Industry funded study of the week: a dog supplement
No food or supplement is too small to evade research aimed at selling it. Try this one:
ADM study: Postbiotic supports metabolic health markers in labradors: Supplementing labradors with the postbiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis CECT 8145 may influence metabolic health markers during weight change, according to ADM research…. Read more
ADM makes dietary supplements. NutraIngredients.com is unusually helpful about noting when companies sponsor research on their own products. It also typically cites the original articles so they are easy to look up.
The study: Dickerson SM, Timlin CL, Mccracken FB, Skaggs P, Nixon SL, Day R, Coon CN. Bifidobacterium animalis Subspecies lactis CECT 8145 Affects Markers of Metabolic Health in Dogs During Weight Gain and Weight Loss. Animals. 2026; 16(2):259. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16020259
Method: The study had two phases: a weight-gain phase where dogs were overfed, and a weight-loss phase where overweight dogs were fed just enough to maintain their ideal weight. During each phase, forty-five adult Labradors were divided into three groups: one received the live bacterial supplement (probiotic), another received the heat-treated version (postbiotic), and the third group received a placebo.
Results: During weight gain…the postbiotic reduced blood sugar after consuming kibble in the weight-loss phase. Overall, the study suggests that supplementing dogs with Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis CECT 8145 may influence metabolic health markers as seen through changes in blood and fecal markers in Labradors during weight change.
Conclusion: we showed that postbiotic, and to a lesser extent probiotic, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 may influence metabolic health markers without inducing short-term changes in body weight or body composition, suggesting potential metabolic health benefits that warrant further investigation.
