Stop Counting Calories, Count on Probiotics!

November 29, 2011
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

78652423A daily dose of probiotics or friendly bacteria may be the real deal when it comes to weight loss.

A landmark study published in Nature found that without the right amounts of friendly bacteria, animals got twice as fat and utilized less calories from the same amount of food than those with the more healthy bacteria ratio.

Who knew that the right kind of bacteria could turbocharge the body’s ability to extract and absorb dietary calories more efficiently?

A ratio of about 85:15 in favor of the good guy probiotics can establish the right balance of power to not only combat pathogens and yeast overgrowth, but to also support weight control.

There are many probiotic foods out there that are healthful. One cup of plain yogurt or kefir, raw sauerkraut or plain miso are some of the best sources. But, while you get millions of colony forming units (CFUs) in probiotic foods, you get billions of colony forming units in high quality probiotic supplements. Sometimes, you need the more potent therapy provided by higher potency products.

My favorite natural sweetener happens to be one that combines both taste and probiotic-power. With nearly 100 trillion microorganisms in our GI tract, it’s not hard to understand how the right ratio of friendly to unfriendly flora can impact weight loss and enhance overall health.

That’s why I use Flora-Key which provides 6 billion CFUs per serving on a daily basis. Besides the most important bacteria for the large and small intestines, Flora-Key also contains fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or sucrose molecules to which one, two, or three additional fructose molecules have been attached. Naturally occurring in chicory, fruits, and in some grains and vegetables, FOS provide your taste buds with the taste of sugar, but the molecules are too big to be digested by the body as sugar.

Since FOS aren’t digested, this sweetener doesn’t affect blood sugar levels.

It also can’t be utilized by Candida albicans, other yeasts, and some bacteria. The best news about FOS, though, is that it provides a benefit that none of the other sweeteners do: it nourishes and promotes the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. This makes it a potential good-for-you sweetener for people struggling with yeast infections, parasites, and other gastrointestinal disorders as well as weight loss. The Japanese have been using FOS for several decades with no adverse effects reported, though in large doses, it may cause soft stools or diarrhea.

About a teaspoon of Flora-Key can be used to sweeten up cereal for the kids in the morning. It’s great in smoothies, stewed fruits, and sorbets—especially when cooled because it becomes even sweeter.

With Flora-Key you get the best of both worlds: a probiotic supported and fed by a prebiotic that can be used in food or drink—hot or cold. It’s also helpful if you or your family members have taken a course of antibiotics. Studies have shown that many types of gut microbes do not recover to their pre-treatment levels for as long as six months.

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Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

12 Comments

  1. Jamie

    I am about to have my colonoscopy (I am a polyp maker and a cancer survivor so I must have the colonoscopy every 3 years) and I want to know how to do this the fat flush way. I will be taking the pills and half-lytely. My procedure is scheduled for Tuesday Dec 6th. Help!
    Please send me an email telling me how to find your answer…I’ve never done this before and wont know how to find the answer.
    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  2. Susan

    How does Stevia compare with Flora-Key in terms of your favorite sweetener? With the Fat-Flush program, I recall that Stevia was the only sweetener that was permitted. Am I comparing apples with oranges? Thanks for clarifying.

    Reply
  3. Alexandra

    Great question Susan. I’ve been wondering the same thing.

    Reply
  4. Administrator

    Jamie: The Fat Flush Plan contains all the info you need to know aboutt cleansing the system. The book is available on Amazon!

    Susan and Alexandra: Thanks for your question. As you know, Fat Flush is an eating “evolution” and both Stevia Plus and Flora Key are the “legal” Fat Flushing sweeteners as per the latest updates. Dr. ALG is personally using Flora Key because it is a prebiotic with a probiotic so delivers a double whammy to purify, cleanse and nourish the GI tract -unlike plain Stevia or Stevia Plus which is simply a low-glycemic sweetener.

    Reply
  5. Marsha

    Is there a limit to the amount of Flora-Key that can be used daily?

    Reply
  6. Sierra

    The recommended amount for adults is 1-2 teaspoons daily, however a loading dose (in cases of bacterial infection) would be 3 teaspoons daily. Some people that use high dose probiotics may feel comfortable using more, but some can be sensitive to FOS and should use just the recommended amount.

    Reply
  7. Sierra

    Jamie- I recommend that you use the Fat Flush Plan book as your best reference!

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth Good

    Great article. I know some with molds in body can’t use FOS, but this makes me want to give it a try again. I know one popular low-carb chocolate bar company uses this to sweeten.

    Reply
  9. Stephanie

    Is it ok to have yogurt during prequel on the Fast Track One-Day Detox?

    Reply
  10. Sierra

    Stephanie- Yes yogurt is fine 🙂

    Reply
  11. Carol Margulies

    I started ding the Fat Flush diet successfully about five years ago. I can no longer find Stevia Plus in the health food stores. Do you know what happened to it?

    Reply

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