Kids Smart Vita Gummies Probiotic Prebiotic 90s

Spore probiotics solve a real practical problem, but they come with conditions that regular probiotics don't. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store before recommending one.

A good fit if

• You're an adult who wants a probiotic that doesn't need refrigerating, for travel, work or a crowded fridge
• You want the strain printed on the pack so you can match it to published research
• You take no immunosuppressant or other prescription medicine, and your health history is straightforward
• You understand that the evidence is strain-specific, so a different strain is a different product
• You're choosing between a spore and a refrigerated blend for practical reasons, not expecting a stronger effect

Check with us first if

• You take immunosuppressant medicines or any prescription medicine. Australian labels for this ingredient must warn that it may affect how some medicines work, including immunosuppressants, and tell you to talk to a health professional first.
• Your immune system is severely weakened, you're critically unwell, or you have a central venous line. Any live organism is a specialist decision in these situations, not one to make in a shop.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding and the product doesn't name its strain. One of the two permitted strains must carry a pregnancy and breastfeeding warning and the other doesn't, so the strain decides the answer.
• The pack names only a species and a CFU count, with no strain. That product can't be matched to any published research, and listed medicines must show the strain on the label.
• The pack names a strain that isn't one of the two Australia permits in medicines. It's worth talking about what you're actually buying and which rules it falls under.
• You're recovering from gut surgery or living with a serious bowel condition. It's worth a conversation before adding any live organism.
• You're buying from an overseas website. Those products aren't regulated by the TGA for quality and safety, and the permitted strain rules don't apply to them.

• Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5260 (sold as Unique IS-2). Best known for: One of only two strains allowed in Australian listed medicines, and the one you'll see most on local labels. Absorption: Comes as spores, which survive the stomach and wake up in the intestine, so no special coating or fridge is needed. Typical use: Capsules of 2 billion CFU each, taken once or twice a day, within a set limit of 6 billion CFU a day.
• Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 (sold as LactoSpore). Best known for: The other allowed strain, and the one behind the published research in diarrhoea-predominant IBS. Absorption: The same spore delivery; its heat tolerance also lets it be added to foods and baked goods overseas. Typical use: Allowed up to a lower daily limit of 2 billion CFU, with an extra pregnancy and breastfeeding warning.
• Other named strains. GBI-30 6086, SNZ 1969, LBSC and others. Best known for: Widely used overseas and well represented in published trials. Absorption: Forms spores in the same way; the difference is in the rules and the evidence, not the organism's structure. Typical use: Not one of the two strains Schedule 1 allows in Australian listed medicines. Check the strain, not just the species.
• Refrigerated Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium blend. Best known for: The mainstream of probiotics, and what this organism is usually compared with. Absorption: Live cells rather than spores, so cold storage, moisture and stomach acid all affect how much actually arrives. Typical use: Kept in the fridge, with a shorter shelf life, but a much larger body of strain-specific evidence behind it.
• Spore probiotic added to a food. Powder, gummy or protein blend. Best known for: Its heat and shelf tolerance make it practical to add live organisms to everyday foods. Absorption: The same organism; what changes is the set of rules the product falls under, and so what the label has to tell you. Typical use: Convenient, but a food doesn't have to declare the strain the way a listed medicine does.

Reference values. None. Probiotics are live organisms, not nutrients, so the NHMRC sets no recommended intake for them, and colony-forming units (CFU) aren't a nutrient measure.

Typical supplemental range. Australian capsules commonly contain 2 billion CFU each, taken once or twice a day. The published trials used similar amounts: the study of strain MTCC 5856 in IBS with diarrhoea used 2 billion CFU a day for 90 days. That's no coincidence. Australian limits for this ingredient are set for each strain, and the trial dose sits at or under them.

Upper level. There's no NHMRC upper limit. Instead, Australia's permitted ingredients list caps the daily dose, and the cap depends on which strain the product uses. You'll find those figures in the Australian status section. They're regulatory limits, not safety thresholds, and a product over them couldn't be listed here.

Worth knowing. Two habits are worth getting into with any spore probiotic. First, read the strain, not just the CFU: a number without a strain name can't be matched to any published research. Second, check whether the CFU figure is guaranteed until the end of shelf life or measured when it was made. Those are different promises, and only one tells you what you'll actually swallow. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Fermented foods generally: this organism is not a usual member of yoghurt, kefir or sauerkraut cultures, so a fermented-food diet does not reliably supply it
• Foods with a spore probiotic deliberately added: protein powders, greens blends and gummies increasingly include it precisely because it survives processing; the added amount is stated per serve where the maker chooses to state it
• Baked and heat-treated products overseas: heat tolerance allows use in baked goods and beverages in some markets, which is not something live Lactobacillus cultures survive
• The practical limit of food as a source: A capsule delivers a defined, named strain at a stated count; a food usually delivers neither the strain designation nor a guaranteed count

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• It's for a child. Both strains allowed in Australian listed medicines must carry the warning 'Not suitable for children'.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. Strain MTCC 5856 must carry the statement 'Not recommended for use by pregnant and lactating women'.
• You take immunosuppressant medicines. Labels must warn that this organism may affect the way some medicines work, immunosuppressants included.
• You take any prescription medicine. The same required warning tells you to talk to a health professional before combining them.
• You have a severely weakened immune system, a critical illness, or a central line in a vein. Live organisms are a specialist decision in these situations.
• You have serious bowel disease or recent bowel or stomach surgery. Get advice before adding a live organism.
• The product names only the species and a CFU count. A listed medicine must state the strain, and without it nothing can be matched to the research.
• The strain isn't MTCC 5260 or MTCC 5856. Other strains aren't allowed in Australian listed medicines, whatever the overseas evidence for them.
• You get a fever, severe tummy pain or blood in your stool. Stop and get medical advice promptly.
• You're buying from overseas websites. These products aren't TGA-regulated for quality or safety, and fall outside the allowed-strain rules.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.