Do Probiotics Make You Poop

If you are finding yourself making frequent visits to the toilet, then your probiotics may be the reason for this. But why?

Any sort of foreign bacteria will create a change in our internal microbiome ecosystem. This can create several digestive issues as you begin taking probiotics, including pooping often.

Additionally, there is ample evidence that probiotics create increased bowel movements. 

That is sort of the gist of it but read on to find out more information as to the effects of probiotics. 

Probiotics And Digestion

The microorganisms in your gut play a huge role in digesting food. Without them, you can’t digest fiber. Likewise, we also need our microbiome to absorb nutrients from food and then pass the rest as poop. 

Changes to your internal bacteria colony can bring changes in how you digest food. Therefore, everything that is related to your digestion may change. 

The common side effects or people who take probiotics are:

  • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Stomach cramp or pain
  • Changes in appetite
  • Changes in bowel movement

Usually, these symptoms will only last a few days and then go away. This means you will be pooping more due to probiotics. Here is why and how probiotics make you visit the loo more.

Why And How Probiotics Make You Poop More

There are multiple studies that show probiotics relieve constipation. 

According to research from Healthline, probiotics can help in different types of constipation. If you are probiotics for your constipation, then you are sure to see changes. 

IBS 

Patients who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome suffer from either constipation or diarrhea. Consuming probiotics can help them cut back the severity of symptoms and several other benefits:

  • Regularize bowel movements
  • Improve bowel habits
  • Improve stool consistency
  • Increase stool frequency

As evident, this is enough proof to show probiotics make you poop more if you have IBS.

Constipation During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, constipation can be quite common. Studies in which probiotics were given to pregnant women found that:

  • Increase in frequency of of bowel movements 
  • Less feelings of incomplete pooping
  • Improvements in constipation symptoms

Constipation From Medications

Various medications, including antibiotics, can kill or change your gut bacteria. Consuming probiotics can improve constipation symptoms. Also, you may experience regular bowel movements and intestinal activities.

Probiotics may even relieve constipation that comes from chemotherapy. 

An important note is that it is not a good idea to take probiotics to normalize your gut after antibiotics. Recent studies have found that gut bacteria will return to normal after a few days by itself after discontinuing antibiotics. Speak to your local doctor rather than trusting your own judgement.

Constipation

So, Do Probiotics Make You Poop More?

If you have been following all the pieces of evidence, you will be able to see that probiotics will make you poop more often. Now it is time to show a review study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 

According to the researchers, probiotics increased weekly bowel movements by 1.3 times. Partnered with this, participants felt it easier to poop as stool became softer.

An additional review of 14 studies also noted another thing. Probiotics managed to reduce the gut transit time by 12.4 hours.

For those who don’t know, gut transit time is the time in which food takes to come out as stool after you swallow it. This means that probiotics may quicken your bowel movement and go to the bathroom earlier. 

However, if you do suffer from diarrhea, the outcome may be different, In this case, you may poop less as probiotics help you regain your digestive health.

Is Pooping A Sign That Probiotics Are Working?

If you are an avid user of probiotics, you want to know if it is working or not. Tracking your poop habits is a good way to find out if your supplement is providing any results.

If you begin to poop more after taking probiotics, it is a clear sign that there have been changes made to your gut bacteria. However, this will not confirm that probiotics are working

If you track your symptoms closely after taking probiotics, you will start to get a better idea of if the medication is taking effect. 

Should Healthy People Take Probiotics

Probiotics are becoming a heavily debated topic. After several years of promotion and research, there are found to be a couple contradictory things about probiotics.

  1. Probiotics will often work best for people who have preexisting issues. You may get benefits from probiotics and reduce your symptoms if you have IBS, IBD or any other diseases. 

2. In a study, probiotics did not have any effect on the internal gut bacteria of the participants. Alternatively, the microorganisms in the supplement were excreted via stool.

Scientists strongly believe that probiotics work most effectively for people who lack healthy strains of gut bacteria. This is because, if you have healthy strains of bacteria, this will just resist the new strains of bacteria that come from your probiotics supplement.

Furthermore, probiotics can also trigger adverse immune responses in your intestine. These activities can cause harm to your own internal microbiome.

Final Thoughts

To confirm, probiotics will make you poop more. Your supplement will also have other effects such as changes in weight, mood, and appetite. 

If you are healthy, it is recommended not to take probiotics. The best idea before taking them is to contact your local physician as not all probiotics are the same.

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