Do you have any recommendations for choosing the right probiotic supplement for someone who’s never used probiotics before?

Any probiotic that contains Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium is great to start with if you’re not quite sure what your needs are.

Latest research on Gut Microbiome/Host Interactions Mediated by Metabolites

“The gut microbiota contributes to host physiology through the production of a myriad of metabolites. These metabolites exert their effects within the host as signalling molecules and substrates for metabolic reactions. Although the study of host–microbiota interactions remains challenging due to the high degree of crosstalk both within and between kingdoms, metabolite-focused research has identified multiple actionable microbial targets that are relevant for host health.

Metabolites, as the functional output of combined host and microorganism interactions, provide a snapshot in time of an extraordinarily complex multi-organism system. Although substantial work remains towards understanding host–microbiota interactions and the underlying mechanisms, we review the current state of knowledge for each of the major classes of microbial metabolites with emphasis on clinical and translational research implications.” (Krautkramer et. al., 2021)

What does that even mean?

It means several things;

• Our ability to describe what is in the gut is improving
• Our understanding of what is happening, ecologically, in the gut is improving
• Our understanding of the myriad interactions between organisms in the gut (including the host) is very incomplete
• We still have a long way to go before we can predict the effects of adding microbes or metabolites to the gut.

What we do know is that many people report improvements in gut comfort and function when they take LiveBrew, NZ’s only fresh, live and active probiotic.

Krautkramer, K.A., Fan, J. & Bäckhed, F. Gut microbial metabolites as multi-kingdom intermediates. Nat Rev Microbiol 19, 77–94 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-020-0438-4