Are You Wasting Your Money on Probiotics?

Each individual is provided with a unique gut microbiota profile that plays many specific functions in host nutrient metabolism, maintenance of structural integrity of the gut mucosal barrier, immunomodulation, and protection against pathogens. 

Each human’s gut microbiota are shaped in early life as their composition depends on infant transitions (mum’s microbiota, birth gestational date, type of delivery, methods of milk feeding, weaning period) and external factors such as antibiotic use. These personal and healthy core native microbiota remain relatively stable in adulthood but differ between individuals due to enterotypes, body mass index (BMI) level, exercise frequency, lifestyle, and cultural and dietary habits. 

This is why I don’t believe that there is “one” unique optimal gut microbiota composition since it is different for each individual. However, a healthy host–microorganism balance must be respected in order to optimally perform metabolic and immune functions and prevent disease development.

If you have taken antibiotics, experienced illness post O/S travel, strayed heavily from your optimal diet for too long, indulged in alcohol a few too many times without a break, undergone surgery, experience chronic and unrelenting stress (internal or external) then a prescribed tailored probiotic could be super advantageous for you.  Quality probiotics don’t come cheap and you’ll likely need to take them for some time, perhaps years, whilst working on all your lifestyle factors that equated to health.  

When in comes to sweets - overindulging can really mess with your. Body.  In a world of business, eating too much sugar provides yet another stress for the body to deal with and boosts your chances of succumbing to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression and the list goes on.  The trillions of bacteria that inhabit your gut might also be taking a considerable hit from your sweet tooth.  There’s research to support the hypothesis that sugar can directly deter beneficial beneficial microbes from gaining a foothold in the guts of mice.  Though the results still await confirmation in humans.  One recent 2018 report published in the Journal PNAS, (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813780115). demonstrates the hefty doses of fructose and glucose - the building blocks of sucrose or table sugar (remembering that coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, rice malt syrup have either of these base sugar molecules also) - impede the production of proteins that foster the growth of a bacterial species often found in lean, healthy people.  

I prefer to see sugar as primarily a “signal” rather than just a nutrient.  And that signal may be prompting some of the most important microbes in the gut to slowly abandon your body.  

Back to the probiotics - they cannot help a sinking ship if the ship keeps taking in more water than it can cope with.  If you are still indulging in too many sweet treats you are wasting your money on probiotics.  Perhaps that is a motivator in itself for you to quell your sugar demon.  

The good news … many years back, I found “Monk Fruit”.  It has been a great friend ever since!  Pubmed espouses this potent antioxidant for it’s ability to increase bifidobacteria in healthy people, alongside it’s capacity to bring constipation relief, anti-aging, cardiovascular and anti-carcinogenic benefits, immunity modulation, allergy relief and fat loss.  

The cautionary tale … like other sweeteners, monk fruit is super sweet and I am on a mission to tend our palates back towards an acute sensory awareness of sugary and counterfeit sweet tastes.  The intention is that this will enhance our ability to enjoy only small amounts of naturally sweet foods and our tastes’ will remain open to the bitter and Unami sensations that benefit our health.  So, when subbing in Monk Fruit for your usual sweetener - just remember that you only need to use a tiny amount because it tastes so much sweeter than sugar.