Understanding Probiotics & When To Use Them

Transcript:

MELANIE: Hello, and welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition. If you're listening to this episode, chances are you are curious to learn more about probiotics. Either you've been wanting to try a probiotic or not sure where to start. Maybe you're skeptical of probiotics and not sure if they're worth taking.

Who should be taking a probiotic?

Or maybe you've been taking them for years and want to make sure you're taking the right one for you. Or maybe you're just falling somewhere in between. If you're not sure if you should be taking a probiotic, let me ask you some questions. Do you get sugar or carb cravings? Do you get frequent colds and flus?

Were you born via C section? Do you have a high stress job? Or is your life just stressful in general? Have you taken antibiotics? Maybe you did in your past. Do you eat a diet that isn't 100 percent organic? And do you drink water that isn't 100 percent purified?

BRANDY: Sounds like we're covering a lot of ground here.

MELANIE: Covering a lot of ground. So Basically, do you breathe air? You may get where I'm going with this. If you answered yes to any of those questions, and that should be all of us, then it would be beneficial to take a probiotic daily. That's where I'm going with this. We will tell you why probiotics are such an important part of our health in today's discussion.

And before we get any further, I want to introduce myself, I'm Melanie Beasley, and I'm a Registered Dietitian for over 30 years and I've seen science evolve over the course of my career and how the spotlight of nutritional science is now focusing so much on healing the gut and supporting the gut microbiome, meaning all of the little bugs that live in your intestinal tract. I like to think of them as a garden of bugs.

BRANDY: Right. I like that analogy.

Intestinal health influences all areas of health

MELANIE: So your gut bacteria and the integrity of your intestinal tissues influence all areas of your health, all of them. And joining me today, you've heard her voice, is Brandy Buro, and I'm excited to be here with you.

BRANDY: Thanks, Mel. I'm excited to be here with you too. I'm really excited about this topic. We're talking about probiotics, but bigger picture, we're talking about how these little bacteria, these little bugs, can improve pretty much every aspect of your health. It's that important.

MELANIE: It is so important.

BRANDY: And the gut microbiome is such a hot topic in healthcare. I think it's finally getting the attention it deserves.

MELANIE: I do. And I also think it's become, there's so much information for the average person. It's so overwhelming.

BRANDY: It can be very overwhelming. So hopefully we can shed a little light on this topic and just make it a little easier to digest. That's why I like to talk about probiotics and gut health with all of my clients, because it's so overwhelming out there to make some of these decisions on your own and really understand how they could help you.

Not all probiotic supplements are created equal

And if any of my clients have an issue with their gut health, it's honestly really difficult to get anywhere in their health journey because so much is riding on your gut health. So to make any headway with a lot of health concerns, we need to focus on the gut first. All that being said, not all probiotic supplements are created equal.

MELANIE: No, no.

BRANDY: And if you've been shopping for one, you already know that there's a lot to choose from. So we're going to try to sift through the differences between them and help you decide what probiotic is right for you. And it's not as easy as just going to the pharmacy or going to the big box store and picking one off the shelf.

You know, they're all very specific. They all have very different jobs, but supplement companies know that this is such a hot topic right now. So a lot of those companies are cutting corners and sacrificing quality. And they're really pouring a lot of resources into the marketing.

MELANIE: Oh, I've seen some very influential commercials also.

BRANDY: They're making a lot of promises.

MELANIE: They're making a lot of promises. They sound like miracles.

BRANDY: And they can work some magic, but you know, it's important that you get the right one. So today we're going to help you figure out how to make sure you're taking a probiotic that's actually beneficial without wasting your money, basically.

Overviewing the intestinal tract & why is it so important for aspects of our health?

If you're going to spend money on something, you want to make sure it's actually doing some good. And I suppose this leads us to the question, how do you know if a probiotic is right for you and that it's actually working?

MELANIE: That's a really good point. So I want to remind everyone that we as humans are made up of more bacteria than we are human cells.

