How to Choose a Quality Microbiome Supplement   

 

 

With all the well-deserved attention the gut microbiome has received in recent years, it’s likely you’ve heard of probiotic supplements. You may already be taking one.

 

But like all supplements, they aren’t all created equal.

 

One of the biggest challenges for consumers is there are huge differences in standards and quality among supplements.​ How do you choose a high-quality supplement for your microbiome? Let me tell you a little secret—

 

there’s a lot more to consider than just a high CFU count!

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Here are five factors to help you evaluate the quality of any microbiome supplement, including ones from dōTERRA.​

 

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 1. Strains and Species 

 

Have you ever looked at the supplement facts on a probiotic supplement and wondered what all those names and numbers mean? The names refer to the bacteria species, while the numbers next to the name refer to a specific strain within the species. Diversity matters a lot! So you want a microbiome supplement with multiple strains and species—far more than one, two, or even a few. 

 

You also want more than just probiotics in your supplement. For example, prebiotics are vital because they’re like food for probiotics, fueling their growth and survival and ultimately serving the creation of metabolites.

 

Finally, make sure your supplement is gluten- and sugar-free so you avoid feeding unhealthy bacteria.​

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 2. Origin 

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Consider the origin of the strains used in your probiotic supplement. Are they from natural sources like humans, animals, soil, and roots?  Bacteria are all around you!  Just exposing yourself daily to the greater biome outdoors is a wonderful way to nurture your microbiome health.

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When we at dōTERRA selected strains and species for our new microbiome products, we intentionally combined a variety of natural sources, focusing on strains from human origin.

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Before we define what a human origin strain is, let’s set the record straight on one critical issue.  Some of our microbial strains are human origin, but we do not collect them from humans, nor do they contain any human byproducts.

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Human origin refers to the ability of these bacteria to grow within your body and are widely considered to be the premium source for microbiome supplements. There are trillions of bacteria types on the planet, and human origin strains have co-evolved alongside people.  We give them a place to live, and they provide us with health benefits.

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dōTERRA PB RestoreTM offers 19 human origin strains

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PB Assist+® offers five human origin strains

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dōTERRA PB Restore offers three food origin strains

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dōTERRA PB Restore offers one plant origin strain

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Finally, we’ve included a single animal origin strain, which has been isolated from animal cultures. Just like human origin strains, we do not collect this microbial strain from animals, nor does it contain any animal byproducts.

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 3. Potency 

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With probiotic supplements, you want them to be alive when you take them. It’s vital you ensure the product you choose contains active, live bacteria cultures and the life of the strains is guaranteed at time of use rather than at time of manufacture.

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Colony-forming units (CFU) count in supplements indicates the number of live cell bacteria. However, buyer beware! Some companies can be misleading, advertising their CFU “at time of manufacture” rather than giving a shelf-life commitment. It’s a mischievous way to label their products with a higher CFU count than you’re actually getting at time of use, so keep an eye out for that and avoid products with misleading CFU counts.

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Another measurement method is active fluorescent units (AFU). This measurement comes from a modern, sophisticated flow cytometry test method for the precise enumeration of live cells. AFU is considered the most advanced and precise enumeration method to calculate all viable cells.

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  4. Survivability and Viability. 

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You’ll also want to consider the survivability and viability of the probiotics within your microbiome supplement. The acidic environment of the stomach is an inhospitable place! You want a probiotic complex that has an encapsulation, an enteric coating, or a similar solution for helping the microbes survive the stomach and make it to where they’re needed in your gut.  dōTERRA brand has a dual chamber to get through the stomach and has a time released delivery system.

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  5. Testing and Science. 

 

Hundreds of microbial strains and genera are present in the human microbiome. A fraction of these microbes are currently available in probiotic supplements. An even smaller fraction of them have been clinically tested to prove any meaningful health benefits when included in supplements.

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When you’re researching microbiome supplements, it pays to review whether the strains selected in any product have been well researched or clinically tested. Are the claims made by the manufacturer confirmed by science?

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Every strain selected for dōTERRA PB Restore capsules and PB Assist+ sticks have been selected because of the substantiation in science and medical publications about the strains.

 

All research papers were meticulously reviewed by our team of researchers and science and medical experts as we created the formulas for these market-leading products.

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  Get the free 'Probiome E book' in the link below for more information!  ​