Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) is a type of probiotic ("good" bacteria) normally found in the digestive tract. It produces lactic acid in the gut.
"Good" bacteria such as L. reuteri can help break down food, absorb nutrients, and fight off "bad" organisms that might cause diseases. L. reuteri is sometimes added to fermented foods like yogurt and is also found in probiotic supplements.
People use L. reuteri for stomach pain, colic, constipation, diarrhea, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, and high cholesterol. It is also used for eczema, canker sores, diabetes, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these other uses. There is also no good evidence to support using L. reuteri for COVID-19.
Don't confuse L. reuteri with other probiotics, or with fermented food products such as fermented milk, kefir, or yogurt. These are not the same. Also note that L. reuteri used to be classified under the Lactobacillus genus. But Lactobacillus was split up into 25 different genera in April 2020. Some product labels might still list this species as Lactobacillus reuteri rather than its new name, Limosilactobacillus reuteri.
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