Gut Check on Probiotics
The human body contains over 30 trillion cells that work in harmony to guide us through our daily lives. We also have over 100 trillion bacterial cells living in our bodies!
The composition of gut bacteria is slightly different for everyone, and it is thought to significantly impact our digestion, immunity, and even personality. Probiotics have gotten a lot of attention in recent years because it is believed that consuming certain probiotics may replenish our healthy bacteria. Supplementing with probiotics is thought to help treat many conditions, such as diarrhea, IBS, IBD, constipation, leaky gut syndrome, and others. This sounds wonderful, but is it too good to be true? Yes and no.
Research has shown that a healthy gut consists of a wide variety of bacteria. Throughout life, different events and environments can compromise our “good bacteria” and create a bacterial imbalance. It is thought that supplementing with probiotics may re-colonize our gut with healthy bacteria and promote overall health.
Most of the research surrounding probiotics has been shown to help treat antibiotic-associated diarrhea, acute diarrhea, IBS, symptoms of IBD, NAFLD, and boost immune response. However, only specific strains of probiotics have been shown to benefit specific medical conditions. Is your head spinning yet?
The most important take-away should be that a healthy gut consists of a variety of healthy bacteria. You can diversify your colony of gut bacteria with a probiotic regimen, but you can also increase your gut flora with foods containing natural probiotics. Try incorporating fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, aged cheeses, pickles, miso, real dark chocolate, and tempeh. In addition to choosing foods that naturally contain probiotics, it is also important to have a high fiber diet, as soluble fiber feeds the “good bacteria” within our bodies.
If you suffer from diarrhea, IBS, IBD, or a “leaky gut” be sure to research probiotics on the market that have been shown to help treat those specific conditions. Look for probiotics that contain strains of lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, and saccharomyces, to name a few. These have been the most studied probiotics and have the most research to back their efficacy.
Keep it simple: Fermented foods and/or probiotics + a high fiber diet = a healthy gut. This is not a miracle cure for your ailments, but it can certainly go a long way to improve your digestion and potentially enhance your immune system.
