If you are wondering, “do I need probiotics?” Consider this: Probiotics — the healthy bacteria highlighted on most yogurt products — are being added to everything from popcorn to muffin mixes.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the market for probiotics supplements is expected to reach $7 billion in the next 7 years.

Here’s the thing: That business is built on a little bit of science…and a lot of fiction.

“There are many products labeled with the word ‘probiotic’ in the U.S., but not all are responsibly formatted or studied for health benefits,” says Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., executive science officer of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics.

The science is that probiotics are good for you  — but only if you have a condition that requires their use.

That’s not something you’ll want to hear if your pantry and fridge are filled with probiotic-infused foods.  

“The benefits of probiotics in foods — especially foods that aren’t fermented dairy products — is questionable, at best,” says Shira Doron, M.D., professor of medicine and attending physician in infectious diseases at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Unfortunately, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to food, many probiotic supplements fail to live up to the promise on their label.

Unless you have a specific condition that’s been shown to benefit from probiotics, you likely don’t need them.

“There is no evidence that it is essential to take probiotics to be healthy,” Sanders adds.

Her next point may be even more important:

“You don’t need probiotics if you are healthy,” Sanders says.

The Hype (and Mythology) of Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms that feed the healthy bacteria in your gut. Most people treat probiotics the same way they would a multivitamin.

In theory, the benefit of a multivitamin is that it helps make up for deficiencies from your diet. So, if you have a good multivitamin (that’s an entirely different story), and if you don’t have a great diet, then it might offer you some benefits.

Here’s the thing:

Probiotics do not function like multivitamins.

Whereas multivitamins can have a benefit for anyone because it helps support deficiencies, probiotics are really designed to help treat, improve, or solve dysfunction.

You need probiotics if your microbiome (i.e. your gut health) is messed up. This means that taking probiotics can be very helpful if you suffer from a condition such as irritable bowel disease.

But if not, then your use of probiotics might not be doing as much good as you hoped.

The Probiotic-Gut Relationship: It’s Complicated

You might be wondering:

How does a billion dollar business get built on something as shaky as “maybe this will be good for you?”

It all starts with the extremely complex nature of your gut.

It’s so complicated that science needs much more time to figure it out. “The human microbiome may have as many as 200 trillion microorganisms and up to a thousand species,” Doron says.

That’s a lot of biological ground to cover, which is why probiotics are still a field that scientists are trying to understand.

“There are a variety of things we think happen, but we don’t know how that all works,” Doron says.

Three reasons why what you see on probiotic labels isn’t necessarily reflective of what it will do for your body:

• Different probiotics may work differently (and again, there hundreds of different types)
• Each probiotic may have more than one effect
• Not everyone responds the same way to a specific strain

Researchers are currently trying to figure out potential benefits that have shown hypothetical promise.

One theory is that when probiotics reach your gut, they digest available carbs and produce short-chain fatty acids. Those acids then fuel other beneficial microbes in your gut, in turn, producing more fatty acids.

Why should you care?

Because short-chain fatty acids are known to create a healthy microbiome, and they improve colon health.

Another theory is that when some probiotics reach your small intestine, they interact with the immune cells lining your organs. This may lead to a positive immune system response, such as a decreased incidence of respiratory tract infections or improved response to vaccines.

Sanders says some studies suggest that probiotics improve gut barrier integrity, which is why you’ll hear probiotics recommended for some digestive issues.

But, at this point, all of this is hypothetical. Probiotics might be amazing, but — in healthy people — we don’t know if they have extended benefits.

So…What Do Probiotics Really Do?

Probiotics help people with specific conditions where gut dysfunction is a problem. Consider it one of nature’s best medicines if you suffer from:

• irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease
• diarrhea and constipation associated with those conditions, or from taking antibiotics
• liver disease

Additionally, some research suggests taking specific probiotics may support immune health and potentially reduce the risk or duration of the common cold.

