I eat yogurt every day. Do I still need to take a probiotic?
We LOVE yogurt for its tart taste and health benefits. One question that we get asked ALL THE TIME is whether yogurt can be used as a daily probiotic supplement. But fermented foods are different from probiotic supplements – here’s why:
Yogurt only contains a few strains of live bacteria
You may notice that probiotic supplements differ in terms of potency and strains, and the same is true for yogurts. The vast majority of quality yogurts (assuming they contain live microbes) will have about 4 species of beneficial bacteria. This is far from the 15 contained in advanced gut health probiotic. Which brings us to the next issue of whether your yogurt contains live microbes.
Yogurt doesn’t have a therapeutic CFU
CFU stands for colony forming units, and it’s the measure of viable bacteria in yogurt or a probiotic supplement. To be considered a probiotic yogurt, yogurts must have 1 billion CFU – but this is not a therapeutic dose. Again, a far cry from the 15 billion or 50 billion CFU contained in advanced gut health probiotic.
Yogurt doesn’t have a guaranteed CFU at expiry
While probiotic supplements have a guaranteed CFU at expiry, yogurt does not – and in fact, there have been some circumstances where yogurts on the market have not been found to contain the live bacteria advertised. This isn’t a problem for advanced gut health probiotic – which is made with an overage of bacteria (this is a fancy way to say that we load our probiotics with up to triple the amount of bacteria), which ensures that they contain at least the amount of bacteria promised – up to their expiry date.
Yogurt doesn’t contain a delivery mechanism
Yogurt and probiotic foods have live bacteria. But there is little to protect that bacteria from the harsh acidity of your stomach. Your stomach acid is around the same strength as battery acid, and its job is to break down the food you eat, and sterilize any pathogenic (“unfriendly”) microbes that may come your way. This is great if you’ve eaten something that is “off,” but it’s not so good if you’re trying to populate your gut with friendly microbes. A quality probiotic supplement – like advanced gut health probiotic– enrobes those precious live microbes in a capsule that is designed to deliver them unharmed to where they are needed – your small intestine!
You probably don’t eat yogurt every day
Studies have shown that compliance (a fancy word that means that you take it every day) is key for maintaining gut flora. Do you eat yogurt every single day? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably no – and eating yogurt becomes more difficult when you’re travelling or busy. No sweat, advanced gut health probiotic is shelf-stable, meaning that you can take it with you wherever you go. No refrigeration necessary!
Our solution? Eat yogurt (or any probiotic-containing food, for that matter) whenever you want, and remember to take advanced gut health probiotic erryday.
Yogurt only contains a few strains of live bacteria
You may notice that probiotic supplements differ in terms of potency and strains, and the same is true for yogurts. The vast majority of quality yogurts (assuming they contain live microbes) will have about 4 species of beneficial bacteria. This is far from the 15 contained in advanced gut health probiotic. Which brings us to the next issue of whether your yogurt contains live microbes.
Yogurt doesn’t have a therapeutic CFU
CFU stands for colony forming units, and it’s the measure of viable bacteria in yogurt or a probiotic supplement. To be considered a probiotic yogurt, yogurts must have 1 billion CFU – but this is not a therapeutic dose. Again, a far cry from the 15 billion or 50 billion CFU contained in advanced gut health probiotic.
Yogurt doesn’t have a guaranteed CFU at expiry
While probiotic supplements have a guaranteed CFU at expiry, yogurt does not – and in fact, there have been some circumstances where yogurts on the market have not been found to contain the live bacteria advertised. This isn’t a problem for advanced gut health probiotic – which is made with an overage of bacteria (this is a fancy way to say that we load our probiotics with up to triple the amount of bacteria), which ensures that they contain at least the amount of bacteria promised – up to their expiry date.
Yogurt doesn’t contain a delivery mechanism
Yogurt and probiotic foods have live bacteria. But there is little to protect that bacteria from the harsh acidity of your stomach. Your stomach acid is around the same strength as battery acid, and its job is to break down the food you eat, and sterilize any pathogenic (“unfriendly”) microbes that may come your way. This is great if you’ve eaten something that is “off,” but it’s not so good if you’re trying to populate your gut with friendly microbes. A quality probiotic supplement – like advanced gut health probiotic– enrobes those precious live microbes in a capsule that is designed to deliver them unharmed to where they are needed – your small intestine!
You probably don’t eat yogurt every day
Studies have shown that compliance (a fancy word that means that you take it every day) is key for maintaining gut flora. Do you eat yogurt every single day? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably no – and eating yogurt becomes more difficult when you’re travelling or busy. No sweat, advanced gut health probiotic is shelf-stable, meaning that you can take it with you wherever you go. No refrigeration necessary!
Our solution? Eat yogurt (or any probiotic-containing food, for that matter) whenever you want, and remember to take advanced gut health probiotic erryday.
