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Another day, another dollar study showing the benefits of Probiotics.
(As the saying goes.)
In all seriousness, showing your gut flora some TLC could be the best thing you do for your health in 2020 (and beyond).
The many established benefits of Probiotics include improved intestinal health, stronger immune response, lowering of cholesterol and cancer prevention…
…and while these benefits are fantastic, more recent studies show how gut health relates to 2 of the biggest health issues many of us face: Depression & Obesity.
The science on Probiotics and Depression
When I first heard about this, I thought it was just another health craze.
It turns out, however, that your brain and gut are in constant communication.
In fact, it’s estimated that 90% of the body’s serotonin (the “feel good” neurotransmitter) is made in the digestive tract by healthy bacteria Aka Probiotics.
To put this into context, many antidepressants work by increasing levels of serotonin in the brain.
With the number of people suffering from depression surging in the last few decades, it does make me wonder if this could be linked to skyrocketing antibiotics use…
(Unfortunately, antibiotics can’t differentiate between good and bad bacteria, meaning they also kill the bacteria responsible for serotonin production.)
Although I don’t suffer from depression, Probiotics would be my first approach if I ever became depressed.
(Disclaimer: My personal preference is to always seek “Natural” ways of treatment before going down the medical route. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you do the same.)
The science on Probiotics and Obesity
Similar to the science on Probiotics and Depression, I shrugged this of as a “fad” and a way supplement companies could milk their audience.
I was wrong again…
Alanna Collen – Evolutionary Biologist, and author of the excellent book 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness (Amazon) explained the science on Probiotics and Obesity in a study simplified below:
Bacteria were taken from a group of women who were twins. One of the twins was obese and the other was lean.
They transferred the bacteria from these women into germ-free mice.
(Meaning they had no bacteria in their gut to begin with. This was to make the experiment fair.)
The mice which received bacteria from the lean women… remained lean.
The mice which received bacteria from the obese women… became obese!
What’s even more fascinating is the obese mice did NOT eat more food.
This tells us that the gut, and the quality of bacteria in the gut, play an obese role in obesity.
About Dr. Mercola Probiotics
So now we’re all on the same page of the importance of a healthy gut, let’s dive into the review…
I’m a big, big fan of Dr. Mercola Probiotics (Amazon).
At 70 Billion CFU, they’re one of the strongest Probiotics on the market.
(CFU stands for colony-forming units, or in simple terms, the number of live bacteria per capsule. So each capsule contains 10x the world human population in bacteria – pretty cool huh?)
What I really, really like about Dr. Mercola Probiotics is how many strains of bacteria they contain.
With 10 different strains of bacteria, these capsules almost certainly provide more health benefits than most other Probiotics brands.
This is because each strain of bacteria serves a different function in the gut, meaning a different benefit for you. Hence the more strains there are, the more benefits you should see.
These capsules also contain Fructooligosaccharides, otherwise known as Prebiotics.
Prebiotics are a food source the Probiotics need to divide and multiply, which are essential to the effectiveness of the capsules.
(It’s shocking how many Probiotics brands DON’T include Prebiotics.)
I also like how Dr. Mercola Probiotics (Amazon) are packaged with a desiccant.
The desiccant absorbs the moisture within the bottle, which is super important for the quality of Probiotics since moisture can have a big effect on the living conditions of the bacteria.
(As you can tell, I paid a lot of attention in my high-school Biology class.)
Dr. Mercola Probiotics Dosage
Since these are such strong Probiotics, I personally take 1 capsule every day which is what the bottle advises.
With a month supply costing around $30, this works out to be around $1 per day.
Whilst this may seem a tad expensive, it’s important to remember that high quality supplements are not cheap, and we would never recommend you cheap, ineffective supplements here at Vitalized Future.
I also don’t recommend these Probiotics for long term use due to the strength of the capsules.
(After I’ve finished a month supply, I will wait a couple of months until purchasing more.)
My experience with Dr. Mercola Probiotics
In all honesty, I don’t feel much “physically” different when taking Dr. Mercola Probiotics (Amazon), apart from having less sugar cravings.
By this, I mean I don’t feel more alert as if I’ve had a strong coffee, or I don’t feel more pumped in the gym.
But that’s fine with me, since I would consider most of the benefits of Probiotics as “preventative”.
(You can’t physically feel a stronger immune system, improved intestinal health or lower Cholesterol.)
On this basis, I still highly recommend these Probiotics for anyone wanting to improve their gut health and overall well-being.
Dr. Mercola knows his stuff
While the high CFU count and number of strains of bacteria are great, what made me pull out my credit card for these Probiotics was that they’re from Dr. Mercola.
Dr. Joseph Mercola is a guy I’ve been following online for a few years now, and for those who don’t know, he’s the “natural” medicine expert.
He’s been providing immense value to the online health community for many years, and he’s a person I feel very comfortable buying from.
(Buying from an actual human being who’s helped my life massively is a lot more satisfying than from a giant corporation which only cares about $$$.)
Conclusion
With more and more evidence showing the importance of gut health, optimizing your gut flora should definitely be on your longevity “To-Do List”.
The easiest way you can improve your gut flora today is to supplement with high-quality Probiotics.
Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics (Amazon) tick all of the boxes of an excellent probiotic:
- High Strength
- Trusted brand
- Added Prebiotics
- Multiple strains of Bacteria
So if you’re serious about improving your gut health, Vitalized Future strongly recommends Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics (Amazon).
Sources
PubMed (Health Benefits of Probiotics) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4045285/h
Microbes Help Produce Serotonin in Gut https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/microbes-help-produce-serotonin-gut-46495
Alanna Collen on Microbes & Obesity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xKYsXDR3Zg
Further Reading
10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness (Amazon)
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