But, any benefit is specific to the strain of probiotic, and even the transport of the good strains is still a work in progress. That’s because we still don’t know if good strains that we can create in a supplement — or a food like yogurt — can survive the environment in your stomach and then have a positive impact in your gut.

“Any probiotic, even a combination product, is just a tiny drop in the bucket,” Doron explains. “In our group’s research, we saw that when subjects took a probiotic containing lactobacillus, we couldn’t even detect a change in lactobacillus abundance” within their gut.

What If I’m Healthy? Will Taking a Probiotic Help Me?

Always consult your doctor if you have an immune disorder or any serious underlying illness before taking a probiotic.

If you are generally healthy then there aren’t too many downsides. If you take a supplement, give it a month, trust yourself, and see how your body responds. It’s possible that you’ll feel better — but know that studies indicate the positive outcomes you experience could be a placebo effect.

“That’s worthwhile if you feel better, but it’s also expensive,” Doron says.

If you are healthy, curious, and OK with spending the extra money, feel free to try a supplement. As we mentioned, it could have benefits for immunity and creating more short-chain fatty acids to help your gut. But only time will tell if this is the case for people with no health problems.

If I have a health condition, what should I do?

First off, skip the fortified foods. And skip microbiome tests that will allegedly help you understand what probiotics you need to eat.

“At this point, an individual cannot look at their microbiota and come to conclusions about their health, Doron says. “There are still more questions than answers.”

Your best bet is to consult a doctor who understands your condition and is also well-versed in probiotics. Doron suggests researching academic medical centers and looking at the profiles of physicians in the field you need.

“Check [for doctors whose] interests include subjects like ‘probiotics’ and ‘microbiome,’” Doron says. “The field is still young, and even for the world’s experts, there are way more questions than answers when it comes to manipulating the human microbiome for health purposes. But there are certainly doctors in a variety of fields who take an interest in this area of research or do research themselves and use the knowledge they have gained in their medical practice.”

Remember, you’re trying to fix a dysfunction, which is the real health benefit of probiotics.

Follow your doctor’s recommendation down to the strain and dose. The strain will be a long name and often include a number, such as L. acidophilus NCFB 1748.

The “dose” is the big number on the label, such as 10 billion, which indicates the colony-forming units, or CFU. Higher isn’t necessarily better, so follow your doctor’s advice.

Avoid any products that list the CFU “at time of manufacture.”

“That’s a red flag,” Sanders says. Counts of the live microbes decrease over time, so you want to know the CFU through the end of shelf life.

The front of the box will typically say the total CFU count; the side label may list the CFU for each strain. Look for whichever your doctor recommends. And if the product is refrigerated at the store, keep it in the fridge at home to ensure you don’t kill off more CFU.

The last thing to look for is any seal from a third-party verification program to be sure that what the probiotic contains what the label says it does.

At this time the ISAPP is working with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) on a verification program, USP labels (ordinarily a good sign of quality) are not yet available. You may, however, find NSF International, which is legitimate. But note that statements like “quality guaranteed” do not mean they have been verified by third parties.

READ MORE: 

Understanding the Microbiome: How Gut Health Affects Your Health, Weight Loss and Mood

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Are Multivitamins Right for Your Body?

The post Should You Take Probiotics? Science Says it Might Be a Waste appeared first on Born Fitness.

Take one small example: do you find that you’re constantly craving sweets or not satisfied after you eat? It could be the doing of your microbiome — the army of microorganisms living inside of your digestive tract. These microscopic bugs fight to control your thoughts from a “second brain” located in your gut. And we’re not talking about urges caused by feeling hangry.

Diving into the (still young) research and you start to see interesting patterns, such as:

• Your skin health and the creation of acne can be influenced by your microbiome (bad gut bacteria promote inflammation that can lead to red spots).
• Your microbiome can impact your rational decision-making.
• Feelings of anxiety or depression might be controlled or activated by your microbiome.
• Early research shows that digestive bacteria and your microbiome can influence which foods you like (and which you don’t).

How is all of this possible? There are 10 times more bacteria living in your digestive tract than there are cells in your entire body.

