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Yogurt Is Not Enough! Ten Steps For Rebalancing Your Gut Bacteria
10/19/2016 1:09:10 PM

Probiotics are all the rage these days. For good reason: Not only can a balanced microbiome promote fat loss, it can boost mood, reduce disease risk, and improve absorption of proteins and phytonutrients for better overall nutritional status. 

Much of the buzz around probiotics centers around the belief that all you need to do is eat yogurt regularly and you’ve got your microbiome taken care of.  Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. 
 
Although the fermented foods including yogurt, kim chi, miso, sourdough bread, and sauerkraut all contain active live cultures, the bacteria used for fermentation doesn’t necessarily have any health benefit. Instead, the bacteria are chosen expressly for the purpose of fermenting foods, not for any purported health benefits like helping make your belly slim or your brain work better!
 
Another concern is whether the live active cultures that enable the fermentation process are able to survive the cooking (sourdough or miso) or processing (kim chi or yogurt). High temperatures, time, and other factors such as the use of additives all have the potential to kill off healthy bacteria before you even eat them. 
 
What about the fact that certain studies have shown eating probiotic foods can improve health? 
 
It’s true that fermented foods are linked with significant health benefits in randomized trials, however, these foods tend to have specific bacterial strains added to them after the products are made. For example, a 2010 study found that when overweight subjects were given 7 oz. of fermented milk containing additional live bacteria every day for 12 weeks, they decreased belly fat by 4.6 percent and reduced body weight by 1.1 kg. A control group experienced no changes (1). 
 
Researchers identify the following key points to success in this trial:
1) A specific bacterial strain was used that survived digestion and reached the GI tract, 
 
2) The bacterial strain had a positive impact on the colony of bacteria living in the gut, and
 
3) The bacteria positively affected energy balance and inflammatory status for a measurable reduction in body fat. 
 
The bottom line is that although fermented foods can provide benefits to the overall microbiome, they shouldn’t be your only line of defense. A number of factors in our modern day lifestyles make it difficult for most people to maintain a healthy microbial environment through diet alone. 
 
C-Section & Microbiome
A classic example is with the increased use of C-sections for childbirth. The womb is a sterile environment, which means that the first time we encounter microbes is during natural childbirth. This birth exposure is what sets the tone for all the microbes that colonize a baby. 
 
If you are born through a C-section, you encounter a different set of microbes coming from the hospital environment. C-section babies appear to have decreased microbial diversity and a lower colonization of beneficial bacteria (2, 3). They may also have a reduced immune response to certain stimuli. 
 
American Diet & Microbiome
Another example is the modern American diet. It is high in processed fiber-less grains but hopelessly low in prebiotics, which are a type of indigestible fiber that feed the healthy bacteria in the gut. Prebiotics are present in specific high-fiber foods such as bananas, garlic, onions, potato starch, and oats. Without prebiotics, the beneficial bacteria in your GI tract have no food, won’t proliferate, and can more easily become overwhelmed by harmful bacteria.
 
Lifestyle Factors & Microbiome
Other lifestyle factors that affect your microbiome include overuse of antibacterial soaps, tap water with chlorine, alcohol consumption, antibiotics present in food, and bottle feeding of babies (about 10 percent of breast milk contains carbohydrates that the baby can’t digest at all and are specifically there to nourish the microbes in the baby’s gut),  
 
The takeaway is that unless you’re actively cultivating a healthy microbiome (tips to do so are listed below), you probably need to continually use a high-quality probiotic supplement for optimal health. Even so, it’s essential that you realize that although probiotics have some pretty darn powerful benefits, they aren’t a magic pill. As science writer Ed Yong explained on an NPR interview, “It is about engineering an entire ecosystem. It's as complicated as changing a coral reef or a grassland. It's about sculpting a world.”
 
What follows are ten of our best tips for shaping your body for optimal immunity, leanness, and health. 
 
#1: Eat Plenty of Vegetables & Fruit
Vegetables and fruit provide the prebiotic fiber that feeds your healthy microflora. They also contain phytonutrients that interact with the gut bacteria and have an anti-inflammatory effect. 
 
#2: Get Dirty
Avoiding bacteria made sense in the past after we first discovered that certain bacterial strains cause disease. But modern science has shown us that there are thousands of types of bacteria that are beneficial for health and can promote superior immunity and overall health. Anything that exposes you to dirt, whether it’s gardening or competing in a mud run, can help introduce healthy bacteria into your personal microbiome. 
 
