# Probiotics Question - Digestion



## northstar71 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi thereI apologize if this has been covered before.I am always wondering if the Probiotics I take (Udo's Choice) are actually making it to my small intestine/colon.Aren't the bacteria killed off by the stomach acids? I have heard that enteric coated capsules have a better chance - the ones I am using are just vegetable casules.Any ideas on this?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

These are bacteria that normally live in colons.They had to have some way of getting from colon to colon before people came along and developed enteric coated pills. While the acids kill actively growing bacteria, a lot of bacteria have an inactive form that can survive the harsh conditions that may exist between one place it grows well and other. These "spores" are what can survive and get into your colon where the conditions are good for growth. What is in the pills should be the spores as active bacteria can't live in a dessicated state like you would find in a pill.The small intestine usually doesn't have much growing in there as the food doesn't stay in there that long so usually by the time they "unspore" and start growing they don't have much time left in the small intestine.


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