From the Desk of Natasha Trenev
Frequently Asked Questions about Probiotics
Natasha Trenev is the Founder and President of Natren Inc., a renowned author, probiotic scholar, developmental scientist, educator, lecturer and health advocate. As the author of several books, host of TV and radio shows, guest lecturer at leading universities, researcher and scientist, she has surpassed her 750-year family tradition of culturing probiotics. Ms. Trenev is now leading the scientific community in the acquisition of knowledge about probiotics and their applications for improved human health and is devoted to sharing that knowledge with the general public.
1. What is the ideal number of cfu to look for in probiotics?
Before you look at cfu, or colony forming units, you need to be sure you know what strains you are getting so you know if they are going to be effective. You can have many strains of bacteria in a product, but if they are not the right kind, they won’t help you.
If you’ve identified the strain and it is clearly labeled, then you can turn your attention to the cfu. The minimum dose you should take is 1 billion cfu – it’s the least amount of organisms needed to get a measurable effect. A therapeutic dose is around 10 billion cfu. Natren® has always listed potency of specific strains in cfu, when no other companies were doing that and the practice continues even today.
2. How long can probiotics stay un-refrigerated before they lose their potency?
There is no way to guarantee the potency of probiotics if they have been without refrigeration at any time. When probiotic products are shipped without refrigeration, they can be exposed to very high temperatures. Since probiotics are living organisms, you can be guaranteed of their potency only if they have been shipped and stored refrigerated. Natren products are refrigerated from manufacturing throughout the entire shipping process. This has always been Natren’s standard when other companies have misrepresented the potency of their probiotic products by claiming they are shelf-stable; they conveniently don’t mention that their products are not stable when exposed to harsh temperatures in the warehouse, shipping and distribution processes. If other companies cannot guarantee potency of each strain through a printed expiry date, how can you trust any of their claims?
3. What is the best way to protect probiotic bacteria from stomach acid?
The powder products are protected with the intrinsic supernatant, part of the original nourishing and protective culture medium, which provides a natural buffer against gastric acid.
Micro-enrobing with a unique oil matrix is the best way to protect probiotic bacteria from stomach acid. Natren Trenev Trio® is the first to introduce a micro-enrobing, unique delivery system – a hard gel capsule in which three super strains of probiotic bacteria are suspended in sunflower oil and vitamin E to keep the bacteria separate, noncompetitive and protected from gastric digestive juices for optimum absorption.
The bacteria strains must be bile-resistant. All Natren probiotics have laboratory-tested bile-resistant strains which will survive bile salts.
4. What are the differences between the three strains of probiotic bacteria in Healthy Trinity?
The unique and powerful strains that make up Healthy Trinity are Lactobacillus acidophilus, NAS super strain, to maximize beneficial activity in the small intestine; Bifidobacterium bifidum, Malyoth super strain to significantly enhance the function of the large intestine; and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, LB-51 super strain to police the transient flora, which is part of the 40 percent of dry-weight fecal matter.
5. What are the benefits of probiotics?
The benefits of probiotic organisms are clearly associated only with the strain and how the strain is grown, stabilized and delivered to the body. Once these features are guaranteed for each batch, probiotics can maximize the digestion of nutrients in the body.
Validated probiotic products help the body in the following ways:
1) Immunity: Probiotics aid the body in breaking down nutrients to the right molecular size so that the immune system doesn’t become over-reactive.
2) Improving mood: You have a “second brain” in your gastrointestinal tract. You have more nerve endings in your GI tract than in your brain. So when there’s ineffective digestion, you can experience emotional and mental problems. With proper digestion, you can improve your mood and mental health.
3) Digestion: Probiotics help the efficient absorption of nutrients and help keep you from suppressing digestion during heavy exercise.
4) Elimination: Probiotics aid movement of food through your body.
When purchasing probiotic supplements, you need to buy from a company that is actually producing the probiotic bacteria strains it is selling and the probiotic product is certified by an independent government agency. Natren probiotics are the only probiotics that are Internationally Drug GMP certified.
