What are probiotics?
Over the years, probiotics have received an abundance of praise and press for their health-boosting benefits for the body, mind, and mood. But what exactly are these miraculous microorganisms known as probiotics, and what can they do to improve your digestion, immunity, and overall health? Whether you’re looking for a remedy for tummy troubles like bloating and upset stomach, or you want to boost your immunity or fend off inflammation, probiotics may help improve your health from head to toe. So, chew on the role of probiotics and their bevy of benefits for your health, along with the precautions about consuming them, to understand how probiotics can help you feel and function well.
Get to know the pros
Consider probiotics to help improve your health and well-being. Probiotics are live microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. These microorganisms, which are comprised of good bacteria, exist alongside bad bacteria, and together they make up what is known as your gut microbiome. The good bacteria play an important role in many aspects of your health, including your digestion, your immune function, your body’s absorption of nutrients, and more. Ideally, you want to have a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut for optimal health. While the bad can result in disease-causing inflammation, the good bacteria help your body properly absorb nutrients in the foods you eat and fight off infection.
Probiotics are considered good bacteria, and they’re naturally found in fermented foods and beverages, such as Greek yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, and kombucha tea. Additionally, probiotics can be added to other foods and drinks and are also available as dietary supplements. Consuming probiotics increases the good bacteria in your gut, leaving less space for the bad bacteria to grow and harm your health.
Understanding the pros in probiotics
The perks of probiotics cannot be overstated and must be understood. Consuming probiotics introduces the good bacteria your gut needs for optimal health. Research has shown that an abundance of good bacteria may work wonders for many areas of your health, from your digestion and immunity to your mood and mental well-being. Some of the biggest health benefits of probiotics may include:
- Improved digestion – Studies have shown that a healthy gut may help soothe gastrointestinal conditions and discomfort like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and gas.
- Stronger immunity – Did you know that nearly 80% of your immune cells are located in your gut? This means the balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut has a significant effect on your immune system and your overall immunity. Probiotics can enhance your immunity by regulating your immune response and promoting the development of disease-fighting antibodies, which help fight off infections and illnesses.
- Enhanced nutrient absorption – Consuming probiotics can help your body break down food more efficiently so you’re able to absorb more of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from what you eat.
- Greater heart health – Studies have shown that probiotics may support your cardiovascular health by reducing your blood pressure, lowering your bad cholesterol levels, and decreasing inflammation.
- More mental well-being – Can your gut make you feel good? Surprisingly, your gut plays a major role in your mental well-being because the good bacteria in your gut promote the production and regulation of mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. Not having enough of these feel-good chemicals can contribute to mood swings, depression, and anxiety.
- Healthier skin – The cause of several skin conditions is more than skin deep because your gut has a major impact on your skin. A lack of good bacteria in your gut can lead to inflammation that has been linked to several skin conditions that cause red, itchy, and flaky skin like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and acne. Probiotics can reduce the inflammation that causes these conditions to flare up.
Take a healthy approach to probiotics
Probiotics contain a variety of good bacteria that have been safely consumed in foods and beverages for thousands of years, as well as in dietary supplements for decades. For healthy people, probiotics pose few side effects other than occasionally causing gas but rarely result in any health problems.
However, probiotics may not be safe for everyone. According to the FDA, probiotics might cause bacterial infections in people who are already ill or have compromised immune systems. They may also lead to serious illness or infection in preterm infants.
If you’re interested in trying probiotics, ask your SignatureMD-affiliated doctor whether they’re right for you, which probiotics to choose, and how long to consume them. If you decide to try probiotics, adding them to your diet through fermented foods and drinks is usually preferred over taking dietary supplements, which aren’t regulated by the FDA and should only be used for certain symptoms.
Now that you know about probiotics, you can see why consuming these good bacteria may do you a lot of good.
Sources:
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-Consumer/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-health-benefits-of-probiotics
- https://www.eatingwell.com/benefits-of-probiotics-11846782
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