Do You Take Probiotics Regularly?

By Dr. Mercola

Your intestinal bacteria are part of your immune system and researchers have discovered that microbes of all kinds play instrumental roles in countless areas of your health. Beneficial bacteria also control the growth of disease-causing bacteria by competing for nutrition and attachment sites in your colon.

This is of immense importance, as pathogenic bacteria and other less beneficial microbes can wreak havoc with your health if they gain the upper hand. It can also affect your weight. Moreover, your gut microbiome — which contains 100 times as many genes as your body’s total genome — is involved in important chemical reactions that your gut enzymes cannot perform, including fermentation and sulfate reduction.

Importantly, your gut microbiome helps generate new compounds (bacterial metabolites) that can have either a beneficial or detrimental impact on your health. Among the most recent research published are studies showing beneficial gut bacteria, also known as probiotics, benefit your liver function and help lower blood pressure.

Probiotics Influence Liver Function

While a lot of research has focused on the influence gut bacteria have on your gastrointestinal health, recent research presented at the 2018 Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego reveals probiotics also impact your liver function. This study focused primarily on a probiotic called lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), which is found in many commercial probiotic supplements.

Mice were first given food with added LGG for two weeks, and were then given a toxic dose of acetaminophen, known to cause serious liver damage by increasing oxidative stress. Interestingly, the animals pretreated with LGG had far less liver damage than untreated mice when given an acetaminophen overdose.

According to lead author Bejan Saeedi, doctoral candidate at Emory University,¹ “Administration of the probiotic LGG to mice improves the antioxidant response of the liver, protecting it from oxidative damage produced by drugs such as acetaminophen.” Earlier animal studies have also shown LGG helps protect against alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the latter of which is primarily driven by diets high in sugar and processed foods.

Earlier research by the same team reveals the mechanism behind this finding. It appears LGG protects the liver against oxidative damage by activating Nrf2, a biological hormetic that upregulates superoxide dismutase, catalase and other intercellular antioxidants. Nrf2 not only lowers inflammation, but also improves mitochondrial function and stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis. Aside from consuming LGG-containing probiotics, Nrf2 can also be activated by:

• Consuming Nrf2-boosting food compounds such as sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables, foods high in phenolic antioxidants, the long-chained omega-3 fats DHA and EPA, carotenoids (especially lycopene), sulfur compounds from allium vegetables, isothiocyanates from the cabbage group and terpenoid-rich foods
• Performing high-intensity exercises that activate the nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathway, such as the NO dump exercise
• Multiday water fasting and intermittent fasting
• Molecular hydrogen
• CBD oil

Probiotics Help Normalize Blood Pressure

Other recent findings suggest regularly consuming probiotics can help relieve hypertension (high blood pressure). One previous analysis² of nine studies that scrutinized associations between probiotics and blood pressure found that people who consume probiotics on a regular basis (in the form of yogurt, kefir or supplements, for example) tended to have lower blood pressure than those who did not consume probiotics.

On average, their systolic blood pressure (the top number in a reading) was 3.6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) lower and their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) was 2.4 mm Hg lower. The most significant benefit appeared to be among those whose blood pressure was higher than 130/85, and probiotics that contained a variety of bacteria lowered blood pressure to a greater degree than those containing just one type of bacteria.

Another animal study³ published last year found the probiotic lactobacillus marinus effectively prevents salt-sensitive hypertension by modulating TH17 cells. (Other research has found high salt intake inhibits lactobacillus marinus, thereby contributing to hypertension.) According to the authors:

“In line with these findings, a moderate high-salt challenge in a pilot study in humans reduced intestinal survival of lactobacillus spp., increased TH17 cells and increased blood pressure. Our results connect high salt intake to the gut–immune axis and highlight the gut microbiome as a potential therapeutic target to counteract salt-sensitive conditions.”

Blood Pressure Effects of Kefir Assessed

Findings presented at the 2018 Experimental Biology conference found similar effects on blood pressure using kefir, specifically. Here, rats were divided into three groups. The first group, consisting of hypertensive rats, received kefir on a regular basis for nine weeks. The second group, which was also hypertensive, did not receive kefir. The third control group had normal blood pressure and were given regular chow.

