Probiotics And Weight (fat) Loss

Over the past 10 years there have been several studies on the use of various probiotic strains in weight loss. Some of the first studies came from the idea of trying figure which microbes were associated with obese and lean subjects. There was an interesting finding that two different phylum were associated with these. There was a ratio between the Bacteroidetes phylum and Firmicutes phylum. The higher amount of Bacteroidetes group was associated with lean subjects. If the balance between the two (a 3:1 ratio) was off in the favor of the firmicutes phylum, the subjects tended to not lose weight. It is interesting to note that the Lactobacillus genus is in the firmicutes phylum and most of the bacteroidetes phylum contains pathogenic organisms. 

Since these studies were first done in the early 2000's, there have been many many more. Several of which cite various strains of lactobacillus having positive effects on lean muscle mass and decreases in adipose (fat) tissue. n a newer, 2014 article in the British Journal of Nutrition, Sanchez et. al. were able to identify some effects of a lactobacillus bacteria that aided in weight loss in obese women in a 24-week period. There was "a significant reduction in fat mass in women (Sanchez et al. p 1517) while "fat regain was observed in women in the placebo group during the weight-maintenance phase, suggesting that probiotics may help obese women to maintain a healthy body weight."(Sanchez et al. p 1518). Unfortunately, for men, there were no differences between the control group and the treated group in this study. There are other studies that do show fat loss benefits for men as well.
  
Muscle weights on average 3 times that of fat tissue, the lack of weight loss would make sense. This is in fact one of the reasons livestock owners feed probiotics to their animals. It helps the animals gain muscle (meat) with less feed. The Sanchez et al., study hints at the benefit of lactic acid bacteria helping in metabolizing food, reducing fat, and increasing lean muscle mass. This is the goal of fitness: decreasing fat and increasing lean muscle. When people start a fitness program they, depending on the workout routine, they may actually gain weight in the first few weeks of the program. This is considered a good sign for a few reasons. This means that the person is building lean muscle. The muscle will help support their body as workout routines get more intense, but it also means that they will begin to burn more calories during their resting phases as muscle also burns more calories.

Although we would like a silver bullet; to be able to just take a pill and watch the pounds shed off, it is not going to happen. However, taking a mixed probiotic is likely going to help build more lean muscle mass, improve digestion and energy conversion, which will improve the overall health of a person. The probiotic will not do it alone, but will help. Combine the use of a probiotic in your daily weight loss and nutrition program and track your progress. Take measurements, photos, and notes and stick to it! EM-X Gold Prebiotic, EM-X Gold Sea Salt, and Pro EM-1 Probiotic are just some of the products you can add to your diet.


Marina Sanchez; Darimont, Christian; Drapeau, Vicky; Emady-Azar, Shahram; Lepage, Melissa; Rezzonico, Enea; Ngom-Bru, Catherine; Berger, Bernard; Philippe, Lionel; Ammon-Zuffrey, Corinne; Leone, Patricia; Chevrier, Genevieve; St-Amand, Emmanuelle; Marette, Andre; Dore, Jean; and Temblay, Angelo. "Effective of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC1.3724 Supplementation On Weight Loss and Maintenance In Obese Men and Women." British Journal of Nutrition. (2014) 111. 1507-1519.

Image from Instant Health Makeover.com.