Out of all the probiotic supplement formulas on the market, why choose soil-based probiotics?

In today’s modern world, even when you’re trying to live your healthiest life, your body may need additional support. We can’t eat a diet of “perfect” foods, we’re constantly exposed to environmental toxins, and we experience stressful events in our lives. 

All of these things disrupt the healthy balance of bacteria in our gut microbiome. We need a healthy balance of gut flora, because it’s essential for a robust immune system, calm and happy mood, clearer thinking, and healthy digestion (to name just few!)

Although I don’t recommend taking a lot of supplements, and I’m very selective about what I personally choose to take, I always recommend taking a daily probiotic. After much research, I found that a soil-based probiotic (SBO) has unique properties that best support gut health.

So why choose soil-based probiotics? In short, SBOs are made from microbial strains naturally occurring in the soil. They’re the organisms our ancestors were exposed to and they are vital to a healthy gut microbiome and overall health! 

As you continue, you’ll discover the difference between soil-based organisms vs regular, dairy-based strains. By the end, I think you’ll agree, soil-based organisms are the key to microbial diversity and a healthy gut.

What Are Dairy-Based Probiotics?

As the name suggests, dairy-based probiotics are derived from dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese, and kefir. Probiotic cultures also create many of these products’ distinctive tastes, smells, and textures thanks to fermentation—the many strains of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus help digest lactose, which is also found in dairy products.

What Are Soil-Based Probiotics?

Soil-based organisms (or SBO probiotics) are completely different probiotic strains than those found in dairy. 

SBOs are spore-producing bacteria found in soil. The spore is a reproductive cell that exists in plants and comes from bacteria. 

That reproductive cell really is just nature’s protective shell. This makes SBOs hardier and more likely to survive your digestive system. The longer they survive, and are able to make it through gastric juices and your body’s naturally higher temperature, the more they can support your health! 

Nature’s Answer for Better Gut Health

Before modern agriculture, we consumed tons of them. They were an important part of our internal defense system by helping to build up and support our immune systems. 

Our ancestors would get a little bit of soil left on the plants pulled right from the earth. That soil contained a mix of the bacterium that would help create healthy soil, and also balance our guts.

Before we had running water to wash (and triple-wash!) our produce, we would consume these beneficial soil bacteria on the foods we harvested or gathered. Now, we rely on a good soil-based probiotic to reconnect to our nutritional roots and benefit from this powerful bacterium. 

And while a good, strong probiotic strain can provide some gut health benefits, the unique benefits of soil-based organisms makes it the perfect probiotic choice to help support and promote a healthy gut.

Why Dairy-Based Probiotics Are Not as Effective as SBOs

The bacterial species typically found in yogurt and traditional probiotic supplements do not have the naturally protective shell present in all soil-based, spore-forming bacteria. 

This means that the bacteria in traditional dairy-based probiotics can’t withstand the gastric acids in your digestive tract, so they often never reach the lower intestine, where they have the greatest effect. 

Research has demonstrated that yogurt and other products based on these probiotic strains aren’t as hardy as spore-forming probiotic bacteria. 

One study found that yogurt products have minimal gut bacteria effects. The study involved seven pairs of identical twins. One in each pair ate twice-daily servings of yogurt containing five strains of lactic acid bacteria. The research team performed DNA sequencing on the bacteria in the twins’ stool samples. [1]

They discovered that the yogurt bacteria did not reside in the young women’s guts, and there was no evidence the bacteria became part of the microbial community in the intestines. 

The researchers concluded that the heavily fortified yogurt did not affect the women’s health. This study mimicked the results of similar studies that were performed with mice.

SBO probiotics have a simple, natural advantage. These spore-based probiotics are more stable and have a higher survival rate in your digestive tract. 

Another perk of SBOs is that you don’t need to refrigerate them. Most traditional probiotics require refrigeration because the probiotics themselves can’t survive at room temperature. If they can’t survive room temperature, how can we expect them to survive your body’s internal temperature which is much hotter?!

Beauty— There are so many reasons soil-based probiotics (SBOs) are the most beneficial bacteria for your gut microbiome. I’m sharing several benefits below! 

Benefits of Soil-Based Probiotics

So you already know that SBOs are hardier than other traditional probiotics, allowing them to thrive in your gut. When they thrive, they remain in your digestive tract providing long-term benefits. 

Here are some of those long-term benefits you can enjoy when taking an SBO probiotic supplement:

• SBOs help improve your digestion
• SBOs help you get the most out of your food by assisting in nutrient absorption
• SBOs support a healthy immune system by triggering antibodies that defend your body against illness
• SBOs support healthy energy levels
• SBOs support a positive and balanced mood and your mental health

Because of these benefits, soil-based organisms have been used medicinally for centuries.

SBOs and Their Antifungal Properties

One soil-based microorganism— Bacillus subtilis— was widely used as an immune stimulator and treatment for digestive disorders in North America during the 1950s and 1960s. It is still widely used today in Germany and other parts of Europe. A 2011 research study showed it is also a powerful antifungal, particularly against Candida albicans, which can cause fungal infections. [2]

This is especially interesting to think about since antibiotics disrupt your gut flora, reduce populations of good bacteria, and decrease your resistance to fungi and other pathogens.