There are 10 times more bacteria living within your digestive tract than there are cells in your entire body.

As a result, your body makes alliances and enjoys a symbiotic (that’s science-talk for “win-win”) relationship with the majority of the organisms within your microbiome. Gut bacteria aid in digestion and even produce an important nutrient, Vitamin K2 (think cardiovascular and bone health).

But not all of those bugs are so eager to be friends. There is such a thing as “bad” gut bacteria too. Even the “good” ones can turn on you and become harmful when things like the use of antibiotics, illness, stress, bad dietary habits, or other lifestyle factors shake up your digestive ecosystem. (Yup, basically living life is all it takes.) That’s when things can get rough, and why one of the biggest areas of research is trying to understand the relationship between your microbiome and medical issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and maybe even cancer.

So how do you make sense of all the microbiome buzz? We know it’s important, but there’s a lot of misinformation swirling around and far too many claims that we can’t yet support (time will tell because we need more research). While “solutions” like probiotics may be helpful for some — and are definitely good, in general — there are many other accessible (and less expensive) things you can do to keep your microbiome healthy.

Microbiome 101: Simplifying the Science

We’ll be honest, anything about gut health can become a little too confusing, so it’s best to think in big picture terms: what it is, why it matters, and what you can do about it.

Your microbiome is the collection of all the microbes and microorganisms that populate your body.

There are unique groups of microorganisms living in many different regions of your body—your skin, mouth and digestive system, to name a few. Your gut microbiome (the “microbiota”) is home to millions of unique bacteria. Experts believe that having a wide spectrum of different bacteria in your GI tract is beneficial to your health (researchers are now trying to understand exactly what role they play in everything from your immune function, to macronutrient metabolism and absorption, and even your mood).

Diversity is a good thing. And research suggests that having less diverse gut bacteria might be linked to health issues like irritable bowel disease, cancer and obesity. While many questions about how and why still exist, there’s enough of a relationship that scientists are trying to figure out how you can best take care of your gut bacteria.

A Healthier Microbiome: Probiotics and Prebiotics

Probiotics are helpful bacteria in your gut. Think of them as adding backup troops when your frontline is a little weak. Probiotics can be found in fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, and in drinks like kefir and kombucha. The beneficial bacteria from probiotics provide numerous health benefits including enhanced immune function, better digestion, a barrier against microbial infections, and much more.

Prebiotics, meanwhile, are foods that feed the microbes that are already in your body. And there’s been a growing awareness that they are also important because they affect the bacteria in your digestive system in such a way that it might improve your well-being and health. Basically, you help the bugs (by feeding them), and the bugs help you (by protecting you from bad bugs, keeping inflammation down, and so on).

Exactly why this happens isn’t fully understood, but prebiotics are carbohydrates that resist digestion in your small intestine. They reach your colon intact, where they wind up getting fermented by the bacteria there. That can shift gut flora in a positive way.

Some common foods that have prebiotic effects include bananas, whole grain wheat, garlic, leeks, and onions.

How the Microbiome Affects You

Remember how we referred to a “second brain?” That’s where the microbiome becomes more and more interesting for your overall health goals. The gut-brain axis is a two-way line of communication within your body between your brain and gut (at least they made the name easy to remember).

Each one can affect the other — for better or for worse. When your gut bacteria is out of whack, the signals that get relayed back up to your brain might cause or worsen anxiety or mood disorders, including depression. And stress—you know, what you feel when you’ve got looming deadlines or worries about paying the bills—can impact your gut microbiota negatively, and shift it in a less-than-favorable direction

Gut Dysbiosis describes what happens when you have an imbalance of gut bacteria favoring the more pathogenic (potentially harmful) microorganisms. This sort of imbalance is associated with a number of different problems including digestive disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Those can manifest in many different ways, from consistent abdominal pain or diarrhea, fatigue or weight loss. Some skin problems like rosacea can potentially be linked to gut health issues. These types of medical issues will be much easier to notice, so don’t freak out or believe people that want to sell you expensive supplements or cleanses. As always, if you are worried about a medical condition, see a doctor and have the problem diagnosed.

