Does this sound familiar? You added a probiotic to your diet but can’t remember why? Maybe it was to get rid of belly bloat. Now you take collagen for anti-aging and turmeric for inflammation. You need too because that knee injury from high school has been haunting you on the golf course. All these supplements are getting expensive so think, maybe I don’t need the probiotic…or do you?

Taking a probiotic is one of the best things you can do for your health besides clean eating.

Probiotics help you maintain the right balance of good gut bacteria. Why is this important? Having the right balance of good bacteria has been linked to everything from digestive health to immune system function, brain function, depression, allergies and much more. (1)

Before we get started, you should know, there are many types of bacteria classified as probiotics but more come from one of these two groups.

Lactobacillus – this is the most common probiotic found in yogurt and other fermented foods.  It helps people who can’t digest milk sugar (lactose) and can help with a bad tummy.

Bifidobacterium – this is also found in some dairy products. It also is known for easing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and related conditions. Bifidobacteria are found naturally in the large intestine and fight harmful bacteria, prevent constipation and help boost the immune system (1a).

The 10 Reasons you Need Probiotics

1. Gut & Digestive Health

The first reason you need a probiotic is to rebalance the bacteria in your gut. Gut imbalance can happen due to illness, taking an antibiotic, bad diet, stress and more. You might feel bloated, gassy or have food sensitivities. Taking it a step further, with longer term gut imbalance you could experience brain fog, skin conditions, depression, and weight gain (2). Once you start building up your gut balance again your digestion will strengthen.

Remember even your mouth is part of the digestive system so you might notice better breath with better digestion too. It’s recommended to take a good probiotic 1-2 times a day and higher doses if you’re trying to .heal your gut

2. Healthy Metabolism

You might think you just don’t have the gift of a fast metabolism. But, guess what, you can affect your metabolism by managing the balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut. Studies show normal-weight people have different gut bacteria than overweight folks (3). There are two main families of good bacteria in the gut – bacteroidetes and firmicutes.  Studies have shown overweight people had more had more firmicutes and fewer bacteroidetes (4).

3. Fat Absorption

This one is a little weird but without getting two graphic, good bacteria helps your body move fat in food right on through your system without being absorbed by the body if you know what I mean. Now, this doesn’t mean eat an entire pizza because you just had a double dose of your probiotic, but you get the picture here (5).

Besides reducing the fat calories you absorb from food, probiotics affect the hormones that impact appetite and fat storage and help reduce inflammation, which also causes obesity.

I find this very interesting. There is also a lot of evidence that obesity is linked to inflammation in the brain. And improving gut health reduces inflammation which helps to ward off other disease (6).

4. Reduces Belly Fat

Oh, how I love this one. I was so pleased to learn there is a certain strain of probiotics called Lactobacillus, has been shown to reduce belly fat. In fact, one study showed a belly fat reduction of 3-4% over 6 weeks (6).  Numerous studies show Lactobacillus Gasseri is effective at reducing belly fat. One study had 210 adults with significant belly fat take Lactobacillus Gasseri for 12 weeks. After that time, they had on average an 8.5% reduction in belly fat. The interesting thing is once they stopped taking the probiotic, they gained back the belly fat in a month. Yikes (7)!

5. Brain Function

I have to start this one by saying there’s a reason people say “Trust your Gut“. I never knew this until I researched this article but our intestines are the only other part of the body besides the brain that has its own nervous system with over 100 million neurotransmitters. Isn’t that crazy? Seriously, who knew?

I guess it makes sense it’s important to nourish our gut aka “second brain” with probiotics to strengthen the communication between our gut and brain. When that communication is broken down due to poor gut health, you can get neurological disorders that are derived from the gut. In fact, probiotics have effectively treated things like depression and helped people maintain mood stability (8) (9).

6. Heart Health

I can’t give you 8 tips without throwing in the old ticker. Lucky for us, probiotics also have been shown to keep the heart healthy by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure. Probiotics break down bile in the gut that helps with digestion. Bile is a naturally occurring fluid that made up of mostly cholesterol. Because the bile gets broken down, the gut can’t reabsorb it and then it can’t then enter the bloodstream as cholesterol (10) (11).

Five studies found eating probiotic yogurt for 2-8 weeks reduced LDL cholesterol by 5% (12). Here’s where I stop and think, well, what yogurts are rich in probiotics? Here’s a great link to probiotic-rich yogurts. There are also a few studies that found probiotics to reduce blood pressure (13).

Coconut Milk Probiotic-Rich Yogurt

7. Skin Care

The main premise of how probiotics help pave the way to healthier, more radiant skin is nutrition. Our gut flora are the workhorses that help with digestion and the absorption of nutrients. You can’t absorb nutrients effectively without the proper gut health and bacteria balance.  As soon as you get your gut healthy, the proper nourishment and radiant skin will follow.

Studies also show probiotics are effective in treating skin conditions such as eczema, acne and dermatitis (14).

8. Allergies, Nasal Congestion & Sinuses

The same bacteria that lines your gut also lines your nasal passages. As you improve the balance of good bacteria and increase your good bacteria, you’ll also find your nasal passages are clearer and you are less prone to sinus infections (15) (16).

What Are Prebiotics vs. Probiotics?

I always thing of getting nutrition through food first. Foods like miso, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut are rich in probiotics. They become filled with probiotics during the fermentation process and are all great for your diet. The problem is, it’s not a given that these probiotic foods have prebiotics, the nondigestible fiber that probiotics thrive on. Put it this way, Prebiotics are a special form of dietary fiber that acts like a fertilizer for the good bacteria in your gut.

• Prebiotic Fiber is a non-digestible part of foods like bananas, onions and garlic, the skin of apples, chicory root, beans, Jerusalum artichokes and many others. Prebiotic fiber remains undigested in the small intestine and ferments when it reaches the large colon. When it ferments it feeds the good probiotic bacteria and helps multiply them.
• Probiotics in comparison are live bacteria that are created through fermentation in foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut and others.

a sampler of fermented food great for gut health – glass bowls against wood: kimchi, red beets, apple cider vinegar, coconut milk yogurt, cucumber pickles, sauerkraut

The bottom line is prebiotic fiber helps probiotics work better. The problem is we all aren’t realistically going to get the perfect combination daily. This is where a supplement can come in handy. Don’t get me wrong, real food is always the best source, but keep it real and have a good supplement as a backup.

Prebiotic/Probiotic Supplements

Ora Organics “Trust Your Gut” – This is my new favorite supplement brand. This one is Vegan, Non-GMO, Dairy, Gluten Free prebiotic/probiotic supplement. It also comes in a powder form.

Go Live Prebiotic/Probiotic Blend – If you’re not big fan of pills or capsules, this is a great packet mix that blends with your drink. I mix this with Kombucha or freshly squeezed lemon. There is also a pomegranate flavored packet – yum!

Ancient Nutrition Probiotics for Women – I like the fact that these are soil-based probiotics that are touted to be a hardier based strain that doesn’t require refrigeration and are said to be better suited for the journey through the digestive tract. I couldn’t however find documentation that mentioned if this product contained prebiotics as well.

Strawfield Pre+Probiotic Powder for Dogs– I can’t help but mention what’s good for us is good for our four-legged friends. This probiotic for dogs is wonderful.

Live Happy & Healthy,