BRANDY: That's pretty crazy to think about.

MELANIE: We are more bacteria than we are human cells. So that's a lot of bacteria and everyone has a very unique microbiome, meaning the bacteria living on you and in you, it may not be a pretty picture to imagine, being made up of all these trillions of tiny microscopic bugs, but we need them to keep us healthy and to keep us alive.

They're working for us. So the word probiotic literally means pro being for, biotic means life, so all of this bacteria or probiotics is what is giving us life.

BRANDY: Well, when you put it that way.

MELANIE: They are important. So let's start with what's going on inside of your gut. We need a thriving, diverse intestinal flora inside of our intestinal tract to help digest our food and to fight any foreign invaders. Our intestinal tract starts from our mouths and then travels down through the esophagus, the stomach, the intestines, and out through the colon and rectum. All of these unique systems in our intestinal tract have a unique flora of a different bacteria.

Bifido bacteria: when do we recommend it?

So that being said, think of a garden of flowers and from your mouth all the way down to your rectum, everyone has a unique garden. And, if you've been a listener to Dishing Up Nutrition or a client of Nutritional Weight & Wellness, you've probably heard us talk about bifidobacteria. And this is because most of the beneficial bacteria found in a healthy gut is called bifidobacteria. Ideally, this type of bacteria would make up at least 70 percent of your intestinal tract. And this is why we start here for probiotics a lot of the time. If someone is just starting on a path to improve their gut health or is feeling good and wanting to just maintain good gut health, I start them on Bifido.

BRANDY: I do the same thing. So if I'm meeting with a client that is dealing with some digestive issues and they've never taken probiotics before, the bifidobacteria strain is where I typically start. I think that's pretty good advice for anybody out there kind of questioning where they should start with bifido bacteria because it is kind of like the primary strain in our digestive system.

MELANIE: And starting with sort of the single simple strain of the primary gut It's a gentler way to begin.

BRANDY: Starting slow and small, and then kind of stepping back and seeing how your body responds to that. So, I would typically recommend this for a lot of common digestive problems like constipation or diarrhea, but it's also something that I might recommend as part of my immunity protocol, especially as we're entering cold and flu season.

This is something that can help fight off the bad bugs. And this is something that might be new information for some people is that it can also help with mental health. So I might even recommend this for somebody that's suffering from anxiety and depression. Yes. So I have a really simple formula for this to help everyone understand the connection here. Bifidobacteria in the gut plus high quality protein, like eggs, fish, yogurt, that is going to equal healthy neurotransmitter production.

MELANIE: Yeah. A lot of times we think we're making those in our brain. Mostly we're making those in our small intestine. So bifido plus animal protein equals brain chemicals.

BRANDY: Exactly. And of course, like mental health as a whole is a little more complex than that simple equation. But mental health issues and gut health issues are often highly connected. If you have an unhealthy gut, my guess is you're probably experiencing some mental health concerns and vice versa.

So when working with clients that are dealing with depression or anxiety, I really want to take a look at the gut. Heal the gut and get them on a good probiotic like Bifido throughout the day, along with some protein.

So they have the recipe for building those brain chemicals, because like you said, the majority of the feel good brain chemicals, serotonin and dopamine are actually created in the intestines.

MELANIE: You know, and I also tell my clients who are struggling with anxiety, depression, mental health issues, if we get you a little bit better, better is better.

BRANDY: Right. Better is better.

MELANIE: I’m not saying that this is magically going to make everything disappear, but to date myself, 20 years ago, you didn't see people with anxiety and depression. It was the outlier client that you had to address. And now I would say I probably see three a week.

BRANDY: Oh, wow.

MELANIE: Yeah. So there's something going on with our food supply and our microbiome.

BRANDY: I would say the same for digestive issues. How common is that now? Can you speak to that? Like, have you seen more and more people experience digestive issues?

MELANIE: Yes. Bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, heartburn. It's a regular that we see people suffering every day. And no, I didn't see that. The typical consult was weight loss, diabetes, heart disease.

