Dispelling a few myths about Probiotic Supplements

Probiotics are a wonderful part of the body’s health system. But we must not forget that they do their work in the colon – not by sitting in your yogurt.

• When a probiotic is stopped, the colon returns to its previous bacterial makeup within 2-3 weeks. If you do not nourish the probiotics in your colon, you will be on a constant cycle of replacement: Probiotics will have to be taken indefinitely.
• Your body has evolved a wonderful defense mechanism: the hydrochloric acid in your stomach is a powerful antibacterial agent. The problem is that the good bacteria and bad bacteria are killed just alike. So the acid environment of the stomach likely kills many of the probiotic bacteria ingested.
• By the time probiotics – they’re living organisms, remember – are processed, packaged, shipped, warehoused, shelved and finally sold to you, there is some real question how many live bacteria are still present, as the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements.
• Except for certain diseases mentioned below, we don’t know which of the probiotic bacteria may be better than another. We think that bifidobacter, lactobacillus and acidophilus are the most important. So rather than taking a few probiotic strains orally, you may be better off nourishing the probiotics you have with a prebiotic supplement.