Choose The Right Types
Scientists give bacteria three names: genus, species, and strain. You’ll see something like “Bifidobacterium longum W11,” where bifidobacterium is the genus, longum is the species, and W11 is the strain.
You can think of it like a first, middle, and last name. You need all three to get it right. This matters because when scientists research how well probiotics work for a health condition, they use very specific types.
When you’re choosing a probiotic, make sure all three names are the ones you’re looking for. Just the same genus and species won’t do. That’d be like settling for some random actor named James Earl Cooper when you really wanted to watch a movie with James Earl Jones.
Here Are My Top Tips To Increase Probiotics In Order To Heal Your Gut
- Consume at least 100 g/mL per day of fermented foods. It is even better if you consume two different types of probiotic food a day.
- If you buy a probiotic supplement, look for one that contains at least 109 CFU per capsule and take it in the morning with an empty stomach.
- Incorporate raw fermented foods too. Heating may kill bacteria found in these foods.20
- Eat prebiotics. These are very important to keep your good gut bacteria alive. A post with more detail information will come soon!
How Often Should You Consume Probiotics
To find your optimal probiotic schedule, we need to break things down into times per day and time of day for healthy bacteria consumption:
According to resources like Harvard Medical School, it is best to take one dose of probiotics per day in the form of a supplement or a probiotic-rich snack or meal.
If youre using healthy foods as your probiotic source, you can reach this daily dose by packing your probiotics into a single meal or snack or by spacing them out throughout the day.
As probiotic consumption becomes a part of your daily schedule, youll likely find a period when you most enjoy these foods, or perhaps when you feel they most benefit your digestion.
This same approach applies to what will be your best time to take probiotics.
As scientists are pretty split on whether probiotics work best on an empty or full stomach, the general advice is to find the time of day that works best for you and your body.
There are myriad probiotic-rich foods to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any snack in-between, so you wont have difficulty establishing routines that work for you.
However, it is essential to try and stick to your routine, as research shows that consistency is likely more important to probiotic efficacy than consumption at any specific time of day.
For example, if you like a delicious serving of sauerkraut, kimchi or fermented dressingwith your lunch, youre most likely to receive the full benefits of its probiotics if you eat it at the same time every day.
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What Lies Ahead For Probiotics In Digestive Diseases
Inspired investigators and technical advances in genomics are facilitating in-depth scientific investigation of the human microbiome and the functional capacities of probiotics. These advances are sure to bring paradigmatic changes to our fundamental understanding of how microbiota influence health and how they can be manipulated to combat disease and improve quality of life. Future indications and therapeutic directions for probiotics may include conditions as diverse as mood disorders, obesity, autism and diabetes. Recent clinical trials and translational studies suggest that lactobacillus probiotics may offer epithelial cytoprotection to limit symptoms of radiation enteritis, a dose limiting side effect for patients receiving abdominal radiotherapy for malignancy., , Promise is held for confirmative testing of helminth-based therapy and turbo-probiotics designed to secrete human cytokines. Gene based bacterial profiling studies from disease affected humans have identified what may be novel probiotics such as Faecalibacterium prausnitizii and Clostridium species IV and XIVa. Finally, the identification, purification and repackaging of probiotic-derived soluble factors possessing proven capacity to modify biologic function may allow us to harness the power of probiotics while averting the potential risks associated with live bacteria. Some suggest that as these advances progress to the clinic we will shift from the term probiotic into the new world of pharmabiotics.
How Many Probiotics Should You Take
The first thing to know about probiotics is that they come in far larger doses than most other supplements or nutrients.
While dosage can vary, American Family Physician recommends children take 5 to 10 billion colony-forming units of probiotics per day, and suggests adults consume 10 to 20 billion.
Additionally, some research shows theres potential value in consuming multiple strands of probiotics daily rather than just one.
These findings suggest that probiotic-rich foods, like Cleveland Kitchen sauerkraut, pack multiple strands of beneficial bacteria that can be more valuable than probiotic supplements with far fewer strands.
So, instead of opting for a single supplement with one billion CFU, try a few tablespoons of sauerkraut, or other fermented veggies, for up to 100 million CFU in a more diverse and flavorful package.
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Probiotics Dosage For Children & Adults
Children who are new-borns and infants need special attention in the determination of their dosage.
The use of a pediatrician is key in determining dosage. There are forms of probiotics that can aid in diaper rash, but at the same time, there are those forms that before taking, should the child be on antibiotics, it would not be advisable. As such, there is need to seek the doctors advice on both the dosage and strain to avail to a child.
Adults too have varying needs. If you intend to avail to an adult, , your health status is vital in this determination.
Packet inserts would normally indicate the strain as well as the dosage requirements. Researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Centre indicate that, as a general guide, take 1 2 billion colony forming units per day.
