Every time you turn around at the supermarket there seems to be another food product labeled containing “probiotics” aimed at the health-conscious consumer; however, there are things you should know before stocking up on foods claiming to have probiotic bacteria.
First of all, probiotic bacteria need to be alive to have any effect and if a product has been on the shelf for too long the bacteria can die, providing no benefit whatsoever. You should check expiration dates on the packaging and look to see if the product contains live and active cultures.
Just because the product has live and active cultures, doesn’t necessarily mean these are probiotic bacteria that will confer any health benefit. Different strains of bacteria do different things in the body. There are many bacterial strains being added to various food products, but the label “probiotic” doesn’t necessarily mean they will help your intestinal health.
You should know what bacteria you are consuming and understanding how they are named will help you sort it out. Bacteria are named by their genus (Lactobacillus), species (rhamnosus) and strain (GG). Not all types of Lactobacillus are probiotics, there are also multiple types of Lactobacillus casei and some are helpful while others are not. The more informed you are about which ones are beneficial to the intestine and IBD, the better decisions you will make.
Lastly, the amount of probiotic bacteria consumed makes a difference. Sending out one tank to fight against an army isn’t going to make a big impact; therefore, you should do research to find out how much of a particular strain of bacteria was enough to see a positive effect in clinical studies.
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