What Are Probiotics And Are They Different
Probiotics are different to prebiotics, yes.
Probiotics are not fiber compounds, they are strains of live bacteria which live in the gut and help to balance up a good versus bad picture.
Probiotics are good bacteria, and they ensure the smooth running of the gut, as well as providing a boost to the immune system, and many other benefits along the way.
Prebiotics work in a different way, as we mentioned above, but they also provide food for the probiotics.
Probiotics cannot work effectively without prebiotics they need food in order to do their work, just like me and you do!
Many people choose to take a probiotic supplement on a daily basis, or they can get a good amount of benefit from their diet.
If you choose to go down the supplement route, its a good idea to find one which contains both prebiotics and probiotics, for a complete picture.
So Does That Mean Probiotics Work For Weight Loss
Unfortunately, guzzling kombucha isnt a quick fix if you want to shed pounds. First, theres simply not enough evidence to support a cause and effect relationship between your gut bacteria and waistline. No supplemental strains have been clearly identified as promoting weight loss in humans, so which food or supplement would you even seek out if you were looking to promote weight loss through probiotic use? explains Tamara Duker Freuman, R.D., author of The Bloated Belly Whisperer.
Whats more, probiotics have not been shown to colonize within your gut permanently, she explains. The amount youd consume in a food or supplement is literally a drop in the bucket relative to the 100 trillion microbes you harbor in your colon, says Freuman. Probiotics seem only to exert their benefit as theyre passing through before we poop them out. Once you stop consuming the food or supplement, the benefits dissipate within days.
That doesnt mean they arent good for youbut probiotics arent the only answer here. Dietary fiber from food has been shown to be far more effective at altering the composition of our gut microbiota than probiotics, she explains.
Lactobacillus Gasseri For Weight Loss
Lactobacillus gasseri is naturally found in the digestive system of humans, but studies have shown that lean people have more of this type of bacteria than people with obesity.
In participants who consumed Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 for 12 weeks, they experienced reduced belly fat and overall body weight than participants in the control group. This suggests that Lactobacillus gasseri has a positive effect on weight loss efforts and metabolic health .
Other types of Lactobacillus bacteria may also help reduce body fat .
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How Do Gut Bacteria Influence Body Weight
How gut bacteria influence body weight is not fully understood, but people with overweight or obesity tend to have significantly different microbiomes to people with moderate weight.
In fact, scientists have found that after transplanting gut microbes from people with obesity into mice, the mice then developed obesity.
One possible explanation is that the microbiome may influence weight gain through the gut-brain axis. This is the chemical signaling that happens between your brain and your gut, which can lead to hormone release that causes responses such as hunger.
This may explain why you might feel more hungry when youre stressed, for example.
Its therefore possible that if you change your gut microbes, you could change your weight.
Increased belly fat has also been linked to the 15 bad bugs ZOE identified in the PREDICT study. These bugs are associated with dietary inflammation, which is linked to weight gain and obesity.
Will Probiotics Help To Lose Weight
Likely, yes! It appears that those of us who are overweight, may actually have different gut bacteria than those who have a healthy body weight and has been the subject of much research lately. One study from Canadas own Laval University found that women taking a probiotic supplement for 3-months lost almost twice as much weight as those who didnt take a supplement . Even after the 3-month period, the women taking the probiotics continued to slim down, losing 1.8 more pounds, on average. Probiotics may help you lose weight because they make your digestive tract less leaky, meaning fewer molecules that contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and glucose intolerance are able to enter your bloodstream. Sounds good, doesnt it?
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Best Probiotics For Women
While probiotics are beneficial for everyone, certain probiotics are particularly good for women. These probiotics can boost fat burn and help you reach your goals faster.
These particular strains are also great for your digestive system your immune system your cholesterol levels your vaginal health and suppressing cravings.
This brief video is packed with information about the best probiotic strains for women:
Do Any Probiotic Supplements Work For Weight Loss
It probably won’t hurt to take probiotic supplements, but they’re unlikely to help you achieve a miraculous weight loss transformation either, according to Doerfler and Kahan.
“I dont think a probiotic is by any means a magic pill,” says Kahan.
Probiotic supplements also aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning there’s little quality control on the market. Instead, both experts agree that fixing your diet is the best way to both lose weight and make your gut healthy.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with taking probioticsjust beware of foods claiming to contain them, says Langer. These items aren’t regulated by the FDA, so there’s no telling exactly what probiotic is included and in what quantities. And some picks, like kombucha and yogurt, don’t always contain probiotics and can be high in sugar, she warns.
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Best Tips For Taking Probiotics Daily
Ive hopefully explained probiotics, gut health, how it all relates to weight management, and types of food where probiotics can be found.
What more could there be to discuss?
Well, even though you have examples of where probiotics come from, there are some tips on how to get the most out of your probiotics!
