A Guy’s Guide to Probiotics

Prostate Health

Your prostate is a problem waiting to happen. The most prevalent prostate problem for men under 50—and the third most common for men over 50—is prostatitis. Marked by inflammation that causes painful or difficult urination, frequent night urination, and pain in the groin, pelvic area, or genitals, prostatitis is responsible for about 2 million doctor’s visits every year.¹  The cause? Oftentimes it’s a bacterial infection.

Fortunately, emerging evidence suggests that probiotics can significantly reduce the painful symptoms associated with bacterial prostatitis. In preliminary research, investigators found that probiotics can  reduce the prostate cell inflammation caused by a bacterial infection.² What’s more, a study of chronic bacterial prostatitis in humans showed that supplementing with probiotics could prevent symptomatic recurrence, improve quality of life, and reduce antibiotic use.³

Probiotics may do even more to support prostate health. Since 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime,  prevention is key. A recent report shows that taking a probiotic—in addition to making lifestyle changes—may delay or even prevent prostate cancer.⁴ It does this by improving the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome and reversing dysbiosis, which can promote the growth of cancer cells.

Sexual Fitness

It’s a fact of life: aging affects male sex drive and function. But age isn’t the only thing that can put a damper on your love life. Research shows that there’s a strong link between the gut microbiome and men’s sexual health.⁵ And while you may not be able to defy Father Time, you can do something about your microbiome. And that, in turn, can improve your reproductive health. For example, one clinical trial appearing in Human Fertility showed that taking a daily probiotic significantly increased sperm concentration and motility as well as ejaculate volume. The study’s participants also experienced less oxidative stress and inflammation.⁶

Testosterone production also drops as a man ages. And that can present some unwanted changes, including reduced sex drive, decreased energy levels, and fatigue.⁷ Novel findings out of MIT and Harvard suggest that regularly consuming probiotics can boost serum testosterone levels and delay reproductive aging.⁸

Of course, nothing kills the mood the way digestive issues do. Gas and bloating don’t really fall into the sexy category. Thankfully, probiotics can help regulate your gastrointestinal woes and alleviate these common digestive issues, as well as abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach rumbling.⁹

Physical Performance

Whether you’re a weekend warrior or an avid adventurer, probiotics can give your physical conditioning a boost. A 2023 systematic review of 13 studies suggests that regularly consuming probiotics can influence performance-related factors such as fatigue, muscle pain, body composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness. That means you can recover faster, build more stamina, and improve your physique. And best of all, probiotics’ benefits were witnessed across a wide range of activities, from rugby to badminton to endurance training.¹⁰

Probiotics can help you stay in game shape too. An earlier review of nine studies involving endurance athletes showed that probiotics protect against post training and competition illness by strengthening the immune system, shielding the upper respiratory tract from infection, and decreasing oxidative stress.¹¹

Mental Well-Being

Statistically, women experience depression at twice the rate that men do. But reports suggest that men are less likely to seek treatment—and they often underreport symptoms when they do speak up.¹² That’s not surprising since talking about feelings isn’t really considered the most masculine trait. One way to deal with or possibly prevent depression is with probiotics. A 2016 meta-analysis showed that probiotics significantly improve mood and decrease the symptoms of depression.¹³ A more recent review of 16 trials backs up those findings by also showing a wealth of evidence that probiotics can improve clinical depression and anxiety symptoms.¹⁴

Probiotics’ brain benefits don’t stop there. They also help to improve cognition and memory. In a randomized, controlled 12-week trial, men taking a probiotic experience noticeably better memory when compared to a placebo.¹⁵

Probiotics are an invaluable asset to men’s health. By providing relief to a number of common male issues, a probiotic supplement is a smart addition to every guy’s health routine.

Ready to learn more about probiotics? Start here.

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2. Murzilli S. Evaluation of the immunomodulatory effects of a probiotics and natural extract-based formulation in bacterial-induced prostatitis. Life (Basel). 2023;13(2):389.
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