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How Can Probiotics Help in Weight Loss?

How Can Probiotics Help in Weight Loss?

One of the leading health issues in society today is the growing number of obese people and obesity rates. I remember when I had my pre-employment medical examination, the doctor was so prejudiced and biased that simply because I weighed 115 kgs, he did not provide me any clearance and wanted me to seek and consult a second opinion from an endocrinologist as he said that I might be overweight due to a problem with my thyroid glands or something.

What he did not know, which I did not anymore tell him since I did not have a face-to-face with him when he released my medical results was, I already lost weight with my current weight during the medical examination. How? I had taken Provita Probiotics.

So, what are probiotics?

To put it simply, probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are really good for us. They’re especially good for our digestive system.

A lot of people refer to probiotics as “good bacteria” because they are really great for keeping our gut healthy.

There are a lot of probiotics – each with their own benefits – but there are two main groups that are super important to understand.

The first group of this healthy bacteria is called lactobacillus. This is found in a ton of foods that you probably already eat, like yogurt!

The second main type of probiotic is bifidobacterium. It can be found in particular dairy products, so it’s another common healthy kind of bacteria.

Probiotics work by replacing good bacteria that we may lose in our bodies, as well as helping to balance the good and bad gut bacteria. Sounds pretty simple, right?

I know what you’re wondering – okay, so probiotics are supposedly good for me. But, what exactly do they do?

Probiotics do a lot to help out our bodies. They’re particularly useful for helping to send food through our guts. They do this by affecting the nerves that control the movement of the gut.

Probiotics have been shown to treat so many conditions as well! If you have irritable bowel syndrome or diarrhea, getting more probiotics into your body could work wonders!

There’s even research that suggests that probiotics help with issues such as eczema, oral health, and vaginal health. It improves digestive health and heart health, too!

I didn’t list all of the ways that probiotics help our bodies – that would take up this entire article! However, it’s clear – probiotics are good for us!

Why Probiotics?

If we look into our digestive system, it is composed of several microorganisms which can be simply classified into good and bad bacteria.

To understand the affects of probiotics on weight loss you need to start with an understanding of the key players.

There are two first families of bacteria in the gut: The good Bacteroidetes and the not-so-good Firmicutes. “Lean individuals have a higher proportion of bacteria from the Bacteriodetes family, while obese individuals have more from the Firmicutes family,” Dr. Bulsiewicz explains. “This means that obese individuals carry gut microbes that are designed to efficiently extract the bad parts of our food, namely from fat and sugar, and the implication is that by modulating our gut flora to maximize Bacteroidetes and minimize Firmicutes, we can optimize healthy energy harvesting from our food and kick our obesity problem to the curb.” Put another way: “If we choose the right blend of bacteria, the scale can tip in our favor,” he says.

Provita, as a probiotic supplement is composed of several components that all aid in improving our digestive system and reduce fat in our body, especially belly fat. These components include:

Bifidobacterium Lactis

These help to take the nutrients we ingest in food into our body. It also helps in preventing the increase of bad bacteria.

In a study conducted in 2015 showed that a fermented milk containing B. lactis may improve gastrointestinal symptoms and well-being, and it was suspected that this was true because of changes it created in gut motility, hypersensitivity, and even leaky gut.

Another study demonstrated that when people took a particular strain of B. lactis, called BB-12, in conjunction with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, they had decreased amounts of dental plaque and reduced inflammation in the mouth, which has led us to an increased understanding of how oral health is tied to gut health and why having a healthy oral microbiome is important.

One recent article suggested that disruption of the gut microbiome in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) extends to the oral cavity and that looking at the oral microbiome could be helpful in evaluating ASD status.

This is just one example of how oral health is tied to gut health and overall health, as well.

Another fascinating study demonstrated that B. lactis reduced fat mass and glucose intolerance in mice with diabetes and obesity.

It was felt that reduced levels of the pro-inflammatory substance called lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from bacteria that is associated with leaky gut was one of the mechanisms by which this occurred.

