Several lifestyle and environmental factors can lead to a compromised gut.
From our modern diets to stress, age, exposure to environmental toxins, excessive hygiene practices, and the overuse of antibiotics (both as medicine and in our food supply)—as well as the frequent use of medicines like birth control, acid suppressants (PPIs), antacids, steroids, hormone replacement therapy, and NSAIDs—many of us have upset the balance of the very system that's in place to support us: our microbiome.
Did you know that we are approximately 90% microbial? The microbes in our body outnumber our human cells by a factor of 10:1, and together they make up an ecosystem called the microbiome.
The effects of an unbalanced microbiome can be extensive, such as subpar nutrient absorption, digestion, and metabolic and immune function. You see, nearly everything, from your energy levels and mood to your mental state and weight management, can be affected by the balance of good flora inside your GI tract.
At Hyperbiotics, we believe that we don’t have to accept compromised health as normal and that with proper knowledge, choices, and probiotic supplementation, we can realign with a life of health as nature intended. We created our flagship formula, PRO-15, in an effort to provide the most survivable form of probiotic supplementation available, because many probiotics on the market don't offer many benefits at all—and here's why:
The 4 Reasons Most Probiotic Supplements Don't Work:
1. The probiotic bacteria are dead by the time you take them.
Probiotics are sensitive organisms, and they die quickly when exposed to heat and moisture. The truth is, most probiotic supplements—whether in capsules, gummies, or green powders—have no protection from these elements and are likely dead by the time you consume them. Even for the brands that do require refrigeration, the probiotics usually aren’t kept in a cold environment while in transit or in storage.
At Hyperbiotics, we use a patented manufacturing process called LiveBac® that enables us to guarantee the viability of our formulas until the date of expiration found on the bottom of your bottle.
2. The beneficial organisms do not survive your stomach acids.
We weren't meant to need probiotic supplementation in the first place—because we weren't meant to deplete our microbiome. But since we have, it's now vital that we repopulate our digestive tracts, and the only way to do this is to ensure that the beneficial bacteria make it past the stomach acids alive so that they can colonize in our small and large intestine, where we actually need them.
The problem is that, without protection, most of the bacteria in probiotic supplements are killed before they ever reach their destination.
In vitro lab testing shows that only 4% of the beneficial organisms in standard capsules, powders and liquids survive the harsh pH environment of our stomach acids. Using the patented BIO-tract® controlled delivery method, we have increased this number to 60%—ensuring that our products have 15x more survivable than others.
3. The strains are not resident to the human gut.
The rise in popularity of Soil Based Organisms (SBOs) and Active Yeasts as probiotics is due to the fact that they will easily survive your stomach acids. The missing piece of the puzzle however, is that, unlike Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, and Streptococci, these strains are not resident to the human intestinal tract, making them a very different type of "probiotic."
At Hyperbiotics, we are focused on replenishing microbiomes—many of which have been depleted due to common lifestyle factors like stress, aging, a modern diet, and the overuse of antibiotics and other medicines—with flora that are resident to the human gut.1,2
In our opinion, SBOs and Activated Yeasts should not fall under the category of "probiotics," as this often leads to confusion and misinformation.
4. They do not deliver a sufficient variety of strains.
Lifestyle factors that are detrimental to our intestinal flora often don't discriminate - they wipe out all types of our good bacteria.
We believe that, probiotic supplementation should deliver a variety of strains because bacterial diversity is key when it comes to gut health. Each strain performs a different function within the intestinal tract and offers a different set of benefits to the individual—we have developed each formula with this in mind.
There is a tremendous amount of misinformation and lack of information when it comes to probiotic supplementation, and we hope this gives you valuable insight as you navigate your way on your journey toward health. At Hyperbiotics, we use the most advanced research and technologies available to develop premium formulas, simply because we want to take them ourselves...and we're honored to share them with you!
References:
1. Langdon, A., Crook, N., & Dantas, G. (2016). The effects of antibiotics on the microbiome throughout development and alternative approaches for therapeutic modulation. Genome Medicine,8(1). doi:10.1186/s13073-016-0294-z
2. David, L. A., Maurice, C. F., Carmody, R. N., Gootenberg, D. B., Button, J. E., Wolfe, B. E., . . . Turnbaugh, P. J. (2013). Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature, 505(7484), 559-563.
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Julie Hays is the Communications Director here at Hyperbiotics. Health writer and mama of two little girls, Julie's on a mission to empower others to live lives free of the microbial depletion many of us face today. For more ideas on how you can maximize wellness and benefit from the power of probiotics, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.