Probiotics for Bloating

Have you ever wondered about probiotics for bloating? If you’ve been in our corner of the internet for a while, you know I’ve been pretty vocal about how much I love to talk about probiotics and prebiotics – and anything microbiome related for that matter. 

So when someone on instagram recently asked me for my opinion on a probiotic for bloating – I was excited to talk about something I’ve been doing a deep dive on for the last three years. I’ll explain more about why at the end.

This question has also come up a lot with webinars we have done as well as in our program Plant Magic.

Why are so many people asking about a probiotic for bloating? Well, here are the stats:

• In a study on 89,000 Americans – 13.9% were found to be dealing with bloating
• Of those dealing with bloating, 58% never sought care for bloating
• Of those just dealing with it, 29% didn’t feel comfortable discussing it or self-managed it 

In my opinion, these numbers point to how common it is for people to “just deal with it” when it comes to uncomfortable gut symptoms like bloating.

Bloating with IBD

So you might be wondering – what about bloating with Crohn’s, Ulcerative colitis and Microscopic colitis? 

Some studies estimate up to 40-50% of those with IBD will have IBS as well. This explains why so many of us experience gut symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, constipation and abdominal pain – even when inflammation is controlled.  

When it comes to bloating specifically, one study estimated bloating is present in about 19% of those with IBD while other studies estimate significant bloating may be much higher.

Interesting trends with IBD

What I found most interesting in my research was that the prevalence of those in an active inflammation flare has gone down over time.

However, symptoms like bloating and abdominal pain have increased in prevalence. The prevelance of bloating in IBD is 43% and abdominal pain has increased to a whopping 70%! 

How can this be? I’ll explain.

Treatments are working… but not for symptom relief

What this says to me is that medications are advancing and helping – but we truly need to do more to support IBD patients with symptom management.

When it comes to IBD, it’s important to know that inflammation can be controlled and we can still be symptomatic. Symptoms can often be more related to IBS than the IBD itself.

When we look at the typical drugs for management of IBS symptoms, they don’t have the best track record. In studies that look at patient satisfaction and the effectiveness of conventional IBS treatments, majority of patients report dissatisfaction with their treatment path.

The good news is – there is a lot you can do to help with bloating and uncomfortable gut symptoms. There are also evidence-based probiotics AND prebiotics that can help.

What are prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a type of dietary fiber that serves as food for the beneficial bacteria (probiotics) living in your gut. They are essential for promoting a healthy gut environment and supporting overall digestive health.

Unlike probiotics, which are live microorganisms, prebiotics are non-digestible fibers that resist digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract and reach the large intestine intact. There, they are fermented by the gut microbiota, stimulating the growth and activity of these beneficial bacteria.

If the concept of consuming fiber with bloating scares you – keep in mind there are many classes of fibers that can be used for things like reducing diarrhea, improving constipation and even reducing bloating and gas. They all come with different qualities and benefits!

There is no supplement on earth that can replace all of the numerous benefits of a prebiotic rich diet so we suggest always to eat the RAINBOW and include variety. 

Our favorite prebiotics:

• Berries
• Matcha 
• Almond butter
• Mushrooms
• Oats or Oat Bran
• Cacao
• Avocado
• Garlic & Onion 

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when ingested, confer a health benefit on the host. Commonly referred to as “friendly bacteria,” they naturally reside in our bodies and can play a helpful role in supporting gut health.

There are so many different probiotics on the market right now – some that have lots of evidence to support them and others that are a bit overhyped. 

Many people think of yogurt when it comes to food sources of probiotics, however many probiotics on the yogurt don’t actually have significant amounts of probiotics present upon purchasing. We suggest using evidence backed strains that have a proven history of use for what you are hoping to use them for.

Probiotics for bloating

So you might be wondering, how do probiotics actually help? The importance of the gut microbiota in health and disease is becoming increasingly evident, and there is a growing body of research on the potential of probiotics in GI disorders. 

The proposed idea for how we think the beneficial effects of probiotics occur includes their competition with other not so friendly gut bacteria and helping reduce the chance of harmful gut bacteria from establishing a presence in the gut. 

Probiotics also potentially contribute to reduced bloating through production antimicrobial compounds (against other harmful gut bugs) and through their immune supportive effects. 

What to look for as a probiotic consumer

The internet is full of over-hyped probiotic strains so let me help you by explaining what to look for with probiotics. 

When it comes to probiotics there is strong evidence that suggests against the broad use of probiotics and favors using a “strain-specific” approach. Ideally you should also look for a probiotic strain that has evidence to back up what you’d like to use it for. 

