Tips to Choose Right Probiotic Supplements

As we know probiotics are good bacterias that are needed by the body to fight the bad bacterias.
The main source of probiotics are from fermented food and yoghurt.
Prebiotics are the food to stimulate the growth of good bacteria.
The source of prebiotics are from dietary fiber.
We need to include them in our dietary plans, however some of us may be reluctant taking plain yoghurt or vegetables, thus Supplements come into the picture.

There are many probiotic and prebiotic supplements out there in the market and claim they have billions of live cultures.

How do we choose wisely ?

1. Choose the right type
Scientists give bacteria three names : genus, species and strains. For eg Lactobacillus acidophilus L-92, where Lactobacillus is the genus, acidophilus is the species and L-92 is the strain.
When we're choosing a probiotic, make sure all three names are the ones we're looking for.

2. Count Colony forming units
It tells us how much bacteria we' re getting in each dose. How much we need varies with different types.
There's no general rule to follow, it depends on individual's need.
If we don't get enough CFUs, we might not get the results we want, but more would be a waste of money.

3. Read the Label
It tells us about the strains and CFU, dose, how to store it, other ingredients and expiry date.

Disclaimer

All the manufacture may have a lot of promises and each individual has different effect in probiotic supplement because we have different diet and different gut bacterial.
However, it we decide to take probiotic supplements, give it a month to see if it works for us. If if doesn't, it's probably time to try something else.