Should you take a probiotic to melt your belly fat?

Menopause = opportunity for supplement marketers...

Kia ora koutou

And welcome to my new subscribers – thanks for being here! And a special thanks to those of you who’ve signed up as paid subscribers: you’re helping me to keep doing what I do. I’m truly grateful.

I’ve had a super busy couple of months with menopause speaking; I’ve done seventeen talks since the start of September, in organisations ranging from big banks to male-dominated infrastructure organisations. All of those workplaces are now talking about menopause; sharing their experiences and thinking about how they can support others going through this life stage. That make it over 30 workplaces I’ve worked with this year, where women coming through this transition can feel seen and supported; 30 workplaces where women’s health and wellbeing is being taken seriously. That feels awesome. Can you see it in my face?

If you’re yet to start talking menopause in your workplace, hit me up – I’ve started taking bookings for next year (or even for December if you want to get in before Xmas). There’s more about my speaking stuff here.

Covid and menopause

I thought I was never going to get Covid; I was secretly congratulating myself on my awesome immune system and diligence when bam! – last week I was hit with one of these new variants doing the rounds. It knocked me over, I can tell you… I have never felt such crushing fatigue. I’m starting to feel better now, but I’m taking it quietly. I feel like I’ve lost a bit of trust in my body; I’m still a bit tentative about getting back into exercise, for example.

Off the back of this I thought I’d take a look at what’s known about Covid, long Covid and menopause. There has been some research on this, and it might not be a surprise to know that long Covid could make symptoms of perimenopause or menopause worse – and vice versa. And being in perimenopause might make us more likely to experience long Covid. There’s an interesting article about it here which is well worth a read.

Symptoms often overlap, too, complicating the picture. Bottom line: listen to your body and don’t push it when you’re recovering… and if you haven’t had it, keep up with those boosters.

Should you take probiotics for menopause/meno-belly?

Several people in the last couple of weeks have asked me about a product called Provitalize, which is a probiotic-based supplement marketed at women in menopause and perimenopause. Marketed fairly aggressively, I think we can say, using lots of testimonials about how it’s melted away belly fat and ‘given me my life back’. The supplement helps women, the company says, who want to ‘trim MenoBelly, MuffinTops & shed unwanted weight’. Because, they say: ‘Being “heavy-in-the-middle” is one of the top concerns for women over 40.’ I’m not linking to it here – I do not want to send them any traffic. Here’s a screen shot so you get the flavour…

Make your husband go “WOAH”…. ffs

I have some thoughts about this. Spoiler: I think it’s bullshit.

To elaborate:

First, do probiotics help with menopause? Well, we do know from the research so far that there are changes in the gut, and changes in the gut bacteria, that happen in perimenopause and beyond. We know gut motility slows down; the gut lining might become a bit compromised, and that there is some interaction between oestrogen and gut bacteria.

There’s a lot we DON’T yet know about this. For example, though there have been some interesting studies, there’s not enough evidence to say that any specific probiotic strain is effective for menopause symptoms. None of the global menopause bodies mentions probiotics in its treatment guidelines or position statements that I can see.

Likewise, weight gain and obesity. There’s lots of work going on in this area (some of it here in NZ) but the jury is still well and truly out on specific strains of probiotics and how they might impact weight one way or another.

So: it looks like Provitalize is taking this potential and just running with it to make a shit ton of money; evidence or no evidence. The website reads like it was written by AI. There’s nothing on there about the humans behind the business (their offices seem to be in Las Vegas though which might say something) or about the science on which the product is based.

The website has a link to one small study on one of the strains of probiotics in the product (Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055). That study looked at 210 adults -half of whom were women - with abdominal obesity who were given a fermented milk drink (not a pill) containing the probiotic. The subjects lost a small amount of visceral fat, though once they stopped the trial, the fat returned. Note: this was not a study on menopausal weight gain specifically.

It’s impossible to know how much of this probiotic strain is in Provitalize, as the label does not specify (rather it’s a proprietary blend featuring three different strains). And: there have been no studies on the Provitalize product and weight loss or any other effect.

If the Better Body Co has indeed helped ‘over 1 million women worldwide’ to ‘look and feel like themselves again’ (which to them means becoming smaller) - that means they’ve turned over at least $US 50 million. That means they can afford to spring for a proper scientific trial. A proper, placebo-controlled, double blind trial to actually measure the effects of this miracle product. I’ll look forward to seeing that.

In the meantime I would say: this is an expensive product (over NZ$80 a bottle) with a scammy-looking website, and marketing that targets vulnerability and desperation in women by exploiting misogynistic, bullshit beauty and body standards.

If you’re taking this product and you love it and you can afford it – carry on; you do you. BUT if you’re someone who’s seen the many, many social media ads about this and are thinking you might like to try it, I say: save your money. Spend it on something we know to be good for us - healthy food, say, or - I don’t know - something fun! Eighty bucks would buy a nice dinner out, or a nice piece of new clothing that makes you feel lovely.

And also remember: there’s no such thing as a magic pill. For anything. Let alone for the complex situation that is menopause.

Here are some reviews about this product you might find interesting:

A naturopathic doctor reviews Provitalize:

Dietitian Abby Langer reviews Provitalize

That’s it from me for now… I’m off to have my post-Covid afternoon nap.

Niki