Thrive Nutrition Practice: The Probiotic Series
Here's Part 2 of Thrive's Low Down on probiotics. The following table gives you a little handy summary as to what probiotic is good for what particular condition. But before you scroll down, I want to give you a few more little golden nuggets of information:
- There are over 1000 different probiotic strains in the human body. The BIFIDOBACTERIUM strains work in the large intestine and LACTOBACILLUS strains work in the small intestine. So, it's good for your probiotic to include both types to ensure a healthy digestive tract.
- Babies born vaginally pick up mother's LACTOBACILLUS species and further population happens during lactation. BIFIDOBACTERIUM INFANTIS breaks down lactic acid in breastmilk and feeds the healthy gut bacteria. If your child was born via c-section and formula fed, it is important to supplement with probiotics to help build healthy gut flora.
- If you refer to my previous post on how to choose a probiotics, you'll have read that it's important for your probiotic to mention the Colony Forming Units (CFU) next to each strain. The minimum CFU dose recommended is 1mln; and 10mln is considered to be a therapeutic dose.
As a I also mentioned previously, I've had great results personally and in my practice with Natren, Genestra HMF and NFH. Genestra and Natren also make a vaginal probiotic that is effective against yeast infection. The one by Natren is sold at Healthy Delight on Stanley St in Hong Kong.
The reasons I like these brands are:
NATREN: This company uses a unique oil matrix to protect the probiotic bacteria from stomach acid so that it survives the passage through the stomach and makes it to your bowels, where it belongs. Also, in the case where more than one strain is included in one capsule, it uses proprietary technology to suspend each strain in sunflower oil & vitamin E to keep the bacteria separate, non-competitive and protected from gastric juices. That's why sometimes - MORE STRAINS DOESN'T MEAN BETTER. Bacteria competes against each other. So actually, 1-8 strains is usually best. Also, all the strains Natren uses are "SUPER STRAINS" that their lab has formulated and patented. This means that they have been proven to be especially "sticky" probiotics that adhere to the wall of the intestine. Finally, Natren does not use inulin or fructo-oligo-saccharides (FOS) to keep the probiotic strains alive (like most other brands). I like this because FOS and inulin can also be used by the bad bacteria in our gut to proliferate. So, for those of you with yeast issues out there - LOOK FOR A PROBIOTIC WITHOUT INULIN OR FOS.
GENESTRA: This company is backed by a lot of research. Click here a summary of their research file. I use the HMF Intensive line a lot because it also has no FOS and it is great for post-antibiotic recovery as well. It is a trusted line by a lot of nutritionists & functional medicine practitioners.
NFH: I started using the children's line for my daughters (one with eczema and one with general constipation tendencies. I used it because it has the Rhamnosus line which is meant to be helpful against eczema. I didn't notice a difference at first, but after a month of using it together with Natren, I have noticed an improvement in bowel movements and eczema.
ALL THESE BRANDS ARE TESTED BY THIRD PARTIES AND THEIR POTENCY IS GUARANTEED.
Looking ahead - it is important to keep your healthy gut bacteria well fed with lovely prebiotic foods. That will be the topic for my next post.
In the meantime, enjoy the following table:
CONDITIONSTRAINBRANDWHERE TO BUY (HK)?
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROMEBifidobacterium InfantisNFH /NatrenREDWOOD / HEALTHY DELIGHT
CONDITIONSTRAINBRANDWHERE TO BUY (HK)?
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROMEBifidobacterium InfantisNFH /NatrenREDWOOD / HEALTHY DELIGHT
Holistic Nutritionist, Cristina Tahoces, DHN owns Thrive Nutrition Practice.