Five Reasons to Consider Adding a Probiotic to Your Daily Diet

There are a lot of things we can do to improve our diets. From eating a little less sugar to consuming smaller portions of red meat, what we eat can boost our mood, help the environment, and even help us live longer.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to improve your diet, you may want to consider eating a probiotic or taking a probiotic supplement. This one small habit comes with many potential benefits, providing you with a lot of bang for your buck with very little investment of your time.

It Can Improve Leaky Gut Syndrome

Your gut is lined with cells that separate what’s inside your intestines from your bloodstream. If this barrier is compromised, it can leak the contents of your intestines into your bloodstream where they trigger an immune response. This ultimately leads to things like allergies, headaches, and autoimmune diseases.

A probiotic can help repair the gut barrier, preventing the contents of your intestines from leaking into your bloodstream.

Probiotics can be especially helpful if you’re at an increased risk of developing leaky gut syndrome. You should seriously consider a probiotic if you:

• Take NSAIDs or antibiotics on a regular basis
• Experience a lot of mental or physical stress
• Have Celiac Disease
• Have Diabetes
• Have Irritable Bowel Syndrome

It Can Treat and Prevent Diarrhea

Taking antibiotics can cause diarrhea. Studies have suggested that taking a probiotic can reduce instances of diarrhea by up to 51 percent.

Probiotics can help if you suffer from diarrhea for other reasons too. It can help with diarrhea that is caused by bacteria and parasites, as well as traveler’s diarrhea, which often occurs when people are exposed to microorganisms that they normally don’t interact with in their everyday lives.

There have also been studies that have shown how probiotics can help reduce or prevent diarrhea in children and infants.

No matter why you’re experiencing diarrhea, it doesn’t hurt to give a probiotic a try! Just make sure you choose a probiotic with a high number of Colony Forming Units (CFU). The more there are, the more they can combat your symptoms.

It Can Give Your Immune System a Boost

Your immune system is what can help keep you from getting sick, especially in the winter when colds and the flu are going around. In a world where COVID-19 is still a threat, making sure our immune systems are in tip-top shape is especially important.

Probiotics have the potential to boost your immunity. A study in New Zealand showed that athletes who took a probiotic had 40 percent fewer colds and gastrointestinal infections than patients who took a placebo instead.

Adding a supplement to your diet is the quickest and easiest ways to add a probiotic to your diet to boost your immune system, but you can also find foods that are fortified with probiotics that can help.

It Can Positively Impact Your Mental Health

It makes sense that there would be physical benefits of taking a probiotic, but it turns out, there are mental health benefits as well. Taking probiotics has been shown to boost mood, cognitive function, and it has even been associated with a decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression.

That’s because there is a connection between your gut and your brain. The gut has even been called the second brain because it has the same neurotransmitters as the brain does. The vast majority of serotonin in your body is actually produced in your gut, and when the brain senses trouble, the first warning signals are sent to the gut.

By keeping your gut healthy, you can keep your brain healthy, ultimately increasing your mental health.

It Can Help You Focus on Eating a Healthier Diet

Healthy habits often lead to more healthy habits. Taking a probiotic is a quick and easy way to get started focusing on your health. If you start taking a probiotic regularly, you’re more likely to focus on eating healthier foods, which also includes eating foods that are good for your gut health, as well as your overall health. As you feel empowered by making healthy choices, you’re more likely to exercise and take care of yourself in other ways.

Adding a probiotic to your diet is a great way to boost your physical and mental health! Not only do studies show how beneficial it can be, it’s a quick and easy habit that can encourage you to continue making healthy choices on a daily basis.