Why Probiotics Are Energizing

Could the simple act of taking a probiotic supplement be enough to improve your energy levels?

Probiotic use in the developed world has exploded in recent years. This is likely due to the growing body of new research that connects the health of your gut to the health of just about every other system in your body. In fact, gut health may be the foundation to well-being.

But what about in the context of chronic fatigue syndrome or low energy levels? Can the health of your gut influence your daily energy?

I’ve written at length about the strong correlation between the health of your gut and chronic fatigue syndrome. For those short on time, the key take away is that dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria and/or a lack of good bacteria) in your digestive tract could be connected to chronic fatigue syndrome. And those with CFS tended to have higher levels of bad bacteria and lower levels of good bacteria. (1, 2)

With that in mind, it’s a pretty reasonable hypothesis to think that simply adding a probiotic supplement may help improve your fatigue.

But what does the research say? Can probiotics improve the symptoms of CFS?

Probi-what?

If you haven’t heard of probiotics, allow me to give you a brief introduction. Probiotics are live microorganisms with health benefits. Microorganisms are tiny organisms that can only be seen under a microscope. In order for a product to be labeled as a probiotic, two factors must be present:

1. They are a live microorganism.
2. They must provide a health benefit.

Not all bacteria are harmful germs! In fact, a lot of the bacteria found inside your gut is absolutely essential to your health and well-being. For example, bacteria in your intestines help digest food, destroy disease-causing microorganisms, and produce vitamins. Many of the microorganisms in probiotic products are the same as or similar to microorganisms that naturally live in or on your body. (3)

While it’s easy to conclude that a probiotic supplement will help with the health of your gut, it’s quite a big leap to say that probiotics can improve your energy. How is that even possible?

The benefits of probiotics in the context of chronic fatigue

I want to be perfectly clear that the use of probiotics will not cure your chronic fatigue syndrome. There is no evidence saying probiotics are a solution to CFS. (4) But that doesn’t mean probiotics supplements are useless. In fact, there’s a lot of research to support the symptomatic benefits probiotics provide to those with chronic fatigue syndrome.

At the time of this writing, probiotics have been shown to benefit those with CFS by:

• Improving the number of good bacteria in your gut.
• Helping decrease the symptoms of leaky gut.
• Improving the IBS-like symptoms commonly associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Improving anxiety levels in those with CFS.
• Decreasing the number of inflammatory cells in your body.
• Improving your mood and emotional well-being.

This list is by no means comprehensive. Yet it clearly illustrates the benefit taking a probiotic supplement has on chronic fatigue syndrome. No, it won’t cure your fatigue. But it could improve a lot of your symptoms! All from the simple act of swallowing a pill. Now, let’s dig into how probiotics improve these symptoms!

How probiotics help chronic fatigue

Leaky Gut and probiotics

Intestinal permeability is the medical term for the condition you know as leaky gut. To determine whether (or not) your gut is leaking, a blood test will measure something called lipopolysaccharides (LPS). (4) Lipopolysaccharides are large molecules that consist of a lipid and a polysaccharide; they are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. If LPS are found in your blood, your gut is leaking – the lipopolysaccharides found on bacteria should only be in your gut. Not in your blood! (5)

What’s so bad about bacteria in your blood?

Elevated LPS indicates inflammation. (6, 7) And not just any type of inflammation, but chronic inflammation. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that elevated levels of LPS are connected to chronic fatigue syndrome. When researchers combined LPS markers with the types of bacteria found in patient’s guts, they were able to accurately predict the likelihood of chronic fatigue. (8)

The simple addition of a probiotic supplement decreases LPS levels and improves the tight junctions of your intestinal tract. By improving the tight junctions, you are healing your leaky gut – making it much less leaky! All this is done by simply adding a probiotic supplement. (9, 10, 11)

IBS-related symptoms and probiotics 

If you’ve been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, it’s highly likely that you also suffer from IBS. Official diagnosis aside, those with CFS are very likely to experience GI/gut-related symptoms. (12, 13, 14) The high prevalence of gut pathologies in CFS has led many to suspect that fatigue starts in the gut. I don’t think we have enough evidence to say that gut health causes chronic fatigue (or any type of fatigue for that matter) but we can certainly say that these two systems are strongly connected. In my practice, I have found that a healthy gut is essential to improving energy levels.