BRANDY: And now it's digestive issues. So common, but just because it's common doesn't necessarily mean it's

MELANIE: Permanent.

BRANDY: Permanent. And something to think about is your gut is actually considered your second brain because the gut is so connected to your mental health, your brain health. And maybe some of you have even heard of that, the term second brain.

MELANIE: Yep.

BRANDY: Right? You can't separate the two.

MELANIE: You can't separate them.

BRANDY: So if there's anything going on in the gut, it's going to affect the brain. And it's a bidirectional relationship.

MELANIE: And once you understand that the brain chemicals are primarily made in your digestive system, it stands to reason. So it's such important wisdom to know that mental health is so correlated to the health of the gut. Along the same thought, another mental health issue is one of the most common concerns we work with our clients.

The sugar cravings connection to gut health

And I'm talking about the ever present sugar cravings. If you've been struggling with sugar cravings all of your life, would you have ever thought that it has to do with your gut health? You just think that's just who I am, but really it's a digestive gut health thing. So let's all breathe a sigh of relief that sugar cravings are not your character. It's chemistry and you are not just a weak-willed individual.

Sugar cravings are due to biochemistry. And when you have an imbalance of more bad bugs than good bugs in your gut, the bad bugs want to stay dominant and empower. So what do you think bad bugs love to feed on? Sugar. So they send this message to the brain to feed sugar. And that's where you find yourself in the cupboard and you're getting that candy bar. They love to feed on sugar and they need sugar to stay alive.

So it's their way of survival. Once we're able to work on healing the gut, the goal is to outnumber the bad bugs with the good bugs. Think of weeds in your garden. The more we feed the good garden and the flowers start pushing out the weeds. The dominant strain of beneficial bacteria in the healthy gut is bifidobacteria.

Supplementing with bifidobacteria before each meal is helping crowd out those bad bugs with the good ones. And when I'm first working with clients, and we're trying to come up with a gut healing protocol for sugar cravings, I'll always start them on a probiotic that includes bifidobacteria.

BRANDY: Yep. I do the same thing.

MELANIE: Yep. Along with other key supplements and most importantly, I want to stress that diet comes first. Because we can put the bugs in there. We can put the good bacteria in there, but we've got to feed it.

How do we feed good gut bugs?

BRANDY: We have to feed the good bugs.

MELANIE: Fruits and vegetables and, you know, fiber, these are all prebiotics that feed the good bacteria. So you can't out supplement a poor diet. So we want to make sure you're eating a real food balanced diet, high in animal proteins; lots of non-starchy colorful vegetables and a tablespoon of healthy fat with each meal. The most important part of our job as dietitians is to help people with food choices. Supplements come second.

BRANDY: Yes.

MELANIE: And I want to talk about this a little bit more. We're going to get ready for a break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. Today we're talking about all probiotics and when to use them. For the month of November, all of our Nutrikey probiotics are 15 percent off, both in store and online.

This includes Bifido Balance, Acidophilus, Biotic Duo, Biotic 7, Women's Biotic Balance, my favorite. And our new Akkermansia GLP-1 probiotic. The sale only goes through the end of November, so I always encourage my clients to stock up, since many of them take probiotics daily. To purchase or learn more, visit our website, Nutrikey.net, or stop into one of our six Twin Cities locations. Our front desk staff is there to help you.

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BRANDY: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Before the break, we were discussing probiotics, and Mel was just describing how important a real food meal plan is to helping the effectiveness of those beneficial bacteria. You cannot out supplement a bad diet and Mel, you were just kind of describing how, the harmful bacteria like to eat sugar while the beneficial bacteria really love to eat vegetables.

MELANIE: Yes.

BRANDY: So we do still have to be mindful about feeding those good bugs, what they need to grow and thrive. Just remember food always comes first. Make sure you're supporting yourself with real animal protein, lots of high fiber vegetables and some healthy fat.

