You don’t just need to take a wide mix of different strains at high doses.

“I call it the sledgehammer approach,” explains renowned integrative physician Robert Rountree, MD, “More is not necessarily better. They need to be targeted; each bacteria does different things. Each of them has their own job.”

Scientists have identified more than 8000 unique strains of intestinal bacteria1, all with different characteristics, functions and health implications. (For example, studies have shown that strain Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 can help with flatulence2, until Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 314 has the potential to support health cholesterol level3.*)

With such a wide range of functions in different strains, if you don’t take a targeted approach, your probiotic could be full of strains that don’t really meet your needs or do nothing.

Gut health expert Vincent Pedre, MD, explains, “Many commercial brands lack the technology to identify specific strains and how much of that strain each dose contains. This could mean you are getting an ineffective or potentially harmful dose.” Rountree echoes that concern, saying, “If a company doesn’t know what strains of bacteria are in their probiotics, I’d run.”