Scientific evidence, not popular ideas, should drive probiotic and prebiotic recommendations in clinical settings. Globally, evidence is continually emerging on how probiotics and prebiotics can be effectively used in patient care but health care professionals often struggle to find out where the evidence stands for a particular condition.
The World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) recently published an updated guideline document, aimed at helping gastroenterologists and other physicians understand appropriate clinical applications for probiotics or prebiotics. The guideline was created with contributions from experts in gastroenterology, probiotics, and prebiotics, with the efforts co-led by experts from the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP).