Probiotics can cause weight gain. Just like probiotics can cause weight loss.
It all depends on the type of probiotic you take, the efficacy and quality of the probiotic and the current state and health of your microbiome.
Read on to learn how probiotics can contribute to weight gain and product weight loss can help you reach your current body composition goals.
Newsflash: Your Gut Health Determines Your Weight
Contrary to popular belief that weight, body fat and metabolism are a direct result of carbs, fats, protein, calories, steps and cardio; your weight, body fat and metabolism are actually a direct result of your microbiome.
In fact, the reason why the diet industry focuses so heavily on calories, elimination diets (like carnivore, keto, vegan) and exercise is because these strategies actually change your gut microbiome—not just because cutting carbs all of a sudden or doing a HIIT bootcamp “boosts metabolism.”
Cutting carbs, for some people, can ‘starve’ certain gut bacteria that feed on carbs; and HIIT bootcamps, for some people, can create more diverse gut bacteria for total gut balance. Just like cutting carbs for TOO long or running TOO much (chronic cardio) can totally disturb gut bacteria—sort of like poking a wasp nest, making the bacteria go into a “tizzy” and creating dysbiosis (gut bacteria imbalances).
Basically, your weight, body fat and composition, and your metabolism are all a direct byproduct of your gut health.
Did you know that gut bacteria are actually totally different in lean people compared to heavy people?
Studies show when test subjects receive gut bacteria transplanted from overweight mice or humans, they gain more weight; however if they get gut bacteria from lean donors, they lose weight—even without changing their diet. In fact, Cornell University showed that the weight of the mice could be changed by over 15 percent just by shifting their gut bacteria—again, no change in diet at all.
Translation: If you want to lose weight, gain weight, lose body fat, or boost metabolism, focus on a total gut reset for your microbiome.
One way to do that is through probiotics, along with a handful of other “gut love” supports.
5 Ways Probiotics Can Cause Weight Gain
Before we jump into how to lose weight with probiotics, let’s chat about how some probiotics can cause weight gain.
Certain strains or amounts of gut bacteria and probiotics can make you gain weight more easily, just like certain strains or amounts of gut bacteria and probiotics can make you lose weight more easily.
Here are 5 ways probiotics can cause weight gain:
#1. Your Taking the “Wrong” Probiotics
A few noteworthy “weight gain” provoking probiotics in studies include:
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Lactobacillus fermentum
- Lactobacillus ingluviei
High doses of these bacteria may increase the Firmicutes genre of bacteria in your gut, linked to increased body fat and weight gain. Interestingly, a vast majority of probiotics on shelves specifically contain Lactobacillus acidophilus.
It’s important to note that these specific probiotics (like Lactobacillus acidophilus) may not be the ACTUAL culprit of weight gain, but instead, the fact that you may ALREADY have “a lot” of the same types of bacteria in your gut.
For example, vast majority of people with gut dysbiosis ALREADY have a high amount of Lactobacillus in their gut.
Hence, taking it in probiotic form just adds more “fuel” to the fire.
This is where working with a functional medicine practitioner can be helpful to help you determine the best gut support strategies can come into place.
#2. You’re Taking Too Many of an Un-necessary Probiotic
Sometimes it’s not the actual probiotic, but instead too much of a certain probiotic, which in turn contributes to dysbiosis.
This is exactly what happened for me when I began taking a double dose of the prescription-strength probiotic Visbiome—known for helping send conditions like colitis and autoimmunity, depression and anxiety into remission.
While a high dose of this probiotic certainly helped me “overcome” my colitis, detox mold and gain some necessary 15 pounds of healthy weight, once my body got into a “healthy” place, I no longer needed to supplement with the probiotic.
Basically: Too much of a “good thing” is not always a good thing.
High dose probiotics are best used strategically to both ‘rebuild’ the gut microbiome and target specific conditions.
A “healthy” dose of probiotics is anywhere from 50 billion CFU to 250 billion CFU for the average person, unless specifically targeting a condition like colitis, depression or detoxing mycotoxins.
#3. You Already Have Dysbiosis (& Need Antimicrobial Herbs Out on “Cleansing” the Gut)
A 3rd reason why some probiotics may contribute to weight gain is because you have dysbiois or SIBO, and also could benefit from some antimicrobial herbs and “drainage” support (to help with detox), versus just taking probiotics alone.
While probiotics can also be beneficial to take when “cleansing” dysbiosis and SIBO (to help preserve healthy bacteria), antimicrobial herbs work like antibiotics to clear out gram-negative bacteria (without any bad side effects like antibiotics).
As for “drainage” support—this may entail specific supplements and lifestyle strategies (like detox baths, dry brushing, coffee enemas, rebounding, etc.) that help encourage the “flow’ of toxins and unhealthy bacteria out of your body.
Work with a functional medicine or gut speciality practitioner to determine the best antimicrobial and detox approach for you.
#4. You Have a Leaky Gut
Probiotics won’t cure a leaky gut, but they can help treat it. A leaky gut is a code word for “inflammation” of the gut lining, which can lead to increased food intolerances, allergies, immune issues, poor absorption and digestion, and a cascade of other health challenges due to ongoing inflammation (ie. Anxiety, hormone imbalances, environmental sensitivities, weight gain and slowed metabolism, or the opposite, catabolism and body break down).
In other words: you need to also treat your leaky gut more directly, which may be contributing to weight gain (not just the probiotics).
Some specific leaky gut repair supports include:
#5. Probiotics May Be Poor Quality
It’s been estimated that 90% of probiotics on shelves do not contain the probiotics they claim due to poor manufacturing processes (that kill probiotics before they are bottled), as well as your own stomach acid that destroys the probiotics before they reach your gut.
You may actually benefit from taking probiotics for weight loss and improvements in your insulin and glucose levels.
However, if you’re taking a poor quality (cheap) probiotic, then the probiotic therapy may actually not be working at all—and you may blame your weight gain on a probiotic (when in actuality, it’s a lack of a probiotic).
How to Lose Weight with Probiotics
Ok, now that you understand how probiotics can contribute to weight gain, the good news is that the majority of studies actually show a benefit from taking probiotics to aid in weight loss.
Ultimately, a “healthy” biome—that is diverse and low in gram-negative, dysbiotic bacteria equals a healthier you.
Some specific otworthy “weight loss” probiotics include:
- Bacillus coagulans, a “spore based” probiotic which ameliorated high-fat diet induced body weight gain, insulin resistance and liver sluggishness
- Lactobacillus gasseri—shown to improve glucose tolerance and reduce body weight gain by stimulating energy expenditure.
- Lactobacillus reuteri—naturally helps to reverse metabolic dysfunction
- “Mixed” probiotic with low histamine strains of Bifidobacteria & Lactobacillus like: Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus salivarius—all of which have been shown to mitigate body weight gain and insulin resistance after a short-term challenge with a high-fat diet
Keep in mind again that it is not just the probiotic species itself that contributes to weight gain or weight loss, but the balance of bacteria in your gut and the other gut-reset variables that I teach my clients in my TOTAL GUT RESET program, like:
- Restoring your leaky gut
- Boosting stomach acid and digestive enzymes
- Supporting your gallbladder (to help with detox and elimination)
- Detoxing toxins and ensuring your “drains” are flowing (liver, lymph, gallbladder, kidneys, sweat)
Basically: A total gut reset.
If you are interested in a Total Gut Reset, book a call today and we can help you.
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