Most people have heard about the benefits of taking a probiotic.
Potential Probiotic Benefits:
- alleviate constipation or diarrhea
- reduce acid-reflux
- optimize digestion & absorption
- boost immune system
- new research showing potential connection between imbalanced gut flora (probiotics) and mental health (eg. depression & anxiety)
There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that the probiotic actually gets to where it needs to go in order to properly replenish the good bacteria in your gut.
Not all probiotics are created equal.
1. Take the probiotic with Food:
- 30 minutes before or with a meal.
- Especially with starchy foods
- food helps to buffer the stomach acid to make sure the good bacteria actually get to the small intestine, and doesn’t get killed off by the acid
2. Strains:
- The number of strains is important
- The type of strain also can make a difference – different strains have somewhat different benefits. eg. some are more beneficial for digestion, immune system, etc.
3. Number of Organisms:
- you want to make sure that enough reaches your small intestine
4. If taking antibiotics, make sure to take your probiotic at least 2 hours away from the antibiotic.
- along with killing off the bad bacteria that the antibiotic was prescribed to do, it will also kill off the good stuff, which is the reason why taking a probiotic with your antibiotic is always a good idea. Just make sure you are taking it separately.
