Pure Essence: Living Flora

Probiotics are helpful bacteria that live in the intestinal tract, the stomach and the mouth. Also known as "friendly flora," such bacteria support digestion and immunity, and produce several "B" complex vitamins.* They also help keep candida albicans from growing out of control.* While probiotics are essential for good health, they are destroyed by antibiotics, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, chlorinated water, etc. Because of this, using probiotic supplements is wise.

Many strains of bacteria have been used as dietary supplements. Some companies advocate the widest variety possible, while others suggest one at a time. At Pure Essence, we combine six strains, so that a single supplement can support the entire digestive tract.* These strains are all native to human beings, have been surmised safe by research, and are specially prepared to survive the acids they encounter on their trip through the stomach.*

What Do The Ingredients Do?

Lactobacillus acidophilus: Inhabits small and large intestines. Suppresses hostile invaders, including candida albicans.*
Bifidobacterium bifidus us: Helps keep pH of intestines at levels that discourage parasites and candida.*
Lactobacillus salivarius: Reduces harmful bacteria, like h. pylori*
Lactobacillus lactis: Inhibits gram positive pathogens like listeria*
Lactobacillus bulgaricus: Helps other species to grow, provides enzymes that help digest dairy products*
Streptococcus thermophilus: Also helps digest dairy products*

Probiotic effectiveness is expressed as cell forming units (CFU's). Each CFU is an organism that can live and reproduce in the human body. Research suggests that one billion CFU's per day maintain healthy probiotic populations. While probiotic labels often claim that many billions of CFU's are present, these claims express the amount at the time the product was made. Because heat, air, moisture and light kill probiotics, most companies start with huge amounts, knowing that few will survive through production, shipping, storage, and so on. In a test conducted by an independent consumer group, one third of all products tested contained less than one percent of the number of CFU's claimed. We suggest using only products that guarantee content at time of use.

Most probiotics are packaged like vitamins: as loose tablets or capsules in glass or plastic bottles. Although glass is better than plastic at protecting probiotics, it is still inefficient. Each time any bottle is opened, air, moisture and light get in. Because these things kill probiotics, it is important to protect the tablets or capsules from them. Everyone has heard stories about vitamin tablets that pass through the body without breaking down. While this might happen with some rock-hard calcium products, it is unheard of in the health food industry. Virtually all tablets in this industry are laboratory tested to make sure that they break down efficiently. Pure Essence tablets, for example, are laboratory certified to break down in the stomach of a normal 65 year old within 60 minutes, so that maximum nutrient absorption is possible.*

Capsules are really just tiny "bottles" into which loose powders are poured. Because of this, all the nutrients placed inside them are constantly exposed to air, light and moisture (the shells of capsules themselves contain about 18% moisture). Since tablets are highly compressed, only the outer surface is exposed, so that their nutrients are better protected. Despite this, probiotics are usually offered in capsules, because traditional tableting processes produce enough heat to kill them. Now, however, a new, patent pending, "cryo-latting" technology permits probiotics to be compressed into tablets without being exposed to heat. This type of tablet provides better protection than capsules.

Living Flora provides all the strains needed to protect the digestive tract.* All are human based, sourced from the American Type Culture Collection, and specially prepared to survive the acids they encounter in the stomach.* They are made as MiniCryoTabs to protect against heat during production, and against air, moisture and light during strorage. Each tablet is packaged in its own foil pouch for still further protection. It is stored in refrigeration units, and shipped in cooled containers, to insure that it is never exposed to temperatures that could harm it.

These steps are taken to insure that Living Flora will be alive when you use it, and allow us to guarantee that Living Flora will provide at least one billion CFU's - the full amount that research shows is necessary to maintain healthy probiotic populations - at its date of expiration.* Probiotics are killed by heat, light, air and moisture. For maximum protection against heat, Living Flora is made in a proprietary cold-tableting process. To guard against light, air and moisture, each Living Flora tablet is sealed in its own foil pouch. These steps protect Living Flora so completely that at least one billion live cells are guaranteed to be present at its date of expiration.