The MYTH OF Bacteria Count In Probiotics

Some people in the United States continue to believe the myth that a probiotic product is inferior if the bacterial count does not equal several tens of billions. This belief is wrong and its proponents most likely are not familiar with state-of-the-art probiotic products developed in Japan using a five-year, natural temperature fermentation process!

The Japanese, recognized as leaders in the development and use of probiotics, discontinued their efforts to further increase the bacterial count in their probiotic products more than a decade ago. That decision was based on scientific research that ultimately led to the development of new, high technology probiotic products.

Usually, a product that contains tens of billions of live lactic acid bacteria is endorsed because of the mistaken belief (and hope) that substantial numbers of the bacteria might survive the challenging journey that begins with the manufacturing process and concludes with the implantation of bacteria in the colon. It has now been established that the majority of the lactic acid bactena contained in high bacterial count products die before they are consumed. Also, many of the remaining bactena are often killed after consumption and before they are able to implant themselves in the upper colon.

By the time freeze-dried and certain other probiotic products are eaten, they do not contain the high numbers of live lactic acid bacteria guaranteed by the manufacturer to be present at the time of packaging. Eighty percent of the bacteria die before consumption! The remaining live bacteria often do not survive the trip from the mouth to the colon because of their inability to endure exposure to harsh stomach acids. Live bacteria also die after reaching the colon if sufficient levels of naturally developed fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are not present when they arrive. The natural FOS are required to nourish the bacteria and permit their survival while battling the well-established colonies of bad microflora already in the colon.

Japanese research scientists, including the award-winning microbiologist, Iichiroh Ohhira, Ph.D., and his team of research scientists from Okayama University, do not recommend using probiotic products that allegedly contain tens of billions of live lactic acid bacteria. They recommend products that contain several strains of naturally developed organic acids that are encapsulated along with important strains of live lactic acid bacteria, vitamins, minerals and ammino acids.

The Japanese are not the only scientists who caution against using high bacterial count probiotics. In Probiotics: A Critical Review, the author examines the body's autoimmune response to the entry of tens of billions of lactic acid bacteria — whether they are alive or dead, friendly or unfriendly.1 The author notes that when bacteria enter the body, it immediately determines whether the invading bacteria are of "self" or "non-self". When the body determines that the invading bactena are of "non-self," as usually occurs when large numbers of bacteria enter the body, it elicits an autoimmune response against the bacteria and directs the body to fight the invaders. When this occurs, a substantial number of bacteria are destroyed because of the immune system's normal response to "non-self" invaders. The Japanese scientists, being aware of how the immune system responds to the invasion of tens of billions of bacteria, reduced the number of bactena in their product to assure a favorable immune system response, which enhances the ability of the friendly bacteria to implant themselves in the colon.

1Tannock, Gerald W., Probiotics: A Critical Review, Horizon Scientific Press. January 1999.

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