Poliquin - Healthy. Lean. Strong.

Supplements Articles

Tweet Print

What Makes a Probiotic a Probiotic?

Put Your Product to the Test With This 4-Question Quiz

Here is the definition of PROBIOTICS according to the World Health Organization

"Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host"

So it’s time to get out your “probiotics” and see if they live up to the real definition. See if you can check “PASS” in every section.

Let the test begin!

1) The word “live”: Most products state their potency by time of manufacture, not at time of expiration. Probiotics are notorious for dramatic die-off which is why all of our bacteria strains are guaranteed at expiration. We’ve done the testing to verify that what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle. I have no idea what’s in the bottle from a company that tells you what it had when they made it, and frankly, neither do they. My probiotics are guaranteed at time of expiration under room temperature conditions.
PASS or FAIL?

2) The word “microorganisms”: Studies have shown that you can’t compare the function of one strain or probiotic to another strain of probiotic. That means that just stating that it is Lactobacillus Acidophilus tells me nothing. That would be like walking into a pet store and asking for “dog.” We always identify the strain—Lactobacillus Acidophilus NCFM or Bifidobacterium lactis HN019, for example. Most inferior products only list the genus and species (the “lactobacillus” and the “acidophilus” in my first example) and not the strain (NCFM). They don’t truly and accurately identify the microorganism. If I were a manufacturer of cheap products, not identifying the strain would allow me to buy whatever was the cheapest acidophilus available at the time and it would never have to be reflected on my label. My probiotics always specify the strains used.
PASS or FAIL?

3) The phrase “adequate amounts”: This one’s pretty obvious. You need to have your serving size be roughly equivalent to the quantity used in the research. If a study showed a specific bacterial strain to be effective at 15 billion cfu, for example, and I only put 500 million cfu per capsule, that would be disingenuous at best. My probiotics are always delivered in appropriate dosages.
PASS or FAIL?

4) The phrase “confer a health benefit”: How can I know that my live microorganism in adequate amounts confers a health benefit? RESEARCH. If there isn’t research on your strain then you’re just wasting my time. By the way, that NCFM strain I mentioned before is at 132 studies and papers at last count. My probiotics contain only research-validated strains.
PASS or FAIL?

If a product claiming to be a probiotic fails in any one of these areas, it’s not a probiotic. Did yours pass? Did your client’s product pass? If not, you may want to rethink your probiotic choices.
Interestingly, in addition to the above tests, my probiotics also pass the tests for: safety, bile resistance, acid resistance, pepsin resistance, pancreatin resistance, ability to adhere to intestinal cells, and exact DNA analysis.

When to use either S.B. 1.0 or ProFlora Excellence:

The applications for S.B. 1.0 are more specific than ProFlora Excellence, so I’ll start with that.

S.B. 1.0 contains Saccharomyces boulardii, Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001.
• Use S.B. 1.0 during antibiotic therapies: The S. Boulardii has been shown in many double-blind placebo-controlled peer-reviewed studies to reduce Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea and Clostridium Difficile infection. Also, many experts are concerned with immune function suppression due to antibiotic treatments and the HN019 and HN001 strains have been shown to support immune function.
• Use S.B. 1.0 in the event of acute diarrhea, especially in children: A Meta-analysis of four randomized-controlled trials showed a significant reduction in diarrhea duration.
• Use S.B. 1.0 during any travels: When traveling, exposure to unfamiliar bad bacteria is increased. The S. Boulardii has shown the ability to reduce intestinal levels of E. Coli, C. Difficile, Salmonella and Candida albicans while the other two strains are able to boost natural killer cell function. Keep in mind, the best place to get infected with many of these, especially C. Diff, is in a hospital or nursing home, so I recommend S.B. 1.0 even if you’re just “traveling” to the hospital.

The use of ProFlora Excellence is more broad-reaching, so I’ll hit on a few of the most interesting, but just consider it THE probiotic of choice for all-around intestinal health.
ProFlora Excellence contains Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07.
• Use ProFlora for overall immune system health and cold and flu concerns: A study in the journal Pediatrics on NCFM and Bi-07 showed a dramatic reduction in both incidence and duration of both cold and flu.
• Use ProFlora for intestinal pain: A study on the NCFM strain showed a significant reduction in abdominal pain, often associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Use Proflora for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Research using NCFM and Bi-07 presented in the medical mainstream journal Gastroenterology by Dr. Stephen Faber showed both an improvement in quality of life for IBS sufferers as well as resolution of the condition. Dosages used in the report were 60 to 90 billion total CFU. (4 to 6 caps)
• Use ProFlora if chronic Candidiasis is an issue: Research has shown a prophylactic effect in mice from the NCFM strain and candida albicans.
• Use ProFlora after antibiotic treatment or anything else that eliminates your good bacteria: Recolonizing with good bacteria is crucial to intestinal health, and it doesn’t matter if you lost your good bacteria through antibiotics, poor diet, pre-colonoscopy prep (if you’ve done it, you know what I mean), or even colonics. Think of it like this: if you remove all the grass from your yard and just leave dirt behind, what do you think will grow back? Weeds right? The same idea applies to your GI tract. You need to “replant” with good bacteria.
• Additional uses: Improving lactose digestion (acidophilus “waste” products include enzymes), oral health (swish in mouth and swallow), colorectal cancer markers, and reducing B-glucoronidase (reduces endogenouse estrogens).

DEMAND MORE FROM YOUR PROBIOTICS!

EU STORE LINKS:

Proflora Excellence 

S.B. 1.0  - on sale now!!

Here’s a very abbreviated list of citations—a complete list of the NCFM strain alone would have over 100!

Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Apr;101(4):812-22. Meta-analysis of probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea and the treatment of Clostridium difficile disease. Lynne V. McFarland, Ph.D.1,21

Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Feb 1;25(3):257-64 Meta-analysis: Saccharomyces boulardii for treating acute diarrhoea in children. Szajewska H, Skórka A, Dylag M.

J Clin Immunol. 2001 Jul;21(4):264-71. Dietary probiotic supplementation enhances natural killer cell activity in the elderly: an investigation of age-related immunological changes. Gill HS, Rutherfurd KJ, Cross ML.

Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):e172-9. Epub 2009 Jul 27.Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children.Leyer GJ, Li S, Mubasher ME, Reifer C, Ouwehand AC.

Nat Med. 2007 Jan;13(1):35-7. Epub 2006 Dec 10. Lactobacillus acidophilus modulates intestinal pain and induces opioid and cannabinoid receptors. Rousseaux C, et al.

J Clin Gastroenterol; Vol.37, No.1 2003

Infect Immun. 1997 65(10):4165-4172 Biotherapeutic effects of probiotic bacteria on candidiasis in immunodefficient mice. Wagner R.D. et al.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.