Should you take supplements for IBS? In particular probiotics, prebiotics or digestive aids. There are certainly plenty advertised online, or promoted by social media influencers. But who can you trust? And are they worth the money? 

In this episode I’ll share my thoughts on gut health supplements so you don’t have to spend any longer searching online for the next best gut health hack.

I’m sharing things I use with my Gut Reset clients, things that I know work, and I’ll explain how you should take them, and how you will know if they’re working. 

I cover

• Probiotics
• Digestive enzymes
• Saccharomyces Boullardii
• Digestive bitters
• PHGG

Strains for Constipation

Lowering methane

• Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938

Increase bowel movement frequency

• Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus (best with FOS)

Improving transit time -

• Bifidobacterium lactis HN019
• Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173 010

Strains for bloating

• Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM®
• Bifidobacterium lactis HN019
• Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07®
• Lactobacillus plantarum Lp299v
• Bifidobacterium infantis 35624
• Bacillus Coagulans
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-38561
• Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52

Website - www.goodnessme-nutrition.com

Should you take supplements for IBS?

2

In particular, probiotics,

prebiotics, or digestive aids

3

like digestive enzymes or bitters?

4

There are certainly plenty advertised

online or promoted by social media

5

influencers, but who can you trust

and are they worth the money?

6

In this episode of the Inside Knowledge

podcast, I'll share my thoughts on gut

7

health supplements so you don't have

to spend any longer searching online

8

for the next best gut health hack.

9

I'm sharing things I use with my gut

reset clients all people who have

10

IBS or SIBO, things that I know work,

and I'll explain how to take them and

11

how you'll know if they're working.

12

So let's get into it.

13

Welcome

14

to episode 22 of the Inside

Knowledge with me, Anna Mapson.

15

Today, I'm going to talk a

bit about supplements for IBS.

16

Generally, most people I work

with come to me and are on

17

quite a few supplements already.

18

Not everybody, but a lot of people

have tried to take things and try

19

to implement changes to their gut

health through using supplements.

20

The most supplements I ever had of a

client was 19 different products that

21

were taken each day, and that was a

lot, so I think that's probably the most.

22

I've also had somebody who was taking

psyllium husk, which is a supplement

23

for 25 years every single day.

24

So sometimes we can latch onto a

supplement and think it's going to

25

solve everything, think it's going to

be the thing that makes things better.

26

But what I want to start off by saying is

that there are lots of options, but they

27

should all be supplemental to your diet.

28

They should be fulfilling a need

that food cannot rather than be the

29

thing that changes your digestion.

30

So supplements are particularly

useful during restrictive diets.

31

Like if you're going through the low

FODMAP diet, for example, or other

32

elimination diets where you're cutting

out a lot of things from your normal

33

food intake, it may be helpful to add in

particular supplements to plug those gaps.

34

For example, if you're on a vegan diet,

like that is really important to take B12,

35

and you may need other things like omega

3, and potentially being aware of other

36

key nutrients as well for a vegan diet.

37

But, today, talking about IBS and what you

can take for various gut health symptoms

38

.

There are so many supplements I could be talking about, um, I'm just going

39

to focus on probiotics, digestive

enzymes, partially hydrolyzed guar gum,

40

digestive bitters, and a beneficial

yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii.

41

So these are the ones you're going

to hear about in this episode.

42

I may do another deep dive into

probiotics for IBS at a later date.

43

But just to start off with probiotics, I'm

going to give a bit of an overview and...

44

Like a little bit of insight.

45

Probiotics have a particular action or

benefit associated with each strain.

46

Some are researched for constipation,

others are more for bloating, and taking

47

one probiotic won't necessarily give

you the same results as taking another.

48

Some of them have much

better marketing than others.

49

I'm not going to go into any particular

products right now, but there is a brand

50

that has very good marketing and is

everywhere, and everyone talks about it,

51

and you have to get it on a subscription.

52

So you have to sign up

for months at a time.

53

I have a bit of an issue with this

because I don't think you should take

54

the same probiotic for a long time.

55

I generally suggest rotating them

every couple of months, and that

56

is because we want a wide variety

and diversity in our gut health.

57

There is a definition of probiotics that

is from the World Health Organization.

58

That is, they're live microorganisms that

when administered in adequate amounts,

59

confer a health benefit to the host.

60

And this is really important.

61

Firstly, that they have to be live.

