Ah, the wonderful number of choices we have at the market. So much to choose from. It’s thrilling. And daunting, though it doesn’t have to be if you know what you’re looking for. Which is why this post is here. More specifically, as you may have surmised from the title, this little article is to help you select probiotics. To guide you past the probiotics you don’t want and find the ones you do. The ones that will be the most effective.
First off. I need to ask; We all know what probiotics are, right? The good bacteria and flora that lives in your tummy and contributes to healthy digestion. The active stuff in yogurt with the really long names like; acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Lactobacillus acidophilus timothy tyler simonfrank solomon obiedyer bifidobacterium.
There is also bad bacteria which is spoken of in hushed voices when traveling. That’s the bacteria that your wife might, for example, come across at a buffet in Peru which causes her to miss the day trip to the alpaca ranch.
Luckily bad bacteria can be defeated with the ingestion of antibiotics. Bad bacteria can also be routed with the right kinds of good bacteria. That is until you take the antibiotics which true to their name kill all bacteria, good and bad. Which is fine because it gets your wife out of the hotel, to the plane, and after a sixteen hour flight, home again.
There are probiotics galore on store shelves. None are regulated and many aren’t effective. Strains that may not even be useful are sold alongside strains that would be if they were in higher dosages. You need to take care in your selection or you might end up with something that’s ineffective, or worse, contaminated because the lab that produced it didn’t keep their place clean. Just to reiterate an important point; the manufacture of probiotics isn’t regulated by a third party. Don’t worry, even though there are stinkers out there, there are also companies that care very much about their product and their customers.
Which is why you’ll want to look over this list of what to look for;
1. Probiotics should be refrigerated.
Heat activates and eventually kills bacteria. Don’t even need to bother looking at probiotics on non-refrigerated shelves. Refrigeration keeps them fresh. Refrigeration will continue to keep them fresh when you get home.
2. The probiotics should be in a dark, glass bottle.
Probiotics are sensitive to light and moisture. A dark, glass bottle will keep both out.
3. Don’t buy centrifuged or filter-extracted.
Bacteria are living creatures and these methods of extraction can leave them damaged and ruptured. Be sure the bottle states that neither of these methods are used. If it doesn’t say, then assume these methods were used.
4. Stay away from pre-biotics.
Prebiotics are probiotics mixed with bacteria-chow. The idea is that the bacteria will perform better on a full tummy. That may be true, however, the down side is the mix is also something that bad bacteria will like and thrive on. For a healthy digestive system that already has good healthy flora it’s probably no big deal. But for travelers battling bad bacteria, or those with an irritable tummy it has the potential to exacerbate things.
5. One strain per bottle (the bacteria should never touch)
Bacteria like to eat. Shoving lots of different strains of eating machines some stronger than others means that you won’t get the number of bacteria you were promised. That is why the manufacturers can’t guarantee the number of live, viable bacteria you’re buying.
There’s one exception I know of to this; Natren Inc. has perfected a technique of encapsulating different species within its own bubble of oil.
To review;
1. Refrigerated
2. Dark glass bottle
3. Don’t buy centrifuged or filter-extracted
4. No pre-biotics
5. One strain per bottle. (Excepting Natren brand probiotics)
Did you find this article helpful? Comments, questions, and suggestions are appreciated.
