All "Probiotics" are "Not" alike!

So today we're going to talk about "Probiotics". We all know we're supposed to be taking them to help our digestive tract, and the other day we learned how important they are in helping relieve stress, anxiety and depression. So the question is . . . "which probiotics are best" to accomplish this mission?

First, let's explode what a "Probiotic" is and how they work. Probiotics are living microorganisms that when ingested, help prevent and treat some illnesses by promoting a healthy digestive tract and a healthy immune system. These little guys are our friendly, good bacteria which we "can not" live without.

Probiotics work by changing the composition of your gut bacteria or the metabolic activity of existing bacteria. Meaning . . . this "good" bacteria crowds out the "bad" bacteria in your intestine. This action prevents the "bad" bacteria from multiplying and causing infection or inflammation.

Okay, now we know what they are and do . . . which ones are best?

Well, your colon or bowels contains an estimated 100 trillion microorganisms with types from over 500 different species. "Your" mix of bacteria is unique to you, like your fingerprints.

As a general rule, a probiotic should provide at least 1 billion CFUs (colony forming units) with doses typically ranging between 1 billion and 10 billion daily for adults.

When we go out and buy a probiotic supplement, we are faced with seven of the most often used microbial organisms on the market today. Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, streptococcus, Enterococcus, Esherichia and "Bacillus".

Alrighy then , , , So which one is best?

When we purchase a supplement, we are in hopes that we will gain the full benefit of that product. But what marketing doesn't tell us, is that the majority of the probiotics on the market today don't make it through our stomach acids. You see . . . the whole point to taking probiotics is to get the live organisms into the intestines to take control of that environment and most probiotics are not accomplishing that mission.. For example: Say you take your probiotic and you start out with 100% when you swallow it . . . well, by the time it gets to the intestines to do its job, the stomach acids have eaten up about 80% of the live organisms. So in reality . . . your intestines are really only getting about 20% of the goodness of that product. To me . . . that seems kind of like wasting my money.