62

So these live microorganisms, they

have to be alive when you take them,

63

not just when they were put into the

capsule and into the bottle, good brands

64

will guarantee that the microorganisms,

mostly bacteria, will actually be alive

65

until the date it says best before.

66

It's no good if they're bottled

and they're live then, but by

67

the time they get to you and

get to your body, they're dead.

68

That's not a definition

of a good probiotic.

69

Then the other key thing with this

definition is that they have to be

70

administered in adequate amounts.

71

We have to take enough of

them in order to get a result.

72

Sometimes, the research studies are

using very high quantities of probiotics

73

that are not mirrored in products on

your shelf, in your local health store.

74

So, you have to have quite a high dose.

75

Um, not always, but...

76

Often they're using very, very high doses.

77

Probiotics are counted in

colony forming units, CFU.

78

And that's what you'll

probably see on the bottle.

79

So they're in the billions,

obviously it's, it's big, big

80

numbers, adequate amounts.

81

You know, it will be different

again for different strains, some

82

probiotic strains, you don't need as

much of, and some you need more of.

83

Um, and then the final part of that

definition was that they confer

84

a health benefit to the host.

85

There has to be a linked or known.

86

benefit to taking certain

strains of probiotics.

87

You know, when you think about dogs, they

have the category of animal, then they

88

have, like, a species of a mammal, and

then within that you have dog, and then

89

within dog you have, like, breakdowns, you

have the difference between a Pomeranian

90

and a big Labrador or a Doberman.

91

These are very, very different

animals and yet they all fall under

92

dog, they all fall under mammal,

and they all fall under animal.

93

With probiotics, we're talking

about different bacteria and

94

they each have like a family.

95

And then within that they have a

species and then you have a strain.

96

So this is getting more and more specific

and you think about the dogs, we're going

97

down into more specific categorization of

the species and the strain and the strain

98

level is generally where we see research.

99

So for example, the large families are

often lactobacillus, bifidobacterium,

100

and then there's a bacillus one as well.

101

And these are the most common

strains that you'd see on the

102

products in your health store.

103

Now, what is key is thinking about

the particular strains, and normally

104

good brands will tell you the actual

strain that is used, which will help

105

if you needed to go and see whether

there's research for the condition

106

that you want to take it for.

107

So, for example, under bifidobacterium,

there are a couple of Main groupings,

108

which are commonly used in probiotics.

109

So we have Bifidobacterium

infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis,

110

and Bifidobacterium brevi.

111

And these all have then

substrains as well.

112

And these are the ones that are

tested for different conditions and

113

different symptoms to see what happens.

114

Now often, with probiotics, the challenge

is you're putting them into a gut and we

115

don't necessarily know what other bacteria

or microbes or parasites are there.

116

And that can change the way that your

body receives these additional bacteria.

117

When you take probiotics as well,

they don't stay in your gut forever.

118

They are transient, which means as

things are coming through every day,

119

you know, we're passing the stool a

lot of food waste, and a lot of the

120

food waste is actually dead bacteria.

121

A huge proportion of it, I

think, is something like a

122

third of it is dead bacteria.

123

So a lot of transit, a lot of movement.

124

So taking additional bacteria doesn't

mean that they stay in you forever.

125

Probiotics can do though, is they may

influence the colonies of microbes

126

that are already there, either

by adding missing populations or

127

slightly changing the environment.

128

Generally, when we've got good

amounts of beneficial bacteria, it

129

decreases the pH level in the colon.

130

This makes it more acidic.

131

And this is a good thing.

132

It helps you absorb nutrients like

iron and other minerals, and it can

133

also help to stimulate the smooth

muscle that actually contracts,

134

you know, to create a good poo.

135

So it helps us with that movement,

and sort of regulating it.

136

And also it can reduce sensitivity.

137

So some probiotics have been shown to

reduce bowel sensitivity and many of

138

these probiotics, these good helpful

bacteria, produce short chain fatty

139

acids which are the byproducts.

140

of the bacteria metabolizing

fiber from our diet.

141

And this helps to stimulate

motility and reduce inflammation.

142

And these short chain fatty acids

are fuel for the colon cells.

143

They help to create a healthy colon

and they've been actually shown to

144

travel around the body as well and

reduce inflammation more systemically.

145

So they're definitely good things

that we want more of, and by adding

146

in probiotics to create more of these

short chain fatty acids, sometimes that

147

in itself can change the environment.

148

That could lower down the pH,

making it more acidic, which then

149

means more probiotics want to

grow and hang out in your gut.

