If you have ever experienced bloating, migraines, trouble sleeping, stomach discomfort, or intolerances to certain foods, you understand how unpleasant each of these symptoms is. You are also like many people around the world, and potentially one of the estimated 60 to 70 million Americans who struggle with digestion issues linked to their gut health. But if you experience any of these symptoms on a regular basis, you need to know that living with such pain and discomfort doesn’t have to be your reality.
As mentioned, what each of these symptoms has in common is that they’re all connected to digestion issues in the gastrointestinal tract, where your gut is located. While these symptoms may be telling of a different issue, they may be representative of a gut imbalance. Your options are to get checked by your health practitioner to see what they recommend, or you could start taking probiotics for gut health to see if you experience any relief of symptoms.
Of course, your doctor may be the one who recommends you start taking probiotics, as they will recognize your symptoms as common signs of an imbalanced gut. But because of how effective probiotics are at balancing the gut, and the vast number of Americans who could benefit from a healthier gastrointestinal system, you don’t even need a prescription for probiotics. They aren’t over-the-counter medicine, so there are a lot of different formula options out there. Different strains work differently in the body, which means there are many benefits of taking probiotics for your gut. Let’s explore how probiotics help and four of the benefits of taking them.
What Are Probiotics and How Do They Help Your Gut?
Probiotics are formulas of different live strains of good bacteria and yeast that work with the trillions of living microorganisms living inside your gut flora to help maintain its healthy balance. Of the microorganisms inside your gut, some are good bacteria while others are bad bacteria. Increasing the number of good bacteria in your gut has numerous overall benefits because the good bacteria multiply, thus taking up the space the bad bacteria would fill.
If you have plenty of healthy microbes in your gut, you’ll therefore have fewer unhealthy microbes, as they will be crowded out. It’s highly important to feed yourself good bacteria through probiotics because of the crucial role your gut has.
What Happens In the Gut?
Your gut is located within your gastrointestinal system, also called your GI tract. Various important organs like your small and large intestines, esophagus, and stomach are also within the GI system. The living microbes exist here because the digestive tract is where the food you ingest is separated into vitamins and nutrients, which give you energy. In order for your digestive system to complete its essential function, you need to have a healthy balance of good bacteria and yeast working in your body.
What Signs Indicate an Unhealthy GI Tract?
As we saw, imbalances are fairly standard amongst Americans, but they don’t need to be since probiotics are so readily available. There are many common indicators of an imbalance in one of the gastrointestinal organs, but it’s not always clear whether they’re connected to the gut, since other health concerns may have similar symptoms. Yet, if the indicators are lessened and eradicated with probiotics, that’s an easy solution and way to rule out other diagnoses. Therefore, you should try probiotics if these symptoms resonate with you.
Symptoms to watch for are difficulty sleeping, sluggishness and exhaustion, cravings for sugary foods, bloating, constipation, stomach discomfort, unaccounted-for weight gain or loss, intolerances to certain foods, digestion issues after eating them, or skin problems like rashes or breakouts.
What Benefits Do Probiotics Have on Gut Health?
Thankfully, finding relief from these symptoms could be as simple as taking a daily probiotic supplement. Here are some benefits probiotics have on gut health.
They Can Increase Energy Levels
Probiotics help your GI tract break down foods into nutrients and energy. If your gut is having trouble with this important function, it’s no wonder why you’d feel a lack of energy and would walk around feeling sluggish and tired.
They Can Strengthen the Immune System
Bad bacteria and pathogens are what spread throughout the body and get you sick. Probiotics help the immune system as well as the digestive system because they fight off the bad bacteria and strengthen the walls of the gut to prevent it from spreading.
They Can Regulate Bowel Movements
Since a tell-tale sign of an imbalanced, irritated gut is irregular bowel movements, when you start taking probiotics to treat this issue, you can expect to experience regularity and relief from bloating and diarrhea.
They Can Help Your Mood
Having an imbalanced gut can lead to irritability, stress, and a poor mood since the vagus nerve connects the gut and the brain. Having a healthy, happy gut microbiome can undo these negative feelings and replace them with a more contented mood.
Takeaway
Having a happy, balanced gut is only one step away, and that step is taking probiotics. The benefits of good gut health can impact your whole life if you simply stay consistent with your probiotic intake.