Did you know that probiotics are a crucial factor in weight loss? That’s right, probiotics, the thing you’ve been hearing more and more about lately. You’ve probably been hearing lately how important probiotics are and how you should be eating yoghurt and drinking Kefir to get the benefits of probiotics. Well that’s all true, but what exactly are probiotics? And how important is replenishing your gut microbiome and how does it effect your weight?

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, provide a health benefit for the host. Probiotic bacteria favourably alter the balance of the intestinal microflora, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, promote good digestion, boost immune function and increase resistance to infection. They’re a bacterium, but a “good” bacteria. Your body is full of bacteria. In fact, there are approximately 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells in the body. That would make us more microbial then cellular! The majority of which are in the intestinal tract. They serve many functions, including digesting foods, manufacturing certain vitamins, as well as regulating our immune system.

If your gut has flourishing colonies of “good” bacteria, you are better able to fight off the growth of disease-causing, “bad”, bacteria, like the flue or a cold. Probiotics such as Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria maintain a balance of intestinal flora by producing organic compounds such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid, that increase the acidity of the intestine and inhibit the reproduction of many harmful bacteria. Probiotic bacteria also produce substances called bacteriocins, which act as natural antibiotics to kill undesirable microorganisms. So instead of taking an Anti-biotic take a probiotic to fight off a bacterial infection. Your body will love you more and you will not have all of the negative side effects that come with taking Anti-biotics.

That might be a lot to follow, but basically probiotics are keeping your intestines healthy, which enables your body to fight off the bacteria that makes you sick. You may think that sounds like it’s all about your immune system, but you’re not sure how that effects your weight. Let’s dive into that.

Gut microbiota composition is regarded as one of the major factors involved in control of body weight, and many studies investigating its link to obesity have been conducted in the past several years. It has been found that certain probiotics inhibit the absorption of dietary calories. That means that the more probiotics you have in your system, the fewer calories you take in from food. However, the balance of bacteria in your gut is important for another reason.

This unbalanced state promotes intestinal inflammation-induced metabolic disorders (insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity) and administration of probiotics was considered as an important therapeutic manipulation in many studies. Several studies have shown administration of diversified probiotic flora of Bifidobacterium spp and Lactobacillus spp resulted in decreased weight, BMI, and fat mass in subjects. They also showed probiotic intake significantly reduced weight-gain inducing endotoxemia and chronic gut inflammation. The probiotic-induced weight loss in women was associated not only with significant reductions in fat mass and circulating leptin concentrations but also with the relative abundance of bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae, a bad bacterium which induces weight gain, in the gut.

Finally, there are two additional ways in which probiotics might help with weight loss. Probiotics may also fight obesity in other ways: Release of GLP-1: Probiotics may help release the satiety (appetite-reducing) hormone GLP-1. Increased levels of this hormone may help you burn calories. Increase of ANGPTL4: Probiotics may increase levels of the protein ANGPTL4. This may lead to decreased fat storage.

So, you can see, there are numerous ways in which probiotics can help with weight loss. As always, it’s OK if you don’t fully understand how it all works. Just so long as you know that it does. Whether or not you’ve been trying to lose weight, or just trying to keep healthy, make sure you make probiotics a staple of your diet.

When choosing probiotics you want to be sure it’s a highly potent and diversified 14-species cocktail of probiotics for intestinal digestion and maintaining the overall immunity. And they must be refrigerated.

• Bifidobacterium bifidum 
• Bifidobacterium breve
• Bifidobacterium Infantis 
• Bifidobacterium longum
• Lactobacillus acidophilus
• Lactobacillus brevis
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus
• Lactobacillus casei
• Lactobacillus helveticus
• Lactobacillus plantarum
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus
• Lactobacillus salivarius
• Saccharomyces boulardii
• Streptococcus thermophilus 

Benefits of Biom ™ probiotics by AgeVital and BiomPharmaceutical :

• Prevent colonization of the large intestine by invading harmful bacteria, yeasts, and some viruses.
• Highly colonizing strains which will increase the diversity of gut microbial flora
• Produces digestive enzymes and function as a digestive complement to your body’s food energy production system.
• Beneficial for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
• Produces lactase to digest milk sugar and produces lactic acid which suppresses undesirable bacteria and yeasts.  
• Strains produce natural antibacterial which wards-off pathogenic flora. 
• Coats the intestinal mucosa and protects against invasion and activities of pathogenic organisms, thus aiding and supporting the immune system; contributes to intestinal peristalsis and helps eliminate the harmful amines from amino acids metabolism. 
• Beneficial against intestinal infections and enhances the immune system through its production of antibiotics and lactic acid.
• Alleviate post antibiotic treatment syndromes.
• Splits casein into certain tripeptides that have been shown to reduce blood pressure.  Superior colonization ability.
• It has at least six different pathways to degrade Arginine and all of those produce nitric oxide.  Nitric oxide produced by enzyme activities provides beneficial effects to the GI system.
• Highly tolerable to tetracycline and other types of antibiotic therapy thus reducing antibiotic induced diarrhea.
• Supports digestion of milk sugars and exerts an inhibitory effect on pathogenic bacteria.
• Produce alpha-Galactosidase, which helps reduce flatulence
• Direct antagonistic effect against a number of pathological organisms including Candida albicans and C. pseudotropicalis.

The human microbiota is the aggregate of microorganisms that resides on the surface and in deep layers of skin, in the saliva and oral mucosa, in the conjunctiva, and in the gastrointestinal tracts and the human microbiome refer to their genomes. The microbiome is reckoned to have around 3 million functional genes compared to human beings 23,000 and the far larger genome of the microbiome has correspondingly greater capabilities in modulating human health and well being. Microbiome’s health and diversity is a growing theme in medical research for treating autoimmune, infectious, and metabolic diseases.

We at ageVital Pharmacy realize the enormous importance of human commensal microbiota. Our research and product development efforts are targeted towards harnessing the potential of microbiome for future personalized medicine and preventative care. Our newest line of Probiotics brings you the very best of the “good” bacteria, so you can get your microbiom on track and start feeling your very best!

Order online today!

About Dr. Jenny:

*Results may vary. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor.  The views and nutritional advice expressed by AgeVital Pharmacy are not intended to substitute for medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician or give us a call and schedule a consultation with one of our providers. ©AgeVital Pharmacy