Bacillus Subtilis and Soil-Based Probiotics on GAPS

Bacillus subtilis is a spore-forming organism discussed in the GAPS probiotic chapter. Campbell-McBride describes its spores as resistant to stomach acid, most antibiotics, drying, temperature changes and other environmental stresses.^[1] The useful distinction is the protected spore form, not a claim that it survives absolutely anything.

A Long History of Study

The name has a nineteenth-century history: RIKEN’s culture collection records the taxonomic authorship as Ehrenberg 1835 and Cohn 1872.^[4] The wartime story in the GAPS book concerns use by German troops, rather than the organism’s first discovery.

Campbell-McBride describes wartime use against dysentery and typhoid, followed by research in Germany, Russia, Italy, Finland, Eastern Europe, China and Vietnam. She also describes decades of use in human and animal preparations.^[2]

Her discussion groups several bacilli together, naming B. licheniformis, B. cereus, B. brevis, B. mesentericus and B. pumilus. Keep the exact organism name when reading a product label; this list does not make them interchangeable ingredients in a home preparation.^[2][5]

She also gives natto, traditionally fermented soybeans from Japan, as a food example.^[2] That example belongs to the history of the organism. For foods on your plate, use the GAPS food list and the preparation permitted at your stage.

Where the Book Places It

Campbell-McBride describes B. subtilis in soil, the human gut flora and the rumen of herbivorous animals. She also describes it as pleomorphic, able to change its form and functions as conditions change.^[3] This explains why the chapter discusses it as more than a microbe associated only with soil.

What It Does in the Body

In her GAPS discussion, Campbell-McBride describes immune-stimulating activity and particular usefulness in allergies and autoimmune conditions.^[3] This is the role she gives the group in the protocol, rather than a promise that any product carrying the name will produce the same result.

One of its most distinctive roles is as what Dr. Natasha calls a “great waste recycler,” keeping the gut clean.^[3] For decades, subspecies of B. subtilis have been used in industrial waste management precisely because of their ability to break down rotting matter and suppress putrefactive microbes.^[3] Inside the gut, that same ability translates to clearing out old putrefaction, which may lay the groundwork for beneficial gut flora to re-establish itself.^[3]

Dr. Natasha’s own clinical assessment is direct: in her experience, probiotics which contain this group of microbes are some of the most effective probiotics on the market.^[3]

Why Durability Matters on GAPS

The spore form allows B. subtilis to survive conditions that destroy less durable microbes. The book also describes this group as producing digestive enzymes and antimicrobial substances, breaking down putrefactive matter and, in Dr. Natasha’s clinical experience, appearing in some of the most effective commercial probiotics.^[3]

What Should You Compare on a Label?

Start with the full organism names, then look at the other microbial groups, the manufacturer’s batch testing and the concentration. The spore-forming description answers one question about a microbe; the GAPS selection checklist asks the wider questions about the preparation.

Your Next Step

Continue with GAPS supplements guide, Lactobacilli Explained, and the GAPS food list.

The Crock & Jar course is listed in my WFLI Shop.

References

1. Campbell-McBride, Natasha. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “Nutritional Supplements for GAPS People,” “1. Probiotics”, spore-forming bacilli.
2. Campbell-McBride, Natasha. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “Nutritional Supplements for GAPS People,” “1. Probiotics”, historical and traditional-food discussion.
3. Campbell-McBride, Natasha. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “Nutritional Supplements for GAPS People,” “1. Probiotics”, source-described functions and clinical experience.
4. RIKEN Japan Collection of Microorganisms, JCM 1465, taxonomic name and authorship.
5. RIKEN Japan Collection of Microorganisms, JCM 2508, organism nomenclature.