Choosing the right probiotics for you
Your body contains many good and bad microbes – are the bad ones harming you? They can be compared to a cinematic blockbuster, an epic battle between good and evil that lies dormant inside your body every day. Inside your mouth, intestines, urinary tract, and for women, your vagina, there are 100 billion microbes fighting for space in your body. Collectively, scientists call them the microbes of your microbiome.
Microbiome's Influence on Your Health
Who wins? You can tell by how you feel. According to a 2014 study, the microbiome (microorganisms in a particular environment, including the body or a part of the body) influences body health in several ways: from tooth decay to digestive gas, and from eczema to mood. The microbes in your gut can seriously harm your health. Grab some popcorn and keep reading! Find out how to harm the bad guys and regain your health!
The Importance of Probiotics
Just like a galaxy, your body is a vast place where microbes try to find a home. The villains in this battle are bad microbes, such as E. coli or salmonella. They spew harmful substances and disrupt the body. The heroes are probiotics, including those in the lactobacilli and bifidus bacteria family. According to the peer-reviewed Gastroenterologist’s Guide to Probiotics, probiotics work hard to keep your body healthy: they promote food digestion, nutrient absorption, and immune system modulation. Probiotics also fight off bad microbes. Amazing! It seems that probiotics are not just heroes, but superheroes. It is essential to choose the right probiotics.
Ensuring that the vast expanses of your microbiome are infiltrated by superheroes requires a microbiome that hosts a variety of probiotic species. For example, bifidus bacteria prefer to roam in the lower part of the intestines, while lactobacilli are present in large numbers in a healthy vagina. Health First's ProBio Supreme contains 14 species of probiotics. Wow! Health First's ProBio Supreme contains some of the extremely well-documented species, including Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium longum.
As with all epic battles, numbers can be a significant factor. Measured in Colony Forming Units (CFU), probiotics offer health benefits when administered in sufficient quantities. Health First's ProBio Supreme is a good source of probiotics; each capsule contains 55 billion CFUs. That's a lot of fighting power to challenge what's bothering you. Choosing good probiotics therefore becomes very important.
How to Choose Good Probiotics?
- Aim Accurately: If you want to achieve a specific benefit (for example, probiotics associated with alleviating diarrhea), look for those that meet your needs.
- Diversify: For general health, consider that a person's intestines contain a wide variety of probiotics. A supplement containing several probiotic species promotes good intestinal flora.
- Get the Appropriate Quantities: To be effective, probiotics must be administered in appropriate quantities. Health Canada recommends a minimum dose of 10 billion CFUs.
- Quality: Choose a probiotic brand whose species are scientifically validated and which is known for its high standards of purity and potency.
- Monitor for Allergens: If you are allergic to dairy, gluten, or soy, make sure to choose probiotics free of common allergens.
- Ask for Help: Quality health food retailers have knowledgeable staff to help you choose the right supplement.
May the "good microbes" be with you!