Probiotics & Weight Loss

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria, and they can be found in supplement form. According to some recent research, they may also aid in weight loss. Part of this country's obesity problem might stem from a bacterial imbalance in the stomach.

Stanford University medical researchers gave a probiotic supplement to patients who underwent weight loss surgery, in order to treat an overgrowth of bacteria in the GI tract. There was an unexpected, and beneficial, side effect- they lost more weight. According to Dr. John Morton, a director of bariatric surgery at Stanford, the number of calories taken in depends on the type of bacteria in the intestines. If the makeup of those bacteria is changed, the amount of calories absorbed would change also. The difference may be minimal at first look, but over time, that deficit can add up.

The finding expands on recent studies involving mice, that show how lean mice have different intestinal bacteria than larger ones. The type of bacteria in the human intestine changes both before and after weight loss. In the future, it may be possible to come up with individualized probiotic treatment, and give people a "bacterial infusion" to bolster the bacteria that influence weight loss. The bacteria in the digestive tract are like a furnace, allowing the body to effectively consume calories.

With obesity being the largest cause of preventable deaths in the US, it is definitely promising research. In Canada, thirty-five percent of adults are overweight, and 24% are obese. So far, the only surefire treatment is gastric bypass surgery, which is fraught with risks. Some patients will have bacterial overgrowth, which can cause abdominal pain and bloating. Probiotics can help immensely in this situation.

Researchers from Washington University reported that the bacteria found in the digestive tracts of overweight mice help them absorb more calories from food. When they took those bacteria and implanted them in the intestines of lean mice, the lean mice began to gain weight. That seems to suggest that the type of bacteria in the digestive tract can determine how many calories the person absorbs.

The patients in the Stanford study were given a probiotic supplement of over 2 billion colonies of lactobacillus per day. While the research is promising, it's still unclear whether it's the amount of bacteria, or the composition. That being said, there's really no harm in supplementing with probiotics, and they are generally well tolerated by most people.

If you are looking to lose some weight, help may be as simple as taking a daily probiotic supplement.