NON FREEZE-DRIED PROBIOTICS

Bacteria & human health
There’s no doubt that bacteria’s role in human health has been underestimated
and misunderstood across the board – at times even by the medical world
itself. Our intention here is to give you a stronger understanding of bacteria, its
relationship to the human body, and how closer attention can open the door to a
new era in human health.

INTRODUCTION
The gastro-intestinal tract’s healthy function relies on beneficial bacteria showing up. Beneficial bacteria are important when looking at everything from digestion to correct pH balance (acidity), to processing of nutrients and guarding against the build up of harmful bacteria.

There are over 100 trillion bacteria that line the intestinal tract. Let that sink in.
The bacteria in your bowels outnumber the cells in your body 10 fold. We call this “world” of active, diverse bacteria (along with its friends archaea and fungi) the gut flora. You might also here it referred to as the gut microbiota, or the microbiome. The gut flora has incredible power over the immune system, tying
overall health closely with the state of the gut.

In this modern era, we’re quick to treat bacterial and viral issues with antibiotics.
The trouble is, when antibiotics kill the bad bacteria they also kill a lot of the good type.

Repeated use of antibiotics over time is no friend to good bacteria in the gut, which then have to rebuild all over again. This leaves a window for bad bacteria and harmful yeasts to take a foothold and multiply faster than we’d like them to within the gastrointestinal tract.

Probiotics
The word probiotic literally means ‘for life’, which really encapsulates what happens when a probiotic shows up. It will encourage the formation of a living colony of specific beneficial bacteria; in this case, in the human digestive tract.
Today we mostly understand probiotics as products. It’s become something of a global industry. The list of products goes on and on… And on.
But let’s zoom out a little and look at the 2 “segments” of probiotics to get a little more familiar. You get your dry products – capsules, tablets, sachets, etc – and then you get your liquids – things like yoghurt and kombucha.

DRY PRODUCTS (which we do not sell)
These come in all shapes and sizes, but the process of freeze-drying makes them alike. It’s possible to freeze simple organisms and cells under low temperature and pressure, removing water without damaging the delicate structure of the cell or organism itself. In the case of probiotics, this puts the bacteria in a state of suspended animation, which makes long term storage possible. Once moisture becomes available to the bacteria, they re-hydrate and a proportion of the bacteria will go on to function and divide again as it did
before freezing. This means that many strains can be combined into a single product.

But this comes at a cost. The hope is that bacteria will re-hydrate once swallowed and entered into the acidic environment of the stomach, thus regaining moisture and function and returning to life. If they do in fact return to their former beneficial state with no harm done, it hasn’t been proven how long this takes. If it’s more than an hour or two, the microbes will be past the stomach, through the intestine and in the bowel before they wake up. Or even further along.

Microbiologists globally agree that freeze drying of microbes causes a level of cellular damage, having unfortunate effects on how the microbes end up performing in the body. This is the main reason most probiotics on the market contain billions of cfu (colony forming unit) per ml. It becomes necessary to use
tremendous amounts of weakened microbes to try and match the benefits of what would have been fully-flourished microbes.

LIQUID PRODUCTS (which we sell in the form of “Rawbiotics”)

Liquid products generally contain live bacteria, which is intuitively a good idea. To be called a probiotic in the first place, a product should contain live bacteria. It’s also important that these bacteria, once swallowed, are able to reach the gut and colonise in order for effect. Live products also need to contain a source of nutrition for the bacteria, however, this raises some new issues.

Firstly, storage and shelf-life become hindered (check the labels). Secondly, palatability is trickier since probiotic bacteria aren’t necessarily tasty creatures. Another important thing to consider is competition between bacterial strains within the  same live product; they can compete with one another for resources in the bottle. This can make it very difficult to develop a multi-strain live product.

Microbes that have a probiotic or beneficial effect on the body are “mesophillic”. A mesophile – unlike the extremophile which thrives in extreme environments – grows best in moderate temperature. Not too hot, not too cold – somewhere between 20 and 45 °C. Essentially, they love our body’s natural temperature

which is why they’ve formed a symbiotic relationship with other life forms – in this case, mammals. Put them in a cold environment and they die, which is why the concept of “freeze-drying” mesophillic bacteria is such a contradiction.

