Why do you keep acidophilus refrigerated

If you found it in the refrigerated section of your local health food store, or it was shipped from the manufacturer with an ice pack, chances are, it'll probably need to stay refrigerated.

On the other hand, if your probiotics use shelf-stable technology, the label will say that, too. Many manufacturers even add some extra information about the proper way to store nonrefrigerated probiotics to extend their shelf-life.

As far as efficacy goes, you're getting probiotic benefits with either option. The reason some probiotics need refrigeration and others don't mainly comes down to the fact that different strains of probiotics have different sensitivity levels, and not all strains can be freeze-dried—the process used to make them shelf-stable—successfully.

Some probiotic bacteria, like Lactobacillus delbrueckii , are highly sensitive to certain processing methods , like freeze-drying, while others, like Lactobacillus paracasei and spore-forming strains like Bacillus , come out live and ready to populate your gut on the other side.

While you might assume that refrigerated probiotics contain fewer additives, this isn't true in all cases. Pedre recommends checking your labels to make sure whatever probiotics you choose are free of additives.

Refrigeration may also create a barrier to taking probiotics in the first place, says Bindiya Gandhi, M. For example, if you travel a lot, it can be difficult to carry around a heat-sensitive bottle of probiotics wherever you go, so you're more likely to just leave it behind instead.

While you don't have to refrigerate shelf-stable probiotics, there are some things you can do to make them last longer:.

These tips helps maintain a safe temperature and protects the probiotics from their two major enemies: heat and moisture. Like all living things, probiotics eventually die—or expire—at some point. And because probiotics need to be alive to work , considering the expiry date of your probiotics is especially important. When looking at a probiotic supplement, you'll see that each one contains a specific number of organisms per capsule.

For example, one probiotic may have 5 billion colony-forming units or CFUs per dose, while another has 25 billion CFUs.

But, as Pedre points out, those numbers only represent what's in the capsule up to their expiration. After that, the probiotic numbers go down and the supplement becomes less effective over time. While this is true no matter how you store your probiotics, the less closely you follow the storage instructions, the more quickly it happens. For example, if your probiotic calls for refrigeration but you leave it out on the counter in the middle of the summer, the heat and moisture from humidity can kill some, or all, of the bacteria, even before the expiration date.

If your probiotic doesn't have an expiration or best-by date, most supplements including probiotics are formulated to last at least two years beyond the manufacturing date check the bottom of the bottle. If you like your probiotic, you'll probably use it well before two years though. Refrigerated probiotics aren't superior to the shelf-stable options out there. What's most important is that you choose a high-quality probiotic and store it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

If your probiotic calls for refrigeration, keeping it cold keeps the bacteria alive. If your probiotic is shelf-stable, you don't have to put it in the refrigerator, but proper storage techniques can help improve the odds that the bacteria live to their best-by date. You are now subscribed Be on the lookout for a welcome email in your inbox!

Such conditions can expose probiotics to levels of heat that could easily destroy the majority of bacteria in lactic-acid based products. Humidity and moisture are a huge problem for probiotic products, as moisture activates the bacteria and essentially starts the process of degradation, since the activation is intended to occur after ingestion. Yet, when the product is opened, it is exposed to moisture from the air and the probiotic bacteria begin to deteriorate.

For products that are not foil-packed or otherwise moisture sealed, moisture is a major concern. I would say that maintaining the stability of probiotic bacteria is one of, if not the most important, issue being worked on by the probiotics industry. Michael Shahani, director of operations for probiotics supplier Nebraska Cultures Inc. An alternative to factory protection for probiotics is the use of aforementioned SBO probiotics such as Bacillus subtilis.

These bacteria have naturally adapted to be resilient against both humidity and temperature through a protective organic shield which is not shed until the bacteria reaches its final destination. Thus only Bacillus subtilis and similar spore-forming probiotics can maintain their viability without the use of foil-packs or other expensive microencapsulation techniques.

One of the primary concerns in probiotic longevity is heat. Too much contact with heat will kill the delicate bacteria, whether the exposure is during manufacture or storage. Microencapsulation is one technique that attempts to improve the stability of baked or non-refrigerated probiotic food products. According to the manufacturer, this novel technology could improve the durability of probiotics so that products using normally unstable lactic-acid based strains could approach shelf stability at room temperature, without the freeze-drying or refrigeration normally required during transport.

However, industry experts have voiced skepticism, stating that common species like L. In fact, the microencapsulation process itself is known to destroy probiotic bacteria. The concern is that these novel technologies are simply not sufficient to overcome the inherent vulnerability of non-refrigerated acidophilus and Lactobacillus probiotics, and that more resistant species may be the only viable solution.

Some brands use deep-freeze or freeze-drying to protect probiotic viability. Deep-frozen or freeze-dried probiotic cultures involve strict control of water content. It has been shown that, for maximum survival of L. The problem with this is that the product must then be protected from exposure to moisture, as it will immediately start the degradation of the product.

With exposure to moisture or excessive humidity, freeze-dried probiotics will lose viability over time and may lose all viability before the consumer even opens the product. Some believe the answer is loading probiotic products with even larger numbers of probiotic bacteria — and simply anticipating that the majority will not survive.

Unfortunately, this raises the important concern of knowing the exact dose ingested. Another approach is to select probiotic strains that are naturally compatible with other probiotic strains. This means that they can safely sit at room temperature because there is no metabolism to slow down. This also allows for a drastic increase in shelf life over refrigerated probiotics.

Probiotic bacteria in the lag phase are able to adapt to the acidic environment in the stomach on their way to your gut. This means that probiotic supplements that keep their bacteria in the lag phase will have much better survival rates than their refrigerated counterparts.

Probiotic supplements that keep their bacteria in the lag phase will have much better survival rates than their refrigerated counterparts. You need to store a refrigerated probiotic in the refrigerator.

What do you do when you travel? Take it with you on the road. Mix it in your water bottle. Keep it on your nightstand, the kitchen counter, in your briefcase, or anywhere else that will make it easy to take regularly. Blog Podcast Video About Contact.