You've heard that Probiotics are good for your gut, and you want to support your digestion, so here you are standing in front of the LARGE wall of Probiotics at the Health Food Store. You pick one up and read the back hoping it'll provide you some clarity on what to get. You see a bunch of words that you can't pronounce, followed by numbers that you don't know what they mean. Feeling overwhelmed you either grab the one with the box that looks best, or you leave empty handed. Sound about right? I've been there myself. Probiotics are tricky. Yes they are great for supporting our immunity, the gut and brain connection, our moods, and much more. But did you know, different strains support us differently, and probiotics are not a one size fits all. In fact, you might even be taking a probiotic that you don't even need.

Some of these strains such as Lactobacillus Acidophilus are transient. This means they do not inhabit the human GI Tract, meaning they won't ever re-colonize your Gut Microbiome, they simply offer health benefits while passing through, and crowd out other bad bacteria.

Let's talk about a couple of popular strains and how they best help us.

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus alters our GABA Receptors in the brain. GABA is the inhibitory neurotransmitter that calms the brain and reduces anxiety and depression. While I was pregnant I took this strain specifically for its ability to prevent GBS Strep, however I noticed that I never actually experienced the mood swings throughout my entire pregnancy. Lucky Nick...

Lactobacillus Helveticus and Bifidobacterium Longum have been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, and anger/hostility in overall healthy individuals. They also lower Cortisol levels, which as you know is the Stress Hormone.

Bifido Lactis, Streptococcus Thermophiles, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, and Lactococcus
Lactis when in combination, will alter your emotional response to pain. This plays a big part in the lives of those with Fibromyalgia, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The bacteria in our intestines, modulates the Central Nerve System and how we perceive pain.

For people with more severe intestinal issues, Saccromyces Boulardi or S Boulardi is a yeast shown to be helpful with people who have SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth), and SIFO (Small Intestine Fungal Overgrowth). In these two cases, you want to be careful with adding more bacteria to your gut, as you already have a bacterial overgrowth. By using this strain you are adding a good yeast, which will crowd out the bad yeast as well as the bad bacteria.

Have you heard of Spore Based Probiotics? Spores hibernate in the GI tract and can withstand the low PH in our stomach. The PH in the stomach can actually degarde the probiotics. Once the spores reach the intestines they'll open up and be more successful at their job. Megasporebiotics are nice because they don't actually require refrigeration. These probiotics have been proven to reduce pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis, and improve Leaky Gut.

Now let's talk about those numbers. CFU's Colony Forming Units.
CFU's are a measure of the amount of microbes in a probiotic. The minimum dose you should look for is 2.5 billion CFU's, if you have a sensitivity to probiotics, start with a smaller dose and gradually increase.

You'll also want to make sure your probiotic has a pre-biotic in it. A common prebiotic is FOS (Fructo Oligosaccharide) This fiber feeds the microbes and keeps them alive for longer periods of time. If you have a condition such as SIBO, you could experience gas and bloating with the prebiotic. this is normal and will go away as your microbiome changes.

The last thing I want to discuss about probiotics is when to take them. You'll want the acidity in your stomach to be a lower level, this way the probiotics aren't damaged. So be sure to take them with food to buffer the acidity level.

I hope this helps clear the air, and makes that wall of probiotics look a little less overwhelming.