Walk into any health food store and you will find an overwhelming variety of probiotic supplements. Be careful though; there is little FDA oversight in the industry [1], and some products have even had severe contamination in their distributions [2].
Our company has had no such issues. We are meticulous about the quality of our products, and we have tremendous pride in our supplements because they are developed using tailored ingredients based on extensive research and scientific data. They contain the culture Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 that has proven to be safe and well tolerated with no dangerous toxicological effects [3].
Many probiotic suppliers try to dazzle consumers with a laundry list of ingredients. They focus on quantity over quality. What many of them don’t offer is the probiotic culture L. reuteri NCIMB 30242, one of the many lactobacillus (l reuteri probiotics) strains. There are several cultures of “lactobacillus”, but the reuteri strain has its own specific microbiome niche. L. reuteri affects the intestinal balance between bile salts and bile acid, which is important for the proper absorption of fats. The right amount of healthy fats and its proper absorption is important for energy and metabolism as well as digestive and cardiovascular health. This particular strain has many beneficial functions that are due to its effects on absorption, all verified by clinical studies.
- L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 lowers cholesterol. A study including over 110 high cholesterol individuals involved subjects taking capsules of the strain or a placebo over a 9-week period. Results showed that the capsules of this strain unequivocally reduced cholesterol [4]. Furthermore, this strain was actually found to be the only strain that caused a significant decrease in LDL levels.
- L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 capsules increase 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in the blood, which was demonstrated in a 13-week study involving over 130 subjects [5]. Vitamin D deficiencies are associated with cardiovascular decline, asthma, cancer, and even cognitive impairment.
- Another study conducted with 127 subjects evaluated their gastrointestinal (GI) health over a 9-week period, and those treated with reuteri NCIMB 30242 had a significant improvement in self-reported GI symptoms with the most significant improvement being reduction of diarrhea [6].
The multi-faceted effects of functioning L. reuteri is not only confirmed by these studies, but also by the fact that disruption of the bile salt/bile acid balance is associated with obesity, liver, and GI problems [7, 8].
Not all probiotics are created equal, and Microbiome Plus+ supplements have an edge because they contain the vital strain L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 which can ameliorate several physiological problems. Try it out and see for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.
Author:
Kelly Daescu, MS
Works Cited
- Scudellari, M. Probiotics come with bold claims, but the science is shaky. January 21, 2016 [cited 2016; Available from: https://www.statnews.com/2016/01/21/probiotics-shaky-science/.
- Ricks, D. After infant dies, health officials urge caution in children’s use of probiotic supplement. 2014 [cited 2016; Available from: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-infant-dies-health-urge-caution.html.
- Jones, M.L., et al., Evaluation of clinical safety and tolerance of a Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 supplement capsule: a randomized control trial. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2012. 63(2): p. 313-20.
- DiRienzo, D.B., Effect of probiotics on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease: implications for heart-healthy diets. Nutr Rev, 2014. 72(1): p. 18-29.
- Jones, M.L., C.J. Martoni, and S. Prakash, Oral supplementation with probiotic L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 increases mean circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D: a post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2013. 98(7): p. 2944-51.
- Jones, M.L., et al., Improvement of gastrointestinal health status in subjects consuming Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 capsules: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Expert Opin Biol Ther, 2013. 13(12): p. 1643-51.
- Lorena Ruiz, A.M., and Borja Sanchez. Bile resistance mechanisms in Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. 2013 [cited 2016; Available from: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00396/full.
- Martoni, C.J., et al., Changes in bile acids, FGF-19 and sterol absorption in response to bile salt hydrolase active L. reuteri NCIMB 30242. Gut Microbes, 2015. 6(1): p. 57-65.
