{"id":253743,"date":"2025-10-31T18:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/253743\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T18:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:20:14","slug":"what-to-know-about-probiotics-for-weight-loss-per-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/253743\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Know About Probiotics For Weight Loss, Per Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before GLP-1s<\/a> took over the weight loss scene, there were probiotic supplements<\/a>. Yes, these little capsules boast benefits such as improving your digestion, heart health<\/a>, and immunity<\/a>, and they\u2019re also sometimes used for weight loss\u2014but do they actually work?<\/p>\n

First, a reminder on what probiotics actually are: They’re microorganisms that can support the helpful bacteria that live all over your body, including the beneficial bacteria in the intestines, says Katherine Saunders, MD, an obesity medicine physician and co-founder of Intellihealth. \u201cGood bacteria can support health and immune function by helping our body digest food, produce vitamins, break down and absorb medications, and prevent overgrowth of bad bacteria that can make us sick,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n

Meet the experts: Katherine Saunders<\/a>, MD, is an obesity medicine physician and co-founder of Intellihealth<\/a>. Jennifer Bianchini<\/a>, RD, is a functional dietitian, mind-body wellness expert, and founder of Body to Soul Health. Caroline Apovian<\/a>, MD, is the co-director of weight management and wellness at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital. Roxana Ehsani<\/a>, RD, is a registered dietitian-nutritionist and board-certified sports dietitian based in Miami.<\/p>\n

Ahead, find out the theories behind how probiotics could help with losing weight and what to know if you choose to take them, per experts. <\/p>\n

How Probiotics Might Help With Weight Loss <\/p>\n

When you eat, your body breaks down food during the digestion process. Gut microbes then absorb nutrients and create compounds that stabilize blood sugar and trigger fullness cues, directly affecting appetite and food cravings, says Jennifer Bianchini, RD, a functional dietitian, mind-body wellness expert, and founder of Body to Soul Health. When digestion works properly this way, the ratio of good-to-bad gut bacteria is balanced. <\/p>\n

Probiotics \u201ccan make weight loss easier by improving the environment inside your body that controls how your body processes and makes energy from food, hormones, and overall metabolic regulation,\u201d says Bianchini. But they\u2019re definitely not a quick fix.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn theory, probiotics could alter the microbiome in a positive way, however, studies have illustrated minimal, if any, weight loss,\u201d Dr. Saunders says. More research is needed, but a 2024 review of six studies in Obesity Science and Practice<\/a> looked at the use of probiotics for treating excess weight and obesity. It found that specifically Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and total body fat mass in the absence of dieting. This is likely because probiotics can help reduce bloating<\/a> and inflammation<\/a>, regulate blood sugar, and improve how the body uses and stores energy, says Bianchini.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s important to remember, though, that it\u2019s still not totally clear how probiotics impact weight loss. While it\u2019s entirely possible that a probiotic-filled healthy gut could be more amenable to weight loss or weight maintenance, it also might be thanks to another kind of cause and effect, adds Caroline Apovian, MD, the co-director of weight management and wellness at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital. \u201cIt may certainly be that those people who eat healthy have healthier guts and not the other way around,\u201d she says. \u201cAs far as which came first, the healthy diet or the healthy gut, it\u2019s likely the healthy diet.\u201d <\/p>\n

What To Know About Probiotic Supplements For Weight Loss<\/p>\n

Experts recommend eating foods high in probiotics before taking a supplement for weight loss, but supplements can help fill in the gaps and are the easier method. However, not all probiotic strains are created equal, and there\u2019s not a general consensus on which ones might work best for weight loss results. <\/p>\n

What we do know, though, is that a probiotic species known as Akkermansia muciniphila has been shown to regulate metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity, per a 2021 review of studies on the probiotic in Microorganisms<\/a>. However, Bianchini says a broad-strain probiotic that contains a few of the most researched strains like lactobacillus gasseri, lactobacillus rhamnosus, and bifidibacterium can also be very beneficial in creating a healthy and diverse microbiome to support weight loss. <\/p>\n

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If your doctor gives you the go-ahead, look for a brand that\u2019s third-party tested with the NSF-certified seal or USP-certified mark on the label, says Ehsani. That means it\u2019s been tested to contain everything it says it does\u2014and nothing that it doesn\u2019t. In general, supplements aren\u2019t required to go through rigorous testing; these labels indicate that these products have undergone a quality-control process. (You can check out some of our fave brands here<\/a>!) <\/p>\n

Pendulum Akkermansia<\/p>\n

\"Akkermansia\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The label will likely also mention CFU, which stands for colony-forming units, or the number of live, active bacteria in a probiotic, but you can generally ignore this number. \u201cIt\u2019s more important to choose a probiotic with clinically studied strains and guaranteed live cultures, rather than just purchasing a high number of CFUs,\u201d Bianchini says. <\/p>\n

All in all, it won\u2019t hurt to try a probiotic if your goal is weight loss. But for the best gut health<\/a> results, it\u2019s imperative to integrate them into a balanced diet and lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Risks Of Using Probiotics For Weight Loss<\/p>\n

It\u2019s generally safe for most people to take probiotics\u2014but you could throw off the bacterial balance in your gut, which may lead to digestive issues such as gas, bloating, or an upset stomach, says Dr. Saunders. <\/p>\n

However, there are some people who should stay away from probiotics. \u201cAnyone who has a compromised immune system or certain diseases (like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) may get sick from taking probiotics,\u201d says Roxana Ehsani, RD, registered dietitian-nutritionist and board-certified sports dietitian. Those on antibiotics also may not benefit, as some antibiotics prevent probiotics from working well, she adds. <\/p>\n

In any case, it\u2019s always a good idea to hit up your doctor before you start taking any supplement, including probiotics.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Andi Breitowich is a Chicago-based writer and graduate student at Northwestern Medill. She\u2019s a mass consumer of social media and cares about women\u2019s rights, holistic wellness, and non-stigmatizing reproductive care. As a former collegiate pole vaulter, she has a love for all things fitness and is currently obsessed with Peloton Tread workouts and hot yoga. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before GLP-1s took over the weight loss scene, there were probiotic supplements. Yes, these little capsules boast benefits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,137,75790,17089,532,20220,150023,150022,150021,150020,150024,555,17091],"class_list":{"0":"post-253743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-how-to-lose-weight","12":"tag-lose-weight","13":"tag-nutrition","14":"tag-probiotics","15":"tag-probiotics-benefits","16":"tag-probiotics-benefits-weight-loss","17":"tag-probiotics-for-weight-loss","18":"tag-probiotics-weight-loss","19":"tag-ways-to-lose-weight","20":"tag-weight-loss","21":"tag-weight-loss-tips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}