What is the ideal number of cfu to look for in probiotics?
Before you look at cfu, or colony forming units, you need to be sure you know what strains you are getting so you know if they are going to be effective. You can have many strains of bacteria in a product, but if they are not the right kind, they won’t help you. If you’ve identified the strain and it is clearly labeled, then you can turn your attention to the cfu. The minimum dose you should take is 1 billion cfu – it’s the least amount of organisms needed to get a measurable effect. A therapeutic dose is around 10 billion cfu. Natren® has always listed potency of specific strains in cfu, when no other companies were doing that and the practice continues even today.