MELANIE: Yeah, one of my challenges that I challenge my clients, they're going along in a pretty good clip. We've got them not eating processed food. My next challenge for them is to eat 21 different plants a week.

BRANDY: Wow, that's quite the challenge.

MELANIE: It's actually a little easier. Just because you're feeding each fruit or vegetable is going to contribute to feeding a variety, because we have thousands of probiotics, bugs that live in our digestive system. So we have to feed them. And each food, herb, plant, fruit, feeds different bacteria. So we want that variety. We live in a country where we can have strawberries every day.

BRANDY: That's true.

MELANIE: Is that wisdom? Probably not. So I challenge my clients, mix it up. So maybe you put in your salad, like I put an apple, half an apple on my salad. Maybe put in some blackberries. Next time put in blueberries. Next time put in raspberries. Switch it up. Same with herbs. If you love to use basil, make it fresh basil. If you love to use garlic, make it fresh garlic. All of that contributes to the 21.

BRANDY: Yeah. I think just remembering variety and then if you have a specific goal, like I'm going to eat 21 different vegetables this week, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of, am I getting the right balance of fiber for my gut? You don't have to think about it that hard. Just shoot for variety all the time.

MELANIE: Chop up some parsley or some basil and put it in your salad. It doesn't have to be just field greens or romaine. Right? You can scissor some fresh herbs in there.

BRANDY: That's perfect. I love that. And another thing to think about is there are certain foods that contain natural beneficial probiotics. And I'm talking about fermented foods. I really like naturally fermented foods actually; think real pickled vegetables. Those are the ones that are refrigerated, not the pickles on the shelf. Also whole milk yogurts or a small amount of kombucha.

Don't want to go overboard on kombucha because it could be high in sugar. But there's also kefir, miso and tempeh. My personal favorites, kimchi and sauerkraut. So these are all really great probiotic rich foods that you can incorporate into your diet for those naturally occurring probiotics.

I think kimchi is really easy to like, add to, I put it on like a, a riced, cauliflower rice with some ground beef and some fresh vegetables. I think that just makes that dish a little more interesting. Sauerkraut is easy to add to salads. You know, it's really easy to incorporate these things if you're intentional about it.

MELANIE: So I like what you said, sauerkraut is easy to add to salads, or I tell my clients, put a little tablespoon of sauerkraut on the plate and use that for your salt. You know, a little bite with it, but you don't want to heat it because we don't want to kill the little buggers.

BRANDY: Right. That's a good point. Cause probiotics are living things when you heat them, they die.

MELANIE: They die. Just like you don't want to put your probiotic in your coffee.

BRANDY: Exactly. Good point. Think about these sources of probiotics and, these are not new. These things have been around for hundreds of years.

MELANIE: And we didn't see digestive issues hundreds of years ago.

BRANDY: That's so true. So these things have been used in various cultures almost as a starter to their meal. Traditionally, I think some cultures instinctively knew that fermented foods were good for the gut and they actually help them digest the meal.

And I think that's why a lot of cultures continue with these traditions. Thinking, you go to a Japanese restaurant or you get some sushi. Oftentimes you're served like that bowl of miso soup before the meal or a little plate of pickled vegetables. You know, that's ancient wisdom that still rings true today.

So if you feel like you need some help with your diet in incorporating these fermented foods or really just getting on a real food meal plan, I highly encourage you to meet with one of the dietitians here at Nutritional Weight & Wellness, or you could even take the Nutrition for Weight Loss course, which is a foundational nutrition course.

It's just going to set you up with a basic real food meal plan and give you the guidance you need to make that happen for you. So you can find out more about all of these options by calling us at 651-699-3438, or you can visit us on our website, weightandwellness.com.

Overviewing acidophilus & when to use it

MELANIE: Another probiotic that's another favorite of mine and it's called Lactobacillus Acidophilus; easy for me to say, or sometimes referred to as just Acidophilus or Dophilus in powder form. This type of probiotic works best in the stomach and the upper GI tract as well as for vaginal and urinary health.

