“Nothing is more underrated than a good bowel movement.”
– Medical student proverb
Last week, we took a look at the importance of feeding the right microbes using the right food, called “prebiotics”.
When it comes to maintaining a healthy microbiome, prebiotics are crucial. You can get these from food, or in supplement form. We looked at inulin and acacia powder as two great examples of supplemental prebiotics.
What About Probiotics?
If prebiotics are so important, does this mean that probiotics are of no value?
Not quite.
To quote Facebook, “It’s complicated.”
Probiotics (viable microbes in ingestible form) have been extensively studied over the past 40 years. Pubmed lists more than 63,000 studies on the subject. Half of these were published in the past five years, showing that we’re only at the foot of the mountain. Most of them confirm the benefits of taking probiotics.
As usual, the devil is in the details. Let’s take a closer look.
What Are The Benefits Of Taking Probiotics?
* Gut health
Probiotics are best known for improving digestive health. By helping to balance the gut microbiome, many gut symptoms are relieved, such as bloating, constipation or diarrhoea. They are especially effective in managing conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and recovering gut flora after antibiotic use.
* Immune health
Probiotics play a surprising role in immune function. A healthy gut houses nearly 70% of the body’s immune cells. Probiotics help strengthen that defence system, reducing the frequency and severity of infections.
* Mental health
Research links probiotics to mental well-being through the gut-brain axis. No, we’re not talking politics here. The “gut-brain axis” does not refer to how some politicians’ brains work, but to the close, incredibly complex connection between what happens in the gut and what happens in the
brain (and vice versa). A balanced microbiome helps reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, to name but two mental conditions.
* Heart health
Probiotics support heart health by lowering triglycerides, raising HDL cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.
Food First
There are a lot of probiotic foods out there. Food is the natural source of probiotics, not supplements. Wherever possible, use food first.
Home-fermented foods are an obvious source of probiotics, like yogurt, amasi, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi.
Less obvious probiotic food sources include raw, organically grown fruits and vegetables. These carry important probiotic microbes on their surface (or even inside the fruit). Raw honey, can harbour more than a dozen species of beneficial microbes.
Killer Foods
Some “foods” destroy beneficial microbes or change gut conditions in a way that makes it hard for beneficial microbes to thrive.
* Toxins
The sad reality of 21st century life is that most of the food being sold on shop shelves is toxic to gut microbes. Even food sold as “organic” may be contaminated. A major reason for this is the widespread use of the herbicide glyphosate (“RoundUp”) in agriculture. Being a herbicide, it also kills gut microbes on contact. Sugar cane is sprayed with glyphosate a week before harvest (a practice known as “ripening”) and the poison is concentrated during the refining process, making refined sugar twice as deadly as it used to be. Potatoes are equally “ripened”. Much wheat in South Africa is also sprayed with glyphosate, although the practice is illegal. Much of our water supply (surface and underground) is contaminated by glyphosate, too. (Link, PDF)
* Fake Foods
Certain items are presented to us as “food”, when they in actual fact represent “empty calories.” Examples include sugar, seed oils (sunflower, canola, safflower), margarine and hydrogenated fats. These and similar items change gut conditions in such a way that harmful microbes (especially Candida) overgrow, while beneficial microbes are suppressed.
* Processed Foods
“Processed foods” are foods produced in factories from a range of ingredients. They almost always include “fake food” ingredients, but they are also lacking in fibre. Processed breakfast cereals – claiming a high fibre content – derive this fibre from wheat. Wheat fibre is essentially useless at feeding beneficial microbes.
When Do I Need Supplemental Probiotics?
Short answer: When you have a distinct condition linked to dysbiosis (disrupted gut microbes). As such, you should use a probiotic in consultation with your health professional.
1. Antibiotic Damage
Probiotics prevent and treat the diarrhoea caused by antibiotics.
2. Gastrointestinal Disorders
Strong evidence supports probiotic use for reducing bloating, pain, and altered bowel habits in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Symptoms of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), diarrhoea and constipation are relieved by certain probiotic strains.
Certain strains also help with Helicobacter pylori eradication.
3. Mental Health & Neurological Conditions
Probiotics are known to improve the following conditions:
Anxiety and depression
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Stress-related gut symptoms
4. Immune System Support
Recurrent respiratory tract infections, especially in children and the elderly
Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Thrush (Candidiasis)
Allergies, including eczema and atopic dermatitis
Post-COVID recovery
5. Cardiovascular Issues
High Cholesterol: Probiotics help lower LDL and triglycerides, while raising HDL.
Hypertension
6. Metabolic Conditions
Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance: Some strains show improvements in glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): Probiotics show promise in resolving this condition.
7. Paediatric Indications
Colic: Some probiotic strains reduce crying time in breastfed infants
Atopic eczema: Pre-natal and post-natal probiotic use reduces incidence.
Acute gastroenteritis: Probiotics shorten the duration of diarrhoea in children
8. Special Populations
Pregnant women: Probiotics are generally considered safe; may reduce gestational diabetes risk and support neonatal health
The Elderly: Probiotics counter age-related decline in microbiome diversity (dysbiosis)
Patients on long-term PPIs (proton pump inhibitors): Probiotics are needed to counteract gut microbiome disruption
Important Considerations
1. Strains: Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are key to most probiotic benefits.
2. Diversity: The more, the merrier, preferably more than 10 strains.
3. Dosing: Somewhere between 100 million and 10 billion CFUs (colony forming units) per strain, but varies a lot.
4. Formulation: Liquid or capsules, depending on intended user and outcome. Liquids are easier to dose, but capsules offer a higher survival rate.
5. Timing: Best taken directly before, during or after a meal.
6. Duration: Usually 4–8 weeks minimum for meaningful clinical effect.
7. Safety: Generally safe; exercise caution in immunocompromised, and post-surgical patients.
Introducing Doc Frank’s Gut IQ!
After many years of studying the subject and trying out several top-rated probiotics, Doc Frank eventually decided to build his own liquid probiotic.
Unlike most commercially available probiotics, Gut IQ is designed to maximise energy production in the body. The microbes in Gut IQ produce substances such as vitamins that boost mitochondrial function.
Your gut was always intended to be the place where vitamins get produced. The food we eat can barely give us enough vitamins to survive on. However, if we eat food that feeds the right microbes, they produce enough vitamins for us to thrive.
Why Buy Doc Frank’s Gut IQ?
* High Diversity: 15 strains
* Key Strains: The very best strains, based on science
* Viable: The strains in Gut IQ are all viable when tested in a lab.
* Liquid: Easy to administer, especially for children and the elderly who do not like swallowing pills.
* Taste & Smell: Mild taste and smell, almost undetectable in a glass of water.
* Room Temperature: No need to refrigerate.
* Stress Buffered: Lower pH means the microbes can survive stomach acid exposure.
* Affordable: 100 servings per bottle!
Experience the joy of a happy gut!
To your (gutsy) health!
The Team at Integrow Health
