Probiotics can help gastric bypass patients resolve vitamin B-12 deficiencies — and help them lose more weight — according to a study from Stanford University. Watch this report from WLS News to find out more. Read the full story

Good Germs May Burn Belly Fat

Single-celled organisms have no free will as we know it, and are therefore morally neutral. However, some of them by their nature cause us harm, while others do us good. We call the harmful ones “germs”; the beneficial bacteria we call “probiotics”  –  from the Greek words that mean “beneficial to life”.

Probiotics are tiny critters that live inside us, going wherever we go, and they pay for the ride by aiding our digestion and health. And, what’s more, they may also help women control belly fat during the period after pregnancy.

Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland studied a group of 256 pregnant women during their first trimesters. The group was subdivided into three groups:

•    Women in one of the groups received dietary counseling and capsules containing the probiotic bacteria lactobacillus and bifidobacterium

•    The second group also got the counseling, plus a selection of healthful foods to take home, but received placebo capsules

•    And the third group just got the placebo and nothing else.

One year after giving birth, women in all three groups were measured and weighed. The results: 25% of the women who had been given the probiotics and the counseling were obese – but 43% of the women who got only the counseling had become obese, as had 40% of the women who got neither probiotics nor dietary advice.

So do probiotics help fight belly fat? Researchers behind these findings think so, but stress the need for further study before definitively ruling on the question. It is also unknown what effect (if any) probiotics may have on the health of unborn children. As always, if you are pregnant, consult your obstetrician before making any dietary or lifestyle changes.

In the May 22, 2009 edition of WLS News, learn about the link between allergies and obesity, and find out which friendly bacteria can help you shed those extra pounds. Also, get the scoop on a new initiative to address obesity-related heart disease in women, learn which state is now covering weight loss surgery for state employees, and hear one expert’s recommendation for overcoming our nation’s obesity epidemic. We’ll also tell you which deadly sin might be less deadly than thought, and check in with Yvonne McCarthy about what’s new in weight loss support on the World Wide Web. Read the full story