The Best Probiotic

Most everyone has seen commercials for probiotics to balance your digestive system. You may have browsed the probiotics in the drug store trying to figure out which one is the best one.

What makes them different? Which one is the best? Some are more expensive than others, why?

Well, I don’t know all these answers yet. I’m still trying to figure it out myself! I have wondered why some are so freaking expensive. And I have been overwhelmed with the options, wondering which one is best for me.

I can tell you what I do know so far.

I started out taking Align when I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I can say that Align helped my bloating and gas tremendously, and I really liked it. This brand worked well for me, and I took it for almost a year.

The reason I decided to try something different was because of the cost. A box that lasted me for a little over a month cost me about 50 dollars! With all the other drugs and prescriptions I pay for, that was just adding too much to my monthly budget.

So, I went back to the drug store and stared at my options. I decided to try Phillips Colon Health probiotic, which was cheaper. I think it was like 15-20 dollars for a month. I tried that for a little while, and 

I didn’t really like the results. I noticed more bloating and gas.

So, my doctor suggested that I try Acidophilus Pearls. For a 90 day supply I got them for about 20 dollars at Walgreens. Wow! I am almost out and have been taking them for almost 3 months, and I can say that they are great! Just as good as Align. They are the cutest pill I have ever seen. It is really tiny and totally looks like a pearl.

So what is the difference among all these and what exactly do probiotics do? The main difference among all these probiotics is based on how many live cells they have in them and what type of live cultures are in them.                

This is what I found from www.livestrong.com:

Nothing more frustrating than bloating, gas, fatigue, cramps, or diarrhea on a consistent basis, which is a good indicator that probiotics are needed to reduce or eliminate the problem. Probiotics are the good bacteria that protect the body from disease and are essential to build the immune system, improve digestion and control inflammation. The other benefits of probiotics include treating urinary tract infections, irritable bowel syndrome and helping to prevent eczema and food allergies in children. Probiotics may also help people who suffer with lactose intolerance because the bacteria in them can help people digest the sugar in dairy products, especially in milk. Probiotics have also been shown to improve how the body breaks down vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium and phosphorus.

These are the differences among these three probiotics:

Acidophilus Pearls:

Pearls helps relieve gas and cramping, bloating and constipation. It has two live cultures (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum) in each capsule that help support the intestinal tract. Take one capsule per day, preferably with water. This product may be taken with or without food (livestrong.com).

Each serving has 1 billion CFU – amount of live cultures. More live cultures does not necessarily mean better quality. It means different probiotics can be effective at different levels. So, each one is different for each person depending on how you need it. (www.isaap.net)

Align:

This once-a-day capsule has Bifidobacterium infantis or Bifantis, which is a unique bacteria strain that has been proven to build a healthy digestive system and maintain healthy gastrointestinal flora. Align is the only probiotic on the market that contains Bifantis (www.livestrong.com).

Align also has 1 billion CFUs according to the Align website.

Phillips Colon Health:

Phillips’s has 1.5 billion CFUs per capsule.  These probiotic caps naturally rebalance your digestive system and promote regularity, with a proprietary blend of 3 of the most beneficial strains of good bacteria*:

Lactobacillus gasseri - To support nutrient absorption and lactose digestion

Bifidobacterium bifidum - To help guard against occasional intestinal disturbances

Bifidobacterium longum - To support digestive and immune health. These bacteria help naturally defend against occasional digestive upsets (www.phillipsrelief.com)

From what I can see, there is not a perfect probiotic. It depends on you and your body. You might just have to do trial and error and figure out what is best for you. I would think it also depends on how out of whack your digestive health is. I would think it would benefit everyone to take a probiotic, because of all the good it can do for your health in general.

Let me know what you think and what probiotics you have tried!