Expert: Christopher Rosch - 12/30/2005

Question
On my alternative diet group, the moderator is a rather obnoxious guy who constantly promotes on the group  the EM(Effective Microorganisms) he sells. Is there any basis at all to EM products as a nutritional supplement?

Thanks
Geoff Purcell
London UK

Answer
Hello Geoff,

I'm not familiar with the concept of EM in nutrition. The concept originally applied to microorganisms which improve soil fertility (see http://www.agriton.nl/higa.html). The microorganisms considered to be 'effective' belong to various groups (certain bacteria, yeasts and other fungi) and are essential in retaining soil quality.
You should be aware that most microorganisms ingested with food are destroyed by enzymes in the saliva or by stomach acid anyway. So, the supposed beneficial effect of EM cannot lie in microbial activities, but may be founded in the contents of the microbial cells instead. But in my opinion it would not make much sense to use such microorganisms as a nutritinal supplement as the beneficial effect would not be any different from eating legumes (or fish/meat). In fact, I think, nutritional supplements as a whole are nothing but a marketing trick of the food industry to earn some extra money. But I have to admit that a healthy nutrition is not easy to achieve, especially since 'healthy' means something different for each expert you ask.

Best regards (and happy new year!),
Christopher