A Different Probiotic

You know all about the benefits of L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium, but don’t miss out on Saccharomyces Boulardii, the lesser-known beneficial gut bug.

- By Vera Tweed

Probiotics are often referred to as “beneficial bacteria,” but bacteria are not the only beneficial microorganisms in the digestive tract. Saccharomyces boulardii, or S. boulardii by its abbreviated name, is a yeast that can help to restore balance and function in the gut.

Yeast is naturally made up of microscopic living organisms. That’s why baker’s yeast can make bread rise. S. boulardii is related to baker’s yeast, but it has unique, beneficial qualities that were discovered more than 100 years ago.

In 1920, French microbiologist Henri Boulard was in Southeast Asia during an outbreak of cholera, a sometimes life-threatening diarrheal infection spread through contaminated water or food. He noticed that people who avoided infection were drinking a special tea made by cooking the skins of lychee and mangosteen fruits that grew in the region.

Boulard began analyzing the local tea and found that a unique strain of yeast was the active ingredient protecting people against cholera. He named it Saccharomyces boulardii.

Since then, there have been hundreds of studies of S. boulardii as a treatment for diarrhea. But it has also been found to be more broadly beneficial for digestive health and immune function. In food, it has been identified in fermented products such as kombucha and kefir in addition to lychee and mangosteen.

Preventing and Treating Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea