By taking probiotics, it is increasing the number of good bacteria which can detoxify your system and help you absorb nutrients more efficiently. If you have been taking too many antibiotics, the probiotics can balance the negative effects of that as well.
The short answer: It takes most people 2 to 3 weeks to feel significant benefits when they start taking probiotics. That's because probiotics need time to accomplish their three key goals: increase your good bacteria count, decrease your bad bacteria count, and reduce inflammation.
Probiotics work by crowding out any potentially bad bacteria, taking up space and using up nutrients they would need to reproduce. They also help digest foods that we can't, such as fibre and resistant starch.
So why take probiotics if you want to do a cleanse? Supporting our intestinal flora with supplemental probiotics can help to rid the body of toxins entering our air, food, and water. Probiotics, like lactobacillus, look promising in helping to detoxify heavy metals, and to prevent their absorption into the body.
Regularly taking probiotics has generally been shown to be safe, according to the NIH, especially Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The most common side effect is gas. Some cases of infections have resulted in severe illness in immunocompromised or severely ill patients after taking probiotics.
Several probiotic strains have particular abilities to improve liver function through the modulation of the gastrointestinal tract. These improvements were mostly observed with Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus or multispecies probiotic therapy (23, 27).
So if you eat a diet with lots of fiber-rich whole foods (something scientists like to call prebiotics) and add some probiotic foods or supplements, you can speed up your gut biome restoration.
Although probiotics are not laxatives, they may help you to poop more regularly if you have constipation or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Probiotics are generally considered safe, but your body might experience some temporary side effects while it gets used to the new bacteria, including bloating and flatulence.
An anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercise, good quality sleep, and probiotics are all strategies to put in place before trying antimicrobials or antibiotics to get rid of bad bacteria.
After all, we know how important having a healthy and diverse microbiome is to our gut, and overall health. But probiotics don't initially work for a number of our clients and can often make symptoms worse in the short-term for those with significant gut dysfunction or bacterial dysbiosis.
So to answer the question…to kill off dormant bacteria it can take up to 6 months. This highlights the importance that if any healthy habits are being adopted they must be sustained for at least this amount of time to result in permanent shifts in your microbiome.
Probiotics May Only Colonize the Gut Temporarily
Research does suggest that probiotics only colonize the gut temporarily [7]. So, if you stop taking probiotics, the levels of different kinds of bacteria in your gut microbiome are likely to return to what they were before.
Frequent discomfort, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn could be signs that your gut is having a hard time processing food and eliminating waste. You feel tired more often than not. People with chronic fatigue may have imbalances in the gut.
Probiotics may enhance enzyme production and efficiency involved in detoxification processes, with some studies suggesting that the bacteria's modulatory effects on bile acid synthesis is one mechanism that may support the healthy excretion of heavy metals.
Probiotics help replenish the population of bacteria in your gut, and Yakult does a good job of that. Yakult has 6.5 billion LCS bacteria per bottle! It does a wonderful job at keeping your gut microbiome healthy and populous. Plus, your gut bacteria don't just support your digestion.
The ideal time to take probiotics is right before bed because "the gut is pretty inactive at night. If you think about it, you don't usually wake up in the middle of the night to poop,” says Patricia Raymond, MD, a gastroenterology and internal medicine physician and clinical advisor for Gastro Girl.
When first using probiotics, some people experience gas, bloating, or diarrhea. Changes in the gut microbiota can result in bacteria producing more gas than usual, which can lead to bloating. However, these side effects usually clear up within a few days or weeks of taking the probiotics.
They may trigger allergic reactions, and may also cause mild stomach upset, diarrhea, or flatulence (passing gas) and bloating for the first few days after starting to take them. There are certain people who need to use caution when using probiotic supplements.