Exploration of how and when to optimally take probiotics to maximize the gut healing and digestive benefits.
Our digestive system is home to at least 500 different bacterial strains.
Ideally, 85% of the bacteria in our gut are the “good guys”, in other words, beneficial to our health.
When the vast majority of gut flora is of the friendly variety, the remaining 15% which are pathogenic bacterial strains and yeasts are easily handled and kept under control.
In fact, in a well-balanced gut, the friendly bacterial strains can actually harness some of the pathogenic strains to perform helpful functions!
The problem is that most people today have this proportion reversed with the majority of gut flora of the unfriendly variety.
This tipping of the balance in favor of pathogens occurs due to antibiotic use, the birth control pill and other meds that negatively affect the gut flora.
In addition, the consumption of processed foods and high amounts of sugar feed pathogens and candida.
The health consequences of a pathogen-dominated gut are many.
Diarrhea, constipation, excessive gas, bloating, allergies, eczema, irritable bowel, inflammatory bowel, kidney stones, ear infections, strep throat, colds, vaginal yeast infections, Crohn’s disease, lactose intolerance, thrush, athlete’s foot, cancer, and the list goes on and on.
The good news is that proactive steps can be taken to rectify the situation to tip the balance back in favor of the friendly bacteria and beneficial yeasts.
How?
Homemade fermented foods are one very smart practice, but for many people, the first baby step back to intestinal health involves taking a daily probiotic.
The Benefits of Probiotics
What are probiotics?
They are friendly bacteria, literally thousands of strains, that prevent the overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and fungus in the gut.
Here is a laundry list of some of the beneficial functions performed by probiotics in the gut.
- Produce substances that normalize cholesterol
- Enhance the protective barrier of the digestive tract to prevent leaking of gut contents into the bloodstream (which produces an unpredictable mix of autoimmune symptoms).
- Produce Vitamin K1
- Lower blood pressure
- Aid in the digestion of lactose
- Prevent cavities
- Neutralize pre-cancerous compounds
- Lower the pH of the intestines
- Utilize oxalates in foods like spinach to prevent kidney stones
- Detoxify carcinogens that are consumed
- Produce beneficial compounds which inhibit the growth of tumors
- Much much more!
No wonder Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine, famously said:
“All disease begins in the gut”.
The Brand You Choose Matters!
Once the decision to repair the gut is made, the selection of the appropriate probiotic is a must.
This article on the best probiotics outlines the selection process in detail and how to ensure you get all the basic types that perform different functions in the gut.
Note that the probiotic industry has done a bait and switch on consumers in recent years, favoring patented, lab-created strains in their products instead of natural versions.
Buyer beware!
Here is a list of top-quality, vetted brands with only natural strains to consider. This can make the selection task easier given the dozens of brands on the market with many containing undesirable synthetic strains:
- Seed
- Gut Restore (SBOs and candida-busting strains)
- Ultimate SBO (high dose candida busting strains)
- Pure Encapsulations
- Prescript-Assist
- Trenev Trio
- Yeastbiotic (take with antibiotics and for a few weeks after)
- Baby Probiotic Powder (both lactobacillus and bifidobacteria)
- Infant Probiotic Powder (bifidobacteria only for making homemade formula)
- Pediatric Probiotic
Optimal Method for Taking Probiotics
Once you have your chosen brand in hand, how to take the probiotic for maximum effect?
Morning or night?
On an empty stomach or with food?
These are very common questions!
The answer depends on the probiotic manufacturer, according to the staff at Biodynamic Wellness, which specializes in helping people recover their gut health.
Some probiotic brands (such as this one) are packaged in time-release capsules and others are not.
Finding out this information may require a phone call to the manufacturer. When in doubt, assume that they are not time-release.
Since it is possible that the high acid environment of the stomach could destroy some of the probiotic bacteria:
<< It is recommended to take probiotics at the END of a meal >>
Does this mean that it isn’t beneficial to take a probiotic on an empty stomach?
It just means to play it safe to ensure the probiotics are protected from any reduction in potency due to stomach acid by taking them after eating.
If you are using a time-release probiotic, then feel free to take it whenever is most convenient.
Probiotics for Oral Health
The above recommendation does not pertain to the use of probiotics before bed (typically on an empty stomach) to assist with the balancing of probiotics in the ear, nose, and throat.
This is commonly referred to as the oral microbiome.
Beneficial flora seeks to dominate and protect every tissue of your body, not just your gut!
There are plenty of beneficial bacteria in your mouth, throat, nasal passages, and ears too!
