Choosing the Right Probiotic: What to Look For
What Probiotic Should I Take?
Let’s look at the names of probiotics: genus, species and strains
Choosing the right probiotic involves knowing the strain or strains. Probiotics are classified in order by the genus, species, and strain such as Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GC. The genus is general and refers to a grouping of organisms based on similar qualities such as physical characteristics. Rhamnosus is the species which differentiate bacteria from the same genus. Strain such as GC is very specific and differentiates from other species. There will be many strains of bacteria in any given species.
Strains even within the same species can have different health effects. Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GC is a bacterium that can reduce the risk of developing antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Therefore, if you are taking antibiotics, the strain GC is important because this strain of bacteria within the species Rhamnosus can have the proven therapeutic health effect while another strain will not. Another specific strain example of L. plantarum DR7 has been shown to alleviate stress and anxiety in stressed adults such as improved memory and cognition. If you do not have a specific condition that you are trying to treat, then consuming probiotics of various genus and species (lacking strain specifics) can still be highly beneficial to create a balanced gut microbiota.
What Probiotic Should I Take?
Let’s look at the number of Colony Forming Units (CFU)
Probiotics are measured in colony forming units (CFU), which indicate the number of live cells known as live cultures. Cells can die throughout the probiotic’s shelf life, so it is important to look at the CFU rather than the microorganism weight (alive or dead bacteria). Choose probiotics with at least 107 (ten million) CFU for certain strains and ideally 109(one billion). Some probiotics contain over 50 billion CFU; However, higher CFU does not necessarily improve health effects.
What is the Best Probiotic for Women?
When choosing a probiotic supplement, you want to ask yourself what is the ailment that you want to fix. For example, if you are having frequent yeast infections then you would want a specific strain or strains that support vaginal health such as L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14. If you are having trouble with brain fog and weight management, then there are certain strains that would be beneficial for cognition and weight loss. If you do not have a certain condition, or if you have many health conditions then you can always switch up your probiotic supplements so that you are getting different kinds of probiotic strains to support your overall gut health. Strain and Colony Forming Units (CFU) are both important when selecting a probiotic supplement if you have a specific condition you are trying to treat.
Why Choosing the Right Probiotic Can Help Your Health Conditions
More examples of how probiotic foods or supplements can help improve health include the prevention of high cholesterol, management of constipation or diarrhea, reduction of frequent urinary tract infections, improvement of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, and reduction of antibiotics side effects. Like we have been discussing, there are certain strains that support each specific health condition. There are also many strains that need more research and thus could be a benefit for humans, we just don’t know what specific benefits those are yet.
When is the best time to take a probiotic?
There is evidence to support taking probiotic supplements before, during or after a meal; on an empty stomach, in the morning or at night. Ultimately, being consistent with taking the probiotic supplement is better than worrying about the best time to take a probiotic. Experiment with when you take the probiotic and jot down notes on how you are feeling to see if you notice a difference in the timing of probiotics consumption.
Tips for choosing probiotic supplements
Look on the label for: genus, species and strain such as: Bifidobacterium (genus) Longo (species) W11 (strain).
With the help of a healthcare provider, choose the specific strain or strains of probiotic to treat your health condition.
If you do not have a specific health condition, choose a multi-strain (more than one type) probiotic.
Make sure the probiotic has at least 1 billion colony forming units (CFUs).
Don’t use probiotics as a reason to delay seeing your health care provider about any health problem.
Summary
Overall, it is important to know what health condition you are targeting. The goal for consuming probiotics should be to maintain or change the composition of microbiota in the gut to benefit your health. Work with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist to choose which probiotic strain(s) would be the most beneficial for you and at what CFU count.
References:
1. Hawrelak, Jason, and Dawn Whitten. “Dosage.” Probiotic Advisor. Accessed June 19, 2022. www.probioticadvisor.com/probiotic-essentials-2/dosage/.
2. “Is There a Best Time to Take Probiotics?” Accessed June 19, 2022. www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-time-to-take-probiotics#types.
3. Kastl, Arthur J., Natalie A. Terry, Gary D Wu, and Lindsey G. Albenberg. “The Structure and Function of the Human Small Intestinal Microbiota: Current Understanding and Future Directions.” Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology 9, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.07.006.
4. Liu, G., Chong, H. X., Chung, F. Y., Li, Y., & Liong, M. T. (2020). Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 Modulated Bowel Movement and Gut Microbiota Associated with Dopamine and Serotonin Pathways in Stressed Adults. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(13), 4608. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21134608
4. “Office of Dietary Supplements - Probiotics,” June 2022. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/.
5. Pflugradt, Sarah. “CFUs vs. Strains: The Ultimate Probiotic Explainer.” LIVESTRONG.COM. Accessed June 19, 2022. www.livestrong.com/article/13716149-cfus-vs-strains-the-ultimate-probiotic-explainer/.
6. Rawson, Eric S., et al. “Dietary Supplements for Health, Adaptation, and Recovery in Athletes.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, vol. 28, no. 2, 2018, pp. 188–199., https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0340.
7. Taibi, Amel, and Elena M. Comelli. “Practical Approaches to Probiotics Use.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, vol. 39, no. 8, 2014, pp. 980–986., https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0490.
