Last year a British scientific study established a link between the regular use of a probiotic (i.e. “friendly” bacteria given to repopulate the gut) and dramatically improved health for autistic children. Or didn’t it? You decide…

Though neither group in the study was told what their child was taking, parents of the 20 kids on the probiotic quickly realized it couldn’t possibly be the placebo. So halfway through the study when asked to switch to what they knew had to be the placebo, they refused. That’s how clear and dramatic the probiotic’s effects were to them.

Ironically, the study failed to “prove” anything because half its participants walked out halfway through. No one could fault them for choosing their child’s improved health over the study’s requirements. But their choice brought the study to a halt because—the way science works—you either follow the test rules you’ve set up or you have to count the results as invalid.

Didn’t the study prove its point?
But in another sense, I’d say the study was a real success. At least, it was for the children involved. Their parents were convinced that the regular use of a probiotic was reducing the effects of their autism dramatically. And who can argue with what they saw? With such improvements possible, you wonder why every autistic child isn’t taking an effective probiotic daily.