Baterial Count Reasoning

Baterial Count Reasoning
In Support of Natural-Fermentation Japanese Probiotic Products

1 Tannock, Gerald W., 
Probiotics: A Critical Review, 
Horizon Scientific Press, January 1999.

Some people in the United States continue to believe the myth that a probiotic product is inferior if the bacterial count does not equal several tens of billions. This belief is wrong and its proponents most likely are not familiar with state-of-the-art probiotic products developed in Japan using a five year, natural temperature fermentation process!

The Japanese, recognized as leaders in the development and use of probiotics, discontinued their efforts to further increase the bacterial count in their probiotic products more than a decade ago. That decision was based on scientific research that ultimately, late in the 20th Century, led to the development of new, high technology probiotic products. Today, the best of the Japanese probiotic products appears to be several technological generations ahead of all freeze dried and most other probiotic products now being manufactured in the United States.

Usually, a product that contains tens of billions of live lactic acid bacteria is endorsed because of the mistaken belief (and hope) that substantial numbers of the bacteria might survive the challenging journey that begins with the manufacturing process and concludes with the implantation of the bacteria in the colon. It has now been established that majority of the lactic acid bacteria contained in high bacterial count products die before they are consumed and that many of the remaining bacteria are often killed after consumption1.

By the time freeze-dried and certain other probiotic products are eaten, they do not contain the high numbers of live lactic acid bacteria guaranteed by the manufacturer to be present at the time of packaging1. Eighty percent of the bacteria die before consumption! The remaining live bacteria often do not survive the trip from the mouth to the colon because of their inability to endure exposure to harsh stomach acids. Live bacteria also die after reaching the colon if sufficient levels of naturally developed fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are not present when they arrive. The natural FOS are required to nourish the bacteria and permit their survival while battling well established colonies of bad microflora already existing in the colon.

Japanese research scientists, including the awardwinning microbiologist, lichiroh Ohhira, Ph.D., and his team of research scientists from Okayama University, do not recommend using probiotic products that allegedly contain tens of billions of live lactic acid bacteria. They recommend products that contain several strains of naturally developed organic acids that are encapsulated along with important strains of live lactic acid bacteria, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Dr. Ohhira's probiotic product, which was developed late in the 1980s, selected as the Best Product of the Year in Japan in 1991, and improved over time, contains four types of naturally fermented organic acids that enhance the body's ability to generate lactic acid bacteria and support the body's efforts to utilize the 12 strains of friendly lactic acid bacteria contained in the product. Since 100 percent of the bacteria in the product are alive when eaten and because of the specially formulated enteric coating, the entire contents of the capsule survive the trip to the colon. The existence of naturally developed fructooligosaccharides (FOS), developed during a five year natural fermentation process, provides the nourishment required by the 12 strains of friendly live lactic acid bacteria upon their arrival in the colon. This permits the live lactic acid bacteria to thrive while they fight and destroy the bad bacteria residing in the colon. The bacteria consume these same naturally developed fructooligosaccharides (FOS) while existing in the enteric-coated capsule.

The proprietary E. faecalis TH 10 strain of live lactic acid bacteria present in the product may be the most important component of Dr. Ohhira's probiotic product. This strain was developed from the Malaysian food delicacy Tempeh. It is 6.6 times stronger than any other known lactic acid bacteria. This strain is guaranteed to kill and remove the bad bacteria living in the colon, as well as eliminate the toxins produced by those bacteria. The TH 10 then remains in the colon and if a pathogenic invader arrives, the TH 10 strain, along with the T cells and B cells, attack and destroy the invader. As university based, in vitro scientific studies indicate, the TH 10 strain is effective against E. coli 0157, H. pylori, the Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus "superbug," etc. TH 10 is the foremost ingredient of a 21 st Century approach to good health.

The Japanese are not the only scientists who caution against using high bacterial count probiotics. Probiotics: A Critical Review discusses the body's autoimmune response to the invasion of tens of billions of lactic acid bacteria whether they are alive or dead, friendly or unfriendly1. The author notes that when a large number of bacteria enter the body, it determines if the invading bacteria are of "self" or "non-self." When the body determines that the invasion of bacteria is of "non-self," it elicits a negative autoimmune response against the bacteria and directs the body to fight the invaders. The T cells and B cells attack the bacteria and a substantial number are destroyed because of the immune system's normal response to "non-self" invaders. The Japanese scientists, knowing of this immune system response, reduced the number of bacteria in their product to assure a favorable immune system reaction. Also, the bacterial count in Dr. Ohhira's product is sufficient to guarantee the existence of the requisite number of probiotics in the colon. Further, the bacteria in the product are demonstrably stronger than lactic acid bacteria in any other probiotic product, thus further encouraging a lower bacterial count in the probiotic.