Rather than opting for the highest number of colony-forming units (which family functional medicine doctor Robert Rountree, M.D., calls “the sledgehammer approach”), figure out which strains will meet your body’s specific needs.* “More doesn’t necessarily equal better,” Rountree once said. “They have to be targeted.”
There are thousands of known strains of gut bacteria, he explained, and each one serves a different function or functions (i.e., immune support, digestive support, etc.). For example, the strains in mindbodygreen’s probiotic+ are backed by clinical research to ease bloating, aid digestion, promote regularity, and more.*
So, while choosing a multistrain probiotic can increase bacterial diversity, do your research or chat with a gastroenterologist to make sure they’re the right strains for you.
