In a perfect world, our brain and body will be able to get all the nutrients it needs from eating a healthy diet. Unfortunately, the modern world is far from perfect. The quality of our food supply is generally poor, and our brain and body are constantly subjected to environmental aggression. Hence, supplementing our existing diet with dietary supplements is necessary to ensure that we get optimal nutrition.
In our case, we are particularly interested in supplements which can help balance our gut microbiota and help maintain mental performance. Studies have shown that probiotics are one of the most effective supplements with such properties. Studies have shown that ingesting beneficial bacteria do significantly improve and protect intestinal cells. This in turn will help reduce the effect of the leaky gut, reduce inflammation, restore basic body functions and brain health.
Confusion in the marketplace
If you have jumped into the world of probiotic supplements, you would probably be very confused. There are many many products lining health food stores. Which supplements are best for you? Are the expensive ones worth paying for? Why is there so much conflicting information?
Not all probiotics are created equal
The truth is that not all probiotic supplements are equal. Some work very well, some work partially and some don’t work at all. Having worked on probiotics for the past 20 years, I will, in this post, help you to cut through all the marketing information, and present a checklist of what I consider to be important characteristics of the ideal probiotic supplement when making a purchase.
Probiotics must survive acidity. Firstly, they must be able to survive the acidity in the stomach, survive the intestinal environment with its mix of hostile microbes. If they cannot survive, they cannot do their work. This is very difficult to evaluate because it is linked to the way they are made. Many single strain bacteria are industrially produced in bioreactors using pure substrates, eg glucose. However, in nature, pure glucose do not exist. You find starch, rice, complex carbohydrates. Many of these bacteria do not know how to survive in the gut. The bacteria must go through special preparation to survive the digestive tract.
Big counts don’t matter. When you go the shop, you find probiotics which boast of large counts of bacteria. Do they matter? It depends. If they cannot survive the passage through the stomach, the counts don’t matter at all. But if they need these large numbers to ensure that some may sneak past the stomach into the intestine, then they need this huge army. But if the counts are small, but they can survive the gut, then it doesn’t matter because microbes double every 20 to 30 minutes.
Microbes work in communities, not in isolation. Microbes also do not and cannot work alone. Products which contain only 1 strain of bacteria may not be effective. There is a difference between blends and communities. Blended microbes consist of individually produced microbes mixed together while as community microbes grow up together. Blended microbes may produce erratic results because they may not grow together properly. Typically one strain will outgrow the others, in other works, instead of working together, they end up fighting. If the microbes grow together, they will complement and help each other, and adapt effectively as the environment changes.
Bacteria are very adaptable. Although 2 products may contain the same strain, the actual effectiveness may be very different. This is because microbes can be trained. Different microbes can be trained to trigger gene expressions differently, hence producing significantly different results. Microbes can be enriched to be more effectively for specific conditions. For example, ProVie G has been tested in hospital and found to be as effective as insulin in lowering blood glucose.
Good products give consistent results. Finally, from product to product, the probiotics must be consistent in effectiveness. For single strains and blends, this is relatively easy to achieve. But for communities, it is far from obvious as the complexity is mind boggling. Probiotics should produce effects which are repeatable and consistent.