Best Probiotics For Women Over 50: Age With Vitality!

Do you believe in the use of probiotics for women over 50? Your body hosts approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, including viruses, fungi, protozoa, and bacteria—both harmful and beneficial—residing predominantly in your intestines. It’s not shocking that these microbes play a crucial role in your body, given their presence in your digestive tract.

However, it might surprise you to learn that not all bacteria are harmful. Probiotics refer to the beneficial bacteria, also known as the “good soldiers,” that support gut health and aid in digestion. That’s why probiotics for women over 50 are a legitimate consideration! What’s that, you ask?

Best Probiotics For Women Over 50

Interestingly, including “contains probiotics” in marketing helps products sell better. Let’s not delve further into this marketing tactic, although it’s a savvy move. Instead, let’s explore why discussing probiotics is important. It’s widely recognized that probiotics—whether present in specific foods or dietary supplements—are crucial for women over 50, especially those dealing with digestive and weight concerns.

As you age, unfortunately, you are susceptible to age-related conditions, starting with menopause. Hitting menopause marks the time for you to improve your overall health and well-being to prevent certain health conditions you are sure not to enjoy in later decades. Regular exercise and eating a healthy diet are great ways to start if you haven’t already. 

But for a few years, probiotic dietary supplements have been having a moment with them being the third most popular dietary supplement. The use of it has quadrupled between 2007 and 2012, according to a study by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health division of the National Institutes of Health. If you are still unconvinced, keep reading to know everything you need to know about probiotics and why probiotics are necessary for women over 50 followed by the best probiotics for women over 50.

What Are Probiotics?

When discussing probiotics, it always begins with the microbiome—a term that refers to the collective genome of all microorganisms residing in and on all vertebrates. Each person’s microbiome is distinct, even among twins. Furthermore, research indicates that the microbiome evolves throughout an individual’s life, influenced by factors such as lifestyle, diet, and environment.

The gut microbiome, which consists of the collective genome of microbes living in the gut, regulates digestion and contributes greatly to a healthy immune system. Your gut and gastrointestinal tract absorb necessary nutrients to support vital functions in your body. Moreover, your gut health can affect even your skin, hormones, energy levels, and digestion. Now, the fact that your gut is the center of your health may fall into place for you. 

Probiotics are healthy and beneficial live bacteria that replenish your body’s microbiome with healthy cultures —to control the growth of harmful bacteria in your gut. In addition to that, they help protect against the risk of infection, work to improve your immune function, aid in the absorption of nutrients, and keep the digestive system and the gut healthy. 

Probiotics mainly consist of bacteria, but according to Advanced Nutrition, some yeasts could also be probiotics. The two common types of probiotic bacteria are lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The common type of yeast found in probiotics is Saccharomyces boulardii. You can consume it through food or dietary supplements. If consumed in the right amounts, you can get many benefits. Before getting into the benefits of probiotics, let’s see why it is more important for women over 50.

Why are Probiotics Important for Women Over 50?

The late 40s and early 50s are when women step onto the stage of menopause. And you are aware that menopause doesn’t come empty-handed. Among the few undesired changes, a substantial change in hormones can bring a range of symptoms.

Women do not produce a lot of estrogen in menopause, which in turn affects the microbiome as well. According to a study by Nutrition and Healthy Aging, the aging process can create an imbalance in the bacterial balance in your gut. If you have an unhealthy gut, the bacteria that live in your gut will be unhealthy. It leads to the disruption of important functions.

Due to digestive changes, a range of problems such as inflammation, diarrhea, constipation, and irritable bowel can make your everyday life harder. Not to mention, maintaining a strong immune system is a concern for older women. A perfect —almost magical— solution for these concerns could be taking probiotic supplements or adding foods infused with probiotics to your diet.

Ultimately, it’s essential to keep your body’s defense system strong against unwanted invaders. This is especially critical for women over 50. Incorporating the right probiotic into your routine, with a variety of strains tailored for their capacity to promote overall good health, is the best approach. Pairing this with a healthy diet further fortifies your body’s defenses.

What Are The Benefits Of Probiotics?

We hear so much about probiotics that it has become difficult to figure out what’s true and what’s not. The benefits it claims to have are plenty to ignore though. Let’s start with the basic one: it can populate your gut with good bacteria! This improves your gut health by tenfold.

Improve Gut Health

When the equilibrium between good and bad bacteria in your digestive system is disrupted, it can lead to various stomach issues or disturbances. These may include diarrhea, constipation, bloating, excess gas, or even more severe problems like inflammatory bowel diseases, throwing your digestive system’s function off balance.

Enter probiotics, the heroes of the story. By increasing your intake of probiotic-rich foods or by regularly taking a probiotic supplement, you can restore the balance of bacteria in your gut and decrease the likelihood of experiencing stomach disturbances.

Boosts Immunity

Another important benefit of probiotics is an improved immune system function. A function that gets disrupted when your gut is unhealthy is your immune system. This is because almost three-quarters of the immune system is found within the digestive system. So, you must ensure a smooth function of the digestive system to fight bad bacteria and be less susceptible to common colds and general viruses by adding probiotics to the diet. 

Improves Brain Health

The third reason is improved brain health. Ever wondered why people consider the gut as the second brain? Studies have shown that there is a direct connection between the gut and the brain and around 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut. Not to mention, the brain directly affects the gut.

It’s no surprise that stress can leave you feeling under the weather or cause stomach trouble. That’s why it’s crucial to foster a healthy environment in your gut, supporting a robust immune system and clearer thinking. One way to achieve this is by incorporating probiotics into your diet, which can help improve the health of your gut microbiome. Some users have even touted probiotics for aiding in weight loss, making them a valuable ally for women struggling with obesity.

