Probiotics 101: Gut Health & Physique Optimization

Do you want to look and feel your best? Of course, you do! Are you looking to improve your physique and turn heads by burning off stubborn body fat and adding some quality muscle? If physique optimization is top of mind, gut health needs to be right behind. The question becomes, how can you combine the two and have them work in unison? The answer is through the use of probiotics. 

No, this isn’t some bait and switch where in the next breath, you’re going to be told you need a potent thermogenic and a testosterone booster in order to see any sort of results — but they would absolutely help. The fact of the matter is that your gut health plays a role in physique optimization, and when your gut microbiota is off, you may find it harder to see the physique goals you’re trying to attain. 

One of the areas you may see the most change by implementing probiotics into your nutrition and supplement regimen is your midsection. Bloating, malabsorption, digestive issues, and more can negatively affect the look of your midsection and blur the abs you’ve been trying to uncover through your intense workouts, long cardio sessions, and strict dieting.

In this article, we are going to dive deeper into the topic of probiotics and how they play an important role in gut health and physique optimization.

 

An Almost Immediate Change Thanks to Probiotics and Gut Health 

If you look in the mirror and notice your stomach isn’t as flat as you’d like it to be or there seems to be a drastic change in its look in the matter of a few days or even a week, your issue may not be with body fat, but rather with digestion and your overall gut health.

Bloating or suffering from a distended stomach can result from poor digestion, where the food you consume isn’t properly broken down, and it can throw off the bacteria in the gut. A common solution to this issue and to support physique optimization is the use of probiotics.

Whether you go the route of consuming foods that contain probiotics, such as yogurt, sauerkraut, or other fermented foods, or even adding probiotics in the form of supplements, you can notice a fairly quick change to your gut health and bloat around your midsection. It may not be as fast as an overnight fix, but you will see an almost immediate change so long as you stay consistent with utilizing probiotics to improve your gut health.

Sure, probiotics aren’t going to directly strip away the body fat that could be covering your abs but utilizing these powerful and helpful bacteria can make a world of difference in gut health that can improve physique optimization and help your stomach appear flatter.

 

Noticeable Physique Optimization Through Probiotics 

Now, for the fun part that should grab everyone’s attention — how probiotics can directly enhance physique optimization. 

Those actively working towards improving their appearance and dropping body fat will probably be doing some sort of cardio along with putting themselves into a caloric deficit. This combo is great for physique optimization, but the addition of probiotics can help take things to the next level.

When dieting, your calories are lowered, and you may find you don’t have the same energy levels as you did prior. Therefore, it’s imperative that you effectively break down the food you consume so that it can provide you with sustained energy all day long while also supporting the body with protein and amino acids to maintain your lean muscle tissue while in a caloric deficit to prevent muscle wasting. 

Below are some key ways that probiotics can help improve your physique optimization:

 

1. Reduce hunger levels

Physique optimization doesn’t happen unless you manipulate your nutrition — specifically, your calories. If you’re looking to shed body fat, you’re going to be in a caloric deficit, which causes many people to feel hungry throughout the day.

Probiotics have been found to help with appetite suppression by allowing your body the ability to better manage hunger hormones like ghrelin[1].

 

2. Boost fat burning

While weight loss is a key component when it comes to physique optimization, it’s specifically fat burning that we want to focus on. If you find you’re dropping weight and it’s stripping away your lean muscle tissue, that causes a whole host of issues, such as slowing down your metabolism and making you look smaller due to wasting away your hard-earned muscle. 

In addition to helping you manage your energy levels as well as hunger throughout the day, you can put yourself in an optimized fat-burning zone where you can more easily drop the weight you want — body fat. But physique optimization can be enhanced when you look at the benefits of probiotics.

One thing that not many people consider when it comes to probiotics, gut health, and physique optimization is the fact that probiotics help release glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) to help your body more easily and effectively burn fat[1]. Removing excess bloating from the equation also helps slim down your midsection.

 

3. Minimize fat storage

Another aspect of physique optimization with probiotics is the ability to minimize fat storage. The last thing you want to do when you’re trying to look and feel your best is to start storing fat deposits throughout the body and destroying your hard work in the gym.

