Soil-Based Probiotics: Benefits, Differences, and Gut Health Insights

Author's Bio: Marcie Vaske, MS, LN, CNS

Video Transcript:

Soil based probiotics have been raved as wonderful gut restores, as well as little tiny vitamin factories. However, they've also been vilified as risky to our immune system.

With such differences of opinion. I thought it would be important today to go over soil-based probiotics through scientific research.

Now, by now, we've all heard the benefits of probiotics as they can help to improve our immune system and give us better gut health. They help with anxiety and depression as well as weight loss.

But today we're going to dig into soil-based probiotics.

Now, if you want to learn more about probiotics, we've also done several other blogs, so take some time, go through them, and learn all you can about making the right choice for probiotics.

My name is Marcie Vaske, and I'm a functional nutritionist specializing in gut health. So I do see a lot of people who struggle with diarrhea or constipation, bloating, gas, and really that's just to name a few things.

But I also see people who struggle with poor immune systems or insulin dysregulation or whose hormones are imbalanced. So if that sounds like you or someone you know, you can visit our website where you can easily make an initial appointment with me or our other practitioner, Katie.

But if you're the kind of person who likes to do stuff on their own and just really learn more about gut health, you can download our free guide, which is Five Ways to Improve gut health.

So take a look below, see what fits you best, and maybe we'll see you in the clinic. Otherwise, I hope you continue to learn a lot about gut health.

All right, so let's dig into soil-based probiotics.

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What are soil-based probiotics?

It is bacteria that is actually found in our soil, and it has evolved with us through humankind. So we were routine with them through eating or hunting or fishing, farming, all that kind of stuff. And as the world has become a little bit more hyper-sanitized, we aren't getting or we aren't around those soil-based probiotics as much as we were in the past.

So in the past, we were around these soil-based organisms, and without even knowing it, we were supporting our gut microbiome. And now, what we've learned through research is how important and what a big impact it can make on our gut microbiome.

So today, we have soil-based supplements that are packed with these different strains of spore-based organisms, and they're heartier and more in feeding our microbiome.

Benefits of Soil-Based Probiotics

1). Increasing The Immune System

Now, these probiotics have been shown to be extremely effective in increasing our immune system. In fact, increasing our Secretory IgA (SIgA), which we know is very important in people who struggle with autoimmune diseases.

So if your immune system is suppressed, then oftentimes you may end up or have symptoms of autoimmune. So having more of these soil-based organisms protects you and increases that Secretory IgA.

2). Support For Gut Health

Now, of course, we understand that these spore-based probiotics also support our gut health in increasing our microbiome, the health of it in our lower GI tract.

3). Keep the Intestinal Tract Strong and Healthy

So not only increases our Secretory IgA, but it also increases something called butyrate, which is a short-chain fatty acid. And butyrate helps to keep the integrity of our intestinal tract strong and healthy.

Now, studies have shown that soil-based probiotics have been helpful with individuals who struggle with autoimmune gut diseases such as ulcerative colitis or even Crohn's.

4). Digestive Function Improvement

Now, not only are these soil-based organisms positive for our gut health overall, but also for our digestive function, these organisms have been shown to decrease gas, bloating, diarrhea, and even constipation.

Soil-Based Probiotics vs. Common Probiotics

So now that we understand how important these soil-based organisms are to our microbiome, you may be asking, well,

What's the difference between soil-based probiotics versus just the probiotics that we hear so much about?

The difference is that the probiotics that you're often being marketed to are going to be filled with lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, which are wonderful and powerful in their own right.

But, soil-based probiotics also contain a different kind of genre of bacillus. Now, they have found that these bacillus strains that are often found in soil-based probiotics have a seed-like structure that helps them nurture and grow our microbiome, as well and they're much heartier.

And so they can make it through the gastric hydrochloric acid in our stomach. So they make it through our entire intestinal tract to our lower GI, where they can be really beneficial.

The soil-based probiotics are going to be similar in effectiveness to our regular probiotics that you hear a lot about.

But as I talked about, the soil-based contains bacillus, and there are different varieties of this bacillus strain that are going to help in certain situations for people.

Key Bacillus Strains in Soil-Based Probiotics

Bacillus Coagulans

And the most studied bacillus is Bacillus Coagulans. And this is found to be helpful for people who struggle with diarrhea or constipation, even gas. And so this strain has been very helpful in reducing those symptoms for individuals.

Bacillus Subtilis

Now, another strain is Bacillus Subtilis, which has been found to be very helpful in constipation. It helps to increase peristalsis or motility in the intestinal tract leading to not frequent stools, but at least daily stools. So if you're struggling with constipation, that's one of the soil-based probiotics you want to make sure you're that are in the product you find.

Bacillus Clausii

Now another strain of soil-based probiotics is Bacillus Clausii, and that has been found to be really helpful in individuals with SIBO or even acute diarrhea.

So again, looking for the right strains of soil-based probiotics when you are buying a product that will suit your needs is going to be most beneficial.

So overall, soil-based probiotics can safely help to increase your gut health, and in conjunction with just regular probiotics that makes a beautiful synergistic environment to have the best shape that your gut microbiome can be in.

So I hope this helps shed a little bit of light on the difference between soil-based probiotics versus probiotics that just are regular probiotics that we're seeing much more of.

If, again, you have questions or if you're still like, I don't know what to do with probiotics, I do encourage you to check our blogs on probiotics, which will give you more information on making a choice that's right for you and your gut.

If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic. We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.