Research continues to uncover ways in which your digestive health impacts upon your overall wellness. Online personal trainer Andrew Cate examines the connection between probiotics and your level of body fat.
What are probiotics?
Normally, hundreds of different bacteria and other microbes live in your intestines, helping to boost your digestive processes and improve your immune function. However, a number of lifestyle factors are believed to disturb the balance of “good” versus “bad” bacteria in your digestive tract, such as antibiotics, a lack of dietary fiber and an excess of processed foods.
Probiotics are natural micro-organisms added to food or taken as a supplement. They may offer some protection from harmful bacteria and may help improve the intestinal environment. The probiotics work alongside your own “good” bacteria and may help to improve symptoms such as diarrhea. There is also emerging evidence to suggest that probiotics may play a role in weight management.
The research
A recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that probiotics do provide some help with fat and weight loss. Overweight subjects who were given a daily supplement of the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri in fermented milk for 12 weeks reduced their abdominal and subcutaneous fat levels by an average of 4.6 percent and lost 1.4 percent of their body weight compared to control subjects taking a placebo.
Small reductions in BMI, waist and hip circumferences were also recorded. This follows on from previous research which suggests that intestinal microbes may have an important role in body weight regulation by influencing energy metabolism. The researchers believe that probiotics have the ability to establish themselves in the gastrointestinal tract, and alter the composition and metabolism of the intestinal bacteria. This potentially reduces the absorption of fat and increases the level of fat excreted through the faeces.
The weight reducing properties of probiotics may also be due, in part, to changes in the inflammatory status of the body, although the authors acknowledge that additional research is needed to develop a better understanding of the mechanics of inflammation and weight control.
Lifestyle implications
There are many different types of probiotic agents, and it’s important to note that the specific probiotic that demonstrated weight reducing properties in this study was Lactobacillus gasseri. The subjects consumed two 100 gram portions of fermented milk every day for 12 weeks, and the viable cell count was approximately 5 x 10(50 billion) colony-forming units per 100 grams. Probiotics are added to foods such as yoghurts and fermented milk drinks. They are also available as a supplement in capsule, liquid, powder or tablet form. The number of live micro-organisms in each product can vary dramatically, so check the label for more details.
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