If you’ve ever walked into a health food store and approached the probiotic section, you may have experienced some dazed and confused emotions as you stared blankly at the amount of options available to you. What probiotic would be best for you and why? Let me make some sense of the probiotic puzzle for you!
Let’s talk about why you would even need a probiotic: Do you have issues with your digestion; such as burping, heartburn, lower bowel gas, loose stool, constipation, or bloating? If you have any of these problems on a continual basis, then something isn’t balanced. Another question to ask yourself is, have you taken many rounds of antibiotics in the past or are you about to begin taking antibiotics? If yes, then this is where you might find adding in a probiotic useful.
One of my favourite probiotics to recommend is Renew Life’s Ultimate Flora.
Probiotics vary in the type of strains and the amount of cultures available. This probiotic boasts a 50 billion culture count! This is quite high and as such can be very powerful! It also has 10 different strains that help to colonize the small and large intestine; so it is very well rounded. I would typically recommend this probiotic for someone suffering from I.B.S., certain inflammatory bowel diseases, and chronic yeast issues. It can also be very effective in repopulating the helpful bacteria that is affected when taking antibiotics. Antibiotics are sometimes necessary in life and although they can be successful in killing the bad bacteria, they tend to act like a flamethrower in your intestinal tract killing many of the good guys too! We have to repopulate those healthy resident and transient strains and one of the quickest ways to do this is to take a potent probiotic.
Other bells and whistles include that these probiotics are enteric coated -a water based coating- that helps get these beneficial bacteria through your stomach acid to your intestines where they can work their magic. This probiotic also includes FOS, which stands for fructooligosaccharides; this is a fancy name for a naturally occurring fibre that helps the probiotics colonize that much better.
Ultimate Flora Critical Care is easy to take, just one capsule a day and that’s it. In addition to all the benefits I’ve mentioned, you’ll also be helping your body to produce vitamins, digest food, and may actually prevent future problems.
Overall, probiotics are one way to help balance out your body and can make a world of difference for some people, but we have to remember that each individual is different and there may be a more suitable probiotic for your particular needs. I’ve had clients who thought these particular probiotics were too strong by experiencing loose stool or a slight rash; and others who have found success taking more than the recommended dose to remedy their constipation. Everyone is different. Proper food selection, hormonal balance, and lifestyle choices are just as important as anything else and this is why sitting down with a health practitioner can be pivotal in getting a protocol that works specifically for your unique needs.
Please note, these probiotics are not recommended in anyone with an immune compromised condition.
In health,
To book a consultation with Maddie, she can be reached by e-mail here - maddie@optistaff.us
