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What are Probiotics?

Your gut is really important, it's like our second brain and is central to our health and wellbeing. Poor gut or digestive health can make you feel stressed, give you bad skin and impact the way you sleep.

We have millions upon millions of bacteria living inside our bodies, known as Microbiota, the majority of which should be healthy ‘probiotic’ bacteria. Probiotics are live ‘friendly’ bacteria that impact positively on our health when they are ingested, especially our immunity system and metabolic state.

What do Probiotics do?

Probiotics help send food through your gut by affecting nerves that control your gut movement.

In healthy circumstances, the majority of our microbiota is made up of friendly bacteria and  only about 30% are harmful bacteria. However, in reality the balance is usually shifted towards the ‘bad’ bacteria and ideally we need to find ways to shift the balance back into the healthy bacteria’s favour. One way to do this is through probiotics, which help to introduce added ‘good’ or ‘healthy’ bacteria into your body, but especially your gut, so they can work to improve the balance and help produce the normal function of our digestive system.

Antibiotics are extremely important for combating bacterial infections and are sometimes necessary for our health and recovery, but they can cause massive changes within our gut and digestive system. Antibiotics throw off the balance of the gut flora and cause digestive problems as a result, which is why a common side-effect when taking antibiotics is diarrhoea. Research has shown that taking probiotics in parallel with antibiotics can reduce the likelihood of experiencing diarrhoea. This is because the probiotics work to restore the balance of the gut microbiota that the antibiotics have kicked loose.

Main Types of Probiotics 

Different probiotics have different benefits but most come from 3 groups;

Lactobacillus is found in yogurt and other fermented food. Different strains can help with diarrhoea and people who can't digest lactose (the sugar in milk).

Bifidobacterium found in some dairy products and may help ease the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Sacchoromyces boulardi is a yeast found in probiotics and helps fight diarrhoea and other digestive problems. 

Probiotics can not only be used to help address your specific digestive issues, but they can also be helpful in other parts of your body such as:

- skin conditions like eczema

- urinary and vaginal health

- preventing allergies and colds

- weight loss and weight maintenance 

Different groups and strains of probiotic bacteria have been found to present different positive health impacts. Some supplements combine a blend of these probiotic strains so they can help you combat a range of different health issues that you might have. 

At The Naturality Lab, we offer a range of probiotic supplements such as our Advanced Probio Support, a high strength gut balancing probio that supports the growth of friendly bacteria to boost good health, skin and immunity with a guaranteed 5 billion CFU organisms per capsule and added olive leaf, vitamin D3 and biotin for extra help. This innovative probio is able to survive stomach acid and colonise the gut to ensure the "good" bacteria survive as they are delivered to and absorbed where they are most effective. Plus unlike many live culture products the Advanced Probio Support is lactose free making it suitable for those who have a reduced ability to digest products containing cow's milk. 

 



 

Our Ultimate 20 Probio is a high strength multi strain probio supplement with over 20 billion friendly bacteria per capsule, equivalent to over 40 pots of yogurt, but without the added sugar, dairy and fat. There is no need to refrigerate and ideal for use after an illness, a course of antibiotics or travel abroad. 



Your fibre and water intake impacts your gut: getting enough fibre can reduce constipation and help reduce the risk of colon disease as it decreases the transit time of the matter in the large intestine. Many fibres can also act as a prebiotic, a so-called “superfood” feeding the good bacteria in the gut.

Our Fruit & Fibre Digestive Formula is a multi fruit and fibre blend providing 615mg of dietary fibre in an easy to take, convenient capsule for a healthy regular digestive routine.  



High Fibre Vitality Shake offers a natural digestive cleanse and detox solution in an easy to take powder supplement containing an effective blend of nutrients, high fibre ingredients and a range of pre an probio's. 


Prebiotics are best taken before a meal. They essentially feed the probiotics to make sure they are developing and don’t die too quickly in your gut. Many people see prebiotics as a fertiliser to probiotics. One of the most well known prebiotics is apple cider vinegar which can really support your gut health when consumed every day.

 



When should I take Probiotics?

Probiotic supplements are best to take before you have a meal so that your body will have time to digest for it to be more effective as it will break down the food you’re eating. You can also take gut health supplements after you’ve eaten if you feel bloated and need a little extra help with digestion, such as:

 





 

You should make sure to drink plenty of water as constipation and fatigue are often caused by dehydration. If you take gut health supplements every day, you should start seeing results in your overall health within a few weeks.

Sources: Brewer, S (2002)  Jorge Da Silva G & Domingues S (2017) We Are Never Alone: Living with the Human Microbiota.  Meet your 40 trillion micro warriors: the gut microbiota CHR Hansen Hempel S et al (2012) Ducrotte P, Sawant P & Jayanthi V (2012)  2018. The Best Probiotic Strains and What They Do. UAS Labs.  King S et al (2014) Tello C (2019) Probiotics for Weight Loss & Metabolism.  Kadooka Y et al (2013) Effect of Lactobacillus gasseri