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You’re probably familiar with some of the many ways that probiotics can help your body out. From better digestion and improved nutrient absorption, to even increased immune function, probiotics are helpful little bacteria that add to the beneficial flora in your gut. Now, new research has found a new way that probiotics benefit your body: by helping protect your liver from drug- and alcohol-induced damage.
The liver is the body’s largest internal organ. It performs over 500 functions that help keep you alive and kicking every day. Among these functions, is filtering what we consume, figuring out what to store as energy while isolating toxins and other extraneous materials to strain out. In addition, the liver also helps convert food into energy.
Probiotics help protect the liver from drugs
Taking a cue from studies linking probiotics to better brain and heart health, researchers from Emory University looked at whether probiotics could also benefit liver health. With this in mind, they decided to look at a common probiotic called Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, or LGG, to see whether it could help protect the liver from damage.
To test whether the probiotic could help the liver, the researchers gave two sets of mice a diet high in LGG or a normal diet. After a couple of weeks, they then gave the mice high doses of acetaminophen, the active ingredient found in many pain relief drugs.
The problem with acetaminophen is that taking too much of it can really mess up your liver. Overuse of the drug can lead to major liver damage, or even death, as it is known to increase the number of free radicals in your body, causing oxidative stress and damage to your organs.
During the test, however, the researchers found that the mice with a high-LGG diet had an “antioxidant response of the liver, protecting it from oxidative damage produced by drugs such as acetaminophen,” according to lead author Bejan Saeedi, a doctoral candidate at Emory.
While the results of the study look promising, Saeedi concedes that more studies are needed. LGG’s ability to protect the liver was only observed in mice, after all.
The researchers state that studies that show the probiotic’s protective benefits on human volunteers still need to be conducted to verify whether or not LGG could protect our livers too.
Benefits of probiotics
Regardless of whether or not probiotics, such as LGG, can help protect your liver, these helpful little bacteria do already provide a number of other benefits for your body.
The healthy benefits of probiotics have already been well documented. Below is a list of other ways that probiotics help your body – and why you should consider taking them.
Probiotics help balance your gut flora
An imbalance in your gut bacteria happens when there are too much bad bacteria, either due to illness, medication or a poor diet. This can lead to digestive issues, allergies, mental health problems, obesity and more.
Consuming probiotics helps restore and maintain the natural balance of your gut bacteria.
Probiotics can help prevent and treat diarrhea
One common problem that happens when your gut flora isn’t balanced is diarrhea. This is especially true after taking antibiotics that can end up killing some of the good bacteria in your gut.
Probiotics, on the other hand, are widely known for their ability to prevent diarrhea or, at least, reduce its severity. Numerous studies have shown that probiotic use reduces the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
LGG, in particular, is one of the probiotics most commonly associated with a reduced risk of diarrhea.
Probiotics can help improve some mental health conditions
The benefits of probiotics go beyond your gut. An increasing number of studies have linked your gut health to your mood and mental health.
In particular, one study found that workers who consumed 100 grams of probiotic yogurt per day or took daily probiotic capsules experienced benefits for general health, depression, anxiety and stress.
Probiotics can help keep your heart healthy
Certain strains of probiotics may help keep your heart healthy by lowering the amount of low-density lipoproteins or LDL, also known as bad cholesterol in your blood, as well as your blood pressure.
One study found that some lactic acid-producing bacteria strains helped reduce cholesterol by breaking down bile in your gut. Meanwhile, a review of nine studies found that probiotic supplements may help modestly reduce your blood pressure.
Probiotics help boost your immune system
Probiotics’ benefits to your immune system come from their ability to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in your gut. In addition to this, however, studies have shown that probiotics also promote the production of natural antibodies in your body.
LGG is one such probiotic and studies have shown that taking it can reduce the frequency and severity of respiratory infections in children.
All of the above are just some of the many benefits provided by probiotics. What’s clear is that taking supplements with these helpful little bacteria can provide benefits not just for your gut, but for the other systems in your body as well.
With this in mind, it might be high time to consider taking more probiotic supplements or adding more probiotic-rich foods, such as yogurt, to your diet.
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