Does your mood often swing back and forth, and you can’t pinpoint why? Or is the extra fat failing to fall off despite a healthy diet and a vigorous exercise schedule? Or is your stomach often rumbling with undeniable pain? Your body may be asking for a daily dose of probiotics, and here’s why:
Probiotics can work to heal an unbalanced gut by increasing the number of healthy bacteria within your stomach, ultimately benefiting your brain, too. Recently, scientists have discovered the connection between your stomach and your brain, which in scientific terms is called “microbiota-gut-brain axis”. When you have more healthy bacteria in your microbiome, your mind will reap the benefits as well, and you may feel a positive shift, one that guides you further from depressive thoughts and anxieties.
Uncovering the benefits of probiotics
If those reasons aren’t enough to convince you that probiotics are necessary for multiplying the healthy bacteria in your gut, you’ll want to continue reading because we have more to discuss!
Some strands of probiotics can work to improve your cholesterol “by breaking down bile in the gut”, and “probiotics can prevent it from being reabsorbed in the gut, where it can enter the blood as cholesterol”. Other strands may help to boost your immune system by preventing harmful bacteria from forming, and when you have healthy bacteria in your gut, diseases like IBS and ulcerative colitis may find some relief. Now that we’ve unravelled a variety of benefits that come with boosting the number of healthy bacteria in your microbiome, it is time to reveal which strand works best for whichever symptom you are experiencing.
Understanding which strands can help you
The term ‘probiotics’ covers not just one type of bacteria, but the bacteria has many, many strains. However, there are three strands, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces that can help humans with a variety of things like allergies, weight loss, mood disorders, etc., and each strand contains a variety of strains.
We’ve detailed which strains will help to boost your health in specific areas, with a brief discussion on which product is safe and reliable:
Weight loss
When you are reading the ingredients on the back of supplement bottles that promise to help you shed weight, you may want to keep an eye out for these strains of probiotics (and more, but we will focus on these three):
Lactobacillus casei benefits numerous areas of your body (like it may help you to heal faster from pneumococcal pneumonia), and one study discovered that LcS (Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota) could contribute to weight loss, “The results of the present study show that LcS supplementation improves body weight management and the levels of some related biomarkers.”
Another group of researchers from Quebec, Canada, analysed if L. rhamnosus could perpetuate weight loss, and the results were outstanding! The study looked at 125 overweight men and women, and interestingly enough, the women who consumed L. rhamnosus lost double the weight than those who did not ingest probiotics. The men saw no change in their weight.
Several sources claim that Bifidobacterium breve can contribute to weight loss in humans. A group of mice (on a diet a high in fat) took a dose of Bifidobacterium breve B-3 throughout eight weeks, which “suppressed the accumulation of body weight”.
Several probiotic strains may improve your chances of shedding extra pounds, but if you are unsure of which combination is the best, you may want to consider checking out Lifestream Advanced Probiotic Metabolise 60 Capsules! This clinically tested and researched product contains seven weight-loss boosting probiotic strains. Together, these strains, work to balance your sugar levels, which helps to regulate your metabolism. And these capsules convert the sugars entering your liver into energy instead of fat!
Here are the seven strains of probiotics used in these capsules:
Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
However, if you research beforehand, you may find that some sources declare that Lactobacillus acidophilus promotes weight gain rather than loss, but this strain works to produce lactase, which helps your body to break down lactose. Consuming L.acidophilus can also regulate your stool. It is essential to keep in mind that Lifestream Advanced Probiotic underwent clinical tests!
Mood
It is important to allow your gut to send clear messages that help to promote your overall well-being to your brain because if your gut is healthy, your mind may feel lighter and happier. Since your stomach can influence your mood, you may want to consider consuming supplements that improve your emotional wellbeing!
There are several strands of probiotics that can assist with the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut, and in turn, can improve your gut-mind axis:
One study analysed how Bifidobacterium longum paired with Lactobacillus heleveticus helped to reduce symptoms of anxiety that came with gastrointestinal distress. The researchers claim that “L. helveticus R0052 and B. longum R0175 taken in combination display anxiolytic-like activity in rats and beneficial psychological effects in healthy human volunteers.”
If you want to improve your mood as well as your immune system, you may want to check out Lifestream Advanced Probiotics Mood + Immune 60 Capsules. This product was made with the two-way highway between your gut and brain in mind! When you are stressed, your stomach can take on symptoms like changes in your bowels and your immune system may lower its defences. However, with a normal mind-gut axis, your mood can heighten, stress can alleviate, which, may help to fend off pending sicknesses or uncomfortable pains and changes in your microbiome.
Lifestream Mood + Immune contains a blend of four probiotic strains:
Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus heleveticus, and Bifidobacterium longum.
Digestion
Are your bowel movements irregular? Do you often experience pain in your gut? Your microbiome may lack ‘good’ bacteria!
Lactobacillus bulgaricus works to smoothen your digestion, and it may even lessen your need for laxatives!
Scientists claim that Lactobacillus plantarum can withstand challenging environments, and they may even survive through doses of antibiotics. This probiotic strain reportedly benefits those with IBS, Crohn’s, and ulcerative colitis.
It may be hard to distinguish which products are safe and worth your money, but you can ease your worries with Lifestream Biopsyllium+ Digestive Enzymes 200g Powder. This powder not only contains four strains of probiotics - Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus - but the digestive formula also includes fibre, prebiotics, and natural digestive enzymes. The digestive enzymes within this formula are “Protease, Betaine HCl, Ginger Root, Papain, Peppermint Leaf, Fennel Seed and Bromelain”, and all work to break down the food you’ve consumed. If you suffer from inconsistent bowel movements and poor bowel health, then this product may be good for you!
When you are searching the shelves for the perfect probiotic supplement, it is so important to understand which formula is best for whichever issue you are hoping to mend; when you purchase probiotic supplements from Lifestream, you can feel assured that the capsules or powders contain a wide range of clinically tested benefits!