There are a lot of considerations when you’re trying to find the best probiotic. Maybe you’re a senior looking to support health as you get older. Maybe you’re pregnant, or hoping to be, and you want to ready your system to best support your own - and your baby’s - health. Maybe the daily news about viruses, mutations, germs, and other threats has you thinking about ways to boost your immune system. All of these are common reasons that people come to us looking for probiotics. And for good reason… Natren precision probiotics help people work towards all of these health goals. But there’s one reason we want to look at today, that is important but not necessarily something most people consider: the best probiotics for pH balance. We’ll tell you what pH means, why it matters for your body, and how to find the probiotic that will best support an optimal pH.
pH in the Body
You may know that pH runs on a scale from 1 - 14, with a pH of 7 considered neutral. Anything lower than a 7 is an acid, and anything higher than 7 is a base. The closer you get to either 1 or 14, the stronger the acid or base. When people talk about finding pH balance within the body, you may need clarification because they could be talking about optimizing the pH of several different parts of the body.
There is no single pH that your body is supposed to be at. Stomach acid, for example, has a pH between 1.5 - 3.5. That’s so strong that it could burn your skin if it came in contact with it. Your stomach is protected from the pH of your stomach acid because of a very strong mucous lining. On the other hand, the blood that flows throughout your body has a more neutral pH. Human blood typically has a pH of 7.4. Anything lower than 7.35, or higher than 7.45, is considered a problem.
pH Balance in the Stomach
Many signs that we think of as an “upset stomach” can be tied to the pH of your stomach. Did you know that reflux is uncomfortable because the highly acidic stomach juices are moving up into your esophagus where you feel their burn? Natren makes a probiotic called Gastro pH that is a perfect fit for those who want relief from occasional indigestion or upset stomach. Gastro pH provides the right type of healthy bacteria to your digestive system. It promotes an environment that optimizes intestinal health, and aids in the digestion of proteins, dairy, and carbohydrates. Not only is it one of our favorite probiotics for pH balance, but it also comes in a convenient and tasty strawberry-flavored wafer.
Female Considerations for pH Balance
An essential pH level for women is their vaginal pH. The typical pH of the vagina is 3.8 - 4.5, and maintaining a pH in this range is a key factor to vaginal health. A primary problem with a lack of pH balance is that it can create an environment that allows bad bacteria to grow too aggressively. With too much bad bacteria, women may have itching, odor, pain urinating, and a weaker mucosal layer. Anyone who has suffered from an overgrowth of bad vaginal bacteria knows how uncomfortable these effects can be.
Risk Factors for Vaginal pH Imbalance
One risk factor for pH imbalance is taking antibiotics frequently. It’s because of this that we can see how strongly probiotics are tied to good pH balance. When you take antibiotics, that medicine is powerful enough to kill bad bacteria, but undiscerning enough that it kills any bacteria it can - including all the good bacteria you need. When your healthy bacteria are wiped out, it’s common to suffer from diarrhea, and in some cases overgrowth of yeast. An overgrowth of yeast is something that many women will suffer from at some point, and it only takes one bout of this to know you want to avoid it as much as possible! Fortunately, the best probiotics for pH balance can be a major step in the right direction. They replenish good bacteria, allowing balance to be restored and overall health to be optimized.
Best Probiotics for pH Balance
Since we see such a strong connection between wiping out bacteria and vaginal issues, it makes sense that there’s a way to support pH balance with good bacteria. Probiotics deliver good bacteria to the right parts of your body, but how do you choose the best probiotics for pH balance? First, in order to maintain a healthy pH, we recommend Megadophilus. Natren’s Megadophilus provides Lactobacillus acidophilus which is one of the most important healthy bacteria that can be found in the vaginal and urinary tracts. This good strain can also provide support to your immune and digestive systems.
While Megadophilus is great for maintaining health, what about those occasional periods of uncomfortable yeast overgrowth? For those we recommend GY-NA•TREN. This product is the only dual-action kit available. It contains both an oral probiotic supplement, and a vaginal homeopathic treatment.
While Gastro pH and GY-NA•TREN are two of the best probiotics for pH balance, it’s also important to note that our 3 in 1 system, Healthy Trinity, acts throughout the digestive system. Especially known for its ability to support the functions of the intestines, Healthy Trinity can promote a slightly acidic environment that’s best for optimized digestion.
You can combine Healthy Trinity with both Gastro pH and GY-NA•TREN. Natren precision probiotics are made to work together, so that you and your family can customize a probiotic routine that best fits your health goals. Not only does Natren make the best probiotics for pH balance, but they guarantee the potency of every strain of good bacteria through the expiration date. Additionally, Natren precision probiotics never contain soy, gluten, GMOs, or other unhealthy fillers that many probiotic companies have been caught using. Our safety and excellence standards exceed almost all others in the industry, and we are proud of the products we make. You can learn more about all of our probiotics by visiting natren.com.