Because of this, we use this probiotic with those suffering from acid reflux, urinary tract infections, or vaginal infections. When someone experiences acid reflux, the general recommendation is to take an antacid or a proton pump inhibitor, like omeprazole.

These medicines reduce the acid in the stomach to relieve those symptoms of acid reflux. And if you've ever had acid reflux, I don't know if you have, Brandy, but I did for years in the past. You want anything to stop it immediately. So I understand, but we really need acid in the stomach to break down our food to be able to absorb our nutrients.

So people who take acid blocking medications long term tend to have poorer nutrient absorption and end up with harmful situations down the road like osteoporosis from nutrient depletion and also anxiety, depression. So those long term medications have long term effects.

BRANDY: Absolutely.

MELANIE: So if we can fix it naturally and get you off some of these big drugs, that's ideal.

BRANDY: Absolutely. You know, I cannot tell you how many times I've met with a client who came to Nutritional Weight & Wellness for help with bone health, were just diagnosed with osteoporosis. They want to avoid the medications. But you know, someone I just spoke to last week, we kind of went through their health history. I'm seeing a lot of gut issues, especially heartburn and come to find out they've been taking Omeprazole for upwards of 15 years.

MELANIE: Oh, yikes. You know, those drugs were really designed for two weeks to heal the lining and get off.

BRANDY: And I don't think a lot of people realize that, you know, in the case of Omeprazole. So many people are taking it and it's so easy to get, you know, it's an over the counter medication. If you look at the fine print, it does say it's only intended to take no longer than two weeks at a time, no more than 20 milligrams per day.

MELANIE: If you've been on this drug for a long time and you stop, you're going to get rebound acid. So you want to work with someone to wean you off and we do that all the time.

BRANDY: Exactly. Yeah. It is a process and it can be very challenging to wean yourself off this medication, but that is one thing that we do because like we talked about earlier in our conversation, it's really difficult to make a lot of headway with other health goals if your gut health is compromised. So weaning off the omeprazole is part of that.

MELANIE: And first comes the healing of the digestion, healing of the lining, and then the weaning.

BRANDY: Exactly.

MELANIE: Because if we don't fix the root cause of the heartburn.

BRANDY: Right, you're still going to have heartburn. You're still, you'll still be looking for relief from something. So if this sounds like you or somebody that you're very close to, I highly recommend meeting with a dietitian to figure out a plan to wean yourself off, heal the gut and find, yeah, the root cause.

MELANIE: The root cause. And, this isn't something that's genetic. I do have clients that will say, well, you know, my dad always had heartburn. You know, my mom always had heartburn. It's really the pattern of eating and the digestive health is why the heartburn is there. It's not really a genetic component.

BRANDY: Exactly. You didn't really inherit heartburn. You probably inherited a certain lifestyle.

MELANIE: Yeah. You know, I would say 99 percent of the time.

BRANDY: I would say so too.

Steps to heal acid reflux

MELANIE: So if someone comes to me that has been a long time antacid taker, I will wean them off by introducing the acidophilus probiotic along with other key supplements to help the stomach do its job properly. But even more importantly, we want to figure out what is causing that reflux in the first place. You know, the first to go is gluten.

BRANDY: So you think about where that gluten is, it's more so those processed carbohydrates, the bread, the pastries, the crackers.

MELANIE: The thickening of a soup.

BRANDY: Right.

MELANIE: Yeah, there's a lot of hidden in there. And more often than not, it is a food that they don't know they're sensitive to. And many times it's gluten. I had a client right before we did this podcast and she had heartburn for years. She bought a wedge pillow. She was upright in her bed while she's doing Nutrition for Weight Loss.

And she said, I don't have any heartburn. She did not take acid reducing medication. She didn't want, she's anti meds. But she said, all my heartburn is cleared up. Well, we don't have a lot of gluten in our plans and none of our recipes. So many times once you remove that food, it clears up so many problems.