SBOs and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The right probiotic can help reduce the symptoms of digestive disorders. A small 2005 study showed promising results using a multi-strain SBO probiotic and prebiotic formula to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

25 IBS patients were given either a soil-based probiotic formulation or a placebo for two weeks. Their symptoms were detailed one week before the trial started and then at weekly intervals for three weeks. During this time, participants who were given the SBO formulation saw a significant reduction in their main symptoms, including nausea, indigestion, flatulence, and colitis pain. [3]

These results were followed up 60 weeks later. The majority of trial participants continued to see some reduction in symptoms, even a year later!

Another study recruited 44 adults with IBS, as well as with mild to moderate anxiety or depression. The participants were divided into two groups. One group was given a daily dose of the SBO probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001. The other group was given a daily placebo.

After six weeks, both groups underwent psychological analysis and were given MRIs. Those results showed that 64 percent of participants in the probiotic group saw depression scores reduced by at least two points. Only 32 percent of the placebo group reported the same improvements. [4]

Additionally, the MRI results verified that the reduced depression scores were accompanied by changes in the amygdala— the part of the brain that regulates your mood. Research shows that the gut and brain are connected primarily through the vagus nerve, and a healthy gut means a healthier mood.

The gut also produces many of the neurotransmitters as the brain, including serotonin and dopamine. In fact, 90 percent of serotonin is made in your digestive tract! 

SBOs and Immunity

In mouse studies, researchers noted the rapid reproduction of the SBO Bacillus subtilis strains and their ability to remain in the intestines. Because of this, it was more able to become a component of the mouse’s microbiome and further support its health and resilience. Mice dosed with these spores excreted more spores than they were given, pointing to the fact they germinated and repopulated in their digestive system.

Unlike regular probiotic lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacillus, the many SBO Bacillus species have their own cycle of spore-proliferation and spore-release in the gut. This activity continues long after the spore-forming bacteria are ingested, creating a truly unique symbiotic relationship with the human host.

In animal applications, the use of soil-based probiotics may serve as an alternative to antibiotics. This is important for not only potentially improving the health of farm animals but for humans too.

Which Probiotics Should You Choose?

With a significant number of options, it can be tricky to choose the best probiotic supplement for your unique health needs. But choosing the right probiotic supplement is much easier if you know what you’re looking for.

I wrote an entire article about how to choose a probiotic supplement. I recommend checking that out if you’re on the hunt for the right probiotics. But if you’re looking for recommendations,  I highly recommend my Feel Good SBO Probiotics+ formula. 

This unique formula includes 16 billion cfu, meaning you get a diverse range of good bacteria to populate your gut with every dose. It also contains postbiotics and a prebiotic complex made from shilajit extract, turkey tail mushroom, and Chaga mushroom, nourishing all those good bacteria so they can better share their health benefits with you.

Prebiotics and postbiotics are important additions to any probiotic formula. You can read more about how prebiotics and postbiotics are different from probiotics if you’d like to know more.

This 100 percent vegan formula isn’t just for your digestion, though. This unique formula can also support your immunity, boost your energy, and even beautify your skin!

There is strong evidence of soil-based probiotics’ many physical and mental health benefits. Most of us no longer have the option to live as close to the soil as our ancestors did. However, with the right SBO supplement, you can start returning to that level of health as nature intended.

In love and health,

Citations

1. McNulty, Nathan P, et al. “The Impact of a Consortium of Fermented Milk Strains on the Gut Microbiome of Gnotobiotic Mice and Monozygotic Twins.” Science Translational Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Oct. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22030749.
2. Tabbene, Olfa, et al. “Anti-Candida Effect of Bacillomycin D-like Lipopeptides from Bacillus Subtilis B38.” FEMS Microbiology Letters, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21204933.
3. Bittner, Alvah C, et al. “Prescript-Assist Probiotic-Prebiotic Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Methodologically Oriented, 2-Week, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Study.” Clinical Therapeutics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2005, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16117982.
4. Pinto-Sanchez, Maria Ines, et al. “Probiotic Bifidobacterium Longum NCC3001 Reduces Depression Scores and Alters Brain Activity: A Pilot Study in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.” Gastroenterology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28483500.
5. Mayer, Anne-Marie Berenice, et al. “Historical Changes in the Mineral Content of Fruit and Vegetables in the UK from 1940 to 2019: A Concern for Human Nutrition and Agriculture.” Taylor & Francis Online, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 15 Oct. 2021, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09637486.2021.1981831. 
6. Doucleff, Michaeleen. “How Modern Life Depletes Our Gut Microbes.” NPR, NPR, 21 Apr. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/21/400393756/how-modern-life-depletes-our-gut-microbes.
7. Martínez, Inés, et al. “The Gut Microbiota of Rural Papua New Guineans: Composition, Diversity Patterns, and Ecological Processes.” Cell Reports, 16 Apr. 2015, www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(15)00340-X.