If you have been keeping up with the latest health and nutrition trends, you are probably familiar with probiotics. Essentially, probiotics are live types of yeast and bacteria that are beneficial for you, especially your digestive system.
Probiotics are often referred to as good bacteria or beneficial bacteria, as they help keep things balanced within your gut’s natural microbiome. This is important because it can help your body absorb a higher percentage of the nutrients in the food you eat, as well as keep your immune system running to its full potential.
With the general population’s rising awareness of the importance of maintaining proper gut health, more people are intentionally adding probiotics to their diet. As more people take probiotic supplementation and add probiotic rich foods to their diets, like yogurt, sauerkraut, and kimchi, some people wonder if too much of a good thing could be dangerous.
To help you understand whether or not you can take too many probiotics, we will explain everything you need to know about safe amounts of probiotics. We will explain everything from how many you should take per day to what health risks consuming too many can pose. If you are curious about safe amounts of probiotics, you have come to the right place!
Given that a typical adult human body will be home to upwards of 100 trillion gut bacteria, we will be talking about some very large numbers when we discuss safe amounts of probiotics.
The truth is, you are not at any risk of overdosing or becoming ill in a life-threatening way due to an overconsumption of probiotics or probiotic supplementation. With that said, there are still some risks to taking too many probiotics.
While taking too many probiotics is rarely dangerous, there are some exceptions. For starters, anyone who suffers from a suppressed immune system should exercise caution when adding extra probiotics to their diet, especially if they plan to take probiotic supplements, including individuals with HIV, certain types of cancer, and various other serious diseases. For some people with immune system issues, a significant spike in probiotic levels can further weaken the immune system, possibly resulting in serious illness and infection.
If you suffer from a serious illness that has weakened your immune system, always consult your doctor before taking probiotic supplements or increasing the volume of probiotic foods in your diet.
For healthy adults that do not have any immune system concerns, taking too many probiotics, or shocking the system with an abnormal spike in probiotic levels, usually only results in mild discomfort. For most people, taking excess probiotics will rarely result in more than bloating and an upset stomach. In more severe cases, individuals can suffer from diarrhea, but this usually passes without any further complications.
Healthy adults can consume doses of probiotics up to a recommended total of 20 billion CFUs per day. Whether you are consuming probiotics through food or taking a daily probiotic supplement, you should keep your total under 20 billion CFUs.
With that said, everyone has a different microbiome, which means the number of probiotics that work for one person will differ from the amount that works for someone else. Start slow and progressively take more until you reach a point where you feel it works for you.
If you get to the point where you are starting to notice excess bloating or your stomach feels uneasy, cut back on the amount you are taking per day, even if the amount you take is under 20 billion CFUs. For reference, most people find about 10 billion CFUs is a sufficient daily total.
If most of the probiotics in your diet come from food sources rather than probiotic supplements, you may need to crunch some numbers to know how many you take. With that said, it is very difficult to consume 20 billion CFUs per day through probiotic-rich food sources alone.
As mentioned above, there are two main ways that you can add more probiotics to your diet and improve your gut health: through fermented foods, or by taking probiotic dietary supplements.
If you can, you should try to fulfill your daily probiotics totals through the food you eat, rather than just through supplements. While probiotic supplements are widely available and they can be beneficial, it is easy to add enough probiotic-rich food to your diet to fulfill your needs.
Check Latest PriceFor those that feel they could benefit from a probiotic supplement, Solimo Probiotic Supplements offer 5 billion CFUs of probiotics in a convenient, vegetarian-friendly capsule. For one low price, you get 60 capsules, which makes it easy and affordable to make sure you are getting enough probiotics in your diet.
You might be surprised to learn just how many types of food are rich in probiotics. Not only can these foods help you improve your gut health, in many cases, they are also delicious. The following are just some of the many types of food that are rich in probiotics:
Keep in mind that no matter what type of probiotic-rich food you are eating, the number of probiotics within that food can vary. Various conditions, such as the temperature inside your refrigerator, how old the food is, and how strong the seal is, impact the probiotic content. The truth is, many of the beneficial microbes in your probiotic-rich food could perish before you have a chance to eat the food.
The best thing you can do is eat these probiotic foods frequently and try your best to choose high-quality foods that have not been over processed. Do everything you can to preserve the freshness.
If you find a probiotic supplement helps, it could be the right option for you. Remember, maintaining gut health is important for your overall health. While the bacteria might be invisible, they can be incredibly beneficial!