While current research is still developing and learning about the many roles that gut bacteria play in our body, here are some of the things that we do know — and what you can do about it.

How Your Body Processes Calories and Nutrients: There’s growing evidence that shows your gut bacteria impact what you’re able to extract from your food, both in terms of the total number of calories absorbed and the nutrients you take in—and even in determining how much food you want to eat.

There are a number of complex mechanisms that make this possible, so here’s one example of how your microbiome affects energy balance: Gut bacteria break down previously undigested carbohydrates called polysaccharides into smaller bits known as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). When your body’s fat cells sense an increase in SCFAs, they release a hormone called leptin, which essentially sends a signal to the brain that says “We’re full, thanks. You can lay off the nachos.” This is a good thing. But, if you’re not releasing enough SCFA because of a break in your microbiome, then the opposite can happen and you never feel full.

This is part of the reason why some researchers believe there’s a strong link between the condition of the gut and obesity. There’s even some research showing that obese and non-obese people have differing levels of bacteria. (It’s worth noting, however, that no one is suggesting that your microbiome is the only factor causing obesity. Diet and exercise matter, and, certainly, also impact that healthy — and unhealthy — bacteria in your body.)

What Foods You Want to Eat: While most people chalk up their cravings to willpower (this is something that’s repeatedly proven to be incorrect), many researchers now believe that your gut bacteria might be manipulating you “like microscopic puppetmasters” to get what they want.

There is an internal battle in your microbiome where different bacteria in your digestive system are constantly competing for resources (food). Here’s where it gets crazy: these bacteria can create food cravings or generate feelings of dissatisfaction (mood) that can be alleviated by consuming the foods that benefit them. And it can work for good or bad. Your body might be telling you to eat more protein (yay!) or it could be pushing you for endless amounts of sugar (aw shit!). There are four main mechanisms that play a role in this ongoing battle:

1. Microbes (just a fancy name for the bacteria in your stomach) could alter your taste receptors, making certain foods taste better. (And no, they aren’t working to make you like broccoli. Bad-news bugs thrive on bad-news fuel sources like those high in sugar.)
2. Microbes could release toxins that can affect mood negatively, which can make you want to eat.
3. Microbes could influence whether or not you find certain foods rewarding. (That happens by influencing an important part of the endocrine system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.)
4. Microbes could “hijack” the vagus nerve, which is a major signaling pathway within the body.

Your Immune System: Your gut bacteria can assist your immune system by preventing potentially harmful pathogens from entering into the digestive system. You can think of the good bacteria as bouncers setting up velvet ropes along the walls of your intestines. They won’t let bad bacteria ruin the party. This helps protect the intestines against inflammation and prevents pathogenic bacteria from forming colonies.

What’s “Good” or “Bad” for Your Gut Health?

The colonization and development of your gut bacteria began at your birth and continues to evolve throughout your life. Some of the things that can adversely affect the microbial diversity in your gut include:

Antibiotics. Let’s be clear: We are not advocating against antibiotics. They can be potentially lifesaving drugs that absolutely have a time and a place for use. Antibiotics, however, indiscriminately kill the microbes in your body, which can lead to a disturbance of gut flora that you will need to work to rebalance and improve. The takeaway: Save the antibiotics for when you’re really sick. (But when a doctor says take them, take ‘em.)

Stress. Stress comes in many shapes and forms, but, on a basic level, stress is anything that removes your body from homeostasis or equilibrium. That stress can be psychological (worry, anxiety), physical (sleep deprivation is a physiological stressor that can negatively impact your gut bacteria), to social (feeling like a “loser”). All of them can disrupt the composition, diversity, and number of microorganisms in your digestive tract.

(Too Many) Processed Foods. A high-fat, sugar-rich diet feeds the pathogenic bacteria in your gut. Note that eating some sugar, or processed food here or there, isn’t a problem (We’ve discussed the overblown fear of sugar). It becomes problematic when you eat too much of them, combined with too little fiber — and most Americans get far less than the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day.

