Overview
Being obese or overweight can have a critical impact on your health. The health consequences can vary from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke to cancers like colon and breast cancers. Individuals with obesity or excessive weight tend to have a varied gut microbial population than normal-weight people. The good news is that probiotics possess the potential to help you shed some extra pounds.In this post, we’ll explore how can probiotics help you trim down
1. Probiotics Suppress the Dietary Fat Absorption
The dietary fat is the major contributor to our body and belly fat. Anything that inhibits dietary fat absorption will ease weight loss. Probiotics limit the absorption of dietary fat and simultaneously promote the elimination of fat via feces. The Lactobacillus strains primarily exert their anti-obesity effects through this mechanism. [1]2. Probiotics Replace Beneficial Gut Bacteria
An imbalance in the intestinal flora is another recognized cause of obesity. Probiotics promote weight loss by restoring the gut microbiome.3. Probiotics Reduce Inflammation
One of the dominant factors linked to weight gain and obesity is low-grade inflammation. [2] Since probiotics repair the leaky epithelial gut barriers, they prevent the pro- inflammatory stimuli from finding their way into the body. Moreover, they enhance the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) – which are anti-inflammatory products derived from the fermentation of fiber by the healthy gut bacteria. [3] The beneficial bacteria also decrease the expression of certain genes that drive inflammation. Hence, by acting at the molecular level, the probiotics slow down the low-grade inflammation and the consequent build up of body fat.4. Probiotics Stimulate the Release of Satiety Hormones
The less we eat, the less we expand. The probiotics-induced SCFA production plays a significant role in mediating their satiety effects. SCFAs promote secretion of a chief hormone that curbs appetite, called as GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1). [4]5. Probiotics Enhance Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that lowers the blood glucose levels. It acts on target organs to facilitate the entry of glucose into the cells. However, the body cells can sometimes become resistant to insulin, triggering a metabolic state, known as insulin resistance (IR). There is a strong causal relationship between IR and obesity. Probiotics reverse insulin resistance and subsequently can help you drop some pounds. [5]Summary
A healthy gut is a secret gateway to an effective weight loss. Experts now consider probiotics as a novel and promising approach for preventing and treating obesity.
Written by:
Dr. Rasheed Huma
References
- Kadooka Y, Sato M, Ogawa A et al. Effect of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 in fermented milk on abdominal adiposity in adults in a randomised controlled trial. The Brtitsh Journal of Nutrition. 2013;110(9):1696-703. doi: 10.1017/S0007114513001037.
- Monteiro R, Azevedo I. Chronic Inflammation in Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome. Mediators of Inflammation. 2010;2010:289645. doi:10.1155/2010/289645.
- Mekkes MC, Weenen TC, Brummer RJ et al. The development of probiotic treatment in obesity: a review. Beneficial Microbes. 2014;5(1):19-28. doi: 10.3920/BM2012.0069.
- Yadav H, Lee J-H, Lloyd J, Walter P, Rane SG. Beneficial Metabolic Effects of a Probiotic via Butyrate-induced GLP-1 Hormone Secretion. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2013;288(35):25088-25097. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.452516.
- Brown K, DeCoffe D, Molcan E, Gibson DL. Diet-Induced Dysbiosis of the Intestinal Microbiota and the Effects on Immunity and Disease. Nutrients. 2012;4(8):1095-1119. doi:10.3390/nu4081095.
