8 Ways Probiotics Can Keep You Young (Part 1)

8 Ways Probiotics Can Keep You Young (Part 1)

Ageing happens to all of us and is nothing to be ashamed of. But what if there was a way to slow down, and even reverse, some of the downsides that come along with it?

Chronic inflammation, weakened immunity and loss of youthful appearance are just some of the unfortunate hallmarks of ageing, but increasing evidence is suggesting that our microbiomes may hold the answer to countering these.  

Here are 8 of the clearest anti-ageing properties of beneficial bacteria that have been discovered so far.

1. They can help you lose fat

We’ve spoken before about how probiotics can be a useful tool against putting on fat. They can help speed up your metabolism and promote your body’s ability to burn fat for energy, while also reducing the amount of energy that is stored away as fat in the first place.⁽¹⁾

As we get older and our metabolisms slow down, keeping the kilos off can get tougher. And we know that obesity is one of the most common risk factors for many age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, and arthritis, so there’s no more important time in your life to try to stay slim than in retirement!

Taking probiotics, alongside other steps to maintaining a healthy and diverse biome, can be a great way to keep the weight off and maintain that trim, youthful physique.

2. They can protect you from liver damage

The liver is our main detoxification organ, and as we age it can struggle to keep removing impurities from our body as effectively. This is especially true after a lifetime of drinking alcohol or taking certain medications, such as painkillers, which put extra strain on it. 

Recent studies have linked the health of our liver to our microbiome.

For example, patients suffering from cirrhosis, a form of liver disease, were found to have more Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae bacteria in their gut, which can cause damage by releasing toxins and interfering in the production of bile acid in our stomachs.⁽²⁾

Probiotics can help restore the microbial balance, reverse this damage and in doing so boost the liver.

Supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus, for example, led to a significant reduction in free radicals and oxidative stress on the liver and better health outcomes in mice who had been given high doses of paracetamol.⁽³⁾

3. They can reduce wrinkles and keep your skin looking young

As well as causing liver damage, free radicals and oxidative stress could be causing your wrinkles and age spots. Free radicals are formed naturally by the body during our everyday lives, but they’re increased by exposure to harmful UVB sun rays, as well as environmental pollutants, such as smog, dust or cigarette smoke.

Probiotics could help counter these through their antioxidant effects. A study in Korea found that supplementing with 10bn CFUs of Lactobacillus plantarum probiotics daily for 12 weeks significantly boosted skin moisture, elasticity and gloss, while reducing the appearance of wrinkles in women in their 40s and 50s.⁽⁴⁾ 

What’s more, by boosting your overall digestion and absorption of nutrients, a healthy gut biome can make sure your skin cells have a constant flow of essential antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from your food heading their way.

4. They can support healthy hair and nails

Alongside our skin, hair and nails are one of the first places where age can really show.

Nails are made up mostly of proteins, so making sure your body receives enough of the amino acids that it needs to grow and repair them is key to keeping them looking healthy.

Likewise, our hair follicles rely on a steady stream of nutrients via blood vessels in our scalp to keep hair looking full and shiny.

As we mentioned above, a healthy biome – and the probiotics that contribute to it – allows your body to fully extract all the nutrients in the food you’re eating.

Bacillus coagulans in particular has been shown to be particularly effective at maximising your body’s ability to extract protein from food. For that and many other reasons we’ve included a generous 1bn CFU of it in every serving of our Shake My Day protein.

These are just 4 of the many ways probiotics can help counter some of the effects of ageing – stay tuned for the next 4, coming next week!