Many health issues affect women uniquely, and probiotics can be beneficial for those dealing with such conditions. However, while research on the effectiveness of probiotics in treating illnesses is ongoing, it’s not yet conclusive. Nonetheless, if you’re dealing with any of these health conditions, it’s worth discussing probiotics with your doctor to see if they might be beneficial. These conditions include digestive issues, menopausal symptoms, immune system support, and maintaining vaginal health, where choosing the best probiotics for vaginal health becomes particularly important.

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Colitis
• Bladder infections
• IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Yeast infection
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome
• Acute respiratory tract infections
• Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety

Best Probiotics For Women

If you haven’t joined the recent trend of using probiotics, it’s about time you gave them some serious thought. Before diving into probiotic supplements, though, consider incorporating more probiotic foods into your diet to maintain gut health. While adding these foods daily might not be entirely practical, it’s still a beneficial approach. And the benefits they offer are pretty convincing. Check out these top 5 probiotics for women over 50 and select one that suits you best.

#1- Garden of Life Once Daily Women’s Probiotics

Price: $29.94

Developed by Board Certified Neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter and loved by all dietician nutritionists, this women’s once-daily probiotics from Garden of Life is one of the best out there. It is packed with 50 billion Colony Forming Units and 16 diverse probiotic strains. It supports digestion, the immune system, and vaginal health. You can stash it into your purse, making it an ideal one for women on the go. Garden of Life delivers non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free as well as vegetarian capsules with shelf-stable quality. There is no need to keep it refrigerated.

Best Probiotics For Women Over Fifty #2- Culturelle Digestive Daily Probiotic

Price: $39.79

Not all probiotics come as budget-friendly. So when affordable probiotic supplements come by, you have to keep a hold on them. Here’s one such beneficial probiotic packed with 10 billion Colony Forming Units and a potent strain of good bacteria. This includes Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG), which helps with easing bloating, digestive health, diarrhea, allergic reactions, and abdominal pain. Additionally, it contains 200 mg of inulin —a natural prebiotic factor to feed probiotics— to support the gut’s microbiome. If all of these bacterial benefits don’t count much, probiotics are also free of contamination as well as dairy, gluten, wheat, soy, and lactose. It is vegetarian and needs no refrigeration.

#3- Vitamin Bounty Pro-25 

Price: $16.99

If you’re just starting out on your probiotic journey, Pro-25 from Vitamin Bounty is an excellent choice. It’s packed with 50 billion organisms and 13 diverse probiotic strains per capsule. This supplement stands out as one of the most effective probiotics, thanks to its inclusion of prebiotics—complex carbohydrates that serve as metabolic fuel for the gastrointestinal tract. Plus, it comes in a patented vegetable capsule with prebiotic greens, which helps protect the live organisms from stomach acid, ensuring you get more cultures while maximizing efficiency. It’s the ideal probiotic supplement for beginners.

Best Probiotics For Women Over Fifity #4- Vitamin Bounty Women’s Pro-Daily

Price: $29.99

It is formulated with targeted probiotic strains and cranberries. The key ingredients and extracts such as black cohosh root, cranberry, and Ashwagandha help with vaginal and urinary health, whereas other probiotic strains that are vital to female digestive health and immune system support benefit your other specific needs. It also uses a delayed-release capsule, protecting the organisms from stomach acid thereby ensuring maximum efficacy. You can choose this if your needs match the claims Pro-Daily offers.

#5- Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic Extra Care

Price: $35.99

Renew Life’s Extra Care probiotics formulated with 50 billion Colony Forming Units from 12 diverse probiotic strains are designed to re-establish the interrupted digestive balance. An expert team of neuroscientists and microbiologists formulated the capsule. It promotes digestion and immunity. Since it is designed to be delayed-release, the content of the probiotics will make it past the stomach acid. A bonus you may love is the quality and potency from manufacturing date through expiration. It does not have to be refrigerated which is a huge plus when the shipment is delayed. So, anyone who wants an extra gut health boost can benefit from this probiotic for women over 50.

Disclaimer: The information above is based on research and only for educational purposes. The writer has not tested any of these products.

What to Look For Before Buying Probiotics for Women?

You have probiotics from different brands for specific health conditions. Clinical trials show that different probiotics, as well as dosages, are effective for different health conditions and it more or less depends on the user’s health goals. Probiotics are all created the same. So, it is important to recognize your nutritional needs followed by identifying probiotics specifically targeted for such needs.

While probiotics are generally safe for many individuals, it’s crucial to consult your healthcare provider before beginning any supplement regimen. Additionally, when selecting the best probiotics for menopause weight loss, it’s essential to consider the number of active cells measured in CFUs (Colony Forming Units), which can range from one to ten billion or more. However, more bacteria isn’t necessarily better—it ultimately depends on the specific strain. Some strains may be effective at low doses (0.5B CFU), while others might require higher doses (up to 450B CFU) per day.

It’s important to pay attention to the strain of bacteria included in the product, as different strains serve different functions. Another key factor to consider is the viability of live bacteria in the formula. Ensure that the levels of live probiotics are guaranteed throughout the “best by” date provided on the product, rather than just at the time of manufacture.

Lastly, it’s crucial to select a product that has undergone extensive research and is endorsed by reputable experts in the field.

Final Thoughts

Improving gut health is crucial for everyone, particularly women over 50 facing menopause, as the gastrointestinal system lies at the core of interconnected bodily networks. Among the array of strategies to achieve this, incorporating probiotics stands out as essential. While exercise and diet play significant roles, probiotics offer a multitude of beneficial effects, aiding in maintaining a healthy bacterial balance in the gut. Hence, considering the best probiotics for women over 50 becomes imperative, ensuring the ratio of good to bad bacteria remains favorable for overall well-being.