L. rhamnosus GG Immune enhancement, infectious diarrhea
in children and
prevention of atopic dermatitis
B. Lactis BB-12 Immune enhancement, diarrhea in children
L. reuteri SD2112 Reduced absences from work, diarrhea
B. infantis 35624 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
L. casei DN114-001 Immune enhancement
B. longum BB536 Allergy symptoms, intestinal micro-ecology
L. acidophilus NCFM Symptoms of lactose intolerance, reduced
small bowel overgrowth
B. Lactis HN019 (DR10) Immune enhancement, especially in the elderly
B. animalis DN173-010 Normalizes intestinal transit time
L. plantarum 299V IBS, post-surgical gut nutrition
L. casei Shirota YIT9029 Superficial bladder-cancer recurrence, intestinal
Microbiota, immune enhancement
L. salivarius UCC118 Inflammatory bowel disease
L. johnsonii La1 (Lj1) Immune function, heliobactor pylori eradication
Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 Immune function, intestinal health
Saccaromyces Cerevisiae Antibiotic associated diarrhea
Saccaromyces boulardii Clostridium difficile infection
S. thermophilus (most strains) Symptoms of lactose intolerance
Additional combination strains and human data
L. rhamnosus GR-1 + L. reuteri RC-14 Oral consumption leads to colonization
of vaginal tract and improved therapeutic
outcome for women being treated for bacterial vaginosis.
VSL#3 (8 strain blend of S. thermophilus) Inflammatory bowel conditions
4 strains of lactobacillus and 3 strains of
Bifidobacterium
L. Acidophilus (CUL60) + Reduction of C. difficile toxin in feces
B. Bifidum (CUL20)
L. Helveticus R0052+ H. Pylori eradication, diarrhea in children
L. rhamnosus R0011
Conclusions
Probiotics are live bacteria living synergistically with humans since the beginning of time. They comprise a percentage of the ten trillion bacteria in our gut and without them life would be impossible. For at least 7,000 years humans have been using bacterial fermentation as a way of preserving foods. Foods such as yogurt and kefir, (avoid if label says heat treated), raw sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, miso, tempeh, Natto, sour dough bread, kombucha, and even beer and wine are examples of this. Cultures around the world that regularly use fermented foods seem to have increased longevity.
In recent years the discovery of enteric coated delivery systems for probiotics have increased therapeutic options for delivery and survivability of probiotics. This is important because according to some researchers only about 6% of the bacteria ingested get delivered to the intestinal area. Spore based probiotics have a better survivability profile; up to 100% absorbability. There are several strains of these probiotics that have value too. These include Bacillis Lichinformis, Bacillus Indicus HU 36, Bacillus Subtilis HU 58, Bacillus Clausii, and Bacillus Coagulans. These bacteria produce B vitamins, antioxidants, vitamin K, and help the immune and digestive system in many ways. They all are part of a formula called MegaSporBiotic. I use this in my office along with a half dozen other probiotic formulas.
There are numerous probiotics in the marketplace. Many are sold even though the bacteria are no longer living or viable enough to reproduce in our digestive tracts. Many have no enteric coating to survive the acidity of the stomach acids. As with any product if it works stick with it, but if you continue to have issues, other bacteria strains may hold the answer to your problems. You should be able to see the strain of bacteria on the label or be able to call the company and get that information if it isn’t listed. In many cases simply having a probiotic with billions of total bacteria may not be as important as the species and strain and whether it can be delivered intact to the gut.
