Not all probiotics are created equal.
One size fits all?
The word probiotic is something increasingly understood by most. These are groups of organisms that are increasingly being used to improve the diversity within the microbiome. They can be found in fermented foods such as live yoghurt, kefir and kombucha and also taken in supplement form.
But is one probiotic really like another?
It is still uncertain what bacteria would make up the healthiest microbiome. If you look at the diversity of microbes in the gut of the longest living populations from what is known as the ‘blue zone’ areas they all show a broad diversity of microbes but often a very different picture overall. And should we be using supplements to improve our Microbiome anyway?
Would it not be better to just use food?
Over the last 20 years a great deal of research has been done into this area. What is clear is that taking probiotics and supplements can be extremely helpful but they are only useful for as long as they are taken – much like many medications. Improving your overall gut health through eating a phytonutrient rich diet and adding in fermented foods in general would be our advice. A phytonutrient rich diet is one that contains a wide variety of fruit and vegetables – try to aim for 30+ different ones a week, ideally spanning a range of different colours. And try to eat seasonally – so at the moment purple sprouting broccoli, wild garlic and celeriac are great choices that might not be in your usual shopping basket.
That said, for specific conditions, specific probiotics have good quality evidence to prove their usefulness. The key point being specific probiotics – it’s not just grabbing one off the shelf in the health food shop unfortunately!
Over the next few posts we will share some information regarding some of these specific beneficial probiotics.
Yoghurt drinks – gimic or game changer?
The main probiotic in the well known yoghurt drinks you find in the supermarket is lactobacillus casei Shirota. Overall these drinks don’t contain a huge amount of probiotics in comparison with supplements and yet there is good evidence to support their use in some areas:
- High blood pressure – in a study of older people (65-93), those who drank these yoghurt drinks at least three times a week were significantly less likely to have high blood pressure than those who did not. A simple intervention that may reduce the need for medication?
This same probiotic has also been shown to reduce the harm to the microbiome we see when taking antibiotics and reduce the severity of gastroenteritis infections. It has also been shown to improve IBS symptoms by 30%
Not bad for a little yoghurt drink. Take care which one you choose though as some contain very high levels of added sugars. Certainly worth considering if you need to take antibiotics or have high blood pressure.
Eczema – Can treating the gut really help?
There are many different factors contributing to eczema. Inflammation, genetics and epigenetics, stress and food sensitivities. However there does seem to be a role for specific probiotics too.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus has demonstrated a significant reduction in eczema in babies – which seems to persist as they get older. Taking this in pregnancy and supplementing a baby with it until they are two years old has been shown to reduce eczema until they are over 6years old.
But what about adults? One study followed adults with hand eczema for 12 weeks who were given a combination of this rhamnosus probiotic alongside two other forms of lactobacillus. After 12 weeks 55% had improved skin and 23% found their eczema had fully resolved.
There is evidence for other specific probiotics for skin too but the yoghurt drinks that seemed so helpful in our last post would be unlikely to help here. It really is finding the right probiotic for the issue you are dealing with…..
Womens Health – can oral probiotics really help ‘down there’
It seems they may indeed be able to help.
One of the common issues we face as a woman is thrush. Some women are really prone to this and it can be a really unpleasant experience. Over the counter treatments can help but it can feel like it just keeps coming back.
Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotic has been shown to reduce frequency of thrush infections so it is worth looking for this specific probiotic if you are prone to thrush.
In comparison lactobacillus reuteri and rhamnosus have been shown to help the treatment for thrush work more effectively when taken for 4 weeks after using one of the single use tablets you can buy for thrush. These strains of probiotic seem to work by changing the acidity of the vaginal secretions – making it harder for the yeast to colonise in the area. Sometimes probiotics for yeast are used vaginally but we would only recommend this under the guidance of a healthcare professional.
A weighty subject
A lot of effort has gone in to researching the microbiome and weight issues. Does this mean probiotics can help with controlling weight or reducing weight? Well, one probiotic – Bifidobacterium lactis when taken daily for 6 months has been shown to reduce weight in overweight people – but by 4% and it seems to have been linked to reduced calorie intake – does it make you less hungry?
More topical though is a bacteria in the microbiome called Akkermansia muciniphila. This
has been shown to be present in much higher amounts in slim people. In mice studies it has
been shown to reduce weight in overweight mice who were given this as a supplement with
no other change to their diet. Currently this probiotic is not available as a supplement for
humans but the use of it for obesity and diabetes in humans is ongoing and it is highly likely that this will not be the last you hear of this clever little bug. But this bug in itself takes us back to our first probiotic post in this series. Another study on this ‘wonder’bug’ Akkermansia shows that you can increase the amount of it in your own microbiome by eating healthy fats (fish oil in the study) instead of unhealthy fats (lard). So we come full circle – what you eat effects your microbiome hugely. At Mosaic we would recommend specific probiotics when and while you need them but focussing on a nutritious diet may man you don’t need them often.
Andie works at Mosaic Medical, Poole, if you have any questions you can contact her on andie@mosaic-medical.com