When they are dominant over pathogens, healthy gums, teeth, fluid-free/non-itchy ears, and congestion-free sinuses are the result.
To this end, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD recommends emptying a probiotic capsule into the mouth and swishing it around before swallowing.
Be sure the chosen brand contains strains that thrive in the ear, nose, and throat such as L. salivarius.
Nothing should be consumed (even water) after you do this.
This article on a natural sinus remedy using probiotics explains more about this procedure.
Summary
In conclusion, when consuming a probiotic to improve gut health, it is best to take them after a meal. This minimizes the effects of stomach acid.
If you are using a time-release probiotic (brand I use), feel free to take it on an empty stomach as well.
Whether you take a probiotic in the morning or evening does not really matter.
Emptying a probiotic capsule in the mouth before bed that contains strains found in the oral microbiome can be helpful for improving the health of the teeth, gums, ears, sinuses, and throat.
Traveling soon? This article on how to take probiotics while away from home provides additional insights for keeping you well on the road.
More Information
How to Repair Your Gut During and After a Round of Antibiotics
Are Antibiotics Always Necessary for Strep Throat?
Why Fermented Foods are Not Enough to Heal the Gut (and the Probiotic Boost they Need)
The Benefits of Prebiotic Foods
How to Choose the Best Probiotic for Your Family
Why Antibiotics Today Could Threaten Your Life Tomorrow
How the Pill Can Harm Your Future Child’s Health
How to Kick Strep Throat Fast
I use Dr. Mercola’s probiotics. It does not contain any soil based strains,and I wondered if it will also work for a sinus problem.
Thank you, Solveig
Moms of kids with PANDAS avoid probiotics with strep strains. FYI
I get the point of lower acidity due to a full stomach. Makes sense. However in a full stomach won’t the pb also be there longer? And would be taking pb on an empty stomach with water solve that issue? Water with just pb would go through the stomach pretty fast and there won’t be much acid in there…. Will there?
Your thought on a comparison of these two methods would be most welcome.
I watched Dr. Oz the other day and his expert on the show said to take probiotics 1/2 hour BEFORE meals. His reason was that if you take it with a meal your digestive juices are working full force and the probiotics will get killed. If you take it before your meal this is little digestive juice to affect it. Hmm…it is soo frustrating when you get opposite information.
That makes more sense to me.
When you take it after a meal your digestive juices are diluted by the food and liquids that you consumed, so the probiotics are able to stay intact on their way to the intestines.
I’d love to hear more about these two ‘schools of thought’ as well.
So, I am nearly done with the Master Cleanse but need to know how best to come off my fast including which probiotics/probiotics. History: migraines (allergic to tyramines!!), anemia, systemic candida. Thanks for any feedback!
How long after my meal do I wait to take the probiotic? …right after the last bite? …30 minutes after?
I have been put on a daily dose of Keflex for the past four months ( and was on Nitrofurantoin 8 months before that) for constant urinary tract infections. Even while taking that, I still have gotten two infections with a more potent strain of bacteria, Pseudomonas. I read your article on antibiotics but in my case there is no ” after your course of treatment is finished..” Because there is no end in sight. I am so concerned about my gut health and overall health. I take an OTC probiotic, Align daily. What do you recommend?
1/4 lemon (juice + rind) in hot/warm water first thing in the morning or better still Oreganol gel caps extra strength daily, 1 gelcap am 1 gelcap pm
There is a supplement, d-mannose, which helps prevent bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.
I take Probiotics Assurance which contains Bacillus Coagulans before going to bed and it really helps me keep regular and feel great (I hardly ever get sick).
The reason I prefer a Bacillus Coagulans probiotic is because it is a spore forming bacteria which means it has a protective spore or capsule around it which protects it from being destroyed in the strong stomach acids on its way to the intestines. Once Bacillus Coagulans reaches the hospitable environment of the intestines, the bacteria breaks out of its capsule and starts to thrive.
Other probiotic bacteria, like Acidophilus, cannot survive the stomach acids so only a small percentage of the total probiotic reaches the intestines whereas close to 100% of Bacillus Coagulans probiotic reaches the intestines.
Also, because Bacillus Coagulans has the protective spore or capsule around it, Probiotics Assurance does not need refrigeration.
I am wondering why Dr. Mercla’s Complete Probiotics are not are your list. Since I started taking them it has changed my life. I suffered with severe constipation my entire life. I no longer have this problem.
Yes, I take either Dr. Mercola’s or Renew Life, both of which are very good probiotics and they’re not on the list.
Unfortunately all the listed products are not available in Italy and they cannot even be delivered to Italy , not even through Amazon.com 🙁