I’ve been taking a gummy probiotic supplement daily for about a year now, and I noticed that the prices on these things seem to keep going up. Started doing some research and it sounds like the whole probiotic industry is unregulated, and making lots of dubious claims about these products and how they are supposed to help you.

It looks like from many of these studies that not enough of these probiotic cultures even survive your stomach acid long enough to have any effect on your digestive system.

I think after my current bottle runs out, I’m done and will not purchase them anymore, I’m leaning toward them being more a scam or snake oil than an actual helpful supplement.

What are all your thoughts on this? I am not really feeling like there’s been any change in my digestion or elimination in all the time I’m using them.

Unless a physician told me to take a supplement, I would stick to the natural probiotic sources. Yogurt is good, but stick with the yogurt that has active or live cultures and no added sugar. Yogurt like that probably tastes pretty plain but can be "dressed" up with some fruit such as strawberries, blueberries etc etc.

There are other "probiotic foods that are super healthy" ... https://www.healthline.com/nut...oods#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1

If a physician did indeed recommend a supplement, discuss your concerns and results, next visit.

When I take certain antibiotics, the probiotic seem to work for me. That is the only time I take them. My wife on the other hand takes them everyday and for her it helps.

couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 8oz of ice water keeps my gut in check.

Don’t know about utility or efficacy. But I do try to take occasionally. I enjoy the products and would consume even if probiotics are of debatable value.

Usually in the form of kefir or natto.

Hobbs is right on. My microbiology professor years ago researched probiotics and found yogurt was better than any supplements. Mostly because pills and such are not conducive to to survival of live cultures. Probiotics aren’t snake oil. But if you are healthy and eat healthy it’s unlikely you need to supplement your body’s ability to maintain a healthy biological load of good bugs.

I haven't seen any reputable studies on them, but it's possible they might help some people. OTOH, the ones they help might be helped simply because they thought it would work, therefore it did. The Placebo Effect.

If you're in normal health, you don't need them.

Rarely I have endured an ear infection, and needed anti-biotics. After the parmaceutical treatment, I always ended up with no energy and constantly wiped out. I found that if I take probiotics, I am back to normal in 24-48 hours.

So for some persons, who are on meds or do not have a quality diet, they are probably an excellent supplement.

If you've been taking them for a year, you probably should be telling us rather than the other way around.

Some years back I was having issues in that department. The "runs" more and more frequent over the course of a few months. It was multiple times a week, then sometimes it was almost daily. It started to become the norm. I was also at the point where as soon as I ate, I had to rush right to the bathroom. Since there are two people in my immediate family with GI problems, I was a bit worried. But like I seem to always do, lol, rather than go to a doctor I tried to fix myself. I ate a certain yogurt (no longer made) once, sometime twice daily for a while and my problems went away. (no idea how long it actually took, because I kept eating it for months because I liked it.)

My father takes them and seems to think they help him, he's suffered from Chrohn's disease most of his life. He can't handle dairy, so supplements are the only way.

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Originally posted by rtquig:
When I take certain antibiotics, the probiotic seem to work for me. That is the only time I take them. My wife on the other hand takes them everyday and for her it helps.

Same here. I was a on battery of antibiotics, and it did a number on my GI tract. After a couple of weeks, my Dr figured the antibiotics wiped-out too much of my internal flora and recommended a daily intake of high probiotic foods: yogurt, kefir (think yogurt shake), kimchi, sauerkraut, etc. Nearly a week later, all fixed up and back in shape.
Different people have different internal chemistry when it comes to their gut and how it reacts/performs to various foods. If pills aren't working or, you're not seeing the results, switch to foods; sometimes its better to get that supplement via the foods they thrive in rather than as a separate component like pills/capsule/concentrate.

I take probiotics off and on.... I'm undecided if they actually help or just give me something to do , until my body fixes the problem anyway.

One of the things that "nags" at me is that we take these supplements orally. In other words , they go into the stomach ( a very acidic environment)....they stay there for a few minutes to a couple of hours. The supplements then move to the small intestine which is much less acidic ( more basic) and then the capsule gets broken down and the bacteria are released. I have my doubts ( no proof) that the supplements ( bacteria) are surviving to get to the small intestine. I suspect that the great majority of them are being killed by the acid in the stomach.

Seems to me that if a person really wanted to get probiotics to the right area , that they would need to insert a tube into the nose , through the stomach and into the duodenum and then inject the probiotics into that tube. Another possible method , is via a very high enema.

needless to say, I haven't tried either of these methods ! As an FYI .....now folks are being treated for various diseases with fecal transplants. ( If you need some, I'll send you some of mine for a small fee . I'm thinking it would be a great way to subsidize my retirement !)

We just eat fruit yogurt...primarily because it tastes good, but they tell me it's good for you, too, so win-win.

In my 20s, I was diagnosed with IBS-D. I used to take acidophilus pearls because the coating was most effective at getting the probiotic cultures past the stomach acid. It made an enormous difference with the IBS-D and I didn't give a shit whether it was placebo effect or it actually worked.

However, I discovered the root cause of my gastrointestinal difficulties and it was a food intolerance. Once I greatly reduced that in my diet then the IBS-D went away and so did my need for acidophilus pearls.

I don't know how good they are for me but the ones I take sure taste good. Most mornings a bowl of plain Dannon yogurt with walnuts and berries of some kind and 1/2 tsp of jelly. And a few tablespoons of homemade sauerkraut in the evening.

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If pills aren't working or, you're not seeing the results, switch to foods; sometimes its better to get that supplement via the foods they thrive in rather than as a separate component like pills/capsule/concentrate.

One doctor said to only use the refrigerated probiotic pills, but he preferred starting with food sources. He also recommended looking into making fermented vegetables as an ongoing probiotic source. One recipe with carrots and peppercorn in brine worked well.

I’ve read that homemade sauerkraut is a superior source of probiotics because its “biotics”, grown in an acidic environment, survive passage through the acidic region of your digestive system.

I strive for lots of fiber in my diet to nourish my internal ecosystem, which seems to be in pretty good shape.

I like a big glass of half milk and half kefir, maybe a couple of days a week. For pills, the American Health Chewable Super Papaya Enzyme Plus seem to contribute to next day regularity. Maybe the inevitable would happening anyways with the help of beer, but the pills are a negligible expense.