If you haven’t heard the word ‘probiotic’ before, you’ve probably come across the phrase “friendly bacteria”.
Probiotics are becoming increasingly popular due to their treasure trove of health-boosting qualities. Initially, it was thought that they were simply a digestive aid—but further evidence has emerged that they go way beyond that.
So, what does a probiotic do?
Probiotics are live bacteria that help to maintain a healthy gut by tipping the balance in favour of good bacteria.
The most common probiotic bacteria include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. You can find probiotics in certain fermented foods as well as dietary supplements—which is a quick and convenient way to get them into your system.
Let’s have a look at the live friendly bacteria benefits.
What are probiotic supplements?
Quite simply, they are dietary supplements packed with live microorganisms that can give you additional health benefits by keeping digestive disorders at bay.
These gut-boosting supplements help to keep your digestive tract in good health by increasing the amount of beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Your main source of useful bacteria should come through eating a balanced, healthy diet that includes probiotic fermented foods—but probiotic dietary supplements can give you an added boost.
So, why take probiotics? Let's have a look at the benefits.
Do you need to take probiotics?
The short answer is “no”. But if you want to get your gut and other aspects of your health into shape, it’s a good idea.
Do probiotics work? Yes, they do.
Your main source of probiotics should come from a healthy, nutritious diet. But a supplement can give your probiotic health a real booster and further increase the number of friendly bacteria you have in your body.
These microbiome-boosting ‘good guys’ work to give you the best gut flora and provide numerous health benefits.
You should certainly consider probiotics if you have issues with any of the following…
- Digestive disorders
- Immunity
- Cardio health
- Allergies
- Cognitive health
- Weight management
- Low mood
Why is it important to get my gut health into shape?
The reason that probiotics have such a far-reaching effect on so many aspects of your health is simple.
The nutrient delivery that’s required to keep your body healthy starts with your gut. If you don’t have a healthy digestive system, your food won’t be broken down adequately. As a result, the essential vitamins and minerals your body craves won’t be delivered in sufficient amounts.
This means that even with the best diet in the world, you may struggle to feel healthy if you have poor digestive health.
It’s surprising how many people don’t realise just how important it is to give your gut the best support you can. Giving your gut some TLC might be the best decision you ever made.
How do probiotics work to help keep your gut healthy?
It’s essential to tilt the balance in favour of good bacteria in your gut. The better this bacteria works, the better support you’ll have in your gut—and this will have a positive effect on your overall health.
Probiotics help to maintain a healthy balance in your gut microbiome, aid digestion, and support essential nutrient delivery around your system.
Poor digestive health is usually the cause of issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. The healthy bacteria contained in probiotics can help restore the balance and get everything working properly again.
These issues also have an effect on many other aspects of your health. If you have diarrhea or constipation, for example, you’re unlikely to get the vitamins and minerals delivered to your body that it needs to function properly. You can experience issues such as fatigue, poor cognitive health, and low mood.
Maintaining a healthy balance of good gut flora through a varied diet rich in fiber and fermented foods, alongside supplementation, can naturally support your gut microbiome health.
Prebiotic vs probiotic: What is the difference?
If you’ve heard the word “probiotic” before, you’ve most likely also heard of prebiotics. But what are they, and what’s the difference? Well, it’s quite a simple one.
Probiotics and prebiotics are both essential for gut health. But they have different functions
Probiotics are live, friendly bacteria that support your digestive health, and help to restore and maintain a healthy gut flora balance. So, what are prebiotics?
Prebiotics are non-digestible fiber that acts as a food for your prebiotics. They‘re found in foods that are high in fiber such as whole grains, fruit, and vegetables.
Feeding the probiotics with prebiotics means they can function effectively and support the growth of good bacteria in your gut.
Prebiotics and probiotics are a powerful combination, working together to support a healthy gut microbiome.
For the best gut health, it’s a good idea to include both probiotics and prebiotics in a healthy, balanced diet. They’re great for your gut—and for your overall wellbeing.
So, what are the benefits of probiotics? Let’s look at some of the primary health benefits of probiotics.
How do probiotics boost your immunity?
Research shows that probiotics can have a highly positive effect on your immune system. They work by helping to enhance innate immunity and modulating inflammation.
It’s not surprising that your digestive health has such a huge impact on your immunity, as 70% of your immune system is located in the gut.
Probiotics can strengthen your intestinal cells and enhance immunity. Gut bacteria can also signal to the immune system to help it function properly.
And as we’re sure you’re aware—a better immune system has a whole host of benefits for other aspects of health.
