L. reuteri probiotic – what on earth is that?

November 26, 2018

Lactobacillus reuteri is a probiotic. Its one of the many strains of bacteria that are critical to our health.

The amazing thing with this little guy is, that he has co-evolved with us humans, having made the human gut its home for millennia. We’ve recently discovered that ‘modern’ lifestylers have very little of this particular strain in our gut, whilst those living in traditional ways have tonnes! This is not overly good news – well, not for the ‘modern day lifestyler’ anyway..

We’ve learnt such an enormous amount about bacteria, and the beneficial, and indeed necessary role it plays in our state of health and our evolution. Thankfully the days of waging war on all ‘bugs’ is slowly dying away.

Benefits of probiotics

We now know that specific strains of bacteria can be very beneficial for specific things. We know that particular strains of probiotics can help with:

– Improving the composition of LDL cholesterol particles (amazing right!)
– Weight loss, with regards to helping reduce abdominal fat mass in particular
– Skin conditions such as eczema
– IBS
– Helicobacter pylori infections
– Abdominal pain
– Allergies, and more.

Healthy diet and lifestyle is important

Keep in mind that whilst taking probiotics can be a great idea, you need to cast the net wider to gain the full health benefits. They are not a magic bullet! Eating well is essential to keeping your bugs happy, as this is what the bacteria will thrive on. You can supplement with probiotics to achieve your desired health results, but you absolutely need to be eating a colourful and varied diet of wholefoods too. Eating somewhere in the vicinity of 25 – 40 different plant foods (herbs, fruit, veg) on a regular basis is the best way to optimise the overall health of your gut bacteria once you’ve grown yourself a potent and healthy bug population!

Quality and type of probiotics

There are an incredible number of probiotic supplements on the market these days (including Lactobacillus reuteri). It’s really important to determine your health goal before purchasing probiotics. You can then source the specific strain that is going to help with that. Essentially probiotics are strain specific, they are condition specific, and they are somewhat dose specific too. Choosing the right strain is important for therapeutic efficacy to achieve your desired results.

The quality of the probiotic is also an important factor. Many of the supplements over the counter might not provide the benefits or achieve the results you desire.

If you have particular concerns about your health and are interested in discussing how probiotics may help, come in and speak to us or contact us today!

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