Quick guide to choosing a probiotic
There’s now 100’s of probiotic supplements, food products and beverages to choose from.
It’s tricky to know whether you need one and if so, which is the right one for you?
Here’s a quick guide to help you decide:
1. Do you need a probiotics?
It’s impossible to say.
Some people benefit hugely from these products and their ability to modulate the organisms in your gut and elsewhere around your body.
Other people can experience no effect or even feel worse.
They can easily illicit a negative effect if you already have too much bacteria or yeast which is creating excess gas via fermentation and leading to bloating, abdominal pain and acid reflux.
The only way to really establish if they will be beneficial is to seek professional advice from a Registered Nutritionist or trial them and see what happens.
If you’ve been suffering from chronic, debilitating digestive issues it is more beneficial to gain expert advice rather than spending money on supplements that may make you worse.
You can contact me for a free 15 minute consultation.
2. What dose?
The dose of bacteria is measured in colony forming units (CFUs). The optimal number of bacterial strains is still unknown.
Most probiotics formulations have between 10-20 billion CFUs per dose as most of the clinical research on probiotics uses this as a daily dose.
A number of products now offer higher doses of 50, 75 or 200 billion.
It’s important to note a higher dose doesn’t make a probiotic more effective. In fact, it could cause digestive symptoms like bloating and gas so it’s best to stick to the lower doses unless you’re under the guidance of a medical professional or nutritional therapist
2. Research any product you’re thinking of taking
Read the label and website to see what the probiotic formula is recommended for, many will now detail the evidence behind the strains included in the product.
if you have a particular health issue it’s worthwhile looking around to see what strains have been established as helpful in the research.
Some products are now labelled in terms of what they may be beneficial for including constipation, diarrhoea, mood health or urogenital issues.
You can also speak to a pharmacist as many stock probiotics and will be able to offer advice on what’s appropriate for your needs.
3. Check the bacteria have three names
Good products will list the genus, species and the strain.
Example:
Lactobacillus (Genus) acidophilus (species) rosell-52 (strain)
If your probiotic only lists two names you may miss out on the right one for you.
Although they seem similar the strain does make a difference.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG is beneficial for immune health and digestion whereas Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR1 is beneficial for urogenital health.
4. Look at the number of strains
Some products have a single strain which maybe helpful for a certain health condition, whereas others may have multiple strains. There’s no conclusive evidence on what is best to take but most experts agree a multi strain may have a broader effect. What’s most important is to look for a product offering evidence based strains and combinations of these.
5. A helpful product after antibiotics
One time that you may consider needing probiotics is after antibiotics.
In fact new research suggests it maybe better to focus on diet diversity and vary your intake of vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and beverages like tea, coffee, herbal tea and red wine.
The reason being, the predominant strains in a probiotic may not be the right ones for you.
One product that can be helpful is saccharomyces boulardii. a form of beneficial yeast.
This is also helpful to protect against infections when you travel or taken after a bout of diahorrea.
It’s now widely available in most pharmacies.
6. Beyond probiotics
While probiotics do offer numerous benefits to our digestive health they’re not a magic pill and it is also important to make sure that your diet and lifestyle is also geared towards supporting a healthy microbiome.
This would include focusing your diet around whole foods, eating plenty of fibre, avoiding processed foods and refined carbohydrates and spending a lot of time in nature and outdoors.