150

The thing is, though, you

have to eat fibre in order for

151

them to want to hang around.

152

If you're not eating, Fiber that

can be fermented by the bacteria.

153

They aren't going to stay.

154

They can't reproduce and multiply

and make your gut their home.

155

So it's important to add fiber.

156

And add some prebiotics if

you aren't eating any fiber.

157

Ideally, you'll get this

through your diet though.

158

A good time to take probiotics is during

or after you're taking antibiotics.

159

Because if you're taking some

systemic antibiotics that knock

160

out your good bacteria, it's

a good idea to replenish them.

161

And you can take them alongside

antibiotics, but don't take

162

them at the same time, normally

a couple of hours apart.

163

After doing the low FODMAP diet or any

other strict elimination diet because

164

you may have reduced some fermentable

fibers And if you've taken some SIBO

165

antimicrobial treatments such as oregano

oil or berberine something like that

166

It can also be good to replenish the

good bacteria because they are also

167

antimicrobial So these are some situations

where you might want to consider it,

168

but probiotics aren't for everyone.

169

They shouldn't ever be taken by anybody

who's immunocompromised, so if you're

170

taking any chemotherapy drugs or immune

suppressing medication, for example,

171

for arthritis or something like that.

172

There are some particular strains for

constipation which are helpful, so

173

it's been shown that some Lactobacillus

174

methane and some bacteria can also help

to increase bowel frequency or like

175

regulate your digestion so Bifidobacterium

lactis particularly the strains BB

176

12 and also Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

177

That works best when it's got

some prebiotic fibers, the

178

fructooligosaccharides, alongside it.

179

And then other things that help

to increase transit time, so the,

180

the duration of food being in

your body, Bifidobacterium lactis

181

HNO19 and also Bifidobacterium

animalis subspecies lactis.

182

has also been shown to

improve transit time.

183

Now I'll put all of

that in the show notes.

184

Let's move on because I've got a

lot to get through and I've only

185

just started on the probiotics.

186

So I want to move on to digestive enzymes.

187

These help us to break down

fats, carbs and proteins.

188

You have your own production of digestive

enzymes every time you eat something.

189

in the small intestine.

190

These are created to help us

break down nutrients in our food

191

so we can better absorb them.

192

Some people don't make them as well.

193

If you've heard the dairy episode, you

might have heard me talk about lactase,

194

which is to break down the lactose sugar.

195

That is one enzyme that you can

have more or less production of.

196

It's the same with some

other enzymes as well.

197

So, for example, you might have

slightly lowered production of lipase

198

that breaks down fats, and that could

affect the way you digest fatty meals.

199

Some people will feel better taking

a digestive enzyme with their

200

food, to help aid their digestion.

201

One thing I would say though is if you've

got gastritis or a very raw stomach, like

202

a high up in your abdomen and it feels

very raw all the time, even if you haven't

203

ever been told you've got gastritis, then

do take care with taking any enzymes with

204

protease in them that breaks down the

proteins because this can start to get

205

to work on the lining of your stomach and

it can actually cause more irritation.

206

Some digestive enzymes are specifically

targeted at breaking down high FODMAP

207

meals and these don't necessarily contain

lipase, for example, to break down

208

fat, but will be specifically targeting

lactase to break down milk products, and

209

alpha galactosidase to break down the

starches in beans, for example, raffinose.

210

These have been targeted to help

you digest high FODMAP meals and

211

may be helpful to take sometimes.

212

I don't recommend people should

take digestive enzymes alongside the

213

FODMAP reintroduction process, and

that is because you won't get a good

214

sense of your own body's digestion

if you're taking enzymes which

215

also help you break down the foods.

216

Something else I want to come on to is

partially hydrolyzed guar gum or PHGG.

217

This is a prebiotic which helps to feed

the good bacteria, and it's sometimes

218

used like as a thickener in foods.

219

Guar gum.

220

You might see it as a food additive

to make things more gloopy or...

221

It's well studied for IBS and it can

help with a sense of that incomplete

222

evacuation by sort of regulating

your bowel movements and it...

223

It has sometimes been shown to reduce

the need for laxatives, but it's also

224

good for people who have IBSD, so it's

not just a constipation type supplement.

225

I really like it because it's a prebiotic,

which means it's just a fibre, so it

226

can be used in hot foods, you can add

it to warm water, you can even bake

227

with it and put it in your foods.

228

Some people do find it gives them a little

bit of gurgling and bloating at first and

229

I always suggest starting with a really

low amount, like quarter of a teaspoon

230

per day just for a couple of days.

231

Settle yourself into it.

232

If it's okay, then you

can increase the dose.

233

Otherwise, just stay really low

or back off it until you are at a

234

better place with your gut health.

235

The reason I like it is because it

feeds the good beneficial bacteria

236

which can help you to get a more

regular bowel movement and just to

237

reduce some bloating and sensitivity.

238

The only other thing to say is that

you must take it away from medication

239

because it is such a high fiber food.

240

Sometimes it can reduce the absorption

of key supplements or medication.

241

So make sure it's like an hour

or two away from important

242

medication that you're taking.

243

I sometimes suggest using digestive

bitters for people who may not

244

be producing enough stomach acid.

245

How would you know if you don't

create enough stomach acid?

246

Well, you might feel like food sits

particularly heavy in your stomach and

247

doesn't get well digested, particularly

protein, so if you eat a heavy meal

248

full of meat, you may find it just

sits heavy in your stomach for ages.

249

This would be a case where it might be

worth trying bitters to help stimulate

250

your own digestive juices before a meal.

251

Ideally, you want to do this 10 to 20

minutes before you eat by taking the

252

very bitter liquid, so it's either in a

tincture that you put into some water,

253

or you drop it directly on your tongue,

or there are some products where you

254

actually spray it into your mouth.

255

This stimulates your own digestive juices

and helps you to get ready for digestion.

256

You find in some places on the continent,

for example, they'll have an aperitif

257

or produce like a bitter salad with

endive or rocket or something like that.

258

If you don't want to have a digestive

bitters supplement, you can just try that.

259

Try taking a little bit of, sometimes

people use apple cider vinegar, or

260

you may just have like a small salad

of very bitter green vegetables.

261

This can do some things very similar.

262

The reason it's good is it just

stimulates your own digestive juices,

263

gets you better ready for, the meal.

264

Some old advice was to take hydrochloric

acid supplements to try and boost

265

your stomach acid and I don't

normally suggest that for most people.

266

I would rather try and stimulate your own

production of stomach acid at the right

267

time rather than adding in supplemental

hydrochloric acid, in a tablet form.

268

And some of the advice used to be

to take it until you feel a burn and

269

again, I don't think it's necessary

and I'm not sure that that would be

270

safe, so I don't recommend doing that.

271

Now, the last supplement I want to touch

on today is Saccharomyces boulardii.

272

This is a beneficial yeast.

273

So in the same way, we take beneficial

bacteria as a probiotic this is very

274

similar, but it's just actually a yeast.

275

It's not a yeast like Baker's yeast

which makes your bread rise and it's also

276

not a yeast such as candida Which you

may have heard of in terms of you know,

277

negative consequences of gut health.

278

It's often used for antibiotic caused

diarrhea And it's great for helping to

279

crowd out pathogens So what I mean by that

is When you take this, again, it's still

280

transient, it doesn't stay in your gut

forever, but when you take it, it goes

281

into your gut and it takes up space, so

it kind of tries to crowd out bad bugs.

282

And this is why it's sometimes called,

the traveler's probiotic, because

283

people can take it as a preventative

Protection when going somewhere where

284

you may come into contact with unclean

water and you might want to take this

285

in the run up to a trip abroad, um,

in order to stop yourself getting

286

It's generally very well tolerated and

it's great for people who have frequent

287

stools and very loose stools, and I

tend to use this quite a bit with people

288

who have diarrhoea to regulate the

amount of times that people will go.

289

This is one of the reasons

it's not always recommended for

290

people who have constipation.

291

But it's not to say it

would be bad for you to take.

292

It's just that we don't have the same

level of evidence supporting its use.

293

I hope that you found some of

this interesting and helpful.

294

I may do another podcast episode

on more general supplements that I

295

would often consider for my clients.

296

But I just wanted to focus really

on gut health supplements today.

297

And these are some of the

main ones that I will use.

298

However...

299

Not all of these will be suitable

for you, so please make sure you

300

check with a registered nutritional

therapist or registered nutritionist.

301

because not all of these supplements

will be suitable for everybody.

302

Okay, I'm going to leave

it there for today.

303

So, thank you for listening and if

you like my podcast, please don't

304

forget to subscribe so that you get

each episode in your feed each week.

305

See you then, bye!