It might be some other foods too, but that's always a starting place. If you're gluten sensitive and you know it and you're eating toast for breakfast, sandwich with lunch, pasta with dinner, you are setting yourself up for a burning gut. So listeners, just stop the processed food. If you're not eating processed food, it's going to be gluten free.

BRANDY: That's true. Real food is naturally gluten free.

MELANIE: Real food is naturally gluten free, and unless you're eating wheat berries, it's gluten free. Or, you know, rye or something like that, but I don't find that rye is nearly the problem, unless they have celiac as the gluten in the wheat. Of course, we understand that antacids cause relief. So it helps us. If you're in that burning phase, it's understandable that reaching for those acid blockers or those Tums is going to help alleviate the pain. There's no shame in the game and trying to find relief from pain.

But the goal is to find out what is causing this painful reflux in the first place. And once we remove the dietary triggers and with the support of some helpful healing supplements, the stomach and the esophagus can heal. And that is the main goal. And our go to probiotic in this case is acidophilus capsules or my favorite, Dophilus Powder.

Yes, it has to stay in the fridge, but you can just immediately; you don't have to break down the gel cap cause you're already compromised. You just take that powder. I might have someone take this throughout the day depending on how bad their heartburn or their reflux is, but I especially recommend it at night.

And that's when the little bugs can go in and repopulate your upper GI tract without interruption of sleep or drinking while you sleep; they just do their business in the dark.

BRANDY: Yeah. That's what I suggest too. Take it at night. It can work its magic while you're sleeping. And like we mentioned earlier, aside from those upper GI issues, we may also recommend that acidophilus for bladder and vaginal issues, things like urinary tract infections or yeast infections.

So whether you have an active infection or maybe you've had one in the past and you're trying to prevent it from coming back, I like to recommend taking a few capsules, two to three capsules of the acidophilus, or maybe a quarter to a half teaspoon of the Dophilus Powder mixed in water before you go to bed.

So, you know, if this is new to you, I just kind of start with a smaller dose, see how it goes, and then you can kind of increase the dose or maybe take another dose somewhere else in the day. But keep in mind, if you do choose the powder. One quarter teaspoon of the powder is the same amount of probiotic as three of the acidophilus capsules.

MELANIE: Oh, that's a good, I'm glad you said that.

BRANDY: So, there's a little bit of math involved, but…

MELANIE: So, especially if you're a traveler. Right. And you want something that's shelf stable, the capsules are going to be a better bet.

BRANDY: The capsules are really great for travel. And you know, I would also suggest it for somebody that is forgetting to take the powder because it's in the fridge out of sight, out of mind. I just think whatever form you choose, it's best to choose the one that you can be consistent with. But because the powder needs to be refrigerated, sometimes they forget it. So if the capsules, if it's easier to put it by your nightstand or by your toothbrush, that's the one I would go with.

MELANIE: Yeah, that's really good advice. You may be thinking, okay, I experience all these things you've talked about so far. Irregular bowel movements, sugar cravings, I get frequent colds, I struggle with reflux. Do I really need to take both, you certainly can take both, but we have a convenient option called Biotic Duo, which contains both strains of bifido and acidophilus. It's a high dose of both strains, so many people find that just taking one a day is all they need, while some need to take it two or three times a day, and that's okay.

It depends, like we said, it needs to be individualized to you and it's also a refrigerated probiotic. I also find this option works for people who can't remember to take supplements throughout the day and they just want a big one and done.

BRANDY: Yeah, the one and done method is so easy and I think that's what a lot of people want. So that's a great option if you want the benefit of both strains and you want easy as possible.

MELANIE: And starting out with just the two strains is really good. So listeners don't run out and buy a big dog probiotic that's 25 billion multi strain, you know, because you're going to experience some bloating; some gas possibly. And that's because they're doing their job. So you've may have tried a probiotic in the past and thought, I cannot tolerate it cause I get so bloated and gassy. I would work with a professional, one of us, but also remember when the little buggers get inside of you and there's nothing in there cause you haven't been taking a probiotic, they're looking around like, oh, free prairie.

