Protective Oil Matrix

One of the great attributes of Natren that elevates the quality of our probiotics above those of others is the length that we go to in protecting the beneficial bacteria from manufacture to gut for maximum potency and effectiveness. Starting with refrigerated delivery all through the supply chain, through to the Oil Matrix Delivery used in Healthy Trinity to protect the beneficial bacteria as it passes through the stomach.

But what is this Oil Matrix Delivery System, why is it necessary, and how does it work? Its primary role is to ensure that the beneficial bacterial survive the acid-bath in the stomach. The stomach is very acidic, with a low pH value of 1-2. The acid is dilute enough that it doesn’t burn through the stomach lining, but strong enough to enable the main digestive enzyme – pepsinogen – which requires an acidic environment, to break proteins down into simple digestible elements.

The secondary role of the hydrochloric acid in the stomach is to kill incoming bacteria – and that’s what we are trying to avoid. The first level of protection is the outer capsule. The shell provides initial protection to its contents, but will soon be dissolved. The next level is the oil matrix itself, which is a combination of Sunflower Oil and Vitamin E, designed specifically to protect the bacteria from the gastric juices for maximum effect in the intestine – where the real work gets done. Finally, the last line of defense is the nature of the bacteria strains that we use. Natren uses specific strains of beneficial bacteria that are naturally resistant to stomach bile and can survive through that part of the journey.

The Oil Matrix performs another valuable function – it isolates the 3 proven strains of beneficial bacteria from each other. By nature, bacteria are competitive and if left together, will fight and perhaps kill each other before they make it to the intestine where they can form healthy colonies. By using the Oil Matrix to keep the bacteria separate, the colony forming units will make it though intact.  This is also the reason that large numbers of probiotic strains are not recommended – keeping them all separate so that they don’t fight each other is almost impossible with high strain counts, and what you end up with is a dead product and a waste of money.

These protections are unique to Natren, and are why Healthy Trinity is internationally recognized as the worlds leading probiotic.