By: Roland Pankewich
We are back for another month of education in the world of probiotics which if you have been following this series in 2024, we CLEARLY love talking about. Today we are going to examine the concept of a high-quality product in a way that might surprise some, because they are things that very few think of. We have bestowed the virtues of things like; strain designations, sodium alginate, and LactoStim® which I will briefly mention again but I want to open your eyes as the end consumer to considerations of supplements that ENSURE quality from start of manufacture, through delivery to the end user. Let’s get (even more) scientific but without needing to put on our propellor hats!
When it comes to the idea of a high-quality product, in my opinion the foundation IS the product itself whether it’s an enzyme, a probiotic, an herbal, or nutrient based supplement. The better quality the base material, the better effect it is going to have within the body. I think we can all understand and agree upon that! The aspect that is very seldomly thought about when it comes to quality is essentially everything else that goes into maintaining the integrity of a high-quality product so that by the time it gets to the end user, it is still in its best state. I say this because as consumers, we assume a lot of things. For example, when you choose a bottle off the shelf, you have no idea how long it has sat in a super hot warehouse before it found its way to you. You have no idea if any degree of moisture has accumulated in the product over time. Do you think about things like plastics and the effect that might have on the integrity of the product inside? Lastly, how does the quality and potency of a product sustain over the course of its shelf-life before expiration? If you’re thinking these are questions for a company to answer well, you’re right! Any good company worth its name will factor these things in, but not everyone has the same standards when it comes to their products. It SHOULD be something you as a consumer start to think about because good products are not inexpensive and this sheds light on WHY that is the case and also (to me at least) gives confidence in knowing that Master Supplements/US Enzymes holds themselves to these standards when it comes to what they are providing you, the customer.
On the functional side of the equation, we take the identity of our probiotics as DEEP as we can by using ONLY strain designated critters which allow us to know the “personality” of each strain and how it is known to present itself biochemically in the body. Its basically the difference of knowing each of your friends by name and their individual idiosyncrasies/personalities vs just looking at them as human #1, human #2…..etc. This is essentially what it’s like for probiotics when companies don’t differentiate as deeply. How we ensure these strain designated microbes have their best chance of survival and colonization, is by combining them with our LactoStim® prebiotic technology which helps wake them up by nourishing them to promote replication. This ensures they have the sustenance they need to proliferate and exert their beneficial effects within the gut. The next piece of the puzzle is the patented delivery system; sodium alginate. The purpose of this addition is to protect the fragile bacteria from being decimated within the harsh conditions of the upper digestive system because WHERE you want your probiotics to arrive, and release is in the latter part of the small intestine and the colon, where most of the bacteria in the body reside. If they aren’t protected, there is no saying how many bacteria die off during the journey and even more importantly, some of the most fragile strains are the most important to ensure they arrive alive!
The other side of the equation which I will call the support side are in the details that our late founder Randy Porubcan combined together to create his concept of Totally Inert Packaging which I see as a framework that is liken to that of an iceberg. You just see the tip above the water, but the real mass is invisible below the surface. This is why the considerations we never think about are taken for granted until we are made aware of all that goes into this process. How we manage the integrity of our products is through many nuanced manufacturing and packaging steps. We consider and protect against ALL the variables to which exposure creates compromise; light, oxygen, moisture accumulation, and temperature.
Let’s get into the details:
We use colored glass bottles that are hermetically triple-sealed to keep the contents completely inert. The glass bottles block UV light and they allow less external moisture contamination than other bottle types. We add moisture and oxygen desiccant packets to each bottle and flush the bottles with nitrogen to push excess oxygen out. We store our probiotic supplements at negative 10 degrees in industrial freezers up until the day they ship. While moisture and oxygen are the most detrimental, sustained exposure to heat can reduce probiotic potency. Probiotics don’t spoil like a carton of milk and by taking the previously stated measures, we greatly reduce the impact that heat plays on our probiotics. Lastly, we blend our probiotics with significant bacterial overage to further ensure we deliver the full labeled potency throughout the entire two-year shelf life. It is this other side of the equation that allows us to not only put the highest quality ingredients in the container. It allows us to create the high-quality container itself by controlling all the variables that could induce compromise.
This is how we as a company make a promise to provide you the best quality end product we can and we thank you for your support! It also helps that for those who find them, our products work, and they work fast.
I hope you enjoyed being elucidated on these considerations in the world of supplements. It is just another piece of the puzzle that allows us to keep differentiating our identity within the industry and continuing to provide the best possible products for those who need them. See you next month.