Gut is home to billions of bacteria that ferment non-digestible carbohydrates
In other words, the by-products of this fermentation increase satiety, decrease appetite. As a consequence, they also promote energy expenditure by modulating the metabolism of bile acids. Altering the gut microbiota – taking probiotics for example – could therefore help to prevent or combat overweight and obesity. Thus, a meta-analysis of clinical trials has been performed and published by the journal Obesity Reviews. The results showed that people who took probiotic supplements for a short period (3 to 12 weeks) have had a significantly greater decrease in
- body weight (-0.6%),
- body mass index (-0.27) and
- percentage of fat (-0.6%) than those who have not taken any (significatively at 95%)
What is a probiotic?
Our intestine is home to many bacteria, the usefulness of which is well established. However, studies also show that regular consumption of certain probiotics has a number of effects on the intestinal flora:
- improve not only the digestion of certain foodstuffs
- regulate intestinal transit.
For example, in one hand, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in yoghurts help to digest lactose (milk sugar). As a consequence, this makes possible for people with milk intolerance to consume these dairy products. On another hand, several probiotics have demonstrated an action on accelerating intestinal transit, such as:
- Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010,
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii bulgaricus,
- Streptococcus salivarius thermophilus…
An effect that generally depends on the dose of probiotics ingested.
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