Here is some helpful advice on how to take your probiotics so that you can really make them thrive:
1) Eat on an empty stomach: When we are hungry or havent eaten, our stomach acid levels are lower. Eating food that is high in probiotics on an empty stomach will allow for the most digestion possible! This means that less will be lost in the process.
2) Eat prebiotic fiber: Prebiotic fiber allows probiotics to really do their thing effectively. Some prebiotic fibers that you can eat include garlic, leeks, onions, and jicama.
3) Find foods that have multiple bacteria: There are tons of food available now that contain multiple strains of healthy bacteria for your gut. Look for these when looking into different kinds of probiotics.
4) Dont drink chlorinated water or use it for cooking: This sounds like a given, but you never know! Did you know that chlorine can be added to water in order to kill bacteria? This is bad because if its killing bacteria, it could be killing the bacteria in your probiotic as well!
Sounds Great Whats The Catch
All of this is very preliminary and largely based on speculation and educated theories. Theres simply not enough evidence to support a cause-and-effect relationship between probiotic consumption, your gut bacteria, and waistline size yet.
We are a long way from knowing which strains would have the most benefits or how to provide that benefit, cautions Apovian. So while a specific probiotic type may have the power to improve digestive health, it may do nothing to help you get lean.
Concerning dosage, do you need to consume 1 billion, 10 billion, or 100 billion live bugs? No answers there yet.
And will probiotics work on generally fit individuals who just have a couple of pounds they would like to lose? When not performed on animals, most research to date has been conducted on obese individuals whose body weight might be more sensitive to changes in the microbiome. I do think that there is enough evidence to show that obesity is associated with a gut microbiome that is unbalanced towards bacteria in the undesirable Firmicutes family that produce signaling molecules which promote fat production, Apovian says.
The makeup of the gut microbiome does not seem to be the underlying cause of obesity, so focus on healthy eating and exercise habits, and you could both lose some weight and improve the good microbes that make it easier to maintain healthier body weight.
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Other Benefits Of Probiotics
Throughout this post, weve explored the relationship between probiotics and weight loss. But, these live microorganisms have a lot to offer. They have marvelous potential to improve our health in more ways than one. Some of their health effects include:
- May cure antibiotic-associated diarrhea
- Management of irritable bowel syndrome
- Reducing gas, bloating, constipation
- Management of anxiety and depression
- Lowering LDL cholesterol
- Management of eczema, rosacea, acne, and other skin disorders
Some Probiotic Strains May Increase The Risk Of Weight Gain And Obesity
Not all studies have found that probiotics aid weight loss.
Not all research has discovered that probiotics are beneficial for weight loss.
Some research has discovered that certain probiotic strains may actually cause weight gain rather than weight loss.
According to a recent analysis, the effects of probiotics on body weight are dependent on the species and strains of bacteria that .are employed. For example, one strain of Lactobacillus gasseri was shown to inhibit weight growth when compared to a control .strain, while another strain was found to stimulate weight gain.
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Are Probiotics Good For Weight Loss
Likely, yes! That overweight people have different gut bacteria than those with healthy body weight. Probiotics may assist you reduce because they create your gut less leaky, meaning fewer molecules that contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases can enter your bloodstream. Sounds great, right!
Probiotics & weight loss can go hand in hand. You might already know that probiotics play an integral role in boosting immunity and regulating gut, brain, heart, and digestive health. Still, to your surprise, they may also be beneficial in attaining healthy body weight.
Lets see how! Your body is a hub of bacteria, but not all of them are bad. Probiotics are friendly bacteria found naturally in fermented foods like yogurt or taken in supplement form, necessary for your body to break down food and support a healthy immune system.
First How Is Gut Health Related To Your Weight
Probiotics are notorious for their ability to improve your gut health, which actually plays a huge part in the rest of your bodys systems. Gut health is a significant determinant of ones metabolism and likelihood of gaining weight, says Nancy Rahnama, M.D., a bariatric physician in California. The gut is where all of the bodys nutrients, micronutrients and minerals are absorbed. Therefore, if there is impairment in the gut, the body will likely be deficient in key nutrients that are necessary for an optimal metabolism.
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How Probiotics Influence Weight
Your digestive system is a busy factory of trillions of bacteria. Some of these bacteria are friendly, helping you digest food and absorb nutrientswhile others can be harmful. When your gut is functioning optimally, theres a healthy balance that helps good bacteria keep the bad ones in check.
If something throws this complex system out of balance, such as an illness, poor diet, stress, or medication, the bacteria in your gut can shift in the wrong direction.
Research shows that a change in the amount or type of bacteria in your gut can affect your health, and contribute to weight gain, increased fat storage, and sometimes make it harder to lose weight .
How Probiotics Can Help With Weight Loss
If you haven’t heard of them before, let us introduce you to probiotics, the bacteria we consume through supplements and fermented foods to keep our digestive system healthy. Among their many benefits, these bacteria can improve your immune system, digestion, and heart health, but can probiotics also help you lose weight? When we look at this question, the science gets a little less clear. Here’s what we know so far.
