By now, most health-conscious people know what probiotics are, and they may take some form of them. However, do you know how to choose a good supplement for your needs? If you’re not sure how to select probiotics, this information could help you.
Avoid Buying Commercial Probiotics
When you’re shopping for something as delicate as probiotics, avoid commercial supplements. The companies that sell them to pharmacies, big-box department stores, or health food stores ship the probiotic supplements that sit on their shelves for months.
Also, the companies usually do not have the scientific means to know which strains of probiotics are in the supplement and how many CFU’s, or colony-forming units, there are of each strain. Lesser quality supplements use regular capsules, so they then destroy probiotics passing through the body.
Spend your money on probiotic supplements that are a professional brand from a reputable doctor, scientist, or vendor. The professional brands take care to use bioshield capsules that can survive stomach acids, and they properly handle the supplements that they manufacture.
Look for Diversity
When reading the labels of probiotic supplements that you’re thinking of buying, make sure they contain a diverse range of bacteria. Instead of only having one type of bacteria, they should have at least 10 strains. Some of the strains they may contain are:
- Lactobacillus Acidophilus
- Bacillus Coagulans
- Streptococcus Thermophilus
- Bifidobacterium Bifidum
- Lactobacillus Casei
- Bifidobacterium Breve
Probiotics help support several bodily functions like digestion, immunity, and the production of beneficial fatty acids.
Store Probiotic Supplements Correctly
After getting your supplement home, make sure to store it correctly by reading the label. Some probiotics do well in a cool, dry location in your home. Other probiotics will need refrigeration to survive.
If you don’t store them correctly, the bacteria can die, and you wouldn’t get the benefit of the supplement. If there are no specific instructions for storing the probiotic supplement, store it in the refrigerator as a precaution.
When shopping for probiotics, skip those that the store handles improperly. Incorrect storage can kill millions of bacteria in the supplement, rendering it ineffective when you take it.
Choose Supplements with High CFU’s
The body has trillions of bacteria in it, so don’t be afraid of buying probiotic supplements with billions of CFU’s in them. The recommendation is for at least one billion CFU’s, but you can buy supplements that contain billions more that are safe to take.
Due to stress, illness, or an unhealthy diet, the probiotics in your body can quickly die. A deficiency in probiotics can cause upset stomach, poor digestion, brain fog, and sugar cravings. Fortunately, you can easily find probiotics with a high number of bacteria in them to help balance the ones in your body.
Along with taking supplements, you can eat foods that are high in pre- and probiotics, including:
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Kimchi
- Sauerkraut
- Pickles
- Miso
Look for Soil-based Probiotics
In choosing the right probiotics to build up the healthy bacteria in your gut, you should also look for soil-based probiotics. The bacteria from soil-based sources have better viability than probiotics that are not soil-based.
One reason to buy soil-based probiotics is that they can survive stomach acids better and stay whole until they reach the intestines. When they reach the intestines, they eliminate some of the bad bacteria and increase the number of good bacteria in your system.
Check for Prebiotics
When you take a probiotic supplement, read the label to ensure that it also contains prebiotics. Prebiotics feed the healthy bacteria that grows in your gut, so they help increase the number of good bacteria in your system.
Prebiotics consists of carbohydrates that our bodies cannot digest, and they have several health benefits. Research shows that taking prebiotics reduces inflammation in the body. They also fight off bad bacteria and boost the immune system.
Prebiotics exist in some of Americans’ favorite foods because they are in grains, so you get them in pasta, bread, and other products containing grains. Prebiotics are also found in foods like:
- Bananas
- Onions
- Garlic
- Sunchokes
- Asparagus
Look for Transparency on the Label
To make sure you’re buying a high-quality supplement, make sure the label has the information that you need on it. Along with the number of CFU’s and the names of the probiotic strains in it, the label should also have the serving amount on it.
With some supplements, you may need to take them once or twice a day for them to be effective. The expiration date should also be on the label, as well as the contact information for the company that produces the product.
If the essential information is not on the label, then you may wish to look for a different brand of probiotic supplements.
Probiotics have many health benefits if you take a good-quality supplement. Follow these recommendations for finding the best probiotic supplement to increase the number of bacteria that can help improve your health.