We already know that an imbalance of bacteria in the gut can be associated with a variety of different conditions and diseases, so this is a great example of how a good guy can be added to the ecosystem and help tip the balance in favor of health, rather than disease.

In this case, this probiotic helped improve blood sugar balance and weight.

A particular strain of B. lactis, known as HN019, has been shown to have a significant impact on those with metabolic syndrome. This probiotic had beneficial effects on inflammation, nitric oxide metabolites, and antioxidant measurements, and the authors of the study stated that if their results are confirmed, supplementation with this probiotic should be considered further.

It’s fascinating how adding a particular probiotic strain to your lifestyle routine can create such improvement in one’s health.

It goes to show you how even a slight imbalance between the good bugs and bad bugs in your gut can cause and contribute to so many different medical conditions and symptoms.

Here are some foods that have this kind of probiotic:

1)   Kimchi: Studies have shown that there are a lot of benefits from the lactobacillus that is inside kimchi, which is a Korean fermented vegetable.

2)    Sauerkraut: This can help regulate gut health because of the lactobacillus that is found inside. Sauerkraut also contains other strains of probiotics as an added bonus!

3)    Fermented vegetables: Fermented foods can have live healthy bacteria that are great for our guts. One example of this is fermented vegetables, which happen to contain plenty of lactobacillus!

4)    Yogurt: Not all yogurt contains lactobacillus. Check the label before buying to see which brands have this probiotic, but just for starters, here are some that do: Chobani, Yoplait, Fage Greek Yogurt, and Voskos Greek Yogurt.

Bifidobacterium Bifidum

These lower cholesterol levels of the body. Although there are not as much research done on such strain of probiotics, certain researches revealed that B. bifidum shows promise in treating the following conditions: infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), restoration of intestinal bacteria after chemotherapy, constipation, lung infections, ulcerative colitis, certain kinds of diarrhea, necrotizing enterocolitis, a type of infection in the intestinal lining caused by harmful bacteria, and pouchitis, a complication of surgery for ulcerative colitis

Here are some specific foods that contain this probiotic (some foods contain both strands):

1)   High-fiber foods: Foods like apples, blueberries, and almonds are all rich in fiber. Because Bifidobacterium helps our body to digest fiber, increasing our fiber intake can help our bodies naturally allow this kind of bacteria that’s already in our gut to thrive.

2)   Fermented foods: Sound familiar? Eating fermented vegetables is a great way to get this kind of probiotic. You can also eat fermented yogurt – the added benefit of this is that these contain both kinds of probiotics we are talking about!

3)   Whole grains: Oats and barley, just to give you a couple of examples, can help to increase bifidobacteria. They’re really good for your gut health in general as well.

4)   Polyphenols: These are plant compounds, and they are broken down in the gut by bacteria when we eat them. Cocoa, green tea, and wine help to increase bifidobacteria!

These are just the first two components found in Provita Probiotics.

We have not further gone into the other components as this may come up to be a very long note. We would just like to educate people on the powerful effects of Provita Probiotics, being a probiotic supplement that has 16 strains or types of probiotics in the market that all provide us with the needed benefit of improving our gut or digestive system and promoting weightloss.

Further studies by health and medical practitioners reveal that Probiotics have the following effects:

Increased Fat Elimination

For some dieters, removing consumed fat from the body before it has a chance to do damage would be a great help.

Probiotics may increase the amount of dietary fat that is released by the body through feces, according to the results of a study published in Lipds in Health and Disease by Japanese researchers.

Fat consumed by the subjects was not as easily digested for use or for storage by the body in those who were given certain probiotics, resulting in the excess consumed fat being eliminated by the body through the digestive tract.

As the fat was being emulsified through normal bodily processes, fat droplets were found to be larger in those who were given the specific probiotics.

While the mechanism of action is unknown at this time, perhaps the larger droplets of fat are not able to be used as easily by the body, allowing them to be released as waste.

Diminished Appetite

Those who have a hard time losing those extra pounds because they feel hungry all of the time might want to think about using probiotics for weight loss.