Probiotics have been found to increase a protein called angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) in the body, which plays a direct role in reducing fat storage[2]. Combine that benefit with the ones already mentioned above, and you put yourself in a position to experience physique optimization.

 

4. Increase weight loss 

Improving body composition and focusing on physique optimization can be accomplished by adding probiotics to your diet and supplement regimen. Research has shown time and time again that probiotics help improve body composition and can aid in weight loss[3]. It has also been found to help increase energy production, which can translate into better workouts and cardio sessions.

Now, probiotics don’t work magic in the sense that suddenly fat will start melting off your body — it’s a process that takes time. However, by consistently adding probiotics to your nutrition plan and supplement regimen, you may find it’s the missing puzzle piece you’ve been seeking for better physique optimization.

One study even found that women who used probiotics lost, on average, around 50% more weight over the course of 90 days than the placebo group. Additionally, those using probiotics for physique optimization also continued to see weight loss during their weight maintenance phase[4].

 

5. Decrease waist circumference

High up on the priority list for many people is tightening up their waist and midsection or achieving a rock-hard six-pack. The good news is it has been shown that probiotics can help decrease waist circumference. According to a study of obese individuals, those who used probiotics attained a significant decrease in waist circumference and body fat[5].

This further illustrates the power that probiotics have on not only gut health but physique optimization as it relates to helping your waist shrink.

 

6. Build Lean Muscle Mass

Being that probiotics help improve gut health and overall digestion, it affords you the ability to better break down and utilize the protein found in your diet. By increasing the absorption of this crucial macronutrient, it can put you in the driver’s seat to experience noticeable gains in lean muscle mass.

Probiotics also help minimize inflammation in the body and reduce fatigue, which can allow you to train harder in the gym and boost performance[6]. Furthermore, hydration plays a vital role in muscle fullness. By adding probiotics to your nutrition and supplement regimen, you can better keep your muscle cells hydrated and support muscle volumization.

This is, yet again, another reason why probiotics are incredibly helpful when it comes to physique optimization. If you want to effectively build muscle and burn fat, you’d be remised not to incorporate probiotics into the mix.

 

Change the Way You Look and Feel… TODAY!

Probiotics seem to be the unspoken gateway to physique optimization. It’s, for years, been deemed a gut health supplement that many people have turned to. But as more and more research comes out, it sheds light on just how important probiotics are to our everyday life and functioning.

It’s for that reason we created the ultimate probiotic supplement — JYM Probiotic with powerful BioJYMä.

BioJYM™ focuses on specific strains of Bacillus, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium probiotics that are shown to support everything from healthy gut function to blood flow, weight loss, exercise recovery, and overall physique optimization.

Whether you’re an elite athlete or someone who wants to look and feel their best, you’ll get that and much more with JYM Probiotic.

 

 

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. The information found within this article is not medical advice and should not supersede a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan should you have a health condition. The use of probiotics should never be a replacement for any medication that your doctor may put you on.

References:

1. Yadav, Hariom, et al. Beneficial metabolic effects of a probiotic via butyrate-induced GLP-1 hormone secretion. Pub Med website. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23836895/. Published July 8, 2013. Accessed February 8, 2023. 

2. Aronsson, L., Huang, et al. Decreased fat storage by Lactobacillus paracasei is associated with increased levels of angiopoietin-like 4 protein (ANGPTL4). National Library of Medicine website. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2948012/. Published September 30, 201. Accessed February 8, 2023.

3. Borgeraas, H., et al. Effects of Probiotics on Body Weight, Body Mass. Wiley Online Library website. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.12626. Published October 18, 2017. Accessed February 8, 2023.

4. Sanchez, Marina, et al. Effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC1.3724 supplementation on weight loss and maintenance in obese men and women. PubMed website. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24299712/. Published April 28, 2014. Accessed February 8, 2023.

5. Lim, S., Moon, et al. Effect of Lactobacillus sakei, a Probiotic Derived from Kimchi, on Body Fat in Koreans with Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Study. Endocrinology and Metabolism website. Available at: https://www.e-enm.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.3803/EnM.2020.35.2.425. Published June 30, 2020. Accessed February 8, 2023. 

6. Hsu, Yi, Ju, et al. Effect of Intestinal Microbiota on Exercise Performance in Mice. PubMed website. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25144131/. Published February 29, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2023.