Can You Take Probiotics More Than Once A Day
Whether splitting a probiotic dose across the day or doubling up, that depends on the individuals’ needs and goals while partnering with a health care practitioner.
Experts stress the importance of reading the label before taking probiotics more than once a day. “If you have an instance where you need a little more support, spreading out your daily dosage to a few courses a day could be helpful,”* Cording says.
You can also split up your dosage based on the form it comes in. “If the product you are taking is two or more pills per one dose, it is OK to split the dose during the day,” Morse says. For example, ½ the dose in the morning before breakfast and the other ½ dose after dinner or sometime before bedtime. Best to avoid taking with or soon after your meals, to up the bugs’ survivability .
Just don’t exceed the recommended daily amount listed on the label unless your doctor tells you otherwise, Cording says. Still, she adds, “side effects from probiotics are very rare.” They’re usually self-limited GI issues like gas, according to NIH.
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Bio Schwartz Advanced Strength Probiotic
Though Bio Schwartz includes a huge amount of bacteria the choices of which ones to include are a little odd.
The staple bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus is there, but the other three are less common and less well-researched bacteria. The supplement also includes fructooligosaccharides to support the growth of the bacteria, but it doesnt document how much it actually includes in the supplement.
How Can Probiotics Benefit The Rest Of The Body
While most famous for their immune-boosting properties, probiotics can also positively impact many other aspects of your health.
One way they achieve this is by boosting the efficacy of your gut and aiding the primary functions of your gastrointestinal system.
When you incorporate natural probiotics into a healthy, well-rounded diet, you can open up your body to:
Moving up to your brain, we find another significant, positive effect of proper probiotic consumption: improved function of the gut-brain axis.
The gut-brain axis is the system that connects our mind and microbiome through a complex series of communications, and its health can play a role in our cognitive and emotional success.
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What Are Probiotic Supplements
Your digestive system relies on enzymes to break down the food you eat and bacteria to finish the job. There are more than 300 types of bacteria currently living in your gut. They are there to salvage energy from undigested carbohydrates, produce B and K vitamins, and help your immune system fight off harmful bugs by competitive inhibition and other methods. Intestinal bacteria are broken down into two types: the good and the bad. The ideal ratio between good bacteria and bad bacteria in the gut is about 85:15. If the amount of good bacteria in your intestines dips below 85 percent, youll start to feel off. You might experience indigestion, bloating, diarrhea or constipation. You might also experience changes in your appetite. Probiotic supplements are made up of good bacteria. While there are few large research studies on the use of probiotics, anecdotally, theyve helped many patients regain their digestive health by restoring the balance of the 85:15 ratio between good bacteria and bad bacteria.
Choose The Right One For Your Health Condition
If you have a particular health condition, you may want to consider a specific strain of probiotic or consult a medical professional to find one thats best for you.
Experts agree that Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains benefit most people .
In particular, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii may reduce your risk of antibiotic-related diarrhea, while E. coli Nissle 1917 may help treat ulcerative colitis (
Summary
For a probiotic to work, its live microorganisms must reach your large intestine and colonize it. Look for a supplement that guarantees at least 1 billion live cultures on the label and ask your healthcare provider whether a particular strain is best for you.
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What Is The Recommended Dosage For Probiotics
Currently, there is little guidance of dosage of probiotics. There are, however, some guidelines in the dosage to prevent hospital-acquired diarrhea: 109 – 1010 CFU/day of Lactobacillus rhamnosus during 7 days 11and to cure antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children: 3.108 CFU of spore-forming bacteria, 3 times daily.12
Overall, it has been suggested that the consumption of 109 – 1010 CFU/day would be necessary to induce an effect on the gut microbiota and potentially heal your gut.13, 14
Probiotic Dosage For Adults
As with anything you take to improve your health, dosage is important. If you take too much, you may cause new problems, and too little won’t do anything at all.
There’s a common misconception that probiotics should be taken every day, according to an article published in May 2016 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Probiotics are a tool that can be helpful when trying to improve certain conditions typically related to the gastric system, but are not a daily supplement.
There is still a need for a lot more research on the microbiome of the gut. Because of the lack of deeper information, we don’t know what the optimum balance is for bacteria in the stomach.
While you can find recommended dosages for adults with different ailments, it’s best to talk to a doctor about the right dosage for you. Only a physician who has examined you will be able to determine what your health needs or to provide your specific dosage amounts.
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Probiotics Dosage For Weight Loss
There has been studies that have been investigating the role of probiotics in weight loss. A study conducted by Peter Jones, University of Manitoba in Canada indicated that probiotics can have an impact in the loss of weight. It is more targeted to the belly fat.
The findings indicated that the probiotics interfered with the normal absorption of all calories by the body and led to the calories going out of the tailpipe. This leaves the body with less calories that could be deposited in the abdomen as fat deposits. The net effect is weight loss.
