As the name suggests, live cultures are indeed ‘alive’. As living things, they can be sensitive to damage from certain conditions, particularly extremes of heat and extremes of pH (e.g. how acidic or alkaline an environment is).
With this knowledge in mind, people are often concerned that live cultures in supplements will not survive their journey through the harsh stomach environment. Some supplement manufacturers use enteric coating for their supplements to protect the delicate bacteria inside. Enteric coating stops supplements from dissolving in the stomach, therefore protecting the contents of the capsule from stomach acids. For more information read this FAQ: Are your capsules enteric coated?
How do Optibac live cultures remain viable without protection?
Optibac live cultures do not need an enteric coating, as our strains of bacteria are proven to survive all but the very harshest of acidic conditions. In our in vitro trials (trials that are performed in a laboratory) the bacteria are tested without any protection to ensure that they are robust enough to make the journey through the stomach acid into the intestines. Additionally, we recommend that our products are taken in the morning, with or just after breakfast, as this is when the stomach acid is at its weakest, presenting even less of a challenge for our ‘hardy’ little microbes. Visit the Probiotics Learning Lab for more information about
