All probiotics are not created equal.
Probiotics, once a word that was rarely ever uttered by anyone who didn’t work in a lab, has now become a staple in many households across the country. The probiotics industry has ballooned up to $37 billion dollars in the U.S. alone, and it seems like the world can’t get enough of the edible bacterial cultures.
Probiotics, for those of you who don’t know, are live bacterial microbes that help aid in digestion and soothe a slew of disorders like diarrhea and constipation, but they are also thought to help combat allergies, depression, and even Alzheimer’s and diabetes. On top of that, they boost your immunity, which as you know can help with many bodily ailments.
As a result of this probiotics boom, the bacterial cultures are being added to everything from soda to corn tortilla chips, basically leaving yogurt in the dust.
READ MORE: Five Reasons to Eat More Probiotic Yogurt
So if you are thinking of adding probiotics to your diet, here are five things you should consider:
They are sensitive to heat. Since probiotics are alive, too much heat can kill them, even in supplement form. Follow the directions for refrigeration on the bottle, or you may end up killing your bacteria before it can do any good.
Make sure probiotic supplements are coated. The idea is for the bacteria to reach your gut intact, so a coating will help the strains survive the acids in your stomach.
It’s impossible to overdose. Probiotics don’t stay in your body very long, and pass through your digestive system fairly quickly. So it’s basically impossible to take too many, but they should be taken daily to feel the effects.
There are different probiotic strains for different things. Do some research about probiotics if you are really thinking about adding them to your diet, because some of them will help restore the balance in your gut, while others will keep you regular.
The word probiotic translates to ‘for life’, and is referred to as ‘good bacteria’. This means they are live bacterial strains that help to maintain the balance of gut flora (natural bacterial content in the digestive tract).