Sporebiotics: Explained

Cura Nutrition, who have launched the first next-generation probiotic supplement that is 100% Bacillus spore-based clinically shown to help maintain a healthy gut function, talk us through sporebiotics: what they are, how they differ from probiotics and how they can improve your digestion and gut health.

What's the difference between sporebiotics and probiotics?

With a few exceptions, most live probiotic strains do not fully survive human digestion. Our harsh stomach acids and bile kill off most living bacteria, so only a fraction make it to the colon. Cura Nutrition is changing the outdated thinking about probiotics by introducing Bacillus spores. Bacillus spore supplements (also known as Sporebiotics) are functionally superior to any of the typical, more traditional probiotic strains that have been used commercially for the past 30 years or so.

Cura Nutrition Sporebiotics Daily 30 capsules

Bacillus spores are gut commensal organisms, meaning that they belong in our gut (and find binding sites in our intestines). Bacillus spore strains can have a 21-day life cycle in the gut, while most other probiotics simply pass through.

Unlike other types of probiotics, Sporebiotics survive, colonise and positively change our overall microbiome. Bacillus spores are designed by nature to withstand heat, acidity and extended periods without food. They have a tough outer shell (endospore coating), so they naturally survive the journey through the gastric acid in our stomachs. Once they arrive in the anaerobic environment of our small intestine the Bacillus spores have the unique ability to ‘read’ the microbial environment and begin to activate.

Once in the digestive system (small intestines) the spores perform critical functions, including identifying pathogenic organisms, producing natural antibiotics to help kill off the bad bacteria, competitively excluding the overgrowth of opportunistic organisms, restricting the growth of unwanted bacteria and yeast, creating compounds and nutrients to feed the good bacteria in our gut, producing important functional compounds and key nutrients including antibiotics, antioxidants, vitamins and the enzyme Nattokinase.

Spore forming Bacillus strains also boost the abundance of many other beneficial bacteria helping to recondition our entire gut environment. Their work in our gut helps to develop our immune system, reduce inflammation and aids the digestion and absorption of nutrients from the food we eat.

Using Bacillus spores as your daily probiotic replaces the outdated approach of trying to “reseed” the gut with healthy bacteria (which is like throwing seeds around in an abandoned garden and hoping they grow), selecting the more integrative approach of “reconditioning” the gut (which is like hiring a gardener to manage the garden, till the soil, pull out weeds, plant seeds, water and fertilise them and generally care for the plants as they grow).

Choosing Bacillus spores rather than the more traditional probiotics also means that you don’t need such a large a dose of CFU’s as the many billions of CFU’s advertised by the more conventional probiotic companies. Today’s product marketing, packaging and branding have led us to believe that “Bigger is better, More is better, 80 billion CFU’s must be better than 10 billion CFU’s”. The only reason that the manufacturers put more Lactobacillus CFU’s into their products is to ensure that some of these bacteria might just survive through our digestive systems, as once they come into contact with our harsh stomach acid most of them tend to die.

On top of all that, Cura Sporebiotics does not require refrigeration and has a 5-year shelf-life – this is how resilient Sporebiotics are!

Unlike some probiotic supplements that include a considerable number and variety of probiotic strains, Cura Sporebiotics has 4 key Bacillus spore strains in its proprietary probiotic blend: Bacillus Indicus HU36, Bacillus Subtilis HU58, Bacillus Clausii, and Bacillus Coagulans.

To discover what Cura Sporebiotics can do and how it works in the microbiome, let’s have a look at these ingredients:

Bacillus Indicus HU36™

Bacillus Indicus HU36 is a unique probiotic strain that is extraordinarily rich in bio-available carotenoids, which are the red, yellow and orange pigments that gives vegetables and fruits their rich colours. These carotenoids include lycopene, astaxanthin, beta-carotene and lutein.

• Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and has been linked to multiple health benefits ranging from heart health to protection against sunburn.
• Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that helps to fight free radicals and reduces inflammation.
• Beta carotene is a precursor of vitamin A. We need vitamin A for healthy skin and mucus membranes, our immune system and good eye health.
• Lutein is an antioxidant that is most well-known for protecting eye health.

Bacillus Indicus HU36 also produces the natural antioxidant CoQ10, vitamin K2 and a full range of B vitamins once it begins to activate in our gut.

Bacillus Subtilis HU58™

Bacillus Subtilis HU58 is known for its ability to produce at least 12 effective antibiotics and support healthy immune cell development in the gut. Bacillus Subtilis HU58 also produces an enzyme called Nattokinase, which helps to reduce our cholesterol levels.

Bacillus Clausii SC-109™

Bacillus Clausii is one of the most common and well-known Bacillus spore strains that has been used in prescription medications for the past 50 years. Bacillus Clausii is most well-known for its role in supporting our immune function, providing us with protection against harmful pathogens.

And important to note, this probiotic spore continues to work during antibiotic treatment.

Bacillus Coagulans SC-208™

Bacillus Coagulans has also been used for health purposes by the pharmaceutical industry for a long period of time. It produces a special form of lactic acid which helps reduce inflammation. This spore supports the varied species of beneficial bacteria in our gut that support our immune system and it also plays a vital role in absorbing dietary fats.

Are Cura Nutrition Sporebiotics suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans?

Yes. The only additional ingredient in the vegetarian cellulose capsules is acacia fibre, which acts as a prebiotic food for the Bacillus spores once they activate in your gut. You won’t find any additional ingredients that other manufacturers tend to put in to help with their manufacturing process and shelf-life stability such as the anti-caking agent magnesium stearate, or the bulking agent microcrystalline cellulose. Cura Sporebiotics™ contains no soya, gluten or dairy and are suitable for a vegan diet.

Are Cura Nutrition Sporebiotics suitable for children and babies?

The diverse functionality of the spore blend makes Cura Sporebiotics™ an ideal product for all the family, whether you have a baby who was born by C-section and needs some help in creating a robust microbiome because they didn’t enter the world by the Mother’s birth canal, a toddler with eczema, a teenager with acne, an adult with IBS/IBD type symptoms, a pregnant woman looking to create a healthy microbiome to share with her developing baby or a senior with constipation or leaky gut issues the Bacillus spore formula taken on a daily basis will help to recondition all these different types of microbiomes.

The combined power of Sporebiotics and Precision Prebiotics

At about 21 days, the Bacillus strains found in Cura Sporebiotics will begin to reach a steady state concentration in the gut. This is when it is time to help support the growth and development of your beneficial keystone bacteria.

To make life easy, Cura Nutrition has introduced Cura Precision Prebiotics. This is the first Precision Prebiotic supplement created with 3 clinically tested, non-digestible prebiotic fibres (oligosaccharides). This unique formula is derived from non-GMO kiwi fruit, non-GMO corn cob and rBST-free cow’s milk.

This functional fibre blend reinforces the beneficial changes made in the microbiome by the Sporebiotics, as the prebiotic fibres selectively feed our beneficial keystone bacteria.

Cura Nutrition Precision Prebiotics 120 capsules

Microbial Diversity

Keystone bacteria like Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Bifidobacteria are extremely important for our microbiome health, but their populations can be easily diminished by taking antibiotics, stress, diet and exposure to environmental toxins such as herbicides, pesticides and household cleaning chemicals.

• Akkermansia muciniphilaplays a significant role in metabolism and has been shown to support fat loss along with a healthy diet and exercise.
• Faecalibacterium prausnitziican increase the production of butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that maintains healthy intestinal cells.
• Bifidobacteriacan also increase butyrate production and promote lean body mass.

Research published in 2020 showed that taking the Precision Prebiotics alongside the Sporebiotics dramatically increased the overall benefits of the spores.

Help to maintain a healthy gut function by reconditioning and rebalancing your microbiome - supplement daily with clinically studied Sporebiotics and targeted Precision Prebiotics.