Diets that are high in processed foods, and low in fiber, have been shown to wreak havoc on gut microbes in trials in mice. Obviously, mice aren’t human, but similar results have occurred regularly enough that Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, an associate professor of microbiology at Stanford University, says simply: “It’s now evident that everybody should be eating more dietary fiber.”

Can You Test Your Microbiome?

Where there is a health problem, you can usually find a business offering a solution. This is not necessarily a bad thing (we all need cures to problems), but sometimes business interests come before practical applications. In other words: people are happy to sell you something based on theory and not on proof.

There are many new tests that claim to give you insight into your microbiome (most involve you sending your poop to a lab, so don’t be surprised when that’s the request). The problem: you will provide science with more (much needed) data…but it won’t really help you get more answers.

As discussed in a recent New York Times article (that we highly recommend), here are a few important takeaways about the big limitations of personalized microbiome testing:

• “It’s not ready for prime time.” (referring to personalized microbiome testing) -Dr. Rashmi Sinha, a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute 
• “You’ll get an enormous amount of data that is basically uninterpretable,” -Dr. Martin J. Blaser, director of the Human Microbiome Program at New York University, though he added, “there are people who will be very happy to take your money and tell you they can interpret it.”
• “What you can do with the information at the moment is limited. It’s very much a science project, not a diagnostic test.” – Dr. Rob Knight, director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at the University of California, San Diego

Translation: we know the microbiome is important, but interpreting your microbiome, knowing what will or won’t have and impact, and how those changes will help your health is all still being investigated.

While that doesn’t help you figure out if you have a healthy (or unhealthy microbiome), it’s good to know that if you spend your money on any “microbiome services” it’s not likely your best use of money. The value from these tests will come with time and more clarity and understanding. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your microbiome.

How You Can Improve Your Gut Health

The good news is many basic practices that are good for your body are also good for your gut health. While you can’t assess those changes directly, there’s enough evidence to suggest that the recommendations below are good general practices for a healthy microbiome.

• Eat more fiber. We’re not trying to beat a dead horse, but carbohydrates and fiber are the most important sources of energy for the beneficial bacteria living in your colon. The fermentation of carbs and fiber in your digestive system helps lower its pH and therefore helps limit the bad bacteria. So you’d do well to consume more fiber-rich foods like:
  • Fruits such as raspberries (8 grams of fiber per cup), apples (4.4 grams per medium-sized piece), bananas (3.1 grams), oranges (3.1 grams), and strawberries (3.0 grams per cup)
  • Vegetables such as peas (8.1 grams of fiber per cup), broccoli (5.1 grams). Brussels sprouts (4.4 grams), corn (3.6 grams), or a baked potato (2.9 grams)
  • Grains such as barley (6 grams per cup), oats (4 grams) or brown rice (3.5 grams). Whole-wheat spaghetti has 6.3 grams of fiber.
  • Beans, whether they’re black, kidney, pinto, or you-name-it, are glorious sources of fiber. A cup of any one of them will give you a double-digit dose of fiber.
  • Nuts, especially almonds (3.5 grams per ounce, or about 23 nuts), pistachios (2.9 grams) and pecans (2.7 grams).
• Cook more at home. Research shows that food eaten away from home tends to have less fiber on a per-calorie basis. Pressed for time? This approach to meal prep may help you simplify things and get more done in less time.
• Eat fermented foods that contain probiotic bacteria, such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut or kimchi.
• Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep. Having trouble getting to sleep? Here are some non-obvious solutions you may want to try.
• Try to keep your stress levels in check. (Obviously, easier said than done, but something like meditation or journaling might help.)

READ MORE: 

Wheat Belly Deception: Understanding Wheat, Insulin, and Fat Loss

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The Foods That Fight Inflammation

The post How Gut Health Affects Your Health, Weight Loss, and Mood appeared first on Born Fitness.