What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are the beneficial, friendly bacteria that live in the intestines. Although bacteria are usually associated with germs and illness, it is only the pathogenic or "bad" ones that cause imbalances of the intestinal microflora, leading to a disease state. Probiotics, on the other hand, help the body to function properly, encouraging optimal digestion and fighting illness and disease.
Health begins in the gut
Surprising though it may be, those healthy bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract (from the mouth right through to the colon) are involved in a myriad of functions.
• Improve digestion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats
• Promote regular bowel movements
• Enhance immune function
• Contribute to the absorption of minerals
• Produce antioxidants
• Participate in the manufacture of some B vitamins
• Help inhibit food poisoning
• Normalize skin conditions
• Help reduce cholesterol
• Maintain bone health
• Help manage blood sugar levels
• Improve the symptoms of lactose intolerance
• Help combat fungal and yeast infections
• Limit the action of disease-causing bacteria
Why do I need a probiotic supplement?
There are over 400 different species of bacteria – more than 100 trillion total bacteria – in the human intestinal tract. Many dietary and lifestyle factors can easily throw off the ratio of good to bad bacteria, causing common problems such as excessive gas, bloating, diarrhea, intestinal toxicity, constipation and poor absorption of nutrients. It is important to replenish the supply of healthy bacteria on a daily basis. In this way, you can prevent disease-causing micro-organisms (like E. coli, salmonella and many others) from taking over and crowding out the good bacteria.
Truly the foundation for a healthy immune system, probiotics produce antioxidants and improve your digestion and absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. They synthesize B vitamins, which are necessary for a healthy nervous system. Probiotics regulate elimination, correcting both diarrhea and constipation.
Probiotics are widely recommended for fungal infections (such as athlete's foot) and yeast infections (vaginal, systemic, or thrush caused by Candida albicans) because they help crowd out harmful microbes that are trying to take up residence. They also produce organic compounds that increase intestinal acidity, inhibiting the reproduction of many harmful bacteria. What's more, probiotics produce substances that act as natural antibiotics to kill undesirable bacteria.
Factors that lead to overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria:
• Poor eating habits – especially sugar and refined foods
• Chlorinated drinking water
• Stress, aging and disease
• Born by caesarean section
• Alcohol consumption
• Bacterial infections
• Traveler's bugs
• Antibiotics in food production or prescription medications
Just right for your age or state of health
Human beings usually start life with a relatively healthy intestinal tract. As we age, the balance of both healthy and pathogenic bacteria shifts and changes. Infants have a different ratio of probiotics than adults or seniors. People with cholesterol problems, yeast overgrowth, poor oral health or chronic bowel conditions require differing amounts of certain bacterial strains. Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends are specially designed to meet your specific needs.
Probiotics that survive stomach acid
While many probiotics on the market are to be taken on an empty stomach, Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends are best taken after meals. You may also open the capsules and mix the powder directly with cool or warm (but not hot) foods, simulating how some probiotics occur on raw foods in nature. All of the bacterial strains chosen have been specially developed and tested for their gastric resistance. In vitro testing has proven that they do not suffer any concentration loss after three hours at 37°C, at the acidic pH of 3 or 4. Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends will therefore safely pass through the stomach acid and reach the intestinal tract at full potency. This eliminates the need for enteric coating. These bacteria have also been proven to tolerate bile, ensuring their survival throughout the entire intestinal tract.
Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends have two numbers depicting the potency (also known as the active or viable cell count). The higher number is the active cell count at the time of manufacture. This bacterial count reflects only the number of viable bacteria in the product; any damaged or ineffective bacteria were not included in the count. The other number (lower but still highly impressive) is the cell count guaranteed at the expiration date.
Have probiotics… will travel!
Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends boast some of the highest bacterial counts available. Udo's Choice® guarantees a very potent cell count even at the time of expiry, so long as the bottle is kept refrigerated. Within one month, we can assume a 2-4% decrease in viable cell count if the product is refrigerated, versus a 20-40% decrease if left at room temperature for 30 days. A quick calculation shows that even if you can't refrigerate your Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blend while traveling, it will still give you a powerful supply of healthy bacteria even after a month away from home.
Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends can be frozen to extend shelf life. Refrigeration ensures maximum potency and stability.