After nine weeks, blood and stool samples were analyzed to evaluate changes to the animals’ microbiome. Blood pressure was also measured, and neural changes in the hypothalamus, which plays a role in the regulation of blood pressure, were analyzed. Compared to groups two and three, the treatment group that received kefir had:

• Lower blood pressure
• Improved balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut
• Improved intestinal structure with decreased intestinal permeability
• Lower levels of endotoxins (byproducts of bacterial disintegration that contribute to inflammation)
• Lower levels of inflammation in the central nervous system

According to the authors, “Our data suggests that kefir antihypertensive-associated mechanisms involve gut microbiota-brain axis communication during hypertension.” In other words, signals sent from the gut to the brain influence blood pressure, and by improving the gut microbiome, blood pressure was normalized naturally.

Probiotics Impact Your Health in Numerous Ways

In recent years, mounting research shows your gut microbiome has a truly profound influence on your health and well-being. Aside from improving liver function and lowering blood pressure, beneficial bacteria have been shown to:

Get Into the Habit of Eating Fermented Foods Every Day

For all of these reasons, and more, I recommend a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods along with cultured or fermented foods. A high-quality probiotic supplement can also be a helpful ally to restore healthful balance to your microbiota — especially when taking antibiotics. Keep in mind, however, that there’s a great difference between traditionally fermented foods and commercially processed and pasteurized foods to which probiotics are simply added.²¹

The latter is not nearly as effective or beneficial as the former. Fortunately, preparing your own fermented foods at home is quite easy, and very cost effective. For instructions, see my previous interview with Caroline Barringer,²² a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and an expert in the preparation of the gut-nourishing foods prescribed in Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Nutritional Program.

As a general guideline, eat about a quarter-cup to half-cup (2 to 4 ounces) of fermented vegetables or other cultured food, such as raw yogurt or kefir, with one to three meals per day. Regularity is important if you’re looking for health benefits. As noted in the meta-analysis²³ mentioned earlier, which found probiotics reduce blood pressure, this really is the key.

Those who consumed probiotics for less than two months didn’t show any positive impact in their blood pressure readings, and the evidence clearly suggested that regular consumption can make or break the success of probiotics for easing hypertension.

Bear in mind that since cultured foods are efficient detoxifiers, you may experience detox symptoms if you introduce too many at once. So, start with very small servings — as little as a teaspoon of fermented vegetables, for example, or even just a spoon or two of the juice — and slowly work your way up. This way your intestinal microbiota has the chance to adjust.

Five Strategies to Improve Your Gut Health

Aside from eating fermented or cultured foods and taking a high-quality probiotic supplement if needed, a number of other factors will also have a bearing on the composition of your gut microbiome. Below are six suggestions for how you might support and nourish the beneficial microbes in your gut:

Sources and References

• ¹ Eurekalert April 22, 2018
• ^2, 23 Hypertension. 2014 Oct;64(4):897-903. Nature November 2017; 551: 585-589
• ³ Nature November 2017; 551: 585-589
• ⁴ Journal of Clinical Periodontology DOI: 10.1111/jcpe.12155
• ⁵ Mol Cell. 2016 Dec 1;64(5):982-992.
• ⁶ ScienceDaily November 23, 2016
• ⁷ Neurogastroenterology and Motility March 2011; 23(3): 255-64
• ⁸ Wellnessresources.com January 4, 2014
• ⁹ The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism April 2013; 98(4):E698-702.
• ¹⁰ Medical News Today January 20, 2017
• ¹¹ PLOS ONE February 5, 2010; 5(2): e9085
• ¹² Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience, January 10, 2017
• ¹³ Medical News Today January 27, 2017
• ¹⁴ AICR.org, Factors Determining the Apoptotic Response of Colorectal Carcinoma Cells to Butyrate, a Fermentation Product Derived from Dietary Fiber
• ¹⁵ AICR.org, Fermented Foods: Intake and Implications for Cancer Risk, November 7-8, 2013 (PDF)
• ¹⁶ Nature June 4, 2014
• ¹⁷ Cell February 25, 2016: 164(5); 859-871
• ¹⁸ Washington Post February 19, 2016
• ¹⁹ British Journal of Sports Medicine 2010 Mar;44(4):222-6
• ²⁰ Frontiers in Immunology 2015; 6: 62
• ²¹ Mercola.com, Nancy Lee Bentley, The incredible health benefits to you of traditionally fermented foods, January 3, 2004
• ²² Mercola.com, How to Easily and Inexpensively Ferment Your Own Vegetables
• ²⁴ Nature 2012 Aug 30;488(7413):621-6
• ²⁵ ISME Journal 2012 Aug;6(8):1469-79

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