One of your New Year’s resolutions may be to improve your health. For many people, this pledge includes turning to probiotics, which are foods and dietary supplements containing live bacteria. These products promise to introduce good bacteria into your digestive system to improve the way you process food, keep you regular and boost your overall wellness.

But with the growing number of probiotic products available, it’s hard to know what really works and what steps you should take to keep your digestive system healthy.

Probiotics – what we know so far

Dr. Nicholas Chia

“Most of the probiotic dietary supplements contain very small amounts of bacteria, and it is unclear whether they are effective. These products are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration in the same way that medications are regulated. Therefore, there is no scientific evidence showing the effectiveness of these products. In fact, we are still learning about how probiotics work and how long they stay in the gut,” explains Nicholas Chia, Ph.D. , associate director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine Microbiome Program.

Dr. Chia and his colleagues at Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine are at the forefront of exploring how the trillions of bacteria in your digestive system, known as your gut microbiome, influence your health and your susceptibility to disease. They are building on the knowledge that bacteria play an important role in maintaining health, and when this population of bacteria is disrupted, it can lead to serious health problems such as colon cancer, clostridium difficile infection and rheumatoid arthritis.

Probiotics and diet – one size does not fit all

“Every one of us has an individual gut microbiome that can change over time. So what might be a good probiotic therapy for one person may not be a good one for another. The same concept is true for diet,” says Dr. Chia.

Dr. Chia highlights current research efforts underway to address these individual differences and personalize treatments for patients to maintain gut health:

• Probiotics: First, researchers are examining which microbes or bacteria impact different people’s digestive systems and the bacteria within their gut microbiome. Based on this research, investigators hope to develop an effective dose of probiotic to change the composition of a person’s microbiome in a way that eliminates or prevents diseases such as cancer and obesity.

• Diet: While researchers understand that radical changes in diet may alter a person’s microbiome, it is often difficult for patients to make and stick with these major changes every day. For example, changing to a vegan diet and avoiding all foods that contain animal fats can be difficult to sustain over time. Therefore, investigators are exploring how they can make specific, targeted changes in diet to promote a healthy gut and reduce symptoms from a disease or even eliminate the disease completely. These targeted changes, such as altering the amount of sugar consumed, will be easier for patients to adopt as part of their daily routine.

“We are making progress in understanding the microbiome – carrying our initial basic science research findings into further studies to define the role of each intervention strategy,” says Dr. Chia.

Steps you can take to maintain your digestive and overall health

There are simple steps that you can take to maintain a healthy digestive system, control your weight and improve your overall health. These steps may offer even more health benefits than taking probiotics, according to Dr. Chia.

First, eat a varied diet.

“Research shows that diversity of diet is linked with better health. So one of the best things you can do for your microbiome is to encourage diversity by eating a variety of foods that offer nutrients from many sources, including vegetables, grains, fruits and lean proteins,” says Dr. Chia.

Second, in addition to eating a healthy diet, you should also exercise regularly.

Dr. Chia and his colleagues conducted a study that showed how both diet and exercise impact the gut microbiome.

“Many people try to exercise and eat whatever they want, or they diet but do not exercise. Our study confirmed that while both diet and exercise have a positive impact on your gut microbiome, they each offer different benefits. So by eating well and exercising regularly, you get the biggest benefit for your overall digestive health and wellness,” explains Dr. Chia.

Learn more about how the microbiome impacts your health

• Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine Microbiome Program
• This diet’s for you: personalized nutrition to improve your health
• Microbiome: all you need is bugs
• Gut bacteria can predict treatment response and recurrence of clostridium difficile
• Study: Gut bacteria can cause, predict and prevent rheumatoid arthritis

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Tags: #gut health, #probiotics, bacteria, center for individualized medicine, Diet, Dr. Nicholas Chia, mayo clinic, medical research, microbiome, Uncategorized