Research review
Does acidophilus help with diabetes? What the research does and doesn't show
The evidence doesn't support Lactobacillus acidophilus, alone, as a treatment for diabetes or blood sugar. The trials that measured diabetes-related markers all combined acidophilus with other bacterial strains, so no trial isolates what acidophilus itself contributes.
The evidence doesn't support Lactobacillus acidophilus, on its own, as something that changes diabetes or blood sugar. The two trials that measured diabetes-related markers in people with type 2 diabetes both combined acidophilus with at least one other bacterial strain, so neither one tells you what acidophilus by itself contributed to the result.
What the evidence doesn't support
It doesn't support acidophilus, alone, as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or blood sugar management. No trial has isolated a single named acidophilus strain and tested it against a placebo in people with diabetes — every diabetes-related trial we found used acidophilus as part of a multi-strain blend. It also doesn't support the idea that a probiotic supplement can replace blood sugar monitoring or a prescribed diabetes medication; nothing below tests that question, and diabetes is a diagnosed medical condition that needs ongoing management by a doctor.
What the trials found
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial gave 50 adults with type 2 diabetes a daily symbiotic sachet — Bacillus coagulans, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus, plus the prebiotic fiber fructooligosaccharide — for 12 weeks. Compared with placebo, the treatment group had significantly lower fasting blood glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR (an insulin resistance marker), HOMA-beta (a marker of insulin-producing cell function) and hs-CRP (an inflammation marker). Because the product combined four organisms, the trial can't say how much of that result, if any, came from the acidophilus component specifically rather than the other two bacterial species or the fiber.
A separate randomized, double-blind, controlled trial gave 60 adults with type 2 diabetes and elevated LDL cholesterol 300 g a day of yogurt containing the La-5 strain of L. acidophilus and the Bb-12 strain of Bifidobacterium lactis, versus conventional yogurt, for 6 weeks. The probiotic yogurt group's total cholesterol fell 4.54% and LDL cholesterol fell 7.45% more than the comparison group. Neither group showed a significant change in triglycerides or HDL cholesterol. This trial measured cholesterol, not blood glucose directly, and again combined acidophilus with a second bacterial strain, so it doesn't isolate what La-5 alone did.
Together, these are two small-to-moderate trials, in specific populations already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, using acidophilus only as part of a combination product. Neither is the kind of large, single-strain trial that would let you say acidophilus itself changes a blood sugar or cholesterol marker.
Questions people ask
Does acidophilus lower blood sugar?
The trial that measured fasting blood glucose found a reduction versus placebo, but it used a four-organism blend, not acidophilus alone, so it doesn't answer what acidophilus by itself does to blood sugar.
Can I take acidophilus instead of my diabetes medication?
No trial has tested that, and nothing here supports it. Type 2 diabetes is a diagnosed condition managed with monitoring and, usually, medication; a probiotic supplement is not a substitute for either. If you take medication for diabetes, talk to your doctor before adding any supplement.
What probiotic strain is best for diabetes?
This page doesn't rank strains for diabetes, because the trials that exist are few, small and use different combinations of organisms — the evidence isn't there to name one strain as best.
When to talk to a doctor
Diabetes and blood sugar management require monitoring and, for most people, medication, prescribed and adjusted by a doctor. Acidophilus is not a treatment for diabetes, and nothing in the evidence above supports using it as a substitute for medical care. If you take medication that affects blood sugar, or you have diabetes, talk to a doctor before adding any supplement.
Related reading: acidophilus: what the research shows and acidophilus and medications: what to check.
Sources
- Does symbiotic supplementation which contains Bacillus Coagulans Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and fructooligosaccharide has favourite effects in patients with type-2 diabetes? A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial A 12-week trial of a four-organism probiotic-prebiotic blend that included L. acidophilus found lower fasting glucose, insulin and inflammation markers versus placebo in adults with type 2 diabetes — but the blend combined four organisms, so it can't say what acidophilus alone did.
- Effect of probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis on lipid profile in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus A 6-week trial of yogurt containing the La-5 strain of L. acidophilus plus a Bifidobacterium strain found lower total and LDL cholesterol versus regular yogurt in adults with type 2 diabetes, with no significant change in triglycerides or HDL — this measured cholesterol, not blood glucose, and combined two bacterial strains.
- Functional genomics of probiotic Lactobacilli Closely related Lactobacillus strains differ enough genetically that a finding for one named strain can't be assumed to apply to a different strain, even within the same species.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.