Probiotic Strains: Which Ones Are Safe?

Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria species, which through centuries of use and human application have been demonstrated as safe. Historically, strains from the Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria families are less hardy than those with known safety-concern issues. Therefore, they cannot withstand adverse handling, and they do require continuous refrigeration and special packaging to ensure their survival and potency.

Many competitors will sell either Enterococci or Saccharomyces or Bacillus organisms of so-called probiotics that do not need refrigeration - but how safe is it for you, the consumer, to take these potentially "rogue" strains?

Soil Organisms - Questionable Bacteria
What are soil organisms? A soil organism is any probiotic strain that is identified as a member of the Bacillus family. Their safety level is questionable, in fact, some soil organisms are considered dangerous for human use by the Canadian government and are not allowed in the country. Bacillus bacteria are a type of soil based organism that some companies use in probiotics for human consumption.

Some strains of Bacillus may be a safety hazard, and they are known as opportunistic pathogens - that is, they can cause infections in the body when the immune system is low.

It has nothing to do with what they are grown in, it is where they come from. Bacillus are spore forming bacteria that come from soil and different Bacillus have different safety issues, some deadly.
As a safety issue, you should not buy any products for human use containing Enterococci - either Enterococcus faecium or Enterococcus faecalis. The Canadian government has ruled that probiotic supplements containing Enterococcus and some of the Bacillus organisms are prohibited for human use for safety reasons.

Some of the Bacillus genera are known to be opportunistic pathogens and are typically implicated in food spoilage. Any person who makes vegetable preserves will be aware of, or will have encountered the results of their spoilage action at some time. Unrefrigerated cooked food is another target for Bacillus spoilage. L. sporogenes (an erroneous name for Bacillus coagulans that is not accepted as valid by any microbiological association or society in the world) is a member of the Bacillus genus, a spore forming bacteria of soil based origin.

Saccharomyces boulardii
Saccharomyces boulardii is not a true probiotic it is a yeast. Furthermore, this yeast is not naturally-occurring in the human body. Yeast can be beneficial to your body when that is in its best interest; however, it can also go "rogue" and decide to populate against your body. Hence, the numerous reported cases of fungemia (a fungal blood infection) in individuals who have been sick or compromised. Therefore, if you are critically ill, it is best to avoid these so-called probiotic yeasts.

For Safety, Quality, and Potency, Choose Natren Probiotics which only uses strains of traditional lactic acid bacteria (lactobacillus bifidobacterium)

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