The Importance of Live Bacteria

Updated: 2 October 2024

Did you know that our bodies are made up of trillions of cells? And as well as human cells we are made up of hundreds of billions of living bacteria called the microflora, which live on our skin, in our mouth and nose and largely in our intestines (gut flora).

This gut flora is made up of both 'good' and 'bad' bacteria and it is important to maintain a balance of these to ensure good gut health.

The 'good' bacteria spend their days helping to neutralise some of the toxic by-products of digestion, reduce harmful substances (such as toxins and carcinogens), and discourage 'bad' bacteria and 'bad' yeasts.

They also help to stimulate the digestive process and aid the absorption of nutrients, as well as producing important vitamins including B and K.

We lose about 50mls of our gut flora every day through bodily functions, so it is important that we replace the good bacteria in order to maintain a healthy balance of microflora.

This in turn promotes good gut health, and the key to good overall health all starts with the gut. Of even more importance when replacing good bacteria - is of doing so with LIVE bacteria.

It seems these days however that although many health professionals and probiotics manufacturers are recommending probiotic supplements containing billions of bacteria, it may be unclear as to whether the bacteria in the products are actually alive.

It is also important to note that the numbers most companies promote are individual bacteria, and this is used as a marketing tool designed to make the human mind think that the higher the number the better the product.

If the bacteria are not alive however, the number of bacteria is almost irrelevant as they won't be able to do their job once they get to your gut (if they get that far).

Many probiotic products that are available in pill and powder form are freeze dried and inert when you ingest them and are therefore not able to multiply.

The bacteria need to reactivate in the gut however if the gut is not in a healthy and balanced state then the bacteria may not have all the food they need to reactivate, and are therefore rendered useless.

Bacteria and Batch Testing

It is crucial therefore that the bacteria in the products you consume are actually alive, and a batch test can assure that.

If inert, bacteria are unable to multiply, but if they are alive and in favourable conditions (plenty to eat = prebiotcs) then in just 1 hour and 40 mintues 1 bacteria can turn into 1 million bacteria!

When undergoing a natural fermentation process such as Immunity Fuel does, the number of live bacteria will always vary, each batch will be different and it would be impossible to state a number of bacteria on the product label as they are constantly multiplying.

This is why a batch test is important to ensure that there is actually LIVE bacteria in the product to begin with, rather than the total number which changes all the time.

Colony Forming Units

The count of bacteria should be expressed in colony forming units (CFU), which means the number of live bacteria counted.  The cfu is made up of living active microorganisms, that are able to quickly multiply.

While many people rely on only the count of bacteria as an indicator of quality of probiotic supplements, there are more important factors that are equally or more important: 

1. Multiple strains. We have hundreds of different strains in our guts, so it's important to take a broad spectrum probiotic where the strains with varying roles all work together, rather than just one or two strains on their own.

2. Certified Organic. Ensuring that the probiotic is natural and not genetically modified. Your body can more readily accept and assimilate something direct from nature, rather than man made organism it may not recognise.

3. Prebiotics. Immunity Fuel is one of the very few probiotic supplements that includes prebiotics in the product. This means that the live probiotics always have the food they need on hand to survive.

4. Hardiness.  Over 18 years of research was spent to develop the super strain of bacteria that is contained in Immunity Fuel, and through a unique process they have been evolved to be resistant to most killers such as stomach acid. This super strain of bacteria have the power to overcome even the most stubborn bad bacteria and yeast, and to stay alive in the harsh gut environment.

5.  Living bacteria. The bacteria in your probiotics need to be alive to do their job. Freeze dried probiotics sometimes pass through the digestive system without reacivating if the conditions are not favourable - e.g. nothing to eat/ prebiotics. Live probiotics can also multiply very fast resulting in a healthy microbiome.

6. Delivery mechanism. Many probiotic supplements are freeze dried and are brought to you in pill form which contain fillers and binders and dead or inert bacteria with no prebiotics to help them reactivate. Immunity Fuel probiotic superfoods are delivered in powder form, so the bacteria are alive in the product, with the prebiotics they need to stay alive, and can get to work the moment they enter your mouth, right through the digestive tract.

Your own personal army