Probiotics are considered a game-changer for improving our gastrointestinal health, and our gastrointestinal health is the foundation for our wellbeing and vitality. However, when you start looking into probiotics, the many varieties seem like a foreign language! You might have looked up a few like Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, and Bacillus coagulans, to name a few, and found that you did not know what they meant. If you further research probiotics, you will find that one class of probiotics has a protective covering called an endospore, and the other class of probiotics does not.
First, let's take a deep dive into what an endospore is and why it's important to understand when you are looking at probiotics. Endospores are protective coverings that surround certain molecules. When a probiotic has an endospore covering it, it means that these probiotics can survive in challenging conditions such as heat and acid and then remain inactive until better conditions reappear. When a probiotic does not have an endospore covering, the probiotic is subjected to harsh conditions that degrade it and reduce its efficacy. For example, the probiotics Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium have been shown to die off at a greater rate than 50% when just sitting in the capsule on a shelf. Once the surviving probiotic enters your digestive system, the harsh acidic environment of your stomach reduces the surviving percentage of a probiotic lacking an endospore to an almost negligible amount. You might be thinking that you've read studies saying these non-endospore probiotics work well, though! However, most of these studies are done with freshly made probiotics instead of probiotics that are damaged due to processing and stored for long periods. So even though these probiotics work in a lab setting, in real life, by the time you've ingested a probiotic, it's likely over 50% of the probiotic will not be alive to do its job.
The probiotics that create an endospore covering to protect themselves from harsh conditions are from the probiotic family called Bacillus. When choosing a probiotic, the three top Bacillus probiotics to look for are Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus clausii. All of these probiotics create an endospore covering when they are in a harsh environment. Once they are in a more favorable environment, like your ileum or small intestine, they remove the endospore covering and begin to multiply rapidly. This mechanism allows you to only need 1 to 5 billion Bacillus per capsule compared to other probiotics. They need many more probiotics per capsule to increase probiotics' chances to get to your ileum and small intestine. With an endospore covering, Bacillus coagulans were shown to have 94% viability after one year, and, even after 3½ years, 84% of the organisms were viable under normal storage conditions.
In particular, the three Bacillus probiotics mentioned above even have more significant advantages than other Bacillus family members.
Bacillus subtilis
- Creates two different powerful bacteriocins that inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, which helps strengthen your digestive environment.
Bacillus clausii
- Has strong antibiotic resistance, where most other probiotics do not. This allows you to improve still and maintain your digestible health while taking antibiotics.
Bacillus coagulans
- It has been clinically proven to provide superior digestive support for diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome.
Orenda Eaze®, our all-inclusive dietary supplement, has all three Bacillus probiotics mentioned above, as well as 28 digestive enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics delivered in an effective and convenient capsule. Orenda Eaze® addresses the modern challenges to our gut biome, which is the foundation for our health and vitality. Orenda Eaze® helps maintain healthy intestinal flora.* Orenda Eaze® brings all these components together to alleviate bloating, gas, occasional acid indigestion, and occasional constipation, encouraging a natural gut biome and supporting healthy digestion.*
References
Laaman, Thomas, Ph.D & Laaman, Kristen Laaman. (2020). Role of Bacillus Probiotics in Support of the Immune System.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.