Probiotics:
The probiotics supplement industry is an unregulated industry, so you must be careful about the probiotics you buy. I have a study done by the University of WA about several well-known nutritional supplement companies selling their probiotic products in health food stores. The study's purpose was to investigate the concentration and viability of the friendly bacteria and determine the claims and advertising on the labels whether they are true or not. All the companies' probiotic products contained contaminants and didn't offer in the capsules what they claimed on the bottle. When you are suffering from a health problem along with some digestive system dysfunction, your gut is prone to infections so a product like probiotics must be GMP certified which is an FDA certification that guarantees a purity of a product. The same goes for all food-based supplements.
I'm not an expert in this field so I rely on the experts. The number one expert in this field is the late Dr. Khem Shahani who patented the DDS strain. All probiotic books I read recommended the DDS strain of friendly bacteria so that is what I use for myself and recommend for others. Also, the acidophilus and bifidus I recommend have organic micro algae in them, so they make the DDS bacteria work even better in the gut since such friendly bacteria requires organic minerals to repopulate in the gut.
Know What You Buy
Most Lactobacilli products do not contain the amounts & Lactobacillus species advertised
A study conducted at the University of Washington and published in the medical journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 75:244(1990) is summarized below. The study investigated the concentration and viability of the Lactobacillus bacteria and determined the veracity of the claims and advertising. Ten commercial powder and capsule preparations were included in the study.
Findings of Study
Brand Name:
Megadophilus by Natran
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
106 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
Clostridium sporogenes
Enterococci faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
100/100,000
Brand Name:
Vegetarian by Natures Life
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus,
B. bifidus, L. thermophiles
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
104 (ten thousand)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
100,000
Brand Name:
Prim Life. Prim Plex
by Klaire Laboratories
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus, B. bifidus, Strep faecium
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
106 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
100,000
Brand Name:
Richidophilus
by Rich Life Inc.
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
106 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
10
••••••••••••••••
Brand Name:
Schiff
by Schiff Bio-food
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus,
S. thermophilus
Species Detected:
L. acidophilus
Quantity detected per gram:
100 (one hundred)
Other Contaminants:
None
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
None
Brand Name:
Great Earth Acidophilus
by Great Earth Int’l
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
104 (ten thousand)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
1,000
Brand Name:
Mega Potency Acidophilus
by Solary Inc.
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus,
S. thermophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
106 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
10
Brand Name:
Pilgrim’s
by Pigrim’s
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus,
B. bifidus, S. thermophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
103 (one thousand)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
100
Brand Name:
Ailerdophilus
by Twin Laboratories
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus
Species Detected:
L. Casei
Quantity detected per gram:
107 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram: 100
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Brand Name:
Sensidophilus
by Natures Plus
Claims & Advertisement:
L. acidophilus
Species Detected:
L. casei
Quantity detected per gram:
107 (one million)
Other Contaminants:
E. faecium
Contaminants Quantity/gram:
10
Adapted from Hughes. V.L. & Hillier, S. Obstetrics & Gynocology 75:244 (1990)
Please note: some of the brand names have been changed since the study was published.