Busting 6 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Probiotics

Probiotics are the combination of live yeasts and beneficial bacteria that contribute positively to your overall health, helping your body fight harmful microorganisms and regulating your immune system. You can find probiotic dietary supplements in pharmacies and grocery stores. Probiotic bacterial strains have different properties, which means a wide range of products are available in the market, each offering a different purpose. 

With the market is growing, the myths and misconceptions around probiotics have also increased. Lack of public awareness and countless stories about these supplements make it hard for consumers to trust their health benefits. If you’re here to figure if the stories you’ve heard are true or false, great, we’ll lend you a hand. 

Let’s explore the common myths about probiotics, so on your next visit to the pharmacy, you’re armed with the proper knowledge and feel confident about your choice and pick it without any hesitation. 

Probiotics Have No Role In Your Well-Being 

Your gut contains different types of good bacteria that allow your body to perform various functions. 

Consuming probiotic supplements helps you improve gut health by strengthening your immune system, aiding in healthy digestion, enabling good nutrient absorption, and improving skin health. 

If your gut balance is disturbed, you can experience digestive issues, diarrhea, bloating, constipation, and other digestive issues. If the imbalance persists for a long time, it can cause permanent food intolerances, skin issues, and mood disorders. It can impact your overall health negatively. Consuming probiotic supplements helps you achieve a balanced gut microbiome to maintain your health in perfect shape. 

Only Prebiotics are Enough for Gut Health 

You have to understand that prebiotics is a form of dietary fiber that plays a vital role in helping you maintain gut health. But only relying on prebiotic supplements is not enough. 

You have to improve your overall diet to maintain good gut health. It is necessary to add other sources of dietary fiber to your daily meals, such as whole grains, legumes, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens. You should increase fiber intake for good gut health. 

If you think that prebiotics is enough without the need for probiotics, you may be at risk of developing allergic reactions, digestive problems, and acne. Avoiding natural resources of dietary fiber can also increase harmful bacteria in your gut. Maintaining the right balance of consumption between prebiotics and probiotics holds the key to improving your gut health. 

All Probiotics are the Same 

You may have experienced the situation where you are confused about choosing the probiotic because you think they all are the same. To choose the right supplements, you have to understand that all probiotics are not equal. Every probiotic strain acts to perform a different function in your body. According to a study, multi-strain probiotic products are more impactful than single-strain products. 

Experts combine bacterial strains differently, so the combination of strains varies in each product. Also, manufacturers test these strains to ensure the maximum efficiency of the product. For better results, you need to look for a high-quality multi-species probiotic as per your exact needs. You should seek medical advice before using the probiotics supplement. 

Probiotics Should Be Refrigerated

Probiotics are sensitive to light and temperature, as they are living bacteria. Some consumers think it might be a good idea to keep them in the refrigerator, however, most lose potency at colder temperatures. Lower temperatures may kill healthy probiotic bacteria, reducing chances of effective results. 

An alternative to refrigeration, freeze-drying can preserve bacteria for extended periods. You can dissolve the freeze-dried powder in the water when you want to use it. The powder also consists of prebiotic nutrients that work as an excellent probiotic bacteria food source. 

+Probiotics With Higher CFU are Better

CFU (colony forming units) is the measure of how many viable bacteria are present in probiotics. Although a common misconception, higher CFU does not make probiotics ideal for you. Instead, a perfect combination of bacterial strains in each probiotic is more critical. The right blend of different bacterial strains enables them to work well to create the desired health effects on your body. 

It has been tested that injecting billions of single bacterial strains kills the effectiveness of probiotics. It means higher CFU will not make any contribution to your health goals. You also have to understand the delivery mechanism of the probiotic bacteria. From manufacturer to store to your intestine, it goes through a survival journey. So, it faces challenges of exposure to the changes in moisture and temperature. Such changes can impact the quantity of bacterial strain in probiotics. 

It’s really unfortunate that in most probiotic supplements, bacteria die before you can ingest them. So, rather than worrying about CFU, you should focus on improving the delivery mechanism of the probiotic supplements. It will help you attain maximum efficiency from the products to improve your gut health. 

Prolonged Consumption Increases Body Dependency

Excessive consumption of any medication can indeed make your body dependent on it. But that’s not the case with probiotics. You have to understand that probiotics are good bacteria that occur naturally in the human body. But not many of us have healthy intestinal tracts, so we need probiotic supplements to support our gut. If your body is not producing probiotic bacteria, you have to rely on supplements to take the best care of your gut health. 

Conclusion 

To keep your mind and body in perfect condition, you have to pay attention to different health aspects. Your gut health is one of them, and probiotics supplements allow your body to perform these functions smoothly. 

From proper digestion to a solid immune system, they make a significant impact on your health. The important thing is to have adequate knowledge about every supplement before you decide to use it. By knowing all the misconceptions and myths, you can make the right decision to choose the probiotics supplements as per your health needs. It is also crucial to understand that even though available over-the-counter, probiotics aren’t a grocery item to be consumed at will or however you like it. Seek medical advice if you’re unsure about what to do and always learn about the strains, purpose, and function before buying supplements.