Probiotics are marketed as a daily supplement for gut health and digestion. We asked Dolores Woods, RDN, LD , a registered dietitian at UTHealth Houston, if you should really take probiotic supplements every day to support your gut microbiome.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: Since there's no blood test to show if I'm deficient, how would I know if I actually need probiotics? What happens if I take probiotic supplements every day?

Woods: You're right, there's really no test at all to know if we're deficient, but a lot of times, there are certain symptoms to look for. The first thing I would think about is antibiotic use . Anytime someone takes antibiotics, it disrupts the gut flora—antibiotics kill the bad stuff along with the good stuff. If you hav

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