What's the Connection Between Probiotics and Digestive Health?

5 minute read

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your body. If you cringe at the thought of taking bacteria, it’s key to note that there are both good and bad bacteria.

The bad bacteria are the germs you’re used to avoiding. The good bacteria help keep your gut healthy and actually fight off the bad germs.

That said, high potency probiotics may do a lot more, but there is still a lot of research to be done. Fortunately, there has been a lot learned already in the realm of probiotic digestive health. While more information is still needed, the signs are quite promising and illuminating. Here is what you should know.

Probiotics and Your Digestive Health

Because probiotic supplements help make digestion more efficient and with better results, they can play a role in helping many different issues. The following digestive conditions tend to show the best results:

Antibiotic-Induced Diarrhea

multi strain probiotics in the form of yogurt have been recommended by doctors and pharmacists for anyone undergoing a course of antibiotics for a long time. Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in the body, even the good ones.

By eating yogurt, which is loaded with good bacteria, during your antibiotic treatment, you are helping to replace the good bacteria and regain a healthy gut balance, so you no longer have diarrhea.

What’s most interesting is that yogurt is probably not the best way to rebuild your gut bacteria. To get to the intestines, the bacteria need to survive the strong acids in your stomach. Better than yogurt, try a complete blend probiotic supplement with a delayed-release capsule that will resist stomach acid to arrive in the intestines later and dissolve there. This way the probiotics get to the designated area.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

IBD typically is a term used to encompass Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These conditions feature intestinal mucosa inflammation with unknown origin. This is an area that has scientists and medical professionals very excited about the potential of probiotics being used therapeutically.

While there have been studies that show good results in animal models, there aren’t enough human studies to make a solid determination of efficacy. But because there are few side effects with taking a probiotic, it might be a good addition to your treatment plan, as long as your healthcare provider agrees.

It’s also worth noting that probiotics can have similar help with Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Infectious Diarrhea

If diarrhea is caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasites then treating it with a probiotic may shorten the duration and the symptoms.

It’s believed that the addition of probiotics can help the body fight the germs that are causing diarrhea and, by shortening the duration, can prevent complications like dehydration from occurring.

How to Use Probiotics for Digestive Health

If you’re interested in beginning a probiotic regimen to boost your digestive health, there are a couple of different ways to start.

You can increase your intake of probiotics naturally through the consumption of the following foods:

♦ Sauerkraut

♦ Kimchi

♦ Kefir

♦ Yogurt

♦ Kombucha

♦ Tempeh

♦ Miso

You can also begin taking a probiotic supplement to boost your intake. Many people prefer this method because they do not particularly enjoy the foods that contain probiotics and they find it difficult to have them regularly.

It’s always a good idea to discuss the decision to add a supplement to your diet with your doctor. They may have reasons for you to avoid them or they might have a suggestion about which pre or probiotic supplements
they’d recommend.

The Bottom Line

Probiotics are healthy bacteria that help the body fight off germs and stay healthy. There’s a lot of promising research that seems to suggest that having a balanced microbiome in your body can help you naturally ward off illness. While science is still researching the benefits of probiotics, we do know that there are some proven benefits in the digestive arena.

Once you decide to add probiotics to your diet, you can choose to go the natural route and consume more foods that are rich in them or you can take a supplement. Either way, you’ll be taking the first step to better digestive health.