Research shows that probiotics are more effective when taken 0.5 to 1 hour after a meal. The acidity of human gastric juice is extremely high, with a pH value usually between 1 and 3. Most microorganisms cannot survive in such an acidic environment. The pH value of gastric juice will fluctuate with diet. The pH value is generally 1.5 when fasting or eating acidic foods, and the pH value is around 3.0 after meals. Due to the high gastric acid concentration before meals, probiotics may be killed, thus affecting the probiotics. The supplementary effect of bacteria[1]. As shown in the figure, the survival rate of probiotics in simulated gastric juice with pH 1.5 is significantly reduced compared with simulated gastric juice with pH 3.5 [1]. The secretion of gastric acid is reduced after a meal. In addition, food staying in the stomach can neutralize gastric acid and increase the pH value in the stomach, which can greatly reduce the damage of probiotics by gastric acid facilitate their colonization in the intestines, and exert a probiotic effect.
In addition, when taking probiotics, you need to pay attention to controlling the water temperature. The temperature should not exceed 40°C, otherwise, the activity of the probiotics will be reduced.
At the same time, if you take antibiotics, it is recommended to take probiotics 2 hours after taking antibiotics, because antibiotics will inhibit the activity of probiotics, preventing the antibiotics from killing harmful bacteria and probiotics at the same time.
references:
[1] Zhang Linqi, Wang Xiaorui, Shi Chang, et al. Research on the stability of live bacteria in probiotic powder and their tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal fluid [J]. Food and Fermentation Industry, 2021, 47(13): 36-42.DOI :10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.026407.