Using probiotic supplements in the treatment of IBS is nothing new. But the research is finally starting to show that probiotic use in the treatment of IBS can bring about a benefit. In the context of IBS, probiotics have been shown to decrease bloating/abdominal distension, and improve abdominal pain/discomfort. (15, 16, 17)

Much like probiotic use for leaky gut, using probiotics as a treatment for IBS improves symptoms. However, probiotics do not cure IBS. For a deeper dive into probiotics and IBS, check out my previous post on the best probiotics for irritable bowel syndrome.

Intestinal dysbiosis and probiotics

I’ve written at length about the connection between bad bacteria/parasites/protozoa (dysbiosis) and chronic fatigue syndrome. Those with chronic fatigue syndrome often have lower levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species of bacteria in their gut. (18) Two of the more dominant bacterial colonies in a healthy gut are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. (19) Using a Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium probiotic supplement (or a combination of the two) can help make your microbiome healthier.

Anxiety, depression, and probiotics

Incredible research has begun to show the connection between your gut and your brain (central nervous system). This new research shows that pathogens (bad bacteria, parasites, protozoans, etc) in your digestive tract communicate with your brain and can influence behaviour associated with emotion and anxiety. (20, 21) That last part is so important, I’m going to repeat it:

The bacteria in your gut can influence emotions like anxiety and depression.

Therefore, it makes good sense to think that the simple act of probiotic supplementation could (in theory) improve your mood. But what does the research say?

A small trial of 39 participants (all with a positive diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome) found that after 8-weeks of supplementing lactobacillus probiotics (24 billion CFU 3x/day) participants had an increased number of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species found in their stool. This should come as no surprise – probiotics should increase the beneficial bacteria found in your gut and stool. But what was rather surprising is that the participants that took the probiotic supplement also found there to be a statistical improvement in their anxiety levels. (22)

Anxiety and chronic fatigue syndrome often go hand in hand. This small study provides the baseline evidence to suggest that the simple act of adding a probiotic supplement should improve your anxiety levels. Another study showed that supplementing Bifidobacterium probiotics can alter serotonin and dopamine turnover in your brain. (23) While this was an animal study it does provide interesting information on how your gut and brain communicate with each other. It shows that your gut is key to improving mental health issues!

Inflammation and probiotics

Autoimmunity and other long-standing illnesses like chronic fatigue syndrome often have one characteristic in common with each other. That characteristic is inflammation. And inflammation can be measured by an increase in something called cytokines.

Certain cells in your immune system secrete cytokines. These are any of a number of substances, such as interferon, interleukin, and growth factors. New research is showing that high levels of inflammatory cytokines may even cause conditions like depression. (24, 25) If you want to be healthy, you need to have low levels of inflammatory cytokines.

However, reducing the number of cytokines circulating in your body is a complicated process. In fact, it’s well beyond the scope of this post. With that said, there’s one simple step you can take tomorrow that will help to decrease inflammation in your body. Start taking a probiotic supplement. Probiotics help lower cytokine levels. (26)

Should YOU take a probiotic supplement?

If you take only one thing away from this post let it be that probiotics are one of the simplest ways to improve chronic fatigue syndrome. Probiotics can:

• Improve a leaky gut.
• Alleviate many of the symptoms associated with IBS.
• Alter the balance between good and bad bacteria (in a positive way).
• Improve your mental health by reducing anxiety and depression.
• Reduce inflammation.

Best of all, probiotic supplementation is an incredibly simple step you can take to improve your energy. All you need to do is swallow a pill 1-3x a day. Do that and you’re going to improve your symptoms. I don’t think there’s any easier step you can take to improve your energy. Except for maybe the 7 steps I outline in our eBook – Fix Your Fatigue.

Please note that not all probiotic supplements are created equal. There are some probiotics that you quite literally flush down the toilet. I’ve written a guide to help you choose the best probiotics in this post.

Be aware that it is not uncommon to have a negative reaction(s) to probiotics. You may need to try a few different bacterial strains before you find the one best suited for your gut. If you’ve done a stool test, you’ll know exactly which species to start supplementing! If you haven’t, start with a blend of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. In my practice, I’ve found Bifidobacterium and soil-based probiotics are tolerated the best.

 

Ok, there you have it – all the ways probiotics help with chronic fatigue.

Now, I want to hear from you!

What have probiotics done for your fatigue? 

 

 

Want to know more than your doctor about how to achieve a fatigue-free body?