Take Dr. T's Gut Health Quiz

True or False  Babies born by C-section have different bacterial profiles than their vaginally birthed cohorts.

A.  True.

True or False You are more bug than you are human.  Human cells are outnumbered by an order of magnitude of 10 to 1 microbial cells to human cells.

A.  Indefinite. This popular culture factoid was brought into question in 2014 as part of a closer look at the microbiome and again in 2016 using revised measuring methods and calculations. More recent research suggests that microbes outnumber human cells by 3 to 1 though by mass a 70kg human would only have .2 kg of microbes. Ref. via NIH

True or False  Applying Infant Probiotic Powder during breastfeeding is an effective delivery method of probiotics to infants.

A.  True. We strongly recommend talking to your healthcare provider before using any probiotic or vitamin, especially with children. We formulate our Infant Probiotic Powder for safety, tolerability, efficacy, and purity with food sensitivities in mind. Applying our Infant Probiotic Powder to mom’s nipple together with a bit of expressed breast milk to absorb the powder before baby feeds is an effective means to deliver probiotic to baby. If baby is not breastfed it may be added to the formula.

True or False  Mixing probiotics with orange juice is an excellent way to mask the taste for picky kids. 

A.  While parents can mix our liquid multi-vitamin with a smoothie or juice, we do not advise this for probiotics.  The acid in the orange juice may have an impact on the living microorganisms before reaching your gut. Our powder probiotics are truly tasteless and mix well with water and our Children Chewable Probiotics are naturally flavored with cherry.

True or False  Saccharomyces Boulardii is a beneficial bacterial probiotic.

A.  False. Saccharomyces is a beneficial live yeast probiotic with over 30 years of medical use for antibiotic-induced diarrhea along with traveler’s diarrhea. A growing body of evidence is exploring how Saccharomyces supports gut health including:

• Inhibition of growth of bacteria and parasites
• Reduction of gut translocation of pathogens
• Neutralization of bacterial virulence factors
• Suppression of host cell adherence that interferes with bacterial colonization
• Inhibition of toxin receptor binding sites
• When S. boulardii is given to antibiotic-exposed patients with diarrhea, normal microbiota is re-established quickly
• Stimulates protein and energy production and restores metabolic activities in colonic epithelial cells.
• Restores normal levels of colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
• Decreases intestinal permeability in Crohn’s disease 
• Ref via NIH

True or False  Refrigerated probiotics require constant refrigeration or they are rendered completely inactive.

A.  It depends.  This is not quite so black and white. Probiotics are living organisms. Those designed to be refrigerated are kept active longer when under cold storage. However, our research demonstrates that even at two months of storage at 86 degrees Fahrenheit the living bacteria within the probiotic (CFUs) was above the label claim.  We do suggest keeping probiotics refrigerated throughout the supply chain and once at home. Though feel comfort in the hardiness of our products.

True or False  Probiotics cannot survive the inhospitable environment of the human stomach.

A.  False. While not every living bacterial unit will survive the journey to the gut rest assured a clinical amount will make the journey to support gut health.  Our studies include acid survivability and stability studies where our probiotics were exposed to 3.5 pH levels simulating the stomach. Greater than 80% of the probiotic microbes survived after 60 minutes in this harsh environment.  

True or False  There are different types of probiotics eliciting differing effects.

A.  Our current method for supporting health with probiotics is by using well studied broad-spectrum multi-strain probiotics formulated differently for infants, children, and adults. Increasingly the natural health community is studying targeted probiotic strains for specific purposes like probiotics for depression and anxiety.  We are in the process of trialing targeted probiotics in our practice. Though, our broad-spectrum probiotics are currently our top suggestion for overall health and wellness.

True or False  You can never take too many probiotics.
A.  False. Overusing probiotics can lead to Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). This can cause diarrhea and poor absorption of nutrition leading to weak bones, weight loss, and nutritional deficiencies.