How To Pick The Best Probiotic For You And 8 Brands To Buy

  references
  
      Harvard Health Publishing: "Health benefits of taking probiotics"
    
      Office of Dietary Supplements: "Probiotics"
    
      World Gastroenterology Organisation Global Guidelines: "Probiotics and prebiotics"
    
      California Dairy Research Foundation: "Probiotics Basics"
    
      Consumer Labs: "Probiotic Supplements Review (Including Pet Probiotics)"
    
      Harvard Health Publishing: "Should you use probiotics for your vagina?"
    
      Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases: "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25531996/"
    
      Canadian Society of Intestinal Research: "Probiotics for Irritable Bowel Syndrome"
    
      American Gastroenterological Association: "AGA does not recommend the use of probiotics for most digestive conditions"
    
      Mayo Clinic: "Pouchitis"
    
      The BMJ: "Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health"
    
      Beneficial Microbes: "The development of probiotic treatment in obesity: a review"
    
      Johns Hopkins Medicine: "The Brain-Gut Connection"
    
      Brain, Behavior, and Immunity: "A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood"
    
      Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility: "Effect of Probiotics on Central Nervous System Functions in Animals and Humans: A Systematic Review"
    
      Annals of Medicine: "Effects of probiotics consumption on lowering lipids and CVD risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"
    
      Clinical and Experimental Immunology: "Allergy and the gastrointestinal system"
    
      Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology: "Prospective study of probiotic supplementation results in immune stimulation and improvement of upper respiratory infection rate"
    
      Journal of the American College of Nutrition: "Lactobacillus gasseri KS-13, Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1, and Bifidobacterium longum MM-2 Ingestion Induces a Less Inflammatory Cytokine Profile and a Potentially Beneficial Shift in Gut Microbiota in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study"
    
      U.S. National Library of Medicine: "Lactobacillus"
    
      NLM: "Bifidobacterium"
    
      NLM: "Saccharomyces"
    




Probiotic supplements can come in handy if you have certain health issues or don't like fermented foods.

Image Credit: banjongseal324/iStock/GettyImages

4 Things to Look for in a Quality Probiotic
For Overall Health
For Women
For Diarrhea
For Constipation
For IBS
For Weight Loss
For Brain Health
For Immunity

Are Supplements Safe? Here’s What You Really Need to Know

The world of probiotics can be overwhelming, which is why the experts we spoke to recommended speaking with your doctor before starting one. “Despite their wide availability, probiotic supplements are not entirely benign agents,” Dr. Curtin says — and not everyone should take one, he notes. He recommends trying them for a short period of time (2 to 4 weeks) as opposed to taking them daily for several years.

“Despite their wide availability, probiotic supplements are not entirely benign agents,” Dr. Curtin says — and not everyone should take one, he notes. He recommends trying them for a short period of time (2 to 4 weeks) as opposed to taking them daily for several years.

Culturelle Digestive Health Daily Probiotic Capsules ($16.88, Walmart.com)

Although research is promising, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) recommends people with IBS consider holding off on taking probiotics because supplements can be pricey and there simply isn’t enough evidence to support that they’ll be beneficial (and won’t lead to harm).

      Harvard Health Publishing: "Health benefits of taking probiotics"
    
      Office of Dietary Supplements: "Probiotics"
    
      World Gastroenterology Organisation Global Guidelines: "Probiotics and prebiotics"
    
      California Dairy Research Foundation: "Probiotics Basics"
    
      Consumer Labs: "Probiotic Supplements Review (Including Pet Probiotics)"
    
      Harvard Health Publishing: "Should you use probiotics for your vagina?"
    
      Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases: "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25531996/"
    
      Canadian Society of Intestinal Research: "Probiotics for Irritable Bowel Syndrome"
    
      American Gastroenterological Association: "AGA does not recommend the use of probiotics for most digestive conditions"
    
      Mayo Clinic: "Pouchitis"
    
      The BMJ: "Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health"
    
      Beneficial Microbes: "The development of probiotic treatment in obesity: a review"
    
      Johns Hopkins Medicine: "The Brain-Gut Connection"
    
      Brain, Behavior, and Immunity: "A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood"
    
      Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility: "Effect of Probiotics on Central Nervous System Functions in Animals and Humans: A Systematic Review"
    
      Annals of Medicine: "Effects of probiotics consumption on lowering lipids and CVD risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"
    
      Clinical and Experimental Immunology: "Allergy and the gastrointestinal system"
    
      Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology: "Prospective study of probiotic supplementation results in immune stimulation and improvement of upper respiratory infection rate"
    
      Journal of the American College of Nutrition: "Lactobacillus gasseri KS-13, Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1, and Bifidobacterium longum MM-2 Ingestