13 Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics

Probiotics health benefits includes supporting digestion, preventing and treating diarrhea, supporting oral health, improving a few mental health conditions, guaranteeing a healthy heart, relieving allergies and eczema, boosting immunity, taking care of belly fat, supporting vaginal health, treating irritable bowl syndrome, reducing blood pressure levels, preventing cancer, and alleviating respiratory disorder.

Probiotic is a Latin that means life-promoting. Here, probiotics refer to helpful or the ‘good’ bacteria. They have tremendous benefits on our overall health, and are particularly useful for supporting digestive health.

It is important to note that all probiotics are not the same. Some strains of bacteria serve differently from others to offer a wide range of benefits.

Nutritional Value of Probiotic

A regular probiotics supplement has the following nutritional value:

Serving Size: 1 Packet (3.3 g)    Servings Per Container: 7

Here is the nutritional value per serving:

Calories: 8	Carbohydrates: 2 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g	Soluble Fiber: 2 g
Proprietary Probiotic Blend 200 billion CFU1000 mg	Bifidobacterium bifidum: 84.5 billion
Lactococcus lactis: 32.5 billion	Lactobacillus acidophilus: 30 billion
Lactobacillus rhamnosus: 20 billion	Bifidobacterium longum: 10 billion
Lactobacillus casei: 10 billion	Lactobacillus brevis: 7.5 billion
Lactobacillus plantarum: 4 billion	Lactobacillus salivarius: 1 billion
Lactobacillus bulgaricus: 500 million

How to Consume Probiotics?

Research shows that live probiotic cultures are observed in fermented dairy products including milk drinks and yogurts. Moreover, fermented foods such as kefir, pickle, kimchi, miso and sauerkraut and soy products also have amounts of lactic acid bacteria.

Recommended dosages of used dosages of 1 billion to 100 billion live organisms or colony-forming units (CFU) per day. You can get probiotics from a variety of foods or supplements.

Probiotics are also consumed in supplement form. They are available in powdered form but popularly used as capsules. Different brands contain anywhere from one to 10 billion colony-forming units. It is recommended that you need to use a probiotic with one to two million CFU’s to maintain healthy digestion.

13 Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics

1. Good for Digestion

One of the most popular reasons why probiotics are recommended is because they are incredibly beneficial for digestion. Probiotics restore the natural balance of gut bacteria. Hence, they are beneficial in case there is an imbalance of bacteria.

When we say imbalance, we mean that there is just not enough good bacteria to keep our gut healthy. The presence of bad bacteria leads to several diseases and digestive disorders, which may require the use of antibiotics.

These conditions may further lead to complications such as obesity, mental health issues and allergies.

Having probiotics in natural or supplement form ensures good digestion.

2. Prevention and Treatment of Diarrhea

Another benefit of including probiotics in your diet is that you can prevent the onset of diarrhea or reduce its intensity. If you are suffering from a bad stomach due to antibiotics; probiotics serve as a natural remedy to take care of your upset tummy.

Strains such as Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus as well as the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii are helpful in reducing the risk of diarrhea.

3. Oral Health

Bacteria not just affect our digestion. They also contribute a major role in maintaining good oral health. This is why there are dozens of probiotic gums and lozenges available in the market to reduce the occurrence of many periodontal diseases.

Having probiotics ensures you prevent many types of mouth and throat infections that lead to other painful symptoms. If you constantly suffer from a bad breath; a dosage of probiotics may be just what you need to cure it naturally.

However, this will only work if you practice regular brushing and flossing.

4. Improves a few Mental Health Conditions

Research has successfully established a connection between gut health and our mental health. Studies that involved both humans and animals have proved that consuming probiotic supplements relieves mental disorders.

The participants in a study demonstrated positive results when they consumed probiotic supplements for 8 weeks and showed decreased depression levels.

5. Guarantees a Healthy Heart

Probiotics also play a crucial role in lowering bad cholesterol. People who consume yogurt and other sources of probiotics report lowered LDL levels. Since a few lactic acid producing bacteria reduce cholesterol by breaking down bile in the gut, they prevent it from being reabsorbed again in the gut. This prevents the bile from entering into the bloodstream as cholesterol.

6. Relieves Allergies and Eczema

There are some probiotics that relieve severe symptoms of eczema in infants and young children. This is why they are popularly recommended as a natural remedy to treat many different types of skin diseases.

According to a study, when infants were fed probiotic-supplemented milk, they showed improved results and reduced eczema symptoms than children who were fed milk without probiotics.

7. Boosts Immunity

One of the most incredible benefits of consuming probiotics is that they boost the immunity and prevent the growth of any harmful gut bacteria. This is why it has great effects on building a good immunity system.

Moreover, a few types of probiotics are known to promote the manufacturing of natural antibodies in the body. This helps to boost immune cells including natural killer cells, the Iga-producing cells as well as T lymphocytes.

8. Takes Care of Belly Fat

People who have trouble losing weight can greatly benefit from probiotics. They are not only helpful in maintaining good digestion; a few probiotics also prevent dietary fat to get absorbed in the intestine.

This fat is then flushed out of our system instead of piling up in the body.

In addition to that, probiotics help you to feel fuller for a long time. This means you can eat less and store less fat. This speeds up your weight loss journey.

But make sure you are aware of different kinds of probiotics and their effects on weight loss. Since a few types of probiotics such as Lactobacillus acidophilus lead to weight gain; it is crucial to known what you should use for weight loss.

9. Good for Vaginal Health

Doctors recommend that vaginal and oral administration of Lactobacilli help in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. There is still some evidence required to recommend it over other medical approaches. However, women who consume probiotics report improved vaginal health and are also likely to encounter fewer pregnancy-related complications resulting due to bacterial vaginosis.

10. Treats Irritable Bowl Syndrome

Apart from helping digestion, probiotics are also helpful in preventing diarrhea caused by antibiotics or infections. They are also helpful in relieving symptoms of many types of stomach disorders, particularly the Irritable Bowl Syndrome. However, not all probiotics may have the same results on relieving this condition.

11. Reduces Blood Pressure Levels

One of the most amazing benefits of probiotics is that they are immensely helpful in reducing elevated blood pressure levels. Research reveals that people who fail to maintain healthy blood pressure levels can benefit from probiotics to treat hypertension.

12. Prevents Cancer

Probiotics also hold great potential for preventing colorectal cancers. However, more research is required to establish a clear link between the use of probiotics and cancer prevention.

13. Alleviates Respiratory Disorders

There are many trials and studies to confirm that consuming probiotic enriched milk or supplements can lead to an improved respiratory health. If you regularly consume probiotics you are less likely to encounter flu and cold attacks.

Conclusion

Our body is full of all types of bacteria. These may be both good and bad. Since probiotics are categorized as the ‘helpful’ or good bacteria; they are great for maintaining a germ-free gut. In addition to that, probiotics have remarkable benefits to improve our immunity and also have a notable effect on our mental health.