CFU Meaning: how many cfu probiotics should I take?
Have NO clue what CFUs are? Don’t feel bad! You’re not alone. “how many probiotics should I take?” is a common question we receive. While there is no universal answer, if you’re wondering “how many cfu probiotics should I take?” a good first step is for us to dive into CFUs and what this term even means.
Generally, this term is commonly used by professionals in medical and science-related fields. This is why, when it comes to addressing how many probiotics to take in a day, it simply varies for everyone. If you consume probiotics on the regular and you’d like a better idea of the right potency for you, it helps to understand what CFU represents as it relates to your probiotics.
If you’ve checked the nutrition label of your probiotic and the meaning of “CFUs” has you scratching your head, allow us to explain.
What is CFU?
CFU stands for “colony-forming unit,” which is a measurable unit that’s used to count the number of live bacteria in one serving of a dietary probiotic. It further signifies the amount of probiotic bacteria that can divvy up into colonies. The bacteria’s ability to do this confirms that the probiotics are alive, which is how you want them to be before they reach your gut.
There are trillions of different bacteria that are living inside of your body right now. When you think about it, that bacteria holds a lot of weight (nearly five pounds to be exact)! Residing mostly in your gut, it benefits your gut, digestive, and immune health when a majority of that bacteria is the “good” kind. Probiotics help you with accomplishing just that.
The Recommended Serving of Probiotics
According to a wealth of supporting research on probiotics, they are primarily used to support digestive health and immune function. To reap the benefits, you must first find the sweet spot of your ideal daily serving size. Potency plays just as big of a role with the effectiveness of probiotics as the type of probiotic bacteria you’re consuming.
Taking too little won’t make that big of a difference, while taking too much could be wholly unnecessary.
On average, the daily CFU for most probiotic supplements range anywhere between 10-20 CFUs for adults, and 5-10 CFUs for children. The potency for Probulin Digestive Probiotics all have a similar CFU range.
How Many Billion CFUs of Probiotics Should I Take?
If you’re wondering what magic number of CFUs you should be aiming for per serving, there are a couple of things to consider–the reason you’re taking them and the bacteria strains needed.
Some strains of bacteria are effective at just 1-2 billions CFUs per serving, while other strains may require a higher amount to be just as effective. It ultimately depends on your needs! Speaking with a doctor should clear up any uncertainties you might have on the right CFU count for you. With a proper examination, they’ll know what’s best for you and your health needs.
Some probiotic supplements only contain a single strain of probiotics, while others have a combination of multiple strains. Multi-strain probiotics are found to have greater effect supporting the digestive system than the latter. Probulin Digestive Probiotics are formulated with perfectly-blended bacteria to support your journey to better gut, digestive, and immune health.
How to Best Store Your Probiotics to Maintain the CFU Promised on the Bottle
There’s a reason we’re committed to iced and insulated shipping. Probiotics are sensitive to moisture and heat, so if they aren’t transported and stored properly, those that are risk experiencing an early death before reaching your gut. Probiotics can only work on your gut’s behalf when they are alive. Thus, there’s no use in buying probiotic supplements that have either expired or undergone improper storing prior to you bringing them home.
Live probiotics in your supplements may die before the expiration date listed on the nutrition label. Thus, the advertised amount of CFUs may be inaccurate by the time you take them off the store shelves and bring them home. Mishaps of this nature are more likely with non-lab tested probiotics. All Probulin Digestive Probiotics are third-party lab tested for potency and purity. Our probiotics are also shelf stable for greater longevity.
Because of its shelf stable status, Probulin Digestive Probiotics can last up to years in either cold or room temperature settings. Probiotics that aren’t shelf stable may sometimes require refrigeration, which makes it harder to travel with or take them anywhere outside of a refrigerated setting. The benefit with taking Probulin Digestive Probiotics is that you have more flexibility to carry them with you on-the-go.
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