Probiotics, Prebiotics and Weight Loss
Scientists are beginning to see a link between probiotics, prebiotics and weight loss. Almost everyone who follows health news knows about probiotics and how they benefit your digestive health. Probiotics are the “good bacteria” in your gut that help you to digest your food and keep the “bad bacteria” away.
Most people are not familiar with prebiotics, scientifically known as fructooligosaccharides or FOS, a natural fiber that is non-digestible and feeds the probiotics in your gut to help maintain a healthy digestive system.
So what’s connection between probiotics, prebiotics and weight loss? For many overweight people, their digestive system is “backed up” with accumulated waste from years of eating high sugar, high fat processed foods. When your digestive system contains the right amount of probiotics and prebiotics, your body is able to eliminate that accumulated waste and toxins that are stuck in your gut. The more you eliminate, the lighter you feel and the lower the number on the scale. That’s just one benefit.
The exciting news is that the scientific community is starting to see the connection between probiotics, prebiotics and obesity. In a paper published in Nature in December 2006 (Vol. 444, pp. 1022-1023, 1027-1031), it was reported that as obese people began to lose weight, their levels of probiotics and prebiotics reverted to the levels of a lean person. This finding suggests that obesity has a microbial element.
But the good news doesn’t stop there. Two Belgium-based scientists, Nathalie Delzenne and Patrice Cani from the Catholic University of Louvain, upon reviewing the emerging data about the weight loss benefits of probiotics and prebiotics, noted that “A decrease in body mass index, linked to a modulation of gut peptides and appetite, have been shown upon long term treatment of overweight and obese patients.” They also mention that data already exists which show that inulin-type prebiotics may reduce appetite, increase a feeling of fullness, and thereby decrease the amount of food consumed.
We’re already beginning to see products containing probiotics and prebiotics although they are not being marketed for their weight loss benefits necessarily. It’s also a problem to combine both of these bacteria together in one solution because they interact with each other, obviously. Keep this in mind if you’re planning to buy prebiotics and probiotics together.
Other benefits from prebiotics include fewer symptoms from lactose intolerance, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Candida, C.difficile, diarrhea, abdominal bloating and it has been shown to help lower cholesterol.
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