Hi there,

I am wondering if probiotics can cause birth control to be ineffective
in protecting against pregnancy.  I know antibiotics can cause birth
control to lose it's potency, so am wondering if the same is true for
probiotics.

Thanks!

Hello blueberry~

According to The Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, probiotic
nutritional supplements (which contain live bacterial or yeast
cultures), have little in the way of side effects.  Interfering with
birth control pills is not considered a problem with probiotics.

The two major drawbacks to probiotics are that many brands don?t
contain good enough dosage levels to ?do the job,? and that some have
been shown to contain bacterial contaminants that have potential
health risks. (?ND News,? a pdf file that may be viewed for a limited
time in this Google cache:
://www.google.com/search?q=cache:p_LtVcqKzD4J:www.ccnm.edu/lrc/docs/v2_05.doc+probiotics+interfere+%22birth+control%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
)

In fact, herbalists and doctors who are interested in natural remedies
often suggest probiotics for women on the pill, who are more prone
toward yeast infections.

Regards,

Kriswrite


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High doses of alfalfa can decrease the effectiveness of the birth
control pill, as they increase metabolism and clearance of the
hormones by the liver.
Kateri