What has to be true before it counts
Most women over 60 have already been told to eat more yogurt. He starts by taking that off the table, and he is careful about how he does it.
Dr. Martin on fermented food:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Now listen, medically, medically your fermented foods, from sauerkraut to pickles, yogurt, they're not really classified as probiotic.
The reason is the dose, not the food.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Now, they have probiotics in them, but they're not to be classified as probiotics they have to be therapeutic and have enough bacteria in there to be classed as a true probiotic.
He eats fermented food himself and says plain Greek yogurt is fine food. What he will not do is call it a probiotic.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705I'm just telling you don't rely on that to change your microbiome, because it won't. It's not powerful enough. There's not enough strains.
How to read a probiotic label
Every strain on a label is written in Latin, which he says is how the public got shut out of medicine in the first place. Under the Latin there is one simple pattern.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705That's all you have to remember about different strains. They start with L or B, lactobacillus and bifidum.
His way of explaining it is a dog. Lactobacillus is the dog. Acidophilus is the breed. So a label that reads Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus is not showing off. It is naming the breeds in the capsule.
If a label does not name strains at all, you cannot tell what is in it. That is the first thing his standard throws out.
"Different strains do different things."
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Broad spectrum, and the number he uses
Broad spectrum is the phrase he keeps coming back to, and unlike most label language it has a number attached.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705You have to have, according to a broad spectrum definition, you have to have 10 different strains of bacteria, 10 different ones.
Then the part that matters when you are comparing two bottles:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Most probiotics don't do that. They don't. They're not broad spectrum.
Why he wants the spread rather than one famous strain:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705That's important to get a broad spectrum probiotic.
So count the strains before you compare the price. Under 10 named strains and, by his standard, it is not the category you think you are buying.
The strains he insists on
He built his own blend in clinic, where he says he had no choice but to get results, and he walks through why each one is in there.
Lactobacillus acidophilus, the foundation.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Well, because Lactobacillus acidophilus coats your entire intestine. It coats your entire digestive tract.
Bifidobacterium bifidum, for discomfort.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705The reason I use it, because it really helps with discomfort in the bowel. Tremendous for bowel pain.
Bifidobacterium longum, for carbs. He names it because he thinks most of us are carboholics, himself included.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705It helps break carbs down. You want that one.
Rhamnosus and reuteri, the two he gets asked about.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Those are really important strains, because rhamnosus and reuteri are really immune boosting probiotics.
That is five jobs, five different strains, and it is the clearest argument he makes for why a one strain capsule is not the same product.
What a refrigerate label tells you
This is the test that costs nothing and tells you the most. Turn the bottle around and read the storage line.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Because if you get a dairy probiotic and it says you need to refrigerate them, you need to more than refrigerate them. In my opinion, you should freeze them.
His point is survival. A count printed on a label is the count on the day it was made. If the bacteria need cold to stay alive, the number you swallow months later is not the number on the front. It is also why he says you cannot travel with them.
What he chose instead:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705Ours are soil-based. They do not need to be refrigerated. 50 billion in the capsule.
More on that in soil-based vs refrigerated probiotics and are your probiotics soil-based.
Why this matters more now
He does not treat a probiotic as an age thing. He treats it as a losing battle everyone is in, and the longer you have been in it the more ground there is to make back.
Every day you are killing off bacteria just by living, he says, from the air and the chemicals in food to the medications. One drug does it in days.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 705You take an antibiotic, you're wiping out all your acidophilus in a nanosecond. Five days it's gone. You better repopulate it.
He also changed his own advice on frequency. Forty years ago he told people to take probiotics at least twice a year. He says they made a change, and the reason is the one he had just given: the losses happen every day.
Common questions
What is the best probiotic for a woman over 60?
By Dr. Martin's standard, a broad spectrum one with at least 10 named strains, enough bacteria in the capsule to be therapeutic, and no refrigeration needed to keep it alive. He reads the label, not the brand.
Is yogurt or sauerkraut enough?
He says no, and he still eats them. Fermented foods have probiotics in them but not the strain count or the numbers to be classified as therapeutic, so he says do not rely on them to change your microbiome.
How many strains should a probiotic have?
At least 10 different strains, which is the definition of broad spectrum he uses. He says most probiotics do not meet it. Different strains do different jobs, which is why the spread matters.
Should a probiotic be refrigerated?
He treats a refrigerate instruction as a warning about how fragile the bacteria are, and says those ones would be better off frozen. His own pick is soil-based so the count in the capsule holds without cold storage.
Read next: Do Seniors Actually Need A Probiotic? and Probiotics And IBS After 60.
Pick the right probiotic
Martin Clinic's Probiotic Complex is the blend he built in clinic: 50 billion live probiotics and 11 strains in a capsule that does not live in your fridge.
60-day money-back guarantee. Nothing here is a reason to start or stop anything a doctor has prescribed. Talk to your doctor first.These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting a new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
