A couple of weeks ago, I finally made the decision to trial probiotics. To be honest, I’d always considered them to be a bit faddy and wasn’t really that interested until an article caught my eye claiming growing evidence that they can reduce the risk and duration of respiratory tract infections. I’ve suffered constantly with these since childhood and they obviously disrupt my running goals so over the last few weeks I’ve been using lockdown to do a ton of research, reading and YouTubing everything ‘probiotics’ before eventually whipping out my credit card and ordering 12 bottles of the stuff.
For me, almost all my health improvement goals are built around reducing my susceptibility to respiratory infections. There are a whole bunch of claims that probiotics strengthen the immune response. I have no idea if this is true-I can only try them and see.
I’m now 2 weeks into a 12 week supply and I’m told I’ll definitely notice a difference within this time… or not. I’ll share all my findings with you in the next couple of blogposts.
What are Probiotics?
The word microbe usually has negative associations but only a tiny fraction of the millions of species are harmful to you. Your gut actually contains a vast community of microbes which are crucial to your good health, breaking down food and toxins, making vitamins and supporting your immune system.
These microbes mostly live in your lower intestine (the colon) and outnumber all the other cells in your body put together. This mass of microbes is called the microbiota.
As I read more, I realised that the study of our gut health is a new and exciting field. The race is on to identify the key to optimum health; what types of microbes do we need in our gut and in what numbers? It appears that microbial diversity is key. A less diverse microbiota is often associated with poorer health and more allergies and diseases.
Lots of things can affect the types and amounts of these microbes including our stress levels, diet and recent illnesses.
Enter Probiotics. These are living microorganisms designed to be consumed by us in an attempt to restore the natural balance of bacteria in our gut.
How to Choose Which Probiotic to Take
When comparing probiotics, there are two items on the label that are crucial:
- the type of microbe strains it contains. Common ones to look for are are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus.
- the number of CFUs it contains. CFU stands for colony-forming unit, which simply refers to the number of live and active micro-organisms that can be found in each serving of the probiotic you are taking.
As a general rule, a probiotic should provide at least 1 billion CFUs with doses typically ranging between 1 billion and 10 billion CFUs daily for adults.
Crucially, of course, the probiotics must be delivered in a way that allows them to actually reach your intestines without being subjected to the harsh acid conditions in the stomach. The journey through your digestive tract is treacherous and fraught with hazards.
My Choice-Symprove
I decided on Symprove. It ticked all the boxes for what to look for (mentioned above) and had also been researched by University College London (UCL) and successfully met all the challenges of being able to arrive, survive, thrive and colonise in the gut.
Because Symprove is water-based, it doesn’t trigger digestion. More live and active bacteria surviving passage through the stomach means a better opportunity to colonise the gut.
The advice is to take Symprove for at least 12 weeks; it takes time for your gut bacteria to go out of balance, and it can take time to re-balance it.
The British Gut Project
With all my browsing I came across the British Gut Project. It’s aim is to uncover the microbial content within the guts of British individuals. There is a similar project in the USA. Three things caught my eye:
- I could register as a participant and receive a personalised breakdown of my own my gut microbes. I’m definitely planning on doing this but things are on hold right now due to Covid 19.
- Study leader, Professor Phil Spector says: “If you have poor gut health, this is your norm and it’s only when you change it and begin to feel better that you realise how bad it was. Your immune system improves and you have fewer colds and infections.”
(It’s still not clear how probiotics boost our immune system although they appear to be involved in the production of certain proteins which are needed by our immune systems).
- The number one result of the study so far is that the people with the healthiest guts consume the most diverse number of plants.
“Whether you’re vegetarian, a carnivore, on the paleo diet or whatever, if you get a range of plants on your plate – be they seeds, nuts, beans, spices, herbs, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, grains – it’s the variety that’s key.” – Prof Phil Spector
It seems that peak gut health corresponds with eating 30 different plant foods each week. By comparing the gut health of cultures around the world the evidence suggests that the Western lifestyle is altering our microbiome. Some species of bacteria are even disappearing to undetectable levels.
The further away people’s diets are from a Western diet, the greater the variety of microbes they tend to have in their guts and the healthier they are. Along with my 12 week course of probiotics I’ll be continuing with my plant based diet and will try to eat the biggest range of plants I can.
I’ll let you know how I’m getting on in my next post!
