Just pop into your nearest Holland and Barrett and you will see hundreds of probiotics promising to support your gut. But there’s a problem: getting probiotic bacteria into your body doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be able to do their job once they get there.

Ferrocalm founder and gut scientist Dr Jenny Bailey Cooper gets out a pen and paper to explain why.

And, as Jenny’s diagram shows, there are two important hurdles to overcome.

First, your probiotic has to reach the right place

Before probiotic bacteria can do anything useful in the gut, they have to survive the journey through your digestive system, including the harsh, acidic environment of the stomach.

That’s why Ferrocalm uses a patented capsule designed to protect its bacteria during their journey through the stomach and release them further down the digestive tract, where they're needed.

But getting there is only half the story.

What happens when your gut flares?

The environment inside your gut isn't always the same.

During periods of inflammation, conditions can become much more challenging for probiotic bacteria – precisely when someone living with IBS may be experiencing a flare in their symptoms.

And this is where Ferrocalm's hero bacterial strain, Streptococcus thermophilus FX856, is different.

FX856 was specifically selected for its ability to survive inflammatory conditions, adapt to environmental stress and remain metabolically active when conditions become more difficult.

In other words, it isn't simply about getting bacteria into the gut. It's about choosing a strain that's equipped for the environment it's going into.

Not all probiotics are the same

It's easy to think of "probiotics" as one single thing, but different bacterial strains can behave very differently.

That's why the specific strain matters.

Ferrocalm is the result of years of research into the relationship between inflammation and the gut, with FX856 selected specifically for the characteristics that make it suited to the challenging gut environment associated with an IBS flare.

So, if you've ever wondered what makes Ferrocalm different from the probiotic you've picked up from the supermarket, watch Jenny sketch out the science for herself in the video below...she wanted me to remind you she is a scientist , not an artist! 

Sometimes all you need to explain some pretty clever gut science is a pen, a piece of paper and a slightly questionable drawing.