Research

Mixed

Probiotic supplementation for metabolic syndrome yields heterogeneous outcomes: a subset of 'responders' improves triglycerides and diastolic blood pressure, while 'non-responders' experience increased blood glucose and insulin levels.

If you have metabolic syndrome, a probiotic might not help everyone. In this study, some people saw better blood pressure and triglycerides, but others saw worse blood sugar. Your diet matters: responders ate more sugars and specific nutrients like folate and lactose. Before starting a probiotic for metabolic health, consider that it may not work for you, and your current diet might influence whether it helps or harms your metabolic markers.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
a subset of participants we have termed responders, had improved levels of triglycerides and diastolic blood pressure relative to the placebo group... The remainder of the intervention group participants we have termed probiotic non-responders, had increased serum glucose and insulin levels relative to the placebo group.
Hannah C. Wastyk et al. · Gut Microbes · 2023

Why this rating

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with longitudinal sampling, though the primary outcome was null and subgroup analysis is exploratory.

Source

Randomized controlled trial demonstrates response to a probiotic intervention for metabolic syndrome that may correspond to diet

Hannah C. Wastyk et al. · Gut Microbes · 2023

DOI 10.1080/19490976.2023.2178794

rct · n=39Cited 58×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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