And they begin to multiply. And when they multiply, they release happy gases. That's when you feel bloated. But it is truly doing the work. It's just you're starting out too fast for a comfortable level. So a little bloating and gas is a natural side effect of starting new strains of probiotic.

BRANDY: Correct. Yeah. And that's one of the reasons I suggest just kind of starting low and slow.

MELANIE: Low and slow.

Who might benefit from Women’s Biotic Balance probiotic?

BRANDY: So you can kind of offset some of those side effects. Let's say you're a little more experienced with probiotics. You've already tried the Bifido. Maybe you have experience with the Acidophilus and you are looking for just kind of like a one and done multi strain probiotic. So if that sounds like you, for some people, I would recommend a multi strain probiotic like our Women's Biotic Balance. And Mel, I think you mentioned that's one of your favorites.

MELANIE: I love it. I see mostly women, so I love it.

BRANDY: Yeah, I have a lot of clients on this. I've taken it in periods of my life as well. I really enjoy this. It works. It does its job, and it's a multi strain probiotic that has several of the lactobacillus strains, the highest being the acidophilus strain that we just talked about, along with a few others.

But this Women's Biotic Balance was specifically formulated to target vaginal and urinary health, in addition to supporting overall gut health, digestion. and boosting immunity and, you know, the basic things that you would hope to get from a probiotic.

MELANIE: Yep. And I really like to use this probiotic for women who complain of continued urinary tract infections or reoccurring vaginal yeast infections. Whether you're currently battling an infection or you're on the prevention side of things, it tends to work great to prevent that reoccurrence.

Biotic 7: who might benefit from it?

BRANDY: A similar option that is also a multi strain that's another one of my go tos is the Biotic 7. So this has six strains of probiotics, and what's special about it is that it also contains a type of non active yeast called saccharomyces boulardii. So saccharomyces boulardii is actually something that's going to help clear out the harmful bacteria.

MELANIE: Yeah, and it actually eats yeast.

BRANDY: It does eat yeast.

MELANIE: So it helps us get rid of it in our digestive system if you have an abundance of yeast.

BRANDY: Hm-Hmm. Exactly. So similar to the Women's Biotic, it has multiple strains of bacteria. It contains both the lactobacillus and the bifidobacteria strains. So it's targeting multiple areas of the digestive tract.

MELANIE: So you might be wondering who would this Biotic 7 option be good for? First, think of anyone with yeast overgrowth or candida. This can happen, when there's a disruption in the microflora from antibiotics, steroids. So signs of that would be yeast overgrowth might be sinus issues. Rashes, toenail fungus, athlete's foot, white coating on your tongue, yeast infection, vaginal itching, itchy ears.

I mean, itchy it, it's itchy. It's, it's just a problematic overgrowth. And having had that years ago from many antibiotics, from many surgeries, it's not easy to get rid of. It's stubborn, so you want to take it seriously because it can cause so many problems.

MELANIE: Another reason to ditch the sugar is it feeds yeast.

BRANDY: That's right.

MELANIE: So if you're struggling, get rid of that sugar. And in this case, we'd really encourage you to meet with a dietitian and Nutritional Weight & Wellness. Get your gut back in balance, get your life restored so you can go about the business of life, not itchy.

Schedule Nutrition Counseling

Akkermansia GLP-1 probiotic: who might benefit from it?

BRANDY: Right. No one has time for that. So the final probiotic that we want to discuss today is our brand's newest edition called Akkermansia GLP-1 probiotics. This is probably ringing some bells for some of our listeners out there. It's GLP-1 is such a buzzword lately. And not surprisingly, we have gotten such a huge response from this probiotic already.

