“This yogurt might lead to diarrhea (腹瀉),” warned the staff of a yogurt chain store as they handed the store-made cup of yogurt to a customer. 

某酸奶連鎖店的工作人員在遞給顧客一杯酸奶時提醒道：“這種酸奶可能會導(dǎo)致腹瀉。”

Labeled “500 billion (CFU) probiotics (益生菌)”, the yogurt has gained popularity among people seeking to cleanse their digestive systems, especially those trying to manage their weight. CFU (菌落形成單位) is a unit used to measure the number of live bacteria in a probiotic product. According to the yogurt’s ingredient list, it contains five varieties of edible probiotics. 

這款號稱每杯含5000億活性益生菌的酸奶深受減肥人士追捧。成分表顯示，該酸奶中含有5種可食用益生菌。

Studies have consistently shown the positive benefits of probiotics on gastrointestinal (胃腸道的) health. However, some consumers shared their unpleasant experiences of suffering from gastroenteritis (腸胃炎) and receiving hospital treatment after consuming the yogurt product that claims to contain “500 billion (CFU) probiotics”. Pu Fangfang, a doctor from the Clinical Nutrition Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said that the factors contributing to their symptoms were multiple.

我們都知道益生菌對胃腸道健康有好處。但最近有一些小伙伴分享了自己的一些不愉快的經(jīng)歷：喝了該款酸奶產(chǎn)品后患上胃腸炎，并去醫(yī)院接受了治療。來自四川大學(xué)華西醫(yī)院臨床營養(yǎng)科的樸醫(yī)生表示：造成此類腸胃炎的因素是多方面的。

“Probiotics may cause varied physiological (生理的) responses among individuals,” said Pu. Previous studies have shown that a specific variety of probiotics may help with the treatment of constipation (便秘), as well as diarrhea. 

“益生菌可能會引起的生理反應(yīng)因人而異。”樸醫(yī)生說。先前的研究表明，一些特定種類的益生菌可能有助于緩解便秘和腹瀉。

The efficacy varies between individuals. What might sit well with you might not sit well with your friend. So there are no specific daily intake recommendations for probiotics. 

益生菌的效果因人而異——適合你的不一定適合你的朋友，每人的益生菌的日攝入量也存在差異。

Moreover, many components on the label are slightly higher than the recommended daily intake. For example, every cup of the “500 billion (CFU) probiotics” yogurt, according to the label, contains between 40.5 to 54 grams of dietary fiber, which is much higher than the 25 to 30 grams daily for adults recommended by the China Nutrition Society. “Taking in such a large amount of dietary fiber in such a short time might lead to bloating (脹氣), acid reflux (胃酸返流), and even diarrhea,” said Pu. 

此外，標簽上的許多成分均略高于每日推薦攝入量。例如，該款酸奶產(chǎn)品包裝顯示：每杯酸奶中含有40.5至54克膳食纖維——這遠遠高于中國營養(yǎng)學(xué)會建議的成人每日25-30克的攝入量。“短時間內(nèi)攝入如此大量的膳食纖維可能會導(dǎo)致腹脹、胃酸反流，甚至腹瀉，”樸醫(yī)生說。

Last but not least, individuals vary significantly in their dietary tolerances. Those with poor digestive health or food allergies as well as other vulnerable people should be cautious with everything they consume, not just yogurt.

每個人對食物的耐受性都不同，消化系統(tǒng)脆弱或容易食物過敏的人應(yīng)該對食物的挑選更小心。

“For people who want to try this kind of product, sharing a cup with others on your first try might be a good choice,” recommended Pu. Try a small amount and see what happens to your body and then adjust the amount accordingly. It is worth noting that we should not rely on such products for weight management. “While they may facilitate immediate weight loss, the reduction predominantly comprises water and waste rather than fat loss,” said Pu. 

“如果你想嘗試這種產(chǎn)品，考慮一下和別人拼一杯吧！第一次盡量只喝一點點，觀察一下自己的身體反應(yīng)。”樸醫(yī)生說，“我們不應(yīng)該依賴這些產(chǎn)品來控制體重，它們或許可以讓我們快速掉秤，但這減掉的只是身體里的水和需排除的廢物物質(zhì)，并不是脂肪。”