It seems that certain probiotics may actually influence how satisfied you feel by regulating the way your body reacts to a hormone called leptin.

Leptin is produced by fat cells to let the brain know that there is enough stored away for energy.

The brain can then signal the body to reduce the appetite. However, those who are obese may develop what is known as leptin resistance, where the brain can no longer properly identify those signals when leptin levels get way too high.

Research in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that probiotic supplementation helped leptin signals to reach the brain, allowing subjects to feel more satisfied after eating. In turn, this can help individuals to eat fewer calories to better help with weight loss.

Decreased Fat Storage

While certain probiotics have been shown to move some of the extra fat that is consumed out of the body before it can cause problems, it appears that probiotics may help to reduce the amount of additional fat that is stored in the body.

The reduction of increased fat stored occurred even with excess food intake.

Research by Osterberg, et al, published in the journal Obesity showed that those who were given a certain probiotic gained less weight while eating too many calories compared to those who were given a placebo.

Another study shows how the good bacteria of the gut may affect this. Aronsson, et al, in a study published in PloS One, found that a certain protein can help to prevent the accumulation of fat within adipose tissue.

This protein is increased with a proper balance of the microbiome in the gut, effectively reducing how much consumed fat gets stored for later use.

While these studies did not necessarily show the benefits of probiotics for weight loss, it showed that the use of probiotics can help with weight management by reducing the amount of extra calories that are stored as fat.

Reduced Body Fat

Another way that probiotics have been shown as useful in regards to body weight is in their ability to reduce the amount of fat that is currently being stored by the body.

This process actually begins in the gut, according to research by Omar, et al, that is published in the Journal of Functional Foods.

By increasing the number of specific good bacteria in the intestines through the use of supplementation of probiotics, researchers were able to induce a change in body composition in the subjects.

The probiotics changed the way the body utilized food for energy, allowing for an increase in the use of existing fat stores for fuel.

Individuals noted a decrease in body fat, specifically around the organs. The probiotics given in the study helped subjects to enjoy more weight loss, a healthier BMI, and loss of belly fat.

Enhanced Metabolism

By equalizing the levels of beneficial bacteria that are found in the digestive tract, probiotics can help the body to function more effectively.

The same study that showed probiotics may reduce the amount of fat that is already stored in the body draws interest in the ability of these same probiotics to increase metabolism.

A health metabolism continues to use calories, even when you are not exercising.

Fat is a little more difficult for the body to digest, so many dieters find that they lose muscle over fat stores when eating a calorie-restricted diet.

Because probiotics may change how the body utilizes macronutrients for fuel, these beneficial bacteria can help the body to burn fat for fuel rather than the protein stored in muscle.

Those who take probiotics with their healthy diet and exercise program may enjoy a higher calorie burn even during inactive periods.

So how do probiotics help? Well, personally, my first month of use has allowed me to lose 15 kgs coming from a weight of 125 kgs to now 110 kgs and it does not stop there. I noticed that I don’t get constipated, my bowel movement became regular and I get the feeling of being content with my food intake faster compared to before.

How to take probiotics for maximum effect

Here is some helpful advice on how to take your probiotics so that you can really make them thrive:

1)   Eat on an empty stomach: When we are hungry or haven’t eaten, our stomach acid levels are lower. Eating food that is high in probiotics on an empty stomach will allow for the most digestion possible! This means that less will be lost in the process.

2)   Eat prebiotic fiber: Prebiotic fiber allows probiotics to really do their thing effectively. Some prebiotic fibers that you can eat include garlic, leeks, onions, and jicama.

3)   Find foods that have multiple bacteria: There are tons of food available now that contain multiple strains of healthy bacteria for your gut. Look for these when looking into different kinds of probiotics.

4)   Don’t drink chlorinated water or use it for cooking: This sounds like a given, but you never know! Did you know that chlorine can be added to water in order to kill bacteria? This is bad because if it’s killing bacteria, it could be killing the bacteria in your probiotic as well!

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Tony Muchangi



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