Probiotics are live bacteria that offer many benefits for your gut and overall health. These microorganisms can be consumed in fermented foods, but many people benefit from taking probiotic supplements to add increased variety to your gut’s existing supply of friendly bacteria. Keep reading to learn some of the top reasons to take probiotic supplements and how they can improve your health.
1. Balance Your Gut Microbiome
Probiotics are good bacteria that, when consumed, can help restore the natural balance of your gut microbiome. An imbalance of gut bacteria is characterized by not enough good bacteria and too much bad bacteria. This can occur due to illness, poor diet, or medications such as antibiotics. Symptoms of an imbalance may include digestive problems, mental health issues, allergies, obesity, and others. When you take probiotic supplements, you introduce good bacteria into your gut to restore proper balance.
2. Treat Bowel Disorders
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects over one million people in the United States. A common type of IBD is ulcerative colitis. Probiotic supplements that contain strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus have been shown to help improve symptoms of mild ulcerative colitis. Research suggests probiotics may also have benefits for other bowel disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and necrotizing enterocolitis.
3. Improve Mental Health Conditions
A number of studies have found links between gut health and mental health. Research has found that taking probiotic supplements may help improve some mental health disorders. For example, supplementing with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains has been shown to improve depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism, and memory.
4. Maintain Heart Health
Taking probiotic supplements may help keep your heart healthy. This is because probiotics can lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol. Certain bacteria that produce lactic acid may reduce cholesterol by breaking down bile in your gut. By breaking down bile, these bacteria can prevent this cholesterol-containing fluid from being reabsorbed in the gut and entering the blood as cholesterol.
5. Boost Your Immune System
There may be a link between probiotics and the immune system. Older research has shown that taking probiotic supplements lowered the likelihood of respiratory infections and reduced their severity. The good bacteria in your gut can stimulate the immune system and act as an extra barrier to fight off pathogens. Additionally, the probiotic strain Lactobacillus crispatus has specifically been found to reduce the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women by 50 percent.
6. Help You Lose Weight
Probiotics may aid in weight loss. Some probiotics prevent dietary fat from being absorbed in the intestine. Instead of being stored in the body, this fat is excreted through feces. This could help you lose unwanted belly fat and maintain a healthy weight. Additionally, obese people tend to have less gut bacteria than those at healthier weights. This could indicate a link between gut diversity and weight, so introducing a variety of beneficial probiotics may help with weight management.
Multi-Strain Probiotic Supplements
These are some of the ways probiotic supplements could benefit your health. The most effective supplements are those that contain a variety of bacteria strains, including multiple Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. We recommend Probiotic MD, a blend of diverse, well-researched probiotic strains that total 45 billion CFUs per dose. This supplement is specifically formulated to support a healthy gut microbiome, allowing you to improve many aspects of your overall health. We also recommend adding ProbioCalm when more mental health issues are present.
