Probiotics – why more CFU's isn’t always better.

As science delves deeper and deeper into the importance of intestinal health it’s become increasingly apparent that we need to taking ownership of our gut wellbeing as each year passes.  

Your intestinal tract is home to a very complex collection of microbes and ecosystem that’s impacted by the food you eat, the way you feel, and the toxins you’re exposed to. 

Collectively your microbes are known as microbiome.  Your microbiome is your very own community of organisms (bacteria, fungi and viruses) that you carry around with you every day that help to protect you from illness by working alongside your immune system, and helping you digest your food.  They’re pretty efficient at living in harmony with each other when they get what they need - like healthy food and all the right nutrients - but can become quickly disrupted by a number of things like medications, lack of dietary fibre, sugary foods, highly processed foods, alcohol, emotional upsets, and toxins.

When an imbalance occurs people can commonly develop problems with their digestion, irregular bowel motions, bloating, gas, skin complaints, brain fog, and digestive discomfort.  Taking a probiotic is a way to help re-establish balance in your microbiome but it can be a bit overwhelming knowing which one to choose because there’s so many to choose from and they vary in the types of strains they contain, the amounts, and then there’s those CFU’s!

CFU’s stands for Colony Forming Units and usually appear on the ingredients section of the label.  This is the number of viable cells present for each bacterial strain listed on the label.  This number is the minimum amount of CFU’s that should be present when the supplement expires.  

You may have noticed that the amount of CFU’s varies depending on the probiotic you look at and can range anywhere from millions to billions.  Most people think that the higher the number the better the probiotic will be for them, but this is not necessarily the case.  It’s also important to consider the types of strains present in a product and how many strains there are.  The combination is also important for compatibility to prevent one strain from competing negatively with the other.  Additionally, a number of (but not all) formula’s also have FOS (fructooligosaccharides) as a prebiotic to be a food source for some members of your internal microbiome family.

It’s also important to consider a person’s age, digestive sensitivity and robustness when it comes to CFU’s counts. Probiotics with high amounts of CFU’s may not be suitable for younger tummies, some elderly people, the frail, or if there is a high degree of sensitivity to supplements. 

So, as you can see, choosing a probiotic based solely on the amount of CFU’s doesn’t mean it’s better.  

We’ve taken the guess work out of it for you with our probiotics.  We’ve been selling our probiotics since 2017 with strains that have been researched and blended specifically so they are compatible and work effectively. 

Probiotics 14 Strains contains 14 scientifically researched live bacteria with 1 capsule providing 2 billion CFU’s.  Formulated by a doctor, Probiotics 14 Strains is a broad spectrum everyday probiotic formula that can support the health of your skin, digestion, immune defences and more by supporting the growth of beneficial bacteria. 

Probiotics Metabolise contains 7 scientifically researched live bacteria plus FOS, with  capsule providing 500 million CFU’s to support healthy weight management when taken with a healthy diet.

Probiotics Mood + Immune contains 4 scientifically researched live bacteria plus FOS, with 1 capsule providing 10 billion CFU’s to support healthy mood and immune health.