How Much Fermented Food Should You Take To Get Your Recommended Dosage Of Probiotics Per Day
Luckily for you, there is already some research out there that has quantified the number of probiotics found in foods that we eat daily.
Several studies have found that commercial yogurts do contain enough probiotics to confer potential health benefits.15, 16 These amounts, of course, differ between brands. Similar numbers of good bacteria could also be found in frozen yogurts.17
For example, the commercial brand Activia® contained between 107 and 108 CFU/ml.18This means that we would need to eat around 100 g of yogurt a day in order to meet the recommended dose of 109 – 1010 CFU/day. These numbers are pretty easy to achieve since usually there is already 125g in an individual yogurt container.
Microbial counts for sauerkraut generally range from 103 to 108 CFU/g, while Korean kimchi often contains 107 to 108 CFU/g of probiotics. Other fermented foods were found to contain somewhere between 106 and 109 CFU/g or mL.19
This means that in general, taking 100 g/mL would be sufficient to meet the recommended dose of probiotics.
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Questions & Answers Specific To The Guidance Document
Q7. How will the guidance document be applied?
Following publication of the guidance document, industry will be advised of a window in which products have to come into compliance with applicable sections of the Food and Drugs Act and related regulations before enforcement actions begin.
Food manufacturers are encouraged to consult the Food Directorate of Health Canada regarding the acceptability of claims prior to their use. For a claim that is subject to Subsection 5 of the Food and Drugs Act, a company that has received advice from the Food Directorate of Health Canada supporting the acceptability of the claim will be considered by CFIA to be in compliance. As evidence is submitted, reviewed and found to support a probiotic claim, a list of acceptable strain-specific probiotic claims will be published on Health Canada’s website along with guidance for their use. The list will also be linked to the CFIA Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising. In the absence of such advice or the use of a listed claim, a product may or may not be in compliance. Companies that are not in compliance will be subject to enforcement actions in proportion to the severity of the violation.
Q8. What is the expected impact of the guidance document on the food industry?
In the longer term, the guidance is expected to promote a level playing field for the industry so that only food products with substantiated claims about probiotics would prevail in the marketplace.
How Much Should You Take Daily
The gut microbiome is unique to every person, so the amount of probiotics needed daily likely varies widely between individuals. Many factors influence the environment of your gut, such as your genes, health conditions, medications, including antibiotics, stress and diet. In addition, many different strains of probiotics are linked to different health benefits, and the amount of probiotics necessary to achieve a health benefit varies.
The dosage of probiotic supplements is listed in colony-forming units . Were still learning about the optimal amount of CFUs needed, but research shows that probiotics with between 1 million and 1 billion CFUs are adequate to produce health benefits. However, some probiotics have been shown to provide benefits at much lower amounts, and others need much higher doses.
The delivery mechanism is also important as it can offer probiotics protection against deterioration during manufacturing, storage and digestion. Techniques like freeze drying the good bacteria and rehydrating them in water prior to intake are used to help CFUs arrive as viable, live cultures to your large intestine, where they will be most impactful.
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What Are The Best Food Sources Of Probiotics
Certain foods naturally contain healthy bacteria by a process called lactic acid fermentation. This occurs when bacteria converts sugar or other carbohydrates to lactic acid, which then increases the bacterial count. Beer and sourdough bread are also fermented, but these foods do not contain live, beneficial bacteria that we call probiotics. Foods that contain probiotics include:
- Yogurt
There Is No Right Dose Of Probiotics
The average dose of probiotic supplements is 1 to 10 billion colony forming units according to the National Institutes of Health.
Most probiotics on the market have this amount, though you may see products that claim to have up to 50 billion CFU. However, there’s no concrete research that says what the most effective dosage is, says Farhadi.
“This is kind of uncharted territory. Most of our knowledge about probiotics is not pharmaceutically scientific or chemically scientific, and it’s a little bit different from other medications,” he says. For these reasons, researchers don’t know exactly which probiotics and what the effective dose is for health benefits.
However, if you are taking probiotics to deal with the uncomfortable effects of antibiotics, there is some evidence that a higher dose of certain probiotics might help abate the side-effect of diarrhea. In a small 2010 study, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, patients who were given two capsules of probiotic, each containing 50 billion CFU, had fewer instances of antibiotic-induced diarrhea than patients who were given one capsule or no probiotic at all.
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Natures Bounty Ultra Probiotic 10
The ubiquitous and trusted Natures Bounty brand delivers when it comes to probiotics. Their Probiotic 10 supplement contains 20 billion colony forming units and, as the name suggests, ten different strains of bacteria.
The capsules are vegetarian, and there arent any extraneous ingredients included either, so this ones a very solid choice.