‘I tried taking a probiotic but it doesn’t seem to be working?!’
I hear this a lot. Probiotics are a common first supplement that those with inflamed bellies attempt in order to calm their temperamental tummies. And with billions of health promoting bacteria in every capsule this should fix things, right? Not always…
When it comes to probiotics there are a few things to keep in mind…
Dose
Many people are often not taking enough probiotics. Ideally for adults we can start with a minimum of 25 BILLION CFU’s (culture forming units) and often go up as high as 100 billion CFU’s. That may seem like a lot, but your gut often houses 10’s of TRILLIONS of microbes so your little probiotic capsule is only a drop in the bucket. Which brings me to my next point…
Time
We live in a world of quick fixes and being patient with our bodies is very difficult for many. The great results we see from probiotics happens over a 3-6 month time frame and research has shown probiotics to be beneficial for both diarrhea and constipation based IBS. Also, be sure to take your probiotics with meals as this is when they have the most chance of surviving past your stomach acid.
Strains
By strains I am referring to those big, long, hard to pronounce words at the back of your probiotic containers. A healthy gut often has 500 to 1,000 different bacteria strains so we want to see lots of different strains in our probiotic supplement (aim for 10+).
You can also get really specific with your probiotic strains depending on your symptoms: Everything from diarrhea, constipation and even depression and anxiety has research on specific strains to support these back into balance. I will get into this (and so much more!) in my new online workshop…
How to Build a Supplement Protocol to Repair your Gut taking place on Monday, June 17 at 7pm. Spots will be limited so make sure to register soon before it’s full!
Probiotic, digestive enzymes, laxatives and stool softeners, vitamin and mineral boosters, gut calming herbs and more! We'll cover it all in this clear and easy to follow workshop.
