Video Transcript:
Probiotics. We have all heard of that type of supplement.
And especially if you have gut issues, I'm sure you've looked into taking probiotics or at least wondering if you should be taking probiotics. And throughout many of our videos, we've talked a lot about the benefits of probiotics, how to take probiotics, and today I'm going to just talk about some of the side effects that can come from taking probiotics.
But first I'm going to introduce myself. I'm Marcie Vaske. I'm a functional medicine nutritionist with Flusso Nutrients at Flusso Nutrients. We really work hard to educate you on all types of supplements so that when you're making decisions for your health, you can make a good one.
And if you ever have questions about supplements, do make sure you talk to a supplement literate professional to make sure that it's not interacting with any of the medications or other supplements you are taking.
So jumping back into our topic today about probiotics and there are possible side effects.
What is a probiotic?
So first I want to explain just what is a probiotic.
And a probiotic is really made up of live microorganisms that help to repopulate healthy flora in our digestive system by getting out some of the bad or opportunistic flora and repopulating with healthy flora that can set our gut up for better gut health.
And especially if you struggle with any kind of IBS or even IBD symptoms, probiotics can certainly be your friend.
Now, as I stated, probiotics have tons of great things about them, great benefits, but of course with anything there can be some side effects.
How do probiotics work?
Now, before we get into the possible side effects, the benefits of probiotics, as I touched on just briefly, really help to support our digestive system.
They actually help to break down our food properly, help us to eliminate waste, well, as well as keeping a good integrity of our actual tissue, of our gastrointestinal tract.
In addition to that, probiotics and good flora can really help to support our immune system.
Should you take a gut probiotic?
And so with all of these little pieces that probiotics do, it's no wonder you might be questioning, well, should I be taking a probiotic?
So with those benefits, some of the side effects that can happen when starting a probiotic is going to be usually GI related.
Now of course, we want to try to increase the good flora by taking the probiotic, and if you have a pretty poor gut health to begin with, you might be one that might experience more of these symptoms.
Probiotic Side Effects - Be Aware of this!
Probiotic Gas
So in the beginning of taking a probiotic, you can maybe experience things like bloating, extra gas, maybe even looser stools or just a change in your bowel movement.
And typically that changes within a few days after things get a little bit more calmed down and some of that good flora gets in there, then things start to balance out.
Probiotic issues
But there have been rare cases where people have actually had an allergic reaction to a probiotic, and it may not be the actual flora or the live organisms that are in the capsule, but maybe what the capsule is made of or the other ingredients that is inside of the capsule.
If that happens to you, of course, stop immediately. And of course, talk to a healthcare professional.
Probiotic bloating
So as I mentioned, one of the most common types of side effects of a probiotic is really just an increase in gas or bloating or maybe a change in your bowel movement.
And so if that has happened to you in the past, don't give up. You might still be able to be fine with them, but what I would recommend is starting slower with a lower dose.
Probiotic issues - how to improve
So meaning if you really have a lot of GI issues, I would recommend starting with one capsule every other day and just making sure that goes okay.
And then maybe the next week you pick it up, adding just one more capsule in and just letting your body adjust and your gut really adjust to the new flora.
When it's done in this way many times, then there's really no side effect at all.
You don't even notice that you're taking a probiotic and it's just doing all the good things that you want it to do.
Probiotics and Antibiotics
Now, probiotics are going to be especially helpful if you are taking an antibiotic.
So antibiotics are often prescribed for bacterial infections, and what they do is they'll kill off that bacteria, but it will also kill many, many, many trillions of bacteria in our digestive system.
And so with that, along comes diarrhea for some people.
So if you've ever been on an antibiotic and your gut feels like a wreck and you've got a lot of diarrhea, and then of course, cramping and bloating, an option would be to implement a probiotic.
But one thing to keep in mind is that if you do take the probiotic, a saccharomyces boulardii, which is a type of yeast, is really great against that as well as lactobacillus ramus.
And those are just two different strains.
And so what you'd want to do is begin taking that bacteria about, you want to make sure it's four hours away from the antibiotic.
So let's say you take your antibiotic at 8:00 AM you can take a probiotic at noon to help relieve some of that antibiotic induced diarrhea. Now, of course, this is a benefit of probiotics, and today we're really talking about side effects.
But not only can probiotics have a side effect, we're just sharing that antibiotics can as well.
