One of the hottest topics in healthcare these days has to do with our symbiotic biome, the bugs (I guess I should say “bacteria”, though my favorite term is actually the Swahili word “wadudu”.) that inhabit nearly every nook and cranny of our bodies.  Trillions and trillions in just our guts alone.  Most wadudu, rather than being fearsome pathogens, are in fact beneficial, indeed critical, to our health and wellbeing.  And of course, as always there is a booming industry intent on convincing you that your very survival depends on buying and consuming pills to provide a continuous supply of these little critters.  But is it really?

Before answering that question, let’s make sure we are all understanding and using the correct terminology.  “Probiotic” refers to the actual bugs we are talking about – “pro” meaning favorable, and “biotic” meaning communal organisms.  (Another word you may run into for these good guys is “commensal” bacteria)  “Prebiotics” are the foods that harbor and feed these guys.  And “postbiotics” are the biproducts they release.  (“Released biproducts” sounds better than “microbiotic excrement” doesn’t it?)  And it is these probiotic biproducts that make them so indispensable to our health – killing cancer cells, reducing inflammation, blocking insulin resistance, and preventing leaky gut syndrome which in and of itself may lead to such chronic metabolic disorders as diabetes, arthritis, chronic fatigue, asthma, or fibromyalgia.  On the flip side, biproducts of pathologic bacteria are known to be associated with and even directly cause diseases such as arterial plaque, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, tooth loss, and more.  So obviously the goal should be to get more probiotics and get rid of all the pathogens.

OK, back to the pills.  And the answer is no.  With a healthy lifestyle, probiotic supplements should never be necessary.  We and our environment were designed to exist in perfect symbiotic harmony.  We need these wadudu because they have always naturally been there.  And the only reason we experience deficits is because of our unnatural modern lifestyles.  So, what does a natural pro-probiotic lifestyle look like?

  1. Lots of fiber. Fiber is a key prebiotic; these guys love it!  And as you know, fiber comes from whole plants – greens, beans, grains, fruits, and roots.  In contrast, refined foods like white flour, sugar, alcohol, and animal proteins are not only low in fiber but can also be toxic to the good guys. 6
  2. Fermented foods. Most of the foods just mentioned, in their natural organic state, also carry many probiotics.  Fermenting is the process of letting them grow, thus increasing their concentration.  This is why foods like sauerkraut, pickles (unsweetened of course), kimchi, tempeh, and natto are considered particularly probiotic.  (Yes, I know there are dairy probiotic sources.  I purposely don’t mention them because, lacking fiber, they are not optimal.)
  3. The other thing our ancestors got a lot more of than we modern office working couch potatoes was exercise.  And we now know that exercise in and of itself is a good promoter of healthy gut biodivercity.1
  4. Less stress. We all know that stress is a killer.  But we have just recently come to realize that one of the reasons for that is the detrimental impact that depression, anxiety, and negative emotions have on GI microbiota.2,3,4,5  Effective management of the root causes of stress is beyond the scope or this article.  But stay tuned, we will get there:)
  5. Antibiotic free. Just the word itself should tell you all you need to know; Anti-Biotic. Prescribed for every imaginable sniffle, and a ubiquitous presence throughout our conventional food supply, antibiotics may be the single most cause of dysbiosis.  While we certainly cannot deny their lifesaving power, and I have to admit to occasionally prescribing them myself, their overuse and prevalence are wreaking havoc on our health.

So no, probiotic supplementation should not be an ongoing requirement for optimal health.  BUT…  If your lifestyle is less than optimal in any of the five categories I’ve listed or testing indicates an issue, you may need supplements to compensate until you are able to rebalance your life.