Are probiotics safe? Know how probiotics can help ease leaky gut

While you will hear about leaky gut almost at every corner these days, the situation was not so a few years back. Only a very few people were aware of the leaky gut condition and others thought that their bloating, constipation, chronic diarrhea, headache etc to have separate reasons. This has now been established that all of these symptoms could be due to leaky gut condition and if not diagnosed, this could even lead to feeling constant fatigue and memory loss. Avoiding foods that have toxic effect in the body and including supplements including probiotics that help generate good flora are vital for treating leaky gut syndrome. This article, therefore, aims to delve on the issue are probiotics safe for getting rid of the leaky gut problem.

What is leaky gut?

Medical terminology for leaky gut is “hyper-permeable intestines”.  In this condition, porosity of the intestines increases and due to the damage in the intestinal lining, bacteria, toxins, body wastes and undigested food particles etc leak out of the gut and pollute the blood stream. When such foreign substances get into the blood stream, they cause many inflammatory and allergic conditions. The intestinal barrier, that is selectively permeable, extends from the esophagus to the anus and is made of cells only and with leaky guts it becomes porous.

What are probiotics?

Before we give any answer to the question are probiotics safe, we should know what it is. The term probiotic means ‘for life’ or “promoting life”. Until recently, their multiple ranges of benefits were not known. These are live microorganisms that are also known as good bacteria. These help optimal function of the digestive track and ultimately help improve our overall health. These are available in many foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, miso soup, kimchi etc and can also be generated into the body by taking probiotic supplements. These act in the gut and as most of the diseases begin in the gut, probiotics help to remedy many diseases by improving gut health through maintain right balance of microorganisms.

Healing power of probiotics

Concentration and type of the bacteria present in the gut has immense influence on our digestive power, immune function, maintaining hormone balance and also on mental and emotional health and that is why our gut is often called ‘second brain’. Antibiotics are mainly responsible for destroying the gut flora. Probiotics are essential for rebuilding the gut condition and taking probiotics can help restore the balance of micro flora in the digestive system. Thus, your nutrient absorbing capacity is increased and also helps to have regular bowel that helps to get rid of constipation. These also have anti-inflammatory properties and further arrest production and absorption of toxins.  Moreover, as probiotics help to maintain a balance of the bacteria, and encourages growth of digestive enzymes, these prevent dysfunction of the GI tract. These work great for improving liver function, and also support cardiovascular health.

How probiotics help?

Probiotics support gut health by influencing secretion of substances that act as mediator in inflammation and growing additional mucus that acts as a protective layer and helping to break down fibers into short chain fatty acids. When you take probiotics, it replenishes good bacteria in track. This brings down the concentration of the harmful bacteria present in the gut, and further restores positive communication between the gut and the brain. This also prevents inflammation; compensate the deficiency of nutrients in the diet for promoting overall health.

Are probiotics safe for leaky gut?

The answer to the question are probiotics safe is very tricky, because it depends on two factors: how much you are taking, and when you are taking. Probiotic supplements that have a count of 50 billion or more can deliver a shock to the body with its extreme high concentration. While you may not experience such a shock, when taking low counts of probiotics, that may not help ease the situation. So, one has to strike a balance for getting relief from leaky gut condition. Timing is also important for determining how are probiotics safe for curing leaky guts. If you load your body with tons of probiotics, when you are having a hyper-permeable intestine, this may not be the right thing to do, because these good bacteria will also have a chance to pass through the leaky wall and get mixed into the blood stream. One should, therefore, wait a few weeks and make necessary changes in the diet plan for making the gut less permeable and then take probiotic supplements safely.

Bottom line

It is better to take foods rich in probiotics. For supplements, one has to take multi-strain supplements to get better result.