dietary supplement probiotic powder

Dietary supplement probiotic powder is neither a panacea that "can cure gastrointestinal problems, whiten skin, and lose weight" as claimed by merchants, nor is it a completely useless IQ tax as netizens say - for people with clear indications (such as antibiotic-related diarrhea, mild irritable bowel syndrome, and intolerance to specific allergens) Choosing qualified products with clear strain numbers can indeed improve the health of the population. Blind supplementation by healthy people may disrupt the homeostasis of their own intestinal flora. The core of product selection depends on three hard indicators: strain number, number of viable bacteria within the shelf life, and encapsulation technology. Most of the other additional concepts are marketing premiums.

A while ago, my mother grabbed a box of "imported high-end probiotics" from the community group purchase Qunhua 399. She said that the aunt in the group had cured her constipation and lowered her blood pressure. However, after taking it for half a month, her constipation was not relieved. Instead, she was bloated and farted a lot every day. She came to see me with the box. I almost laughed out loud when I turned to the ingredient list page. The entire list only said "added bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria" without even a specific strain number. Isn't this just deceiving people? You must know that there are dozens of subspecies in the genus Bifidobacterium alone. Only clinically proven specific strains such as Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb-12 have a clear effect on intestinal peristalsis. The remaining strains that have not been tested on humans are no different from drinking contaminated water.

I had a meal with a gastroenterologist I was familiar with before, and he said that the current clinical attitude towards probiotics is actually divided into two groups. One group is the pragmatic clinical group, which believes that as long as patients have clear improvement and no side effects, they can use it. For example, they now routinely prescribe antibiotics to patients with specific strains of probiotics, which can most likely avoid diarrhea caused by antibiotics killing all the beneficial intestinal bacteria. Many patients with irritable bowel syndrome have indeed alleviated their bloating and frequent diarrhea after taking specific strains.； The other group is the more cautious basic research group. They feel that the current clinical data period of most probiotics is not long. It has not been determined whether long-term supplementation will cause the intestinal flora to become "exotic strain dependence". They are especially opposed to healthy people taking probiotics when they have nothing to do - after all, you The flora in the intestine is originally a dynamically balanced small ecological circle. Originally, each flora has a good division of labor. If you force a bunch of foreign bacteria into it every day, it will easily disrupt the original order. This is also the core reason why many people suffer from flatulence and gastrointestinal discomfort after taking probiotics.

I also encountered the trap of "skinny bacteria" two years ago. At that time, I watched short videos and saw that you can lose weight without having to control your mouth after eating. I bought a box for 298 and ate it for a month. I didn't lose weight. During that time, my appetite was very good, but I gained three pounds. Later, I checked the literature and found out that all the effective data on the "lean bacteria" strain promoted by that product came from mouse experiments. There was no support from large-scale human clinical data. It would be strange to be able to lose weight. There are also children’s probiotics that add a bunch of fruit-flavored powder and white sugar. My sister bought one for my nephew before. Strawberry-flavored children especially like to drink it. Later, I saw that the first three ingredients on the list were white sugar, maltodextrin, and strawberry flavor. The amount of probiotics added was pitifully small. Drinking that thing is not as useful as giving the child a cup of sugar-free yogurt.

Now when I choose probiotics for my family, my first reaction is to look through the ingredients list to find the strain number. It must be in the "List of strains that can be used in food" published by the National Health Commission, and it must have a specific alphanumeric suffix. As long as there is no specific strain number, I will skip it no matter how hyped it is.； Then you have to look at whether it is labeled "number of viable bacteria during the shelf life" or "number of added viable bacteria". Many merchants play word games and mark the added amount as 100 billion CFU. In fact, after transportation and storage, the number of viable bacteria when it reaches your hands is less than one-tenth. It is reliable to choose the one that clearly states "the number of viable bacteria per bag during the shelf life is not less than 10^8 CFU". ； You also need to look at the embedding technology. It is best to choose three-layer embedding, otherwise most strains will be corroded to death when passing through gastric acid and bile, and will not be able to play any role in the intestines.

In fact, to put it bluntly, probiotic powder is just a dietary supplement. It supplements the beneficial bacteria that are missing when you have an irregular diet, irregular work schedule, or are sick. If you have a regular daily routine, eat enough vegetables, and don't have any gastrointestinal discomfort, you really don't have to spend money to buy this thing. If you really have long-term constipation or diarrhea problems, don’t think about buying probiotics for yourself first. Go to the hospital for a checkup first and listen to the doctor’s advice. It’s better than buying a bunch of useless health products, right?