Yogurt for Diarrhea: What Effects Does It Have, and Is It Effective?

These days, a lot of people are trying to move towards more natural methods of treatment for various illnesses. One of the more common ones is eating yogurt for diarrhea treatment.

How effective is yogurt when it comes to diarrhea, and what exactly does yogurt do? Are there other alternatives? Read on to find out the answers to these questions, and more.

How effective is yogurt for diarrhea?

Diarrhea can be caused by any number of things. It can be due to an infection, irritable bowel disease, constipation, and other conditions affecting the stomach. For the most part, treatment of diarrhea can involve taking different types of medication as well as changes in diet.

However, more and more people are trying out other means of managing and treating diarrhea. One of the common methods that’s gaining popularity is eating yogurt for diarrhea.

The main reason behind this is that yogurt contains probiotics or live microorganisms. The common notion is that these microorganisms found in yogurt, as well as other similar products, can help “balance” the microorganisms inside the stomach.

Proponents say that these probiotics help kill off any harmful bacteria or viruses, and can also help aid in proper digestion. In theory, taking yogurt helps improve gut health, and improves overall digestion.

However, one study¹ done about the effectiveness of yogurt for diarrhea showed only a small improvement in those who took yogurt. However, the researchers emphasized that their results are not definitive when it comes to ruling out the effectiveness of probiotics when it comes to treating diarrhea. They add that further research still needs to be done to really find out whether or not probiotics can help.

What are probiotics?

As mentioned above, probiotics are microorganisms that help keep the balance of our stomach. When a person gets diarrhea or a stomachache, the usual culprit is bad bacteria or a virus that affected the stomach.

What probiotics do is that they fight off the bad bacteria, and maintain a healthy balance of microorganisms inside the stomach. Probiotics also help with digestion, and aids in the breaking down of food².

For the most part, people don’t necessarily need to take any supplements or take probiotics to maintain a healthy gut. Having a healthy diet is usually enough to maintain a healthy level of probiotics in the gut. However, our lifestyles and the diet that some of us have can cause the levels of good bacteria to go down. This is when eating yogurt and other probiotic foods come into play.

With regard to treating illnesses, however, doctors are still unsure as to how effective probiotics are. Studies have shown mixed results, but in general, taking probiotics can usually help against mild cases of diarrhea and stomach trouble³. However, these should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment⁴ since we really don’t fully understand how probiotics and the gut interact with one another.

Key Takeaways

Probiotics can have a lot of potential as a means of managing stomach ailments. However, there is currently not enough research regarding its medical use.

For the most part, eating probiotics is generally harmless, and would be fine to take every so often. But it is important to remember to not use it as a substitute for medication or medical treatment.

If you’re interested in probiotics it might be best to talk to your doctor about it first. They should be able to give you sound advice on how to best use it, and when should you be taking probiotics.

Learn more about Diarrhea here.