How To Know If You Need a Probiotic

Probiotics are living microorganisms. We are increasingly learning how bacteria’s balance or possible imbalance in our digestive systems is linked to disease and overall health and wellness. Because of the relationship between the health of your gut and the rest of your health, people turn to probiotics as supplements, or they might try and get them through fermented foods. 

There are some high-quality probiotic brands available, like Floracil50, and it’s one of the most popular categories of supplements, but how do you know if you need one?

What Happens When You Take a Probiotic?

When you take a probiotic or increase your consumption of fermented foods, which are naturally rich in good bacteria, the following can happen:

• Taking probiotics can help prevent or treat diarrhea. Diarrhea can happen for many reasons, including because of taking antibiotics. Antibiotics alter the natural balance of good and bad bacteria in your body. Several studies show that taking a probiotic can reduce the risk of diarrhea related to antibiotics. They can also help with other causes of diarrhea not associated with antibiotic use, like infectious diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea. 
• You can improve your mental health. There’s a growing amount of research coming to light about how the health of our gut is linked to our mental health and mood. In one human study, supplementing with a couple of strains of probiotics improved symptoms of anxiety, depression, memory, OCD, and even autism. 
• Certain strains of good bacteria can help your heart stay healthy because they might lower blood pressure and cholesterol. 
• Some people find that probiotics improve symptoms of eczema and allergies. 
• Digestive disorders can benefit from probiotics in some instances. For example, bacteria from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains help with mild ulcerative colitis symptoms. 
• Your immune system may benefit because healthy bacteria can promote your body’s production of natural antibodies. Probiotics might also boost natural killer cells, T lymphocytes, and IgA-producing cells. 
• Probiotics can help with weight loss and reduce belly fat in some people. 

Signs You Need a Probiotic

Some of the potential ways you might know if you need a probiotic can include the following:

You Suffer From Asthma and Allergies

Leaky gut syndrome is one of the biggest underlying causes of food allergies. You can improve symptoms of leaky gut if you boost the number of beneficial bacteria present there. 

In clinical trials, probiotics helped reduce the severity of asthma symptoms. 

You Feel Like You’re Always Getting Sick

If your gut doesn’t have enough healthy bacteria, it weakens your immune system. When your immune system is weak, you’re more susceptible to various infections and viruses. This can include colds, the flu, and even urinary infections. If you feel sick more often than people around you, think about taking a probiotic. 

You Just Used Antibiotics

Antibiotics are intended to kill the bacteria in your body, and these medicines don’t discriminate between bad and beneficial in doing so. Whenever you have an antibiotic round, you should consider taking a probiotic to restore balance in your gut and body. 

You’re Dealing with Digestive Problems

If you feel any digestive symptoms, it’s worth exploring whether a probiotic could benefit you. For example, maybe you’re having gas, constipation, Crohn’s or H. pylori symptoms. All could be signs you should think about using probiotics. 

Your Mood Is Off

We often try to figure out every way possible to deal with a low mood or mood disorder, but we tend not to realize we should be targeting our guts. If you’re having symptoms like irritability, depression, chronic stress, or anxiety, one reason could be imbalances in your intestinal flora. 

You could be surprised at how much a probiotic can help your mood by improving your neurotransmitter function. 

You Suffer Frequent Yeast Infections

Yeast infections or Candida infections can mean your body has too much bad bacteria and not enough good. 

Get back in balance with a probiotic supplement. To further improve your symptoms, you might also want to reduce your sugar intake, which bad bacteria feed on. 

Your Skin Isn’t Clear

When your body can properly and fully flush out waste, it helps your skin look clear and healthy. That’s why we often see a relationship between skin and digestive problems. Skin problems can include psoriasis, eczema, acne, hives, and rashes. 

If you aren’t able to manage a skin condition and your topical treatments aren’t working, you might want to start with your gut. 

Overall, most people can benefit from taking a probiotic. Our modern lifestyle and diet tend to deplete our good bacteria, meaning we need a supplement to put in what our lives are taking out.