How to choose the best probiotic for your needs......... ....(3)

The concluding post on choosing the best probiotic for your needs. As I said in my previous post, I will commence with discussion of prebiotics....

7. The importance of prebiotics:Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system in ways claimed to be beneficial to health. They were first identified and named by Marcel Roberfroid in 1995. As a functional food component, prebiotics, like probiotics, are conceptually intermediate between foods and drugs. Depending on the jurisdiction, they typically receive an intermediate level of regulatory scrutiny, in particular of the health claims made concerning them.
Typically, prebiotics are carbohydrates (such as oligosaccharides), but the definition may include non-carbohydrates. The most prevalent forms of prebiotics are nutritionally classed as soluble fibre. Prebiotics like Fructooligosaccharides have been shown to stimulate the growth of probiotics in the body. Therefore, it may be a good idea to consider a synbiotic supplement with both probiotics and prebiotics in one supplement. The effects of synbiotics can be longer lasting, giving you more health benefits.

8. Beware of additives: This might be stating the obvious, but make sure there are no added sugars, colourings or flavourings in your probiotic (especially in those aimed at children) to make them more appealing.

9. Value for money: Look out for manufacturing packaging tricks, like ‘billions per gram’ as opposed to 'per capsule'. A typical probiotic capsule is roughly 250mg so listing billions per gram can mislead people into thinking it is a much higher dose than it actually is in reality. Other tricks to look out for include small pack sizes and high daily dosages. A simple way to compare the value of probiotics is by dividing the retail price by the course length, and again by the billions count per capsule. When it comes to probiotics, you usually get what you pay for.

Hopefully these points should help you as you choose a probiotic which will be most beneficial for your individual needs.

To your abundant excellent health,

Dr Ike,
Holistic Health Coach and Functional Health Expert

Sources:

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Dr Benes, Z. et al (2006) ‘Lacidofil (Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11) alleviates symptoms of IBS.’ Nutrafoods, Vol. 5 pp 20 – 27.

Vanderhoof, J.A. et al. (1999) ‘Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG) in the prevention of antibiotic –associated diarrhea in children with respiratory infections: a randomised study. Pediatrics 1999; 104(5): e64.

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Chapman, C.M.C., et al., (2010) ‘Health Benefits of probiotics : are mixtures more effective than single strains ?’ European Journal of Nutrition; Vol 50 (1) pp.1-17.

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Health Sciences Institute (2011)Your guide to finding the best probiotic to suit your needs