Healthy living
Medicines and supplements
Probiotics may help fight weight gain
Millions of people in the UK already take probiotics believing that they have a beneficial effect on health and can help boost the digestive system. Now a new study suggests that probiotics, which contain ‘friendly’ live bacteria, may help people keep their weight under control too
‘What we found is that probiotics seem to physically reduce fat absorption in the upper gut,’ says Professor Jeremy Nicholson, co-author of the study which appears in the journal Molecular Systems Biology. ‘It is too early to say for sure but in future we may be able to design probiotic treatments which improve health and control weight gain.’
Researchers at Imperial College London and Nestle Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland, looked at the way two different types of probiotics (lactobacillus paracasei and lactobacillus rhamnosus) affected human gut microbes transplanted in mice. They found that the probiotics had a whole range of biochemical effects on the microbes, which play an important part in someone’s metabolism.
Although the different probiotics had different effects, both the strains changed the way that microbes metabolised bile acids. These are chemicals produced in the liver which promote fat absorption in the gut.
Nicholson points out that no one yet knows exactly why this happens. ‘We're still trying to understand what the changes they bring about might mean, in terms of overall health, but we have established that introducing 'friendly' bacteria can change the dynamics of the whole population of microbes in the gut,’ he said.
The trillions of bacteria that exist naturally in the gut are essential for maintaining a healthy body. They are involved in an array of biological functions including helping with digestion and providing the first line of defence against the harmful bugs found in food. Thousands of different species of microbes exist in the gut and everybody has a slightly different combination.
Dairy products remain the most popular form of consumption of probiotics, but the are also found in pill form, dietary supplements and some juice and soya beverages.
Ursula Arens, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association says that people should not rush into taking probiotic products in order to lose inches from their waistlines. ‘Probiotics have been shown to be helpful for people with digestive complaints such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or for people who have recently taken antibiotics. However most people do not need probiotics on a day-to-day basis,’ says Ursula Arens. ‘If you have a stomach complaint by all means try a probiotic but it is premature to think of these products as maintaining overall health or helping in weight control.’
Useful articles
- The pros and cons of probiotics
- Foods engineered for health
- Dairy foods really are good for you
- Eating for optimum health
- Medical conditions factfinder: IBS
Useful website
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
