A Probiotic + Fiber Supplement Can Aid Weight Loss, New Study Shows

Carrying excess weight, especially body fat, is a contributor to poor metabolic health (like high blood sugar or cholesterol levels). And if that's the case, healthy weight loss can be an important component to improving your metabolic health, which also impacts your heart1, brain2, and overall longevity3. The gut microbiome is an underrated factor in weight loss success that's highly influenced by both fiber and probiotics. 

Fiber can help nourish that microbiome and support weight loss efforts.* One of the most recommended ways to bump up your fiber intake is to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat. That’s because these foods are high in nutrients (hello fiber, vitamins, and minerals) and low in calories. And probiotics—especially in the form of supplements—deliver beneficial strains of bacteria directly to the gut, contributing to a healthy, weight loss-promoting environment.* 

The two main dietary components of this study were increasing fruit and vegetable intake and taking a synbiotic supplement. Synbiotic is a fancy term for a supplement that combines probiotics and prebiotic fiber. 

Prebiotic fiber is a certain type of fiber that nourishes the beneficial microbes in the gut (not the bad ones). 

Now researchers were particularly interested in seeing if adding the synbiotic to increased fruit and vegetable intake helped people adjust to a high-fiber diet (most notably accompanied by bloating and stomach discomfort), and whether the supplement helped improve measures of metabolic health like blood sugar levels, blood fat levels (aka triglycerides), and good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol). 

Sure enough, a synergistic effect was seen. Those who ate more fruits and veggies and took the synbiotic supplement had significant improvements and experienced the greatest weight loss effects at the end of two months. 

This study offers further evidence that supplementing with prebiotics and probiotics can be a potent addition—but not the sole route—to support other efforts of weight loss.* 

However, research shows the most pronounced benefits behind the two strains used in this study are easing bloating5 and helping with the frequency of bowel movements6.* 

The probiotic strain that has the most convincing evidence for weight loss or weight management support is actually Bifidobacterium lactis B420.  

A six-month-long study of 225 people showed that those who supplemented with Bifidobacterium lactis B420 helped reduce calorie intake7, midsection fat mass, and waist circumference.