If you want a better immune system, the first place to start is with your digestive health.
Read: Do probiotics boost your immune function?
Do probiotics help with mental health?
Studies have shown that your digestive health has a direct impact on your mental health. Your gut and brain are physically linked through your nervous system, which allows for communication between the two.
This is called the gut-brain axis, and it works in several ways.
Firstly, there’s your enteric nervous system, which comprises over one hundred million nerve cells that line your gastrointestinal tract.
This helps to control digestive functions. Then there’s chemical signaling, where neurotransmitters and hormones help with gut-brain communication.
Your gut microbiome plays an important function in all of this, as signals pass both ways, allowing your gut and brain to check on each other’s wellbeing.
This means your gut health will have a number of effects on your mental health, including…
- Mood
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Cognition
The health of your gut flora can influence your brain development, cognitive function, and chemistry.
The gut microbiome may influence brain development, chemistry, and function.
Did you know? Around 90% of serotonin is produced in the digestive tract.
If you have low serotonin levels, you may experience mood changes, feelings of depression or anxiety, and issues with sleep and memory.
With this in mind, improving the health of your gut can positively affect your mental health.
What are the other health benefits of probiotics?
Improving the quality of your gut flora will open you up to numerous health benefits.
We’ve discussed digestive health, immunity, and mental health, but here are just some of the additional benefits of taking a probiotic supplement.
Better weight management
Probiotics are able to help with weight loss by preventing the absorption of dietary fat in the intestine.
Better digestive health also means you have more control over the weight you put on through the food you consume, as you’ll have a better delivery of your nutrients around your system.
Improved cardio health
Probiotics can help to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and may also help to reduce your blood pressure.
Your heart health may also improve with better gut-brain axis health, with a reduction in anxiety and an improved mood helping to reduce blood pressure, too.
Better skin health
Lower inflammation comes with better skin health, and issues such as eczema can be reduced through probiotic supplementation.
Probiotics can also help improve the skin barrier function, balancing the skin microbiome and adding moisture to the skin.
Allergy prevention
A reduction in the symptoms caused by allergies is most likely down to the reduction in inflammation which is seen in those who take probiotics.
Taking a probiotic supplement can also help balance your immune cell response, further assisting allergy issues.
How else can you improve your gut health?
Taking a probiotic supplement each day is a great way to improve your gut health. But you can’t expect to see any positive changes unless you are working with it to ensure you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some great ways to further improve your gut health.
Eat a nutritious, healthy diet
A bit of an obvious one, but you can’t expect probiotics to deal with the daily consumption of junk food with no nutritional value.
Don’t put blockers in the way and make things difficult for your gut. Work with it to give yourself the best health and gut flora.
It’s important to consume a diverse diet with plenty of plant-based foods. You should eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, onions, leeks, and garlic, as well as seeds, and nuts. These beauties are packed with prebiotic fiber.
Probiotic foods such as yogurt, miso, and kefir should also be included. It’s a good idea to limit processed foods, foods containing added sugars, and artificial sweeteners, which can negatively impact gut bacteria.
Read: How Gut Health Impacts Physical and Mental Health
Exercise regularly
Never underestimate the importance of physical activity for your gut health. Raising your heart rate and getting your blood and oxygen pumping around your body is essential for nutrient delivery.
Keeping yourself in shape will also help to elevate your mood and all round wellbeing.
Reduce stress levels
Stress can be a big disrupter when it comes to digestive health. Try to practice relaxation techniques such as meditation to reduce stress levels.
If you have a busy life in which you’re rushing around a lot, always take some time out each day to do something you enjoy.
Even if it’s something very simple, just to put the brakes on. Stress can seriously disrupt the gut microbiome.
Limit antibiotic use
One of the major side effects of antibiotics is they can seriously disrupt your gut microbiome, so you should only take them when absolutely necessary. Always check with your doctor to see what is best for you.
Stay hydrated
Keeping regularly hydrated will help to flush out toxins, keep you energised, and help to increase bacterial diversity.
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water (at least eight glasses a day). This may help increase bacterial diversity in the gut.
Practice mindful eating
Mindful eating is a way of properly enjoying your food rather than rushing to eat in a hurry. Eating too quickly can cause an overload on your digestive system and as a result, can cause issues with nutrient delivery.
Try to eat slowly. Enjoy your food, avoid distractions, and generally be aware of the eating process.
Try to eliminate bad habits
Habits that can cause your gut flora to reduce in quality include heavy smoking and drinking. If you’re unable to cut down completely, try to reduce the amount you drink or smoke.
