Role of Probiotics in Weight Loss
July 13, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
Probiotics, the “good” bacteria found in yogurt and over-the-counter supplements, can help in the digestion of food. Now Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics researchers have found that probiotics also help gastric-bypass patients lose weight more quickly.
John Morton, MD, associate professor of surgery at Stanford School of Medicine, performed the gastric bypass surgeries in the probiotics study.
Researchers followed 44 patients receiving gastric bypass from 2006 to 2007.
The group of patients taking probiotics consumed one pill per day of Puritan’s Pride, available online and in many stores. Puritan’s Pride has no financial ties with the study.
The probiotics study, published in the July issue of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, revealed that after three months, the patients taking probiotics saw a 47.6% weight loss, while the control group had only a 38.5% weight loss.
One of the study authors, John Morton, MD, who performed the gastric bypasses, said he now recommends probiotic supplements to his patients.
Another benefit of of probiotics is that they help maintain levels of vitamin B-12 after gastric-bypass surgery. The study showed that patients taking the supplements had higher B-12 levels three months after surgery. That’s a useful finding since gastric bypass frequently causes deficiency in B-12.
Morton believes that, “part of the obesity puzzle may be due to the kind of bacteria you have in your intestine.”
(Image via Stanford University School of Medicine)
I will for sure have to share this info with my sister-in-law who had gastric-bypass surgery last year. Our family loves Vidazorb probiotics as they have been the one and only thing to safely and effectively help our little boy with his severe Eczema. It has been such a blessing, and since we have seen first-hand how awesome they are…our whole family loves them and takes them! I will have to talk to my sis-in-law and get her started on Vidazorb too
Thanks, Caroline
Caroline, glad you found the post useful. It’s always nice to come across studies that have real-life, immediate implications. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt for your sis-in-law to talk to her doctor about taking them first though.
I agree, you should always check with your health care professional before taking probiotics. While they are “safe” they can affect the body in ways you may not be ready for. And, certain conditions require careful monitoring even with natural substances like probiotics.
- Anna M