What is a “strain”?

To explain what strains are, I’ll start by discussing a probiotic category you are probably familiar with and have seen on products before- Lactobacillus acidophilus. 

Did you know there are over 57 different types of  Lactobacillus acidophilus that have been researched? Moreover, Lactobacillus acidophilus is not the full name. It’s what comes after acidophilus- the strain that differentiates it among the other 57. 

Example: Lactobacillus acidophillus LA-05 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM (*the strains are underlined)

The strains tell us which probiotic is present. Where this can get confusing is that companies aren’t required to list the strain name which can be confusing for consumers.

And generally, even online probiotics aren’t often discussed with their strain names. But when you look at the research available for individual strains each one is very different. Some strains of bacteria could help, while others can actually make things worse.

Probiotics for Bloating

My interest in using prebiotics and probiotics for bloating actually goes way back to the early years when I was getting my masters degree and in my first few years of my diagnosis with IBD.

The gut microbiome was fascinating to me so I actually ended up doing a section in my masters thesis on probiotics and their use for Ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease and Microscopic colitis. 

Over the last decade, I’ve had a lot of experience in using prebiotics and probiotics for helping to reduce things like bloating and abdominal pain. This is what has inspired me to create our new product Back to Balance Plus! 

This product took three years for us to develop and get exactly how we wanted it. That might sound like a long time, but it takes time to find the right people to help manufacture and properly test a new product. We went above and beyond to assure quality and purity.

The 299v Strain in Back to Balance Plus

Studies on L. plantarum 299v have established it as a probiotic for IBS symptoms based on the 2017 guidelines of the World Gastroenterology Organisation. These studies include the following: 

• Reduction in gas and pain.  52 patients with IBS taking 20 billion CFU per day for four weeks resulted in a reduction of flatulence and abdominal pain.
• Significant decrease in abdominal pain and frequency in 2-4 weeks. A double-blind randomized trial of 204 IBS patients took 10 billion CFU of the probiotic or placebo for four weeks. By the second week, patients taking the 299v probiotic experienced a significant decrease in frequency and severity of abdominal pain as compared to placebo. Also, 78% of participants had excellent or good effects on their overall symptoms after consuming the probiotic and only 8% on the placebo had improvement.
• Reduced abdominal pain. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) for four weeks of 40 patients randomized to placebo or 10 billion CFU of the 299v probiotic strain showed that 70% of those taking L. plantarum 299v resulted in complete resolution of abdominal pain for all those at the end of the four weeks. Also, 95% of the patients taking L. plantarum 299v improved ALL IBS symptoms including bloating, while only 15% of the placebo consumers experienced improvement.

Prebiotic Bonus in Back to Balance Plus

Back to Balance is also formulated to include a prebiotic as well that has strong evidence to help with reducing symptoms and improving stool pattern. It’s one of the only prebiotics that is can help with improving BOTH constipation and diarrhea.

What I always hate about the conventional go-to prescribed options (metamucial and miralax) is that when it comes to stool pattern – it keeps people fluctuating between two extremes rather than helping to resolve the problem. And it often doesn’t do anything to help reduce bloating, gas or abdominal pain.

The prebiotic we used in Back to Balance Plus can help with:

• Reducing gas and bloating. In a double blind, placebo controlled study of 108 patients, significant reduction in gas and bloating was found after 2 months of taking 6 grams of sunfiber.
• Effective for Constipation and Diarrhea. Regular intake of the serving amount of our prebiotic was also found to be effective for normalizing both constipation and diarrhea as well as alleviating symptoms and normalizing stool patterns.
• Microbiome Support. One of the nutrition goals with inflammatory bowel disease is to help to encourage the growth of helpful gut bacteria and encourage the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) like butyrate which can help with lowering inflammation. Several studies have shown our prebiotic to be effective in increasing beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria and SCFA’s in the gut.

Probiotics for Bloating

A final note on probiotics for bloating- I hope you enjoyed this thorough break down on my all-time favorite probiotic for bloating with it’s bonus prebiotic too! If you were hoping for a more broad overview of probiotics in general, please check out our earlier blogs on probiotics.

Let me know what you think in the comments about our new product Back to Balance Plus! I formulated and manufactured this product with IBD patients like myself in mind so I also made sure it’s third-party tested and has exactly what it says it does with zero additives.

The best part is that it is easy to mix into anything and has zero taste. Plus neither ingredient loses potency in hot liquids so it makes it easy and convenient to work into your morning coffee or matcha routine.

Cheers to less bloating & better 💩’s!

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