Insulin resistance plagues more of us than we likely recognize.
While it is a primary concern of diabetics, if you find yourself dealing with stubborn excess weight, energy crashes, or even dark patches or skin tags on your skin, you might be dealing with insulin resistance.
And with weight loss being a primary concern for most people in the United States today, it should be noted that insulin could be playing a key role.
Known to many as the “fat storing hormone”, insulin will shuttle excess blood sugar into fat storage if it is unable to shuttle it into our cells to use for their functions. So ensuring we are properly sensitized to insulin could be a key factor, if not the key factor, in finding our proper and ideal weights.
So, the question we are looking at today is whether or not probiotic supplementation can help us become more insulin sensitive and less insulin resistant.
To determine the answer, I have scoured the scientific literature for you and identified the meta-analyses covering this topic.
Let’s get into the results.
Do probiotics help reverse insulin resistance?
Of the ten meta-analyses identified covering this topic, the vast majority of them found results indicating probiotic supplementation of varying types exhibited reductions in blood sugar and insulin resistance. In fact, nine out of ten did, with only one analysis finding the results to be inconsistent. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Within those ten meta-analyses, two of them did note that the results were more pronounced in animal studies than in human studies.
For example, a meta-analysis published in Advances in Nutrition in 2024 found that bifidobacterium-only probiotic supplementation reduced fasting blood glucose levels in animal studies but not in human RCTs. [6]
Another meta-analysis published in Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome in 2020 found that probiotic supplementation (including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium and Akkermansia) showed significant beneficial effects on measures of insulin resistance in animal studies. But in seven human trials they analyzed, however, only five of the seven showed benefits to insulin resistance. [9]
So while in some ways the findings from the scientific literature are fairly robust in the sense that we do see a lot of consistent results with not much in the way of dissent, these same findings also indicate the need for further research, particularly on human beings.
Without further and more varied research, there may be some heterogeneity amongst the results as well as some bias, as noted by the authors of a systematic review published in the International Journal of Experimental Pathology in 2020, who also found that 96% of the studies they reviewed showed that probiotics improved type 2 diabetes in animal studies. [1]
Which goes to illustrate the point. With some risk of bias and some slant toward animal studies, more research is needed to further elucidate just how well probiotic supplementation can help improve insulin resistance and overall levels of blood sugar. Not to mention which strains are best and in what dosages.
So while we see a lot of promise here, it is still very difficult to prescribe a course of action.
Of course, eating a whole food-based diet with healthy fiber and a variety of plant-based polyphenols that our healthy bacteria love to live on is still a great way to not only improve that status of our gut microbiome, but our whole health as well.
And over time may do an even better job of restoring the health of gut microbiome than any amount of probiotic supplements ever could. In fact, without feeding our gut bacteria what they need to thrive, supplementing with probiotics might be a waste of time anyway.
If you are interested in taking any action based on the information presented here today, be sure to discuss it with your licensed health care practitioner first to ensure what you are planning is safe and appropriate for you.
And all the best to you on your journey to spectacular health!
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The opinions expressed herein are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. Please consult a physician or health care professional for your specific health care or medical needs.
Please talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise or diet program, including those found on this website. The information provided on this site is not intended as a substitute for consultations with your doctor nor is it intended to provide medical advice specific to your condition.
References
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32608551/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27590729/
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26161741/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27368052/
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40187225/
[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37923223/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34311599/
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