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The Gut And Human Body Weight
Previously, medical science didnt pay much attention to the balance of bacteria in the gut. We now know that a healthy microbiota is strongly associated with good overall physical and mental health.7
Gut microbiota contains two strands of bacteria which help us regulate weight.8,9 Multiple studies have found that overweight people have imbalanced bacteria compared with those at a healthy weight.10,11,12,13 However, researchers are yet to discover why and whether its a cause or effect of obesity.14
Can Probiotics Help You In Losing Weight
There is much research done on this topic that claims that probiotics can help you lose weight. The human body is composed of various microorganisms, mainly in the form of harmless bacteria. After experimenting, the researchers have come up with the view that a few of these bacteria may contribute to weight loss and gain.
The good bacteria go inside our gut and contribute to the breaking and digestion of food. They also generate nutrients and vitamins for the body to utilize.
The probiotic bacteria live on fibers and transform them into beneficial compounds. If a digestive system isnt healthy, it may cause dysbiosis. This is a condition where gut microbes suffer from imbalance. If there are too many bad microorganisms in the gut, it might cause issues in the health. It is due to the lack of enough good bacteria to check on the harmful bacteria. This also signifies that the diversity of bacteria in the gut is less.
Much research from 2013 has proved that gut dysbiosis gives rise to obesity. Some studies prove that people who have proper weight have gut differences as compared to people with obesity.
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Gut Bacteria May Have An Impact On The Regulation Of Body Weight
Your gut system is home to hundreds of different bacteria.
The vast majority of them are beneficial bacteria that create a variety of essential nutrients, including vitamin K and various B ..vitamins, among other things.
They also aid in the breakdown of fiber, which your body is unable to digest, resulting in the production of beneficial short-. chain fatty acids such as butyrate.
In the gut, there are two major groups of beneficial bacteria: the bacteroidetes and the firmicutes. The balance between these ...two groups of bacteria appears to be related to ones body weight.
According to both human and animal studies, persons who are moderately overweight or obese have different gut bacteria than .those who are overweight or obese.
When compared to those of normal weight, people who were obese had more firmicutes and fewer bacteroidetes, according to . the majority of the research conducted.
Several investigations, however, have been unable to establish a link between the firmicutes-to-bacteroidetes ratio and .overweight or obesity.
People who are overweight or obese have less diverse gut microbes than people who are thin. Furthermore, persons who are .obese and have less diverse gut bacteria likely to acquire more weight than people who are obese and have a more diversified .gut bacteria population, according to the research.
How Gut Bacteria Help You Lose Weight
Many of the bacteria that live in your digestive system help your body perform functions it could necessarily carry out on its own, including producing certain B vitamins and certain fatty acids.
They also help break down fiber, which your body cant digest, turning it into beneficial short-chain fatty acids like butyrate
Probiotics seem to influence appetite and energy usage via the production of short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. When the good bacteria digest starches, they produce butyrate. This decreases insulin resistance and regulates the hormones that control appetite .
So, if you dont have enough of these bacteria, then you might not get the signal that you are full, prompting you to consume more calories which contribute to weight gain.
Its also thought that certain probiotics may inhibit the absorption of dietary fat, increasing the amount of fat excreted with feces. In other words, some bacteria extract fewer calories from the foods you eat. Certain bacteria, such as those from the Lactobacillus family, have been found to function in this way.
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Probiotic Supplements For Weight Loss
If you go shopping for probiotic supplements, you should have no difficulty finding plenty of options in pharmacies and certain stores. Typically, they will contain strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, or both.
If you prefer to shop online, you will find your options increase considerably, though not all the products you see will be as potent as the manufacturers claim.
Pill-type supplements are easily the most common, but some manufacturers offer liquid-form probiotic bacteria you take by the drop.
Do Probiotics Start Working Immediately
It is possible to see symptom improvement anywhere from a few days to a few months after taking probiotics. Revly by Amazon offers one Daily Probiotic capsule for a low price that will help you maintain your digestive health. It contains high-quality probiotics that will help you feel good about your digestive system.
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Our Favorite Probiotic Supplementfor Weight Loss
It isthe most potent of all the probiotic supplements that I have tried, and it onlyrequires taking a single tablet each day.
Asidefrom that, it also has five different probiotic strains and is completelyhypoallergenic.
If Ireally have to choose another one, though, that would be the ProbioticDigestive Health Support Formula by Nutrition Essentials.
Its agreat product to get started on probiotics with because if it doesnt work foryou, then youll be pleased to learn that it comes with a money-back guarantee!
Thebottom line is, it would still boil down to your specific health needs.
Justdo a quick research about the benefits of the specific strains in your chosensupplement, consult your doctor before taking it, and youll be fine.
Stayhealthy!