So I think a lot of people are really curious about this GLP-1 aspect. So let's talk a little bit about that. So, you've probably heard about GLP-1 agonist drugs like Ozempic. Well, GLP-1 is a hormone that helps us feel full after we eat. So, Akkermansia is a probiotic, or one of those beneficial bacteria, that's found in a very small amount in a healthy GI tract.

Research has found that a lot of people actually don't have any. They're completely missing that beneficial bacteria, akkermansia. And research has found that akkermansia is the bacteria in our gut that helps us produce that GLP-1 hormone. Meaning we experience fullness after eating an appropriate amount of food.

So those that are missing this beneficial bacteria, Akkermansia, are more likely to feel delayed feelings of fullness, which could lead them to overeat. So this is why the GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic work so well, because they're helping you feel fuller, longer. The Akkermansia probiotic is not a GLP-1 drug.

What it is, is a probiotic. It's a beneficial strain of bacteria that is helping your body naturally produce its own GLP-1 hormone.

MELANIE: Yes. It's not going to slow your digestion down.

BRANDY: It's not a mega dose of GLP-1 hormone, so you're not going to experience the negative side effects that some of these people are experiencing like constipation.

MELANIE: Or horrible diarrhea.

BRANDY: So it's a gentler approach and it's just helping your body do it on its own.

MELANIE: Yeah. Yeah. So in the short time that we have offered this probiotic, I can tell you that we have already seen results with our clients. It's not going to be drastic weight loss like taking a GLP-1 drug. Let's be clear about that.

But clients report back that they don't have a desire to overeat. They're experiencing fewer cravings. And we know from experience that slow and steady wins the race with weight loss. We don't want to lose rapidly because we don't want to lose muscle. We want to lose body fat.

And the akkermansia probiotic as a natural way to balance your hunger hormones. And it's a hundred percent safe to take long term. Just like anything else, we want to use this as a supplemental tool along with a real food diet.

BRANDY: Yes. So it's not going to be a quick fix, but if you have a real food diet, you have a tool to help control your cravings, you're going to see results. And maybe as you're listening today, you've been thinking, all of these probiotics sound like they'd be good for me. Which one should I choose? I'm just as confused as I was before I listened to that.

MELANIE: That’s not the goal.

BRANDY: But it's not uncommon that people would benefit from taking a couple different kinds of probiotics every day. And you don't necessarily have to choose just one over the other. For example, you could take Bifido Balance for general beneficial probiotic, but you could also take acidophilus for some reflux issues you're dealing with.

MELANIE: You can, that's a really safe, sound plan to start out: three Bifido in the morning, three acidophilus at night. See how your body responds. Give it some time.

BRANDY: Exactly.

MELANIE: Then you might want to switch to a Biotic Duo.

BRANDY: Yeah, the Biotic Duo would kind of cover both bases. It's that one and done formula. And, you know, if you're still, you still have questions and you feel like you have some complex issues, you have some healing to do that might take more than just a probiotic, I recommend connecting with one of our dietitians here.

They can help you decide. They can talk you through the process. And if you want to start by just reading a little bit more about this, we have a really great resource on our website, weightandwellness.com. Just search for the article, “What Probiotic is Right For You?”

So I think this is a really great overview of what we talked about today and has some nice simplified visuals to help you choose. And of course you can read about each one of these individual probiotics on our online store, Nutrikey.net or stop by any one of the six offices in the Twin Cities.

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MELANIE: Yeah, we've got a pretty knowledgeable staff. So we hope we've been able to answer some questions today about probiotics regarding when to use them, which ones to choose. We really believe they are a key to supporting your gut health, which in turn supports all other aspects of your health. We've just scratched the surface today on how to support your health, trying to help you navigate through all the probiotic noise that's out there.

So I really encourage you to make an appointment with me or one of the other dietitians at Nutritional Weight & Wellness. And we spend time getting to know you as an individual to come up with the best plan for your individual needs. To learn more, you can make an appointment, visit our website at weightandwellness.com or call us at 651-699-3438. It would be our privilege to work with you.

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Our goal at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing.