This article is intended to clarify what is in Nella & breakdown the benefits
Recently, the New York Post published a story about FitBiomics and our next-generation probiotic, Nella. That article went viral, was followed by a live interview on Good Day New York, and since, we have had thousands of people ordering Nella.
We are so grateful for the support, and we are loving the excitement many people have about the connection between your microbiome, gut health, and fitness. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain a little more about Nella and the types of benefits you can expect from taking Nella.
What is Nella?
Nella is a probiotic that we have developed using bacteria isolated from the stool of elite athletes. It contains three probiotic species: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. All of these bacterial strains are generally regarded as safe by the United States FDA. Because these strains have been isolated from the guts of humans, in particular elite performing humans, instead of food or animals like many other probiotics, we think that they may be better able to interact with the human body in beneficial ways. This form-fits-function hypothesis is the basis for our Human Performance Discovery Platform, which we are using to discover new ways that gut bacteria can impact health and performance. Though more studies are needed to really understand the unique properties of Nella, people that have taken Nella have reported improvements in digestion, sleep, and recovery.
In fact, in a beta test, where we regularly surveyed more than 200 people who took Nella daily for two weeks, 34.6% had better bowel movements, 38.5% experienced a shorter recovery time after a tough workout, 45.1% had improved sleep quality, and 94% of participants reported a benefit in at least one of the categories we included in the surveys! We also like to say that Nella is "field tested" as well - with Olympic medalists, world champions, and world record breakers all taking Nella to support their gut health.
Microbiome and Health: A Virtuous Cycle
Because there is a lot of hype around the microbiome these days, it can feel like the microbiome is involved in everything, and some people might tell you that the right probiotic will cure everything from acne to cancer. At FitBiomics, we want to make sure that everything we do is rooted in good science and solid data. Currently, our understanding of the microbiome suggests that probiotics can do a lot to improve health, wellness, and fitness, but they are not a magic bullet and do not work in isolation. You won’t lose weight, gain muscle, and become an Olympic athlete just because you are taking a probiotic.
However, your microbiome and your health are part of a virtuous cycle (the less well known opposite of a vicious cycle). Using a probiotic and/or eating fermented foods alongside eating a balanced diet and active lifestyle will promote a healthy and diverse microbiota community. This healthy and diverse microbiome in turn helps restore immune balance, digestion, and can even affect your mood and mental well-being. All of these factors make you feel better, happier, and give you more energy, so it becomes easier to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Addressing Today's Lifestyle Needs
Gut health and fitness is more than just improving athletic or sports performance. The world today is an incredibly stressful place, and it can be very hard to find the time, energy, and motivation to live a healthy lifestyle, so it’s no surprise that chronic diseases have become a pandemic of their own in the United States. According to the CDC, 6 out of 10 adults in the US have a chronic disease, and these diseases contribute to $3.8 trillion in health care costs per year! The causes of these diseases are multi-factorial, but the key risk factors include alcohol/tobacco use, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise.
One thing all of these risk factors have in common is that they affect the microbiome, and this just goes to show that while there is a lot of hype around your gut, and while we don’t yet understand all of the details, the gut microbiome is definitely involved in health.
Here at FitBiomics, we believe exercise is medicine, and if we can recover our full gut microbiome functionality, we can improve fitness, prevent disease, and change the way we think about our health!
WRITTEN BY: Marina Santiago, PhD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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Dr. Santiago has a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from the Microbiology and Immunobiology Department of Harvard Medical School, but she has been fascinated by microbes and microbial communities for as long as she can remember. She works as an independent R&D strategy consultant and helps companies create and use evidence-based frameworks for making strategy decisions as well as helping them launch new programs or initiatives. Dr. Santiago is also passionate about fitness and the outdoors. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and backpacking very long distances, as well as slowly getting better at yoga, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu. |
Dr. Santiago knows first hand how improving gut health can bring your trail running performance to new heights. Here she is doing her favorite sport - hiking!
