How to Choose the Best Probiotics for You
When we think of bacteria floating around or body, we often think about germs and sickness, but what we should really be thinking about is the best probiotics. The truth is that our body is the natural and rightful home to trillions of microorganisms that quite simply make our body tick. They’re essential to our health and well being, and all together they can make up about 2.2 pounds of your total body weight.
Sometimes, due to medicine that a person is on, or the food that a person enjoys, those bacteria that help our bodies are diminished. The best probiotics help replenish those healthy bacteria’s populations – especially in your gut – so that they can do their natural job of patrolling your intestines, helping you digest food, and killing other germs that should not be in you body!
If you are looking for ways to boost your healthy gut, but aren’t sure how to seek out the best probiotics supplements, there are some straight forward guidelines that you should know about!
How to choose the best probiotic for you
Having a healthy gut means having a diverse and abundance of healthy germs helping your health, your digestions, and even you appearance! There is constant communication going on between your gut and your brain – known as the gut brain axis – and this also means that a healthy gut and diverse gut flora can also improve your cognitive function and help fight things like depression, anxiety, fatigue, and more.
It is true that more research has to be done in this field to find out all the benefits and true understand the benefits of the best probiotics, but we already do know that finding the right kind of probiotics for what you want to improve is an important first task.
Nutrition experts already know that finding the right strain of probiotics supplements is crucial. Depending on if you are looking for the best probiotics for men, the best probiotics for women, or the best probiotics for something even more specific, here is a general list of what you should look for.
Best Probiotic for Acne
L. Acidophilus is perhaps one of the most widely recognized best probiotics, and active consumption of this probiotic has been going on since the early 20th century.
These friendly microbes live within your stomach passage and are able to colonize the intestine as well.
In a clinical case to find out what types of probiotics help what in the body, it was documented that a whopping 80 percent of ace patients had some degree of clinical improvement while taking L. Acidophilus and another probiotic L. Bulgaricus. While it should not be treated as a cure-all, it is clear that the best probiotics can have an impact on the outside of your body as well as the inside.
Oh yeah, and L. Acidophilus has also been found to help cure diarrhea and promote vaginal health as well. Considering all that, it’s probably one of the best probiotics for women on the market.
Best Probiotic for Inflammation
This is another reason why many people being taking probiotics, and their search will most likely lead them to L. Plantarum. L. Plantarum can be great for digestive supports, regulating diarrhea, and decreasing stomach bloat. If you struggle with any of these symptoms, you may want to consider getting your hands on some L. Plantarum.
Best Probiotic for Anxiety
L. Casei was found to help relieve anxiety. A double-blind study found that supplementation with 24 unites of the L. Casei strain Shirota led to a decrease in symptoms of both anxiety and depression. As with acne, this should not be treated as a cure, and if you are on medication for either remain on it, but it may be wise to talk to your doctor about increasing your L. Casei intake as well.
It is sometimes hard to imagine the brain function and gut function being so intertwined, but the truth is that our bodies are one complete system, with everything relying on and interacting with everything else. It is no different for gut health and mental health.
Best Probiotic for Immunity
This is another important thing to keep in mind, as the strength of our immunity keeps up healthy and safe from dangerous pathogens that we may come in contact with. B. Lactis has been found to be a great promoter of immunity strength, as it has been found in studies to increase the amount of antibodies in the human body. On top of that, a 2009 study of the strain B. Lactis DN-173, led to self-reported improvements in digestive comfort.
Best Probiotic for Anti Aging
This may be another surprise aspect of the body that probiotics can help with, but if it’s not clear already, it should be that basically every part of the body can be positively impacted by the right kind of probiotic intake.
In studies of the strain B. Breve, it has been found that this probiotic can be used to prevent photo-aging induced by chronic UV irradiation. This ability to mitigate the detrimental effects of UV exposure in sun damage is great news for those that one to keep their skin lively, hydrated, and young.
What to Look For
Knowing what the best strain for your ailment is important, but there are a lot of brands out there and it can be hard to know which one is right for you. There is a quick checklist that you can do while shopping for probiotics to try and find the best brand and type for you.
First, check the expiration dates and make sure that the bacteria in your probiotics are live. Check to see the CFUs, that’s colony forming units, in the billions. Anything less than that is not going to be a potent probiotic and won’t have a strong effect. The best brands will not only list the amount of live organisms, it will list the exact strains used.
Other Tips
It’s also important to know how to best store your probiotics to keep them alive and happy. Typically it is smart to keep them away from heat and moisture. It is also widely considered wise to take them on am empty stomach right when you wake up. That’s because, depending on what you eat, the probiotics might have a hard time calling your gut home!
Store them in a cool dark place, usually, your fridge is your best option.
