Article: What is acidophilus? Acidophilus (Lactobacillus acidophilus or L. acidophilus) is a type of "good bacteria" in your body. The good bacteria helps to break down food in your colon and protect against "bad bacteria" by producing lactic acid. Acidophilus is naturally found in your body and may be taken as a probiotic supplement to help with various GI issues and other conditions. In addition to acidophilus, there are many other probiotics available, some in the Lactobacillus species. However, Lactobacillus acidophilus is the most commonly used probiotic. Clinical studies have found that acidophilus suppresses the growth of pathogens (something that can cause disease, such as bad bacteria) in the digestive tract. It can be used to manage gastrointestinal conditions (such as irritable bowel syndrome), aid digestion, reduce vaginal yeast infections, help with other conditions such as lung infections or skin issues, and reduce antibiotic-induced diarrhea. In the case of antibiotic-induced diarrhea, when you take antibiotics to rid your body of the bad bacteria that is causing infection, you can lose some of the beneficial bacteria that are in your gut. A decrease in healthy bacteria can lead to the overgrowth of "bad" bacteria that can produce toxins, and cause inflammation and diarrhea. Most of the time, antibiotic-associated diarrhea is mild and goes away after you stop the antibiotic. However, sometimes it can lead to serious issues like colitis (inflammation of your colon) or a serious type of colitis called pseudomembranous colitis. About one third of the time, long term (usually hospital) antibiotic use can lead to a Clostridium difficile infection, which is a serious infection that is hard to cure and causes frequent diarrhea. Recent important studies have shown that probiotics like acidophilus can prevent or reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea and may also be helpful in preventing C difficile infection. C. diff occurs most commonly after the use of fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and penicillins.

What is a summary?
Learn about acidophilus. Know what acidophilus is used for and how it works with antibiotics. Understand why preventing antibiotic-induced diarrhea important.