Probiotics are your best friend for keeping balance in your body. These small organisms live within you to give you a healthy life. They keep harmful bacteria and viruses away from you and boost your immune system. There are various types of probiotics, and they work in different ways to improve your health.
However, stress, processed food, chemicals in water or food, pollution, radiation, and certain antibacterial medications can severely affect symbiosis. In such cases, one may need to take natural digestive supplements that would restore the balance of your gut bacteria. Many foods and supplements contain those essential microorganisms to provide us with the best benefits.
Probiotics provide us with the highest benefit. However, some bacteria can get damaged due to stomach acids. Alternatively, some probiotics can also cause problems for your health. Therefore, certain considerations should be made before taking probiotic supplements. In this article, we are going to discuss why and when to take probiotics. Stay with us if you are in a dilemma about taking probiotics. We’ll try our best to provide you with the best information to help you.
Why Consider Taking Probiotics?
Probiotics are certain types of microorganisms living in your body, providing you with numerous health benefits as rent. They help you digest your food effectively. Moreover, they highly help you keep your body fit and provide a certain boost to your immune system. There are also some bacterias that can cause damage to your body. Probiotics help your body fight those bacteria and keep an equilibrium to protect you from harm. They can also provide certain benefits in keeping your skin healthy and helping you lose weight. Much harmful cholesterol cannot form due to the contribution of specific probiotic bacteria. As a result, the optimal health of the heart is ensured. In a nutshell, probiotics are small workers who only work towards optimum health.
Due to various reasons, these probiotics can get damaged. Eating a diverse range of foods, alcohol abuse, smoking, stress, and lack of physical activity are some crucial reasons that can kill the probiotics. In such cases, there are supplements that can restore those probiotics in your gut. These supplements often come in tablets, capsules, or even powder form. However, consulting a doctor first is the best course of action before taking any probiotic supplements. Your doctor knows what kind of probiotics you need according to your condition and suggests you the best supplements.
When to Take Probiotics
Time is a highly considerable matter when it comes to taking probiotic supplements. Firstly, consistency is key to receiving the optimum benefits. Therefore, creating a routine for taking your supplements is highly recommended. Probiotics are found in your small and large intestines. However, before reaching the intestines, they pass through the stomach, exposing them to an acid bath. Thus long exposure in the stomach area is very bad for probiotics. So, the goal is to pass the probiotics through the stomach as fast as possible. The ideal practice is taking the supplements on an empty stomach, 2 or 3 hours after a meal, and 30 minutes before the next meal.
When the food or drink reaches your stomach, it stays there for a while. At that time, the stomach soaks the food with stomach acid and digestive enzymes before processing further. The heavier your meal, the longer it stays in the stomach.
Many people found the best benefits from the probiotics while taken before breakfast as part of their morning routine. An easily digestible meal also helps in this process.
Different Strains
Some microorganisms you take with your food can be pretty resilient to stomach acid. These can either be probiotics or harmful bacteria. E.coli and H.Pylori are two of examples of harmful bacteria that can survive stomach acid and can cause various problems in your body. Stomach flu, and food poisoning are some of the effects caused by these bacteria. When your body is exposed to too much of such bacteria, it tries to get rid of them quickly by causing diarrhea or vomiting. Overall, the survival rate of the micro-organisms depends highly upon the delivery method of the supplements.
Taking Probiotics Late in the Day
Taking probiotics late in the day can be significantly beneficial if you take your dinner on the early side. Your stomach is most likely to be empty in the morning or at the end of the day before bedtime. Although it depends on how much you ate for dinner and how late you ate. When you have a considerably empty stomach, probiotics can travel through the adverse environment of your stomach as quickly as possible. The 2 – 3 hours gap after having food is a suitable time to take probiotics. Also, check the instructions of the probiotic supplements for the most effective way to take the probiotics.
Side Effects
Some people can suffer from some minor side effects of probiotics supplements. The side effects include mild bloating, flatulence, or frequent bowel movements. This is because your body is getting used to the probiotic and potentially clearing out harmful substances like pathogenic bacteria. In contrast, if your body is having these side effects even after a week, consult your physician and stop taking the supplements. In case of severe side effects like stomach cramps, severe diarrhea, allergic reactions, dizziness, swelling, or breathing difficulty, consult your doctor immediately.
Bottom Line
Probiotics help you keep sound health. However, if they are not taken accordingly, they won’t benefit you and will die in your stomach. Reading the instructions that come with the package is highly recommended for receiving the best benefits. Taking them on an empty stomach highly increases their survival rate. So, following the right procedure to receive the advantage is highly crucial.
