Why The Cell Count On Your Probiotic Matters Less Than You Might Think

You're shopping for an effective probiotic supplement because you're tired of constantly feeling bloated and having alternating constipation and diarrhea. Or maybe you're shopping for a probiotic because you want a stronger immune system and you've read about the vital role probiotics play in immune health. Either way, you see several brands (hopefully they're in the refrigerated section,) and you notice massive cell count numbers in large print on the front of the bottles.

20 billion, 50 billion, 100 billion, even 400 billion!

More is better right? So you pick up the 400 billion, which is so jam-packed with probiotics that they can't even fit it in a capsule and it's a powder that you have to add to your daily oatmeal. You might be surprised to learn that these huge cell counts don't really mean anything on their own.

One of the dirty secrets in the probiotic industry is that manufacturers often "spike" their supplements with cheap, mostly ineffective strains of bacteria to get impressively high cell count numbers. For example, a 100 billion CFU (colony forming units) probiotic supplement might contain 10 billion cells of a clinically studied strain and the other 90 billion is composed of inexpensive "filler strains" that don't have a lot of clinically demonstrated benefit. It's not that this supplement would be bad for you, it's just that this manufacturer is being misleading, whether it's intentional or not. It's almost like a Cold War arms race where companies are competing to see who can put out the probiotic supplement with the highest cell count. It's a marketing strategy that has sold a lot of bottles for some companies, but isn't good for the consumer.

Think about how companies often used to name themselves AAA plumbing or AAA exterminating just so they could get first listing in the phone book. While clever, this first listing certainly didn't mean they were the best at what they did, but they stood out and probably procured a lot of business from their strategy. Ultimately, no matter how much you initially stand out as a product or business, you have to give the customer the results they're looking for. In the case of probiotics with really high cell counts, the science is out, and the verdict is that probiotic quality is more important than quantity.

Probiotic Quality Is More Important Than Quantity

When it comes to a probiotic, quality means a few different things. First and foremost, you want quality strains that are backed by clinical research. You want your probiotic supplement to contain the clinically studied dose of those probiotics rather than a mere sprinkling just to get the strain name on the label.

You Also Want Strain & Genus Diversity

100 billion cells of acidophilus is completely unnecessary when much of that cell count allotment could be distributed amongst 10 different quality probiotic strains. Last, but not least, it is far better for your probiotic supplement to contain a prebiotic along with a lower cell count than it is to have a massive cell count alone. I like to use a garden analogy for how probiotics and prebiotics work. If probiotics are like seeds in a garden, prebiotics are the fertilizer and nutrients that help them grow. Basically it doesn’t matter how many probiotics or seeds you plant if you don’t tend to them. You could plant billions of seeds and they won’t grow if they don’t get the nutrients they need.

Amplified Probiotics contains:

• Quality strains that are backed by clinical research
• Unmatched strain and genus diversity
• An extremely effective and fast-acting prebiotic

Amplified Probiotics Fits The Bill On All Of These Aspects Of Quality

Amplified Probiotics contains clinically studied probiotic strains at their clinically studied dose. It also contains 16 different strains of probiotics including five unique genera. And finally, it contains an extremely effective and fast-acting prebiotic called PreforPro that will nourish good bacteria in your gut and help eliminate some of the bad.

It's not like Amplified Probiotics doesn't boast an impressive cell count... Clocking in at 20 billion CFU, the quality and diversity of the strains along with the breakthrough prebiotic make Amplified Probiotics the total package!