• Let’s also look at the number of probiotic strains in a product – there are single strain products and

multi-strain products:

• SINGLE STRAIN DRY PROBIOTICS

Some might believe that a single strain of bacteria is all you need for action. Acidophilus species are a good example, hence plenty of producers of single strain freeze dried probiotic tablets in capsule and powder form. Since the human gut contains more than 500 different species of bacteria, hoping that a
single strain hits the mark may be wishful thinking.
  

• SINGLE STRAIN LIQUID PROBIOTICS

With a few exceptions, live probiotic products (particularly diary-based products containing yoghurt or milk) are single strain probiotics containing bacteria which thrive on the kind of sugar found in milk; lactose (hence Lactobacillus). These bacteria strains tend to come from the Bifidobacteria or Lactobacilli genera,
which are very common in the environment.

• MULTIPLE STRAIN DRY PROBIOTICS

As we’ve mentioned, freeze-drying allows for multiple species and strains to be combined in a single product without fear of competition, but the concern of dehydration and recovery remains. 

• MULTIPLE STRAIN LIQUID PROBIOTICS

On paper, these products deliver the best of both worlds. They offer more benefits and eliminate the downfalls of dry products. However, the devil’s in the detail and it can be much tougher to produce and deliver a multiple strain live product, which is why you haven’t seen many of them.

Rawbiotics™ contains multiple strains, and better yet, in a liquid form, offering you one of the best probiotics on the market. We’re talking complex microbial cultures. Manufacturers are clear that the importance of the microbes’ population count doesn’t compare to the importance placed on the product being in liquid form, or even the benefit of microbial diversity. If Rawbiotics™ had one less strain of microbes, it would function like the rest, and the results wouldn’t be what they are.

• BIFIDOBACTERIUM ANIMALIS

Gut, Digestion, Obesity, Immune System, Cold & Flu, Skin

• BIFIDOBACTERIUM BIFIDUM

Diarrhea, Immune system, Candida

• BIFIDOBACTERIUM LONGUM

Diarrhea, Allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Celiac, Immune System

• LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diarrhea, Immune System, Urogenital

Infections, Allergies

• LACTOBACILLUS BULGARICUS

Liver, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Cold & Flu, Diarrhea, Skin,

Allergies, Colic

• LACTOBACILLUS CASEI

Immune System, Colds & Flu, Diarrhea

• LACTOBACILLUS FERMENTUM

Immune System, Urogenital Infections, Liver, Cholesterol

• LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM

Immune System, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Colds & Flu

• LACTOCOCCUS LACTIS SSP. DIACETYLACTIS

Immune System, Allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Skin

• BACILLUS SUBTILIS

Diarrhea, Constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Immune System

• SACCAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Immune System, Digestion

• STREPTOCOCCUS THERMOPHILUS

Diarrhea, Digestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Immune System, Colic

We place a huge emphasis on nature, and to stay true to this principle, our products are consortia-based. Unlike pure-culture probiotics, our products contain not one but many different live strains. As a result, users end up with a comprehensive probiotic that survives stomach acid better than a lot of probiotics on the market today.

The majority of probiotics available today contain only one or two species of bacteria, grown as pure cultures and then freeze-dried so that they may be kept alive. It is not a natural process and does not contain the full range of species that microbes usually interact with as a part of their normal life cycle. Moreover, these probiotics are grown in a sterile environment, with no competition, and so when they are introduced to the wild and variable ecosystems of the “real world”, their ability to survive is severely impeded.

Rawbiotics™ are non-freeze-dried meaning they are alive and in their natural, raw state owing to the reason why they are so effective.

This article was written by Efficient Microbes CC, manufacturers & distributers of Rawbiotics producs.

Manufactured & Distributed by:
Efficient Microbes cc
Tel: +27 (0)31 266 2935 / +27 (0)31 266 5417
6 Waterfall Ave, Westville, 3630, KZN, South Africa info@saem.co.za
www.efficientmicrobes.co.za