Do probiotics really work?
Martha Carlin
| Jun 05, 2020 |
2 minutes read
The human gut microbiome does so many wonderful things for us and yet our modern environment is killing our friendly gut bugs in many different ways, leaving behind the resilient and not so friendly microbes.
With the beneficial microbes missing from the gut the balance gets tippedand the harmful microbes in your gut are positioned to run the show. This situation leads to gut dysbiosis – or an unhealthy, unhappy gut. Key killers of healthy, balanced, diverse microbiomes are the excessive use of antibiotics, diets composed primarily of processed foods, and inactive or sedentary lifestyles.
So how can we protect and nurture our gut microbiome?
In addition to eating whole foods, exercising, and limiting antibiotic exposure, introducing probiotics (live beneficial bacteria) to your health regime can have many great benefits. These helpful microbes are one of our main allies against loosing the diversity in our microbiome that we so desperately need. Probiotic bacteria can be found naturally in your intestines,in some foods such as yogurt, or in pill form.
Though some individuals have a good population of probiotic bacteria, most others have little to no probiotic bacteria. To replenish your stock of healthy, gut-friendly microbes, you can eat foods that naturally contain probiotics and take a daily probiotic supplement.
Probiotic supplements contain live cultures of the beneficial microbes your gut needs to function at its best. When your probiotic microbes are happy and healthy they can work hard to do the same for you.
Increasing probiotics in the gut has been shown to help push your microbiome community back into a healthy balance. Maintaining a healthy balance can lead to reduced inflammation in the gut, a stronger immune system, and improved digestion.When probiotics are present in the gut they release metabolites and vitamins that can then get to work keeping your gut healthy!It is important to remember that while probiotics can help to reintroduce and maintain a healthy balance of microbes in the gut, they cannot provide a healthy gut all on their own.
They function best as part of a team - your personal gut wellness team!
Other members of the team should include a healthy diet of whole foods, regular exercise, and plenty of sleep. When these things all come together in a balance that works for you, your gut will feel more balanced, too.
So if you find yourself asking, “do these things really work?” - just imagine all the microbes in your probiotic supplement keeping the bad guys in check, all while performing important functions that help you digest your meals and keep your gut in tip-top shape.
1. Clinic, C. (2015). Probiotics. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/14598-probiotics
2. Harvard Health Publishing. (2014). The benefits of probiotics bacteria. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-benefits-of-probiotics
3. Hill C, Guarner F, et al. (2014). Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 11, 506–514. doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2014.66
4. Hemarajata, P., & Versalovic, J. (2013). Effects of probiotics on gut microbiota: mechanisms of intestinal immunomodulation and neuromodulation. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, 6(1), 39–51. http://doi.org/10.1177/1756283X12459294
With gratitude,
Martha Carlin, is a “Citizen Scientist”,
systems thinker, wife of Parkinson’s warrior, John Carlin, and founder of The BioCollective , a microbiome company expanding
the reach of science and BiotiQuest, the first of it’s kind probiotic line. Since John’s diagnosis in 2002,
Martha began learning the science of agriculture, nutrition, environment, infectious disease, Parkinson’s
pathology and much more. In 2014, when the first research was published showing a connection between the gut
bacteria and the two phenotypes of Parkinson’s, Martha quit her former career as a business turnaround expert
and founded The BioCollective to accelerate the discovery of the impact of gut health on all human disease. Martha was a speaker at the White House 2016 Microbiome Initiative launch, challenging the scientific
community to “think in a broader context”. Her systems thinking background and experience has led to collaborations
across the scientific spectrum from neuroscience to engineering to infectious disease. She is a respected out of the
box problem solver in the microbiome field and brings a unique perspective to helping others understand the
connections from the soil to the food to our guts and our brains.
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