Probiotic Issues - Immune System
Now, probiotics also can be, as I mentioned, super beneficial for our immune system. However, if you have a very poor immune system or one that is very weakened, that would be sometimes probiotics can actually trigger more symptoms.
So specifically individuals in chemotherapy or who have been sick for a very long time, it wouldn't probably the best time to throw in a probiotic because oftentimes that might trigger a bigger response.
So waiting until you're a bit healthier and able for your body to adjust well to a probiotic is going to be your best bet.
Probiotic Issues - Gas + Bloating
Also, along with the symptoms of gas and bloating, that beginning a probiotic might induce. Remember, just go slow.
And some specific strains of flora that could be better would just be a bifidobacterium or a lactobacillus acidophilus.
These are really gentle flora that usually people have no issue with, but still, I say, no issue, and you might be one of 'em.
So again, just go slow and make sure that you feel good on it so that you don't have extra gas bloating, which is probably why you're starting the probiotic anyway.
Now, along with the gas and bloating, some people actually have a change in their stool, so either end up they have more diarrhea or maybe things get a little bit backed up.
Probiotic Issues - Constipation
And again, number one, start slow because they can over time, these symptoms usually will alleviate themselves.
If they don't, you've been on a really low dose for at least two weeks, I would say, then I would just stop it completely because your body's saying, you know what?
I'm just not ready for this. I can't do it. And you don't want to obviously feel worse than you did before you started the probiotic.
So just stopping the probiotic, letting things regulate, and maybe in a couple months time, you can certainly try it again, maybe even at a slower rate.
So maybe it looks like one capsule of probiotic every couple days.
Probiotic Issues - Skin Issues
And another side effect that can occur is even skin issues when starting a probiotic.
So oftentimes we will even recommend probiotics because they do help so much with our skin, but for some people it doesn't.
And so if you've been on that probiotic for a couple weeks or so and you're noticing your skin isn't getting any better or it's actually getting worse, or maybe you get a hive or even a rash, obviously stop the probiotic and let your body get back to baseline.
It would be best to then talk to a healthcare practitioner to make sure that probiotics are really what you need, because there might just be something underneath all of it.
And that kind of goes for all the symptoms.
Probiotic Issues - Tips In Summary
Like I've mentioned, if you have really bad gut health starting a probiotic, you're probably going to have a little tougher time with, and so you are going to want to go slower, but if you just can't get past it within two or three weeks, definitely working with the healthcare practitioner such as myself can really find more of that root cause because maybe there's something underneath it that we need to work on before we even put in healthy flora.
So I hope that help you understand maybe some side effects of starting probiotics or taking probiotics.
Obviously, probiotics have so many benefits to us and they're very, they can be so helpful.
I've seen it help a lot of people, but of course, even in practice, I do see that probiotics sometimes are just not the route to go until other things get healthier or a better healing.
And so things to remember when starting probiotics is, make sure that you start them slowly.
So maybe one every other day, if really bad gut health, maybe one every couple days until you feel like you can increase.
Also, take your probiotic about 10 or 15 minutes before a meal.
It is best to take it in the morning before breakfast. But if that doesn't feel good in the beginning, take it at nighttime. Take it at lunch whenever it feels okay.
Really start to listen to what your body is telling you.
In addition to that, monitor your symptoms. Understand, okay, well, this is where I started.
This is where I am. How is this going?
Also, making sure that you're eating probiotics. So just kind of putting all your eggs in one basket by taking a probiotic isn't really what we want to do.
How to improve my gut health - Probiotic Foods
We want to make sure you're eating a healthy whole foods diet that is high in fermentable foods. If your stomach can handle it, meaning things like yogurt or miso or kimchi, or sauerkraut, of course, is going to have tons of bifidobacterium in it.
So adding those things into your diet is going to be another great way to keeping your gut microbiome healthy.
In addition to taking some of those probiotics if you want to, I will link a quality probiotic here.
If you're thinking that, well, this kind of sounds good for me, I'm going to give it a go and just go slow.
Thanks for watching.
Check out the high-quality supplements we discussed in this video - links below for your convenience!
1) Daily Multi-Strain Probiotic: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/ultrabiotic-daily-multi-strain
2) Liquid Probiotic: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/suppys-probiotic-liquid
3) ALL PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com