For quite a while there my children and I were getting sick with colds every 2-3 weeks. I chalked it up to new activities, starting preschool, being out and about it the city more often and yes these are definitely attributes to catching something but it’s also when we’re stressed out, not eating properly and not getting enough sleep that things get a little unbalanced and our bodies defenses are down and out.

Up until now  I wasn’t even aware that our bodies’ ability to resist illnesses starts deep down in the intestines and that this is where having enough healthy bacteria (via probiotics) come into play. The thing is though, not all probiotics are created equally which is now obvious because even though my boys were sometimes taking a probiotic capsule and getting plenty of yogurt, they were constantly sick with something.

Bio-K+, a Canadian company that has been researching and manufacturing 100% probiotics since the early 90’s. Their brand Bio-K + is recognized as a high quality and effective probiotic not only in Canada but all over North America. Thankfully Isabele Chevalier,Vice-President of Bio-K+ AND a mom of 3 has plenty of answers for us!

So what exactly do probiotics do?

Probiotics can help your intestinal bacteria perform tasks more efficiently. They’re the good bacteria that take over the bad when your intestinal system is weakened by antibiotics, stress, poor nutrition or any other negative factor. Sounds like a big job for something so small that we need billions in a single dose to be effective. It isn’t really, when you think that our intestinal flora contains hundreds of billions of bacteria, good and bad. We need more good than bad to be healthy. Probiotics work by protecting our gastrointestinal tract and stomach from the bad bacteria by crowding them out. This improves our digestion and elimination as well as keeping us balanced and making us less susceptible to viruses.

But don’t I get enough in my yogurt?

Since you have 100 000 billion bacteria in your intestine and you need more good than bad bacteria to be healthy, it becomes obvious that the concentration of friendly bacteria (billions per dose) is crucial to deliver a positive impact. Bio-K+ products do not contain any yogurt cultures. It only contains 100% patented probiotic formula containing Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285 and Lactobacillus casei LCB80R. The World Health Organization has compiled a strict list of bacteria that are considered to be probiotics and the bacteria contained in yogurt are not on this list.

What is the daily suggested amount of probiotics that I need as an adult?

The daily suggested consumption depends on your objectives. If you wish to maintain a healthy digestive system, 1 regular capsule or ¼ to ½ bottle of fresh Bio-K+ is recommended. If you wish to strengthen your immune system, we recommend 1 strong capsule of 25 billion or ½ to 1 bottle of fresh Bio-K+ (50 billion). If, however, you wish to protect yourself against viruses, we recommend 1 to 2 capsules of extra strength capsules of 50 billion or 1 to 2 bottles fresh Bio-K+.

How do I select an effective probiotic?

As you know, probiotics are living microorganisms and must remain so to be effective, so quality control is critical. Also, you need to choose probiotics with recognizable strains, and you need to verify if the brand has clinical trials to prove its effectiveness. You also need to make sure that the clinical trials have been conducted on the finished product as it is sold in stores and not just on the individual strains in the particular probiotic formulation. Finally, make sure that the bacteria count is guaranteed at the expiry date of the product and not just at the production date.

We’ve been taking our Strawberry Fermented Milk Probiotic supplements for coming on a month now and nobody in our house has been sick with anything since. 1 bottle gives each of my boys 1/4 serving a day and I take the remaining 1/2 bottle as my serving. Don’t let the idea of “fermented milk” scare you – the milk tastes like a thick yogurt drink that my little ones easily gulp back. A 1/2 bottle is about one mouthful for myself and it’s truly not hard to drink.

Over the winter months I can use any immunity booster I can get my hands on! If there’s anything worse than sick kids, it’s a sick mama AND sick kids at the same time! I’d definitely recommend picking some up over the holidays especially when you’re busy with school parties, visiting friends and family.

You can find Bio-K+ at most health food stores or you can check with the US/Canada store locater here.

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