Bifidobacterium Lactis for Lactose Intolerance

Research suggests that Bifidobacterium lactis may offer some benefit for lactose intolerance, with the most directly relevant evidence coming from two clinical trials testing the strain Bi-07, which found that taking the probiotic alongside a lactose challenge significantly reduced breath hydrogen — a marker of incomplete lactose digestion — compared to placebo, with performance in one trial comparable to a commercial lactase enzyme. The remaining studies in this set are neutral in direction and do not address lactose intolerance outcomes directly; one examined encapsulation methods for improving probiotic survival in yogurt, and another explored maple sap as a dairy-free probiotic delivery vehicle, both of which relate to probiotic delivery technology rather than therapeutic effects. The clinical evidence, while promising, is limited to a small number of trials, and the trials themselves noted some gastrointestinal side effects associated with probiotic use, including increased odds of nausea in one study. Overall, the body of evidence here is preliminary, and readers should weigh both the encouraging digestive findings and the methodological limitations before drawing firm conclusions.