Probiotics are "good" bacteria. They colonize in your intestines and obstruct the ability of "bad" bacteria to multiply and cause illness and disease. Some defend your body against existing problems, while others take the offensive and promote good health. For instance, lactobacillus acidophilus triggers the immune system and neutralizes lactose intolerance, but it also attacks bad cholesterol and bad bacteria. Many probiotics are available on the market. They are packaged differently, contain different strains that do different jobs, and include different additives.
Strains
Many probiotic strains work in tandem for the ultimate effectiveness, and since they address different problems, the more strains a probiotic contains, the better. For example, FiveLac contains five, while Jarro-Dophilus, PB 8 and Syntol all have eight.
Colony Forming Units
A colony forming unit, or CFU, is essentially the number of live bacteria contained in a probiotic supplement. When they reach your intestines, CFUs begin colonizing and multiplying to guard against problems and crowd out the bad bacteria. With CFUs, the theory is also that more are better, as long as they are all undamaged, healthy and able to replicate once they reach their destination. Probiotics with the highest CFU counts are Women to Women, Syntol and PB 8.
Forms
The key to probiotic strains is that they are alive. Certain manufacturing processes can damage them to the point where they die before they even get to your drug store. When manufacturers form probiotics into capsules, the process involves pressure and heat that can potentially kill the CFUs. Look for supplements that come in powder form, such as FiveLac and ThreeLac. Even in powder form, the CFUs only live so long, so choose one with a long shelf life. Syntol's strains will stay alive from 18 to 24 months, and FiveLac has a shelf life of about one year.
Prebiotics
Probiotic strains need nourishment in order to stay alive and colonize in your intestines. The best probiotics contain prebiotics -- a food source -- so as not to leave the nourishment of the CFUs to chance, reliant on whether or not you ingest the proper foods to sustain them. FiveLac, PB 8, Syntol and ThreeLac all include prebiotics.
Additives
Some probiotics contain additives that can disrupt the ability of your intestines to absorb nutrients, such as stearic acid and magnesium stearate. You're taking probiotics to promote your health, but you may be sabotaging yourself if you're also taking something that interferes with your nutrition and digestion. Align, FiveLac and Women to Women all contain these additives.
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