I’ve said it! My favorite bug is L. rhamnosus. I know it sounds crazy, but just looking at the image of them makes me happy. WHY?!

If you haven’t heard the news the bugs, or microbes, that colonize our bodies are amazing. There are over 10,000 strains of these microorganisms that make up almost 5 lbs of our body weight. More and more data continues to emerge related to the bugs that inhabit our bodies and the amazing health benefits they provide, not just for the body, but as it turns out, for the mind as well.  We each have our own unique “fingerprint” of these bugs that is likely determined by our mothers vagina, but also, can be influenced by our own diet and lifestyle, and in some cases by taking probiotics. So why do I have a favorite?

For many gynecologists and the women they care for, recurrent BV is a pain in the neck to treat. This is why early in my career, I began to do some research to see how I could better serve my patients. When it comes to recurrent BV, I have had many patients benefit from the simple addition of the strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus. It turns out that a healthy vaginal flora provides a microenvironment that is not very pleasant for nasty bacteria that can cause a yucky fishy odor and a thin vaginal discharge. This study, published in the journal of Immunology and Medical Microbiology showed that in a randomized, controlled trial, oral L. rhamnosus not only colonized the vagina, it also prevented BV and candida colonization of the vagina. Many of my patients that were coming back to me for recurrent BV swear by this probiotic. Some are even able to treat themselves without the help of antibiotics by taking it when they start to feel some discomfort or discharge.

But wait…there’s another reason why I like this bug for women and it involves weight loss. A large study showed that babies that are delivered by cesarean section and or are formula fed suffer higher rates of adult obesity. It is thought to be due to the lack of healthy flora that babies born through the vagina get. Recently after noticing my own weight gain following treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics, I remembered the studies about obesity and cesarean section. I decided to look into which strains might be beneficial for weight loss. And I found this study. They randomly gave L. rhamnosus or a placebo pill to men and women that were attempting to lose weight with the exact same diet and exercise regimen. They found that the women dieters (BUT NOT THE MEN!!!) using the L. rhamnosus lost twice as much weight as those taking the fake pill. Keep in mind, the study was funded by Nestle so potential bias could exist however the double blind design does minimize potential bias. Keep in mind…you still have to exercise and eat right!!! But the addition of the probiotic should give you an extra boost. It worked for me!

Still more and perhaps most interesting, there was a neurobiology study looking at depression behaviors in in mice taking L. rhamnosus versus not taking it. What they found was that mice that were given the L. rhamnosus (JB-1) strain had significantly lower levels of the stress-induced hormone corticosterone and exhibited less anxiety- and depression-related behavior. It was thought to be driven by the vagus nerve and effects of GABA receptor expression. So how’s that for mind-body. Perhaps we should really be talking about mind-body-bug.

Hopefully this will convince you that your own microbiome can protect you and explains why as a gynecologist, L. rhamnosus is my favorite bug. Here are some natural ways you can promote your body’s own beneficial flora:

Diet high in fiber

Sleep

Exercise

Plant based diet

So there you have it, the reasons why my favorite gut bug is L.rhamnosus.

For more on the microbiome, check out this TEDx Talk on YouTube.

Or this talk by Stanford Immunology Professor David Relman

If you want to try a supplement, here are some products that have the L. rhamnosus strain, but there are many out there that will work, you just have to look for it on the side of the probiotic bottle where they have the strains listed. Try to buy from a reputable company however so you can ensure you are getting active strains.

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