In this article, we will cover how probiotics help you lose weight, which strain is most effective for weight loss, and which probiotics you should avoid to prevent weight gain.
Our bodies are full of bacteria but not all of them are bad. Some of them play a critical role in the functioning of the body. One kind of those critical bacteria is probiotics. Probiotics are a combination of beneficial bacteria and/or yeasts that naturally live in your body. These good bacteria help your body fight off bad bacteria when you have too much of them, helping you feel better.
How Do Probiotics Help You Lose Weight?
Multiple human and animal studies revealed that there is a difference in the gut bacteria of moderate-weight people and overweight people. These studies also revealed that people with obesity had more firmicutes and fewer bacteroidetes, compared with moderate-weight people.
Obese people are found to have less diverse gut bacteria than lean people. Studies also suggest that less diverse gut bacteria lead to more weight gain in people.
Probiotics do this by influencing appetite and energy usage via the production of acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are short-chain fatty acids.
It’s thought that certain probiotics may inhibit the absorption of dietary fat, increasing the amount of fat excreted with feces. In other words, they make your body “harvest” fewer calories from the foods you eat.
Certain bacteria, such as those from the Lactobacillus family, have been found to function in this way:
Probiotics may also fight obesity in other ways, including:
- Releasing appetite-regulating hormones: Probiotics may help release the appetite-reducing hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY). Increased levels of these hormones may help you burn calories and fat.
- Increasing levels of fat-regulating proteins: Probiotics may increase levels of the protein angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4). This may lead to decreased fat storage
Strong evidence links obesity to inflammation throughout the body. By improving the health of your gut lining, probiotics may reduce systemic inflammation and protect against obesity and other diseases.
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Which Strains Are Most Effective To Lose Weight?
Of all the probiotic bacteria studied to date, Lactobacillus gasseri shows some of the most promising effects on weight loss. Numerous studies in rodents have found that it has anti-obesity effects.
Additionally, studies in adults have shown promising results. One study that followed 210 people with significant amounts of belly fat found that taking Lactobacillus gasseri for 12 weeks reduced body weight, fat around organs, body mass index (BMI), waist size, and hip circumference.
What’s more, belly fat was reduced by 8.5%. However, when participants stopped taking the probiotic, they gained back all of the belly fat within 1 month.
Probiotics That may Prevent Weight Loss
Some studies have found that certain probiotic strains might lead to weight gain — not weight loss.
One recent review found that probiotics’ effects on body weight depend on which species and strains are used. For instance, while one strain of Lactobacillus gasseri reduced weight gain compared with a control, another strain promoted weight gain
The bottom line
Probiotics offer a wide range of health benefits. However, their effects on weight are mixed and seem to depend on the type of probiotic.
Evidence indicates that Lactobacillus gasseri may help people with obesity lose weight and belly fat.
At the end of the day, certain types of probiotics may have modest effects on your weight, especially when combined with a healthy, whole-food diet.
Nevertheless, there are many other reasons to take a probiotic supplement. They can improve your digestive health and cardiovascular risk factors, reduce inflammation, and even help fight depression and anxiety.