September 01, 2022

9 Benefits of Probiotics for Women

The buzz around the benefits of consuming probiotics is rooted in science and medicine. Though their popularity has increased over the past several years, it’s likely you’ve already eaten foods rich in probiotics without even realizing it: Yogurt, soft cheeses, kombucha, and soy-based products are a few examples of foods that naturally have beneficial bacteria—and GEM’s Citrus Ginger contains both pre- and probiotics to maintain gut health. Even more, the benefits of probiotics for women include smoother digestion, less bloating, and even may help your skin repair itself.

Probiotics aren’t simply a passing trend, and if you are asking what are probiotics, keep reading to find out how they can create better balance within the body.

How Do Probiotics Work?

The body is constantly fighting off bad bacteria that enter the body through the environment, infection, viruses, and other daily pollutants. An imbalance means the body isn’t function at its optimal level, which can lead to digestion, skin, and hormonal issues.

There are several whole foods that include good bacteria already, and many products have added “live and active cultures” as probiotics are in high demand. In addition to yogurt, soft cheese, kombucha, and soy-based products, other probiotic-rich foods to potentially add to your diet include cottage cheese, fermented foods (ex. pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi), miso soup, and kefir.

If you’re not getting enough foods rich in probiotic, you can supplement with a multivitamin or pill. Cleveland Clinic recommends Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces boulardii, or Bifidobacterium, as these probiotics are some of the most researched.

If you’re new to the world of probiotic bacteria, start by slowly introducing foods like yogurt or cottage cheese more regularly and see how it makes you feel.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Aids in Digestion

Good bacteria helps the body digest food. As dietary habits change over the years, the body’s ability to break down certain foods may diminish. Fluctuating hormones, diet shifts, and added stress to the body can throw digestive health off-kilter and make it hard to process certain foods.

However, you may also recognize problems with digestion after eating certain foods or drinking beverages with carbonation. The benefits of consuming probiotics in a supplement form is a way to easily ingest beneficial bacteria without adding new foods to your diet. It’ll help “feed” your body what it needs as you begin to uncover changes about how your digestive tract reacts to certain foods.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Regulates Gut Health

Poor gut health manifests itself in many ways: Temporary bloating, diarrhea, and constipation are common side effects of problems with the gut microbiome. Irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease may also be indicators of poor gut health. According to Harvard Medical School trial research, taking probiotics increased the number of weekly bowel movements and helped soften stools to ease the strain on the gut for those who participated in the study. Regular bowel movements keep the gut from putting undo stress on the rest of the body.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Fights Bad Bacteria

Eating pre- or probiotics essentially involves consuming live bacteria—but we’re talking about the good kind. Probiotics are part of a larger microbiome in the body, which also consists of fungi, yeasts, viruses, and protozoa—and they help fight off the bad kind that can create indigestion, constipation, and even infection. Probiotics create balance within your body’s unique microbiome, which supports other healthy body functions and keeps you in premium health.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Creates Vitamins

Certain good bacteria have the ability to produce essential vitamins for the body. According to a collaborative study through the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, microbial synthesis may produce vitamin B12, vitamin K, biotin, riboflavin, and folate. After vitamins, probiotics are the top supplement ingested on a daily basis.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Helps to Prevent Infections

Probiotics may help prevent or limit the frequency or intensity of certain infections, including yeast infections, urinary tract infections, and upper respiratory infections. A clinical trial conducted by the Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle found the probiotic Lactobacillus crispatus had reduced the risk of UTIs in women by nearly 50 percent.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Promotes Vaginal Health

As with gut health, there are many factors that can disrupt vaginal health as well, such as birth control pills, antibiotics, and spermicides. An imbalance may cause discomfort, itching, discharge, and unpleasant odors. The benefits of probiotics for women allow the body to naturally restore balance, aid in preventing yeast infections and UTIs and help with conditions like bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Reduces the Severity of Eczema

Research shows probiotic supplementation can improve eczema symptoms, particularly in people who have inflammatory responses to milk or dairy allergies. Good bacteria may reduce the number or intensity of flare-ups and help keep the skin condition under control. One study shows that children of women who took probiotics when pregnant had an 83 percent lower risk of developing eczema as infants.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Boosts the Immune System

Probiotics work in various ways to help regulate body functions and systems to boost the immune system and keep it in working order. By fending off harmful bacteria, regulating gut health, creating vitamins, and preventing infections, the overall positive effect of taking probiotics is maintaining a strong immune system. With all of the germs, viruses, and environmental pollutants the body staves off on a daily basis, it’s nice to have good bacteria working to support strong health.

Benefits of Probiotics for Women: Fights Belly Fat

Certain good bacteria may be an agent to fight belly fat. Research that shows the advantages of taking probiotic supplements or eating foods rich in probiotics to help lose or maintain weight, specifically belly fat. One study conducted by the Nestlé Research Center shows the beneficial effects of probiotics for weight loss in women. Those who took a probiotic product lost 50 percent more weight over a three-month trial period compared to those who took the placebo pill. Plus, the women who lost weight continued to do so through the weight maintenance phase of the study.

Other Conditions That Benefit from Probiotics

Probiotics offer a natural way to improve, reduce, or sustain certain health conditions. In addition to the main ways probiotics help the body, increasing the number of healthy bacteria you ingest may also help with:

  • Lactose intolerance
  • Gum disease
  • Allergies
  • Heart health
  • High blood pressure
  • Mood

They won’t have the same effect on everyone, since all individuals have unique systems that affect how the body reacts to bacteria, good or bad. Choose products that have been tested for the symptoms or health conditions you want to address. The first place to start is knowing how probiotics work, what foods you can introduce to your diet, and other ways you can take probiotics to see how an increase in healthy bacteria benefits you.

How Long Does It Take For Probiotics To Work?

Note that when first taking probiotics, they may cause bloating and gas, which are indications the product is working. As you start to feel differences with how your body digests foods, consider what form of probiotic works best for you. Whether it’s a supplement you take in the morning, a powder form you blend in with a smoothie or eating more of the designated foods, there are plenty of options for how to benefit your health with probiotics and start feeling better on a continual basis.

It’s important to note that consistency makes a difference when trying anything new as your body adjusts and responds. Continue incorporating nutrient-rich foods and drinking plenty of water, which also helps with digestion and proper gut health. If after a few weeks, you don’t notice a difference, switch to a different type of probiotic strain or consult your doctor.

This article is based on scientific research and/or other scientific articles and contains trusted sources.

Our goal at GEM is to give readers up-to-date and objective information on health-related topics. GEM content is written by experienced health and lifestyle contributors and articles undergo an extensive review process.

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