harmful bacteria that cause illness, but that’s not the only thing the prescription drugs go after. They also kill the “good” bacteria necessary for essential bodily functions, such as digestion and keeping harmful bacteria in check.

Because probiotics add beneficial bacteria to the gut, taking probiotic supplements while on antibiotics has become a popular strategy for offsetting bacteria loss and keeping the gut microbiome balanced. 

The new research, however, debunks that previous notion, showing that the tactic may be ineffective.

To reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed 15 randomized controlled trials examining the differences in gut microbiome diversity between participants taking antibiotics with probiotics and without them. Nearly 1,200 people were included in the studies.

In five studies selected for meta-analysis, the researchers found that people who took probiotics along with antibiotics boosted gut microbiome diversity by a minuscule amount—just 0.23%. The researchers concluded that taking probiotic supplements with antibiotics “was not found to be influential on microbiome diversity.”

“This is the first meta-analysis and the most comprehensive review of the topic to date using high-quality methods,” the researchers wrote in the study, published in July in the journal BMC Medicine.

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