Have you heard the terms friendly bacteria or healthy bacteria or the word probiotics? You’ve probably never thought a lot about your gastrointestinal tract until you started seeing commercials for various yogurts, yogurt drinks and cereals that promise to strengthen your immune system, help with regularity or replace healthy bacteria destroyed by antibiotics.

What are probiotics? Live microorganisms when given in adequate amounts can have a beneficial health effect on the body.

If you decide to try a probiotics product, how do you know which one is the best choice?

1. Whether it’s a food or supplement form of probiotics doesn’t matter but take a supplement with food as food helps buffer the probiotics against stomach acid so the healthy bacteria are not destroyed and make it to the intestines.
2. Probiotics are not the same nor equal. The health effect depends on the species and strain. OK, think of it like this. When you are sick with an infection that requires antibiotics, your doctor prescribes one based on the illness you have. The particular antibiotic prescribed has been proven to destroy the bacteria causing the illness. In other words, antibiotics are specific to certain bacteria. Same with probiotics. They are species and strain specific.For example, Lactobacillus acidophilus GG is often recommended for antibiotic use and the resulting diarrhea that often occurs while B lactis is used for IBS or L caseii for the immune system. Bottom line, the strain of probiotics must be specific to the health concern you want to address. That’s why probiotics may or may not help.
3. Probiotics are categorized by group, species and strain. So take the Lactobacillus acidophilus GG mentioned above. Lactobacillus is the group, acidophilus is the species and GG is the strain. GG is the strain with research behind it.Be sure and discuss with your doctor or health care provider which probiotics strain is right for you if you are using it to help treat a specific health concern. Check out the company’s website for specific information on the species and strain of the probiotics. Want more overall knowledge… take a look at usprobiotics.org
4. Probiotics or healthy bacteria can be destroyed by direct light and high temperatures over time. Be sure and check for a shelf life and how the product should be stored.

By the way, natural food sources of probiotics include yogurt, buttermilk, sauerkraut and kefir.

A few of the probiotics-enhanced products with research behind them to check out for specific health benefits include the supplements Culturelle and Florastor and the food products Activia, DanActive, Danimals, Yo-Plus yogurt, Stoneyfield Farms yogurt and Kashi Vive cereal.

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