When we talk about probiotics, we mean the good bacteria and yeasts that live in the human body. The human body harbors both good and bad bacteria. These bacteria control the ability for the body to fight illnesses or be susceptible to illnesses. When there are more bad bacteria in the body, then one gets an infection. With the good bacteria in the body, one can fight infections. When one wants to add good bacteria to the body, then one needs to take probiotic supplements. You can learn more about probiotics by visiting the Dallasnews.com website.
When we buy probiotic supplements, we are buying live bacteria that are beneficial to the body. Probiotics are good bacteria that keep your body healthy and working well. The good bacteria in the body help you to fight off the bad bacteria so that you can feel better and healthy. An example of good bacteria can be found in yogurt.
The advantages of taking probiotic supplements
Indeed, your body does not need probiotics since you already have bacteria in your body. However, it does not hurt to take such supplements as they help the body in many ways. As such, adding probiotic supplements to your diet has the following advantages:
- They help to counter infectious diarrhea. For diarrhea that is associated with certain antibiotics, especially in children, probiotics will help in this case.
- In the case of Inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, some types of probiotics keep ulcerative colitis inactive. This prevents Crohn’s disease from reactivating and becoming worse.
- Probiotics are known to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. As such, one will not suffer constipation, diarrhea, gas, and bloating.
- Probiotics are still being studied and some people have confessed to getting help against yeast infection, lactose intolerance, and skin conditions as well as treating asthma and allergies.
Where to buy probiotics
Probiotic supplements are sold over the counter. This is mostly the channel through which people can access these supplements. One can walk into a chemist or a drug house and ask for suitable probiotics.
It is also possible to buy these items online. A simple Google search should give you results with the outlets that offer the supplements. You may find sellers that offer free shipping and others that charge for the shipping costs.
Here are 3 tips to consider when buying probiotic supplements online:
1. Consider the right stuff
This is one factor you need to consider. What kind of benefits are you looking out for in probiotics? You may want to consider the most researched probiotics. Consider the label and see what the probiotics contain. The most researched probiotics are Lactobacillus spp, Bifidobacterium spp, and Saccharomyces boulardii. These are suitable more so for the IBS condition. Even though each of these three has been studied for different benefits, they are a good starting point. Another thing you need to consider in buying probiotics online is the number of strains used in the manufacture of the supplement. Multi-strain probiotics are known to offer more benefits to the body. You should also consider the issue of coded strains for advanced gut health probiotics. They should also be verifiably human and not GMO. This also means that these probiotics should not come from animals such as rats.
2. More doesn’t always mean potency
You need to be aware of the issue of colony-forming units (CFU). This is known as the number of viable cells in a sample of probiotics. This comes with a hefty increase in the price. However, you need to know that more does not always have to mean more potency in the probiotics. What you should know is that there is no evidence that more CFU means better. The number of the CFU in the probiotic is what was available when it was manufactured. This does not mean it is what is present when you consume the supplement. What the experts recommend is at least 1 billion CFU in a daily dose. Probiotics will have CFU ranging from 2 to 100 billion. What you should look out for is the one that guarantees CFU at expiry.
3. Shelf-stability and packaging
You need to consider the shelf stability of the probiotics. Most of the shelf-stable probiotics come in bottles. Every time these bottles are opened, the supplement is exposed to air and humidity. This degrades it. If they are packed in blister packs, this should be better for the shelf life. If they can be packaged in capsules, this will also be a better option since the capsules make it easy to get the probiotics where they need to be.
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