Emotional eating can be another bad habit as you are feeding your feelings rather than your body. Try to recognise the signs and act accordingly.
Get plenty of sleep
A lack of proper sleep can cause you to act out of character due to fatigue and lack of clarity. This can cause you to eat at irregular intervals and overcompensate for the fatigue by eating too much.
Whenever possible, try to go to sleep at the same time each night and get at least seven hours of quality sleep. Turn off any distractions such as mobiles and TVs and make the room as dark as possible.
By weaving these habits into your lifestyle, you can support a healthier, more diverse gut microbiome, which is linked to better overall health and wellbeing.
Remember that improving gut health is a gradual process—and consistency in these practices is key.
Probiotic safety and side effects: What you need to know
So, what are the side effects of probiotics?
Probiotic side effects tend to occur for two main reasons:Taking a larger dose than recommended or having underlying health conditions.
Before considering taking a probiotic, it’s important to know all the facts, particularly when it comes to how safe they are.
If you have a healthy immune system and are in generally good health, there should be little or no side effects from taking a probiotic supplement.
You may find that you experience some issues when you start to take probiotics as your body adapts to the new gut flora.
These can include mild bloating, digestive discomfort, and gas. In rare cases, you may experience headaches, temporary diarrhea or constipation, or increased thirst.
These side effects should ease after a few days as your body becomes used to the probiotics.
You can minimise the risk of side effects by…
- Starting with a low dose and working up to a normal one gradually
- Consulting with a doctor before you take them
- Choose from a reputable seller with a good reputation and plenty of positive reviews
The benefits can vary depending on the type of probiotic strain used and your health status. So it’s important to read the label on any product you’re considering taking to make sure there is a wide range of quality, diverse bacteria.
If you have a weakened immune system or other health conditions, chat to your doctor before taking probiotics.
What are the best probiotics?
If you’re thinking of taking a probiotic supplement, the first thing you should consider is what you want to achieve.
If it’s better overall health, you should look for a supplement that contains a large range of diverse flora to assist with your gut health.
Also, check that the website has plenty of positive reviews and that each probiotic strain is backed up with scientific research.
Some of the best probiotic strains to look for are…
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Bifidobacterium longum
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Bifidobacterium breve
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Lactobacillus paracasei
- Lactobacillus fermentum
- Saccharomyces boulardii
- Lactobacillus casei
- Bifidobacterium bifidum
- Bifidobacterium longum
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus
These are particularly good for balancing harmful bacteria, stimulating your digestive system, preventing inflammation, enhancing your immune system, and supporting nutrient delivery around your system.
Read: Do You Need To Take Probiotics For A Healthy Gut?
What is the best way to use a probiotic supplement?
If you want to get the most out of your supplement and gain the most probiotic benefits, start making small changes towards living a healthier lifestyle.
Getting an extra dose of good bacteria will certainly help your overall health. But if you can make positive lifestyle changes, too—your gut probiotics will help to enhance your digestive system and give you that super feeling.
A healthy human body is one that has its digestive health in order. Taking probiotics and adding
live microorganisms to supplement your healthy bacteria can have a surprising effect on your health.
Give your gut a treat with the best gut flora
If you’re going to take a probiotic supplement, make sure it contains plenty of diverse flora to give your digestive health the very best TLC to support your overall health.
YourBiology's probiotic supplement is packed full of the friendliest probiotic strains to support your digestive tract— help your digestive system get into shape, and regain your happy glow.
It’s time to flip the script on gut health…for good.
Your health-boosting FAQs
Are probiotics good for you?
The health benefits of taking live probiotics are plentiful, provided you are living a healthy lifestyle.
Probiotic supplements can help with health issues like gastrointestinal disorders, cognitive health, immunity, weight loss, and skin health by improving the gut microflora in your digestive tract.
Should I take probiotics?
If you want to improve your gut microbiota and overall health, you should seriously consider taking a probiotic dietary supplement.
The numerous health benefits of probiotics will be enhanced if you take steps towards a healthier lifestyle. If you're unsure as to whether you should take a probiotic dietary supplement, it's a good idea to check with a doctor.
This is especially the case if you have any underlying health issues such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, or any other digestive disorders.
For how long can I take a probiotic dietary supplement?
The beneficial effects of taking probiotics will continue for as long as you take them. It's safe to take probiotic supplements daily.
There's no evidence to suggest that your body becomes dependent on probiotics so the probiotics benefits will continue long-term.
What does probiotic mean?
It originates from the Latin word "pro" meaning "for" and the Greek "bios" meaning "life". So probiotic literally translates to "for life."
