DOS + DONT ’ s OF PROBIOTICS
Here’s what you need to know about the gut-friendly supplement
DO CHOOSE A STRAIN-SPECIFIC PROBIOTIC
Founder and COO of Activated Probiotics (activatedprobitoics.com.au), Blair Norfolk (inset), says the health benefits of probiotics are strain-specific – meaning that a particular strain helps a particular issue, like sleep.
The strain is the numbers at the end of a probiotic name – for example, in the name Lactobacillus plantarum 299v, the “299v” is the strain.
“Unless the probiotic lists the specific strain, then any health claims made by that product can’t be backed up,” says Blair.
“[In this example] Lactobacillus is the genus. The genus can be thought of as a school of bacteria,”
Blair explains.
“Plantarum is the species. Think of each species like a specific class at school. Everyone in the class has similar interests and gets along really well, but all of the students are unique individuals
– 299v is the specific strain within the plantarum species.
The strains are like the individual students within the class, who each have different talents and get different grades to everyone else in the classroom.”
DON’T STRESS OVER WHEN TO TAKE YOUR PROBIOTIC
“There’s no real consensus as to what time it’s best to take a probiotic, and there’s no convincing evidence to say whether taking one with or without food is best. Either way is fine,” says Blair. “Generally, taking a probiotic after a meal that contains some dietary fibre would be great but it’s not essential.”
DO INCORPORATE A PROBIOTIC INTO YOUR VITAMIN ROUTINE
“Various probiotic strains can support a healthy immune response and promote healthy digestion. So a well-researched and strain-specific probiotic (such as the Activated Probiotics Biome Daily Probiotic) can be a great addition to a daily multivitamin that someone might take for general health and wellness,” says Blair.
However, they work in different ways for the body so one shouldn’t be taken over another.
“A multivitamin provides essential nutrients needed for the body to function well,” says Blair. “A probiotic interacts with cells of the digestive tract and the immune system and changes how they function. Science is starting to support the promise of probiotics. Our aim is to use this research to improve the health of all Australians.”
DON’T FORGET FERMENTED FOODS
Eating good bacteria-packed foods and taking probiotics goes hand in hand. Like with multivitamins it’s not about choosing one over the other.
“Include plenty of good quality fermented foods in your diet and supplement with a course of practitioner grade probiotics a few times a year to boost your precious inner ecology,” suggests Us-based naturopath and nutritionist Kirsten Shanks.
Think foods like kimchi, tempeh, kefir and kombucha.