State of the Art Manufacturing
Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends are manufactured using very careful techniques that guarantee bacterial potency and therapeutic potential. The process is straightforward, using state-of-the-art equipment and the knowledge of expert technicians to produce probiotics at the highest possible concentration and purity.
|Mother-culture & fermentation
Each strain of bacteria proliferates and increases in volume in a culture medium until placed in the fermentor. The resulting probiotic culture goes from clear to cloudy as the bacteria reproduce..
Once fermentation is complete, the culture is concentrated to reduce its volume. Cryoprotectants (including small amounts of dairy and soy lecithin*) are added to protect the bacteria so they will survive the stressful freeze-drying phase and result in a high bacterial concentration.
The concentrated bacterial culture is frozen at -40°C. Then, through a process called sublimation, the ice is converted into steam, yielding a solid crust ready for grinding.
The crust is gently ground into a fine powder with a high bacterial concentration. This is called the pure culture.
The pure culture is mixed with excipients (inert ingredients that act as a vehicle for the pure culture) so that standardized packaging is possible.
Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends are available in powder, capsule or lozenge formats, depending on the product. Vegetarian capsules are used because they contain less moisture than gelatin; this prolongs the shelf life of the probiotics. Product integrity is further ensured by the use of recyclable, nitrogen-flushed glass bottles and metal caps that allow neither air nor light to affect the contents.
*Udo's Choice® Probiotic Blends contain only an average of 1% dairy and soy lecithin combined.
For correcting yeast imbalance 5 years & up
Super 8 Hi-Potency Probiotic
8 bacterial strains to improve yeast overgrowth, formulated with a higher concentration of L. acidophilus
• Helps combat fungal and yeast infections
• Helps to inhibit the bacteria involved in urinary tract infections
• Provides general immune support
30 billion viable/active cells
30 billion viable/active cells per capsule
30 & 60 vegetarian capsules
Ideally, healthy and pathogenic micro-organisms, yeast and fungi balance each other out in the intestines. However, the balance is easily disrupted by the modern diet (high in refined carbohydrates and sugars), chlorinated water, stress and antibiotic medications. Yeast overgrowth (commonly from Candida albicans) starts in the intestines, causing digestive problems such as gas, bloating, and passing undigested food. As it spreads throughout the body, the imbalance may lead to vaginal yeast infections and thrush. This overgrowth can also become systemic, resulting in allergies, autoimmune disorders, "brain fog" and memory problems, to name but a few. The strains in Super 8 Hi-Potency have been specially chosen to correct yeast overgrowth and facilitate the health of the small intestine.
Each vegetarian capsule contains: 30 billion viable cells at time of manufacture (20.8 billion guaranteed until expiry).
Lactobacillus acidophilus: 45%
Lactobacillus rhamnosus: 25%
Streptococcus thermophilus: 10%
Lactobacillus plantarum: 7%
Bifidobacterium bifidum: 6%
Lactobacillus bulgaricus: 3%
Bifidobacterium longum: 3%
Lactobacillus salivarius: 1%
Microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, ascorbic acid. May contain traces of: milk powder, whey and soy lecithin.
Recommended dose: To restore healthy intestinal flora, consume three capsules per day on a full stomach. To maintain healthy intestinal flora, consume one capsule per day on a full stomach.
"FINALLY a life without pain"
It was truly an honour to shake the hand of the man who has so changed my life. You were busy, and I did not want to take up your time, BUT I feel my story and your products needs to be publicly acknowledged!
In 1991 I had my colon removed as a result of Ulcerative Colitis. For over ten years NOT ONE DAY went by that I did not regret that decision as the GAS PAIN was UNBELIEVABLE. Doctor after Doctor said that nothing could be done. Pain killers (as strong as Morphine!) would not take the pain away, and, I couldn’t stay on them permanently anyways.
In June of 2003 I met a Doctor who said he was doing experimental work with Probiotics from Italy. He used me as an experimental subject and it greatly improved my lifestyle. FINALLY a life without pain. Well, one pain! The Italian probiotics were $400.00 per month! I couldn’t afford it. I was crushed. In one of those synergistic moments I received a letter from the New Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto (where I had my surgery) advising former patients about NEW RESEARCH & the benefits of using probiotics.
I called my local health food store and found out you had a line and guess what; it had every strain that was in the $400.00 a month line and for a whole lot less! In ONE week I was pain free and have been that way ever since.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart and would encourage everyone with digestion disturbances or gas pains to try Udo’s Choice Probiotics for a couple of weeks. Maybe there is a miracle awaiting you, too!
Thank you and may the Universe Bless You!
Love, Laughter & Abundance
D. D., Ontario, Canada
May 5th, 2004