The term “probiotic” refers to “friendly” bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium that inhabit the intestinal tract. Every day, billions of these friendly intestinal bacteria perform numerous functions critical to good health. A reliable source of probiotics should provide specified amounts of organisms (in the billions), be processed with the utmost attention to preserving organism viability, and should have research to support the beneficial role of the specific organisms in human health.

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