Ask the Scientist

By Dr. Jeff Golini

Don’t just trust your gut on stomach issues … listen to Dr. Golini

Many athletes are confused about which is better when the subject of prebiotics and probiotics comes up.

Prebiotics are organic compounds in food that induce the growth or activity of the good microorganisms found in the gastrointestinal tract. Most of these organic compounds are a type of fibre the human body can’t digest. However, it serves as food for these living bacteriological organisms. 

Probiotics, on the other hand, are live microorganisms you ingest and are intended to help strengthen or fill in the gap of missing good bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract.

So both are completely different, yet very important.

The human body contains trillions of live microorganisms, which actually outnumber the amount of human cells by a ratio of 10 to 1. These organisms are also extremely small. The average human carries around about 5 to 6 pounds of them.

GI bacteria play a vital role in human health, immune systems, energy, etc. So it’s very important to maintain good bacteria health as much as possible. This is precisely where prebiotics and probiotics come into play.

With the introduction of glyphosate (a strong herbicide) into our food chain several years ago, we’re finding more bacteria and enzyme illness arising every day. Probiotics help fill in what is lost and strengthen those good bacteria you currently have. Prebiotics, in turn, help to feed them.

I’m asked on a very regular basis if probiotic supplements really work. The answer is yes, but only if you get a good one.

Look for one that contains several strains, has been kept refrigerated, and has at least 25 billion active cultures. Do keep in mind the fact that there aren’t any current laboratory tests to determine a probiotic supplement’s activity level from each strain. Therefore, it’s difficult to know which ones are good and which are bad this way.

So then, how would you ever know? For one thing, you can actually feel the difference when you take a good one. You’ll have little or no stomach bloat and gas, and you should also experience an increase in energy. Remember, it must be kept cold because these live bacteria die very quickly.

As you can see, prebiotics and probiotics are very good to take to keep your gut health in top-notch form.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

THE NEW KARBOLYN RTD

QUESTION: Is your new Karbolyn Ready-To-Drink as good at increasing performance as the powder version? How long is it shelf-stable for?                                            ANSWER: I developed Karbolyn RTDs because of a demand from our customers for a ready-to-drink Karbolyn that they could use in the event they had to travel or forgot to mix up their powder form so that they could pick up a bottle at their gym or local store. It’s the same great Karbolyn—it just has already been liquefied. Each bottle of the regular version contains 25 grams of Karbolyn, and the Karbolyn Energy is a caffeinated Karbolyn.I have a very good proprietary stabilization process that gives us a 24-month shelf stable life on these drinks, with or without refrigeration. So, both the powder and or the liquid do the same thing. One is just more convenient.