#3: Exercise
Recent research shows that beyond burning calories, exercise actually encourages the growth of bacteria that is linked to leanness while suppressing other sorts that are associated with obesity (13). 
 
#4: Get A Dog
Dog owners have a more diverse microbiome than those who are pet free. Scientists believe that being around a dog regularly transmits healthy bacteria to your skin, which may help ward off virus and illness-causing bugs (4, 5). 
 
#5: Avoid NSAIDS 
NSAIDs restrict blood flow to the kidneys and damage the protective intestinal barrier, which has a negative effect on healthy bacteria. Two natural supplements that promote gut health and have an anti-inflammatory, pain killing effect are curcumin and boswellia (16). 
 
#6: Minimize Antibiotic Use
Antibiotics can save your life. They also wipe out all the good bacteria you’ve been cultivating. Unfortunately, doctors are overprescribing them or choosing broad-spectrum antibiotics because they require fewer daily doses. Before signing on to whatever your doctor prescribes, ask if there’s a medication that specifically targets your condition. This may mean more pill swallowing but fewer of your good bacteria will be killed off in the process. 
 
#7: Monitor Your Vitamin D
One more reason to ensure your vitamin D status is in the healthy range: It regulates your microbiome. A deficiency was found to cause digestive problems and an unhealthy gut in rodents (7). 
 
#8: Time Your Meals
Your gut bacteria are moderated by your circadian rhythm (6). In simple terms, this means they set their clock by when you eat, becoming more active in response to meals. When you eat at random times or get a midnight snack, your bacteria don’t make the switch. This leads to poor digestion and undernourished gut bugs, which may eventually lead them to die off. 
 
#9: Cope With Your Stress
Stress and anxiety can throw off your ratio of health-to-harmful gut bacteria (8). This change impairs immunity and can leave you experiencing digestive issues. Adopt a stress management plan that includes deep breathing, fun activities, and a healthy diet.
 
#10: Supplement With Probiotics
Your most powerful defense against harmful bacteria is a strong offense and that’s where probiotic supplementation comes in. 
 
In choosing a probiotic, you naturally want one that has research demonstrating its beneficial effects. For example, lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM has been shown to improve the microbial gut community (9), reduce bloating, and decrease the incidence of abdominal pain and GI disorders (10, 11). 
 
Next, you need to ensure your getting a top quality brand because many supplement companies choose the probiotic strains that are the easiest to manufacture and package, not because they are good at establishing themselves in the gut. Pick a brand that includes at least 1 billion count of live bacteria. Many people need to start with a higher dose in the 25 to 50 billion count range, but once the gut bacteria begin to shift, a lower dose can be used. 
 
Another key factor when choosing a probiotic is that the supplement you buy actually contains live microflora bacteria. Many products are only guaranteed at the time of manufacture, which means that the majority of bacteria may have died off by the time you get around to taking them. Instead, only buy probiotics that are guaranteed though the date of expiration.
 
Finally, you want a probiotic that is acid and bile resistant so that it will survive the digestion process and make it through to the intestine alive and kicking. A top quality product such as those sold in our Worldwide Poliquin Group Online Store are 99 percent acid and bile resistant and can be taken at any time of day, not just with meals. That said, we generally recommend taking your probiotics with meals so that you don’t forget. If you’re considering trying a probiotic for the first time, we sell three excellent formulas that are indicated in the following situations:
 
Proflora Excellence and Mega Proflora are the foundational probiotics. Proflora Excellence is designed to be taken continually, whereas Mega Proflora provides a powerhouse 100 billion colony forming units of bacteria per capsule and is great for jump starting GI health. It is recommended for people who have a compromised immune system and need immune support.  
 
Our third probiotic formula is Proflora Excellence SB and it contains the healthy yeast saccharomyces boulardii that is recommended during antibiotic use to reduce the incidence of diarrhea. It’s also useful any time you are exposed to E. coli, salmonella, candida, or other pathogenic bacteria. For example, use it when traveling to a foreign country where you come in contact with unfamiliar bacteria. 
 
Poliquin Group also has International Distribution*
 
Proflora Excellence (European Store)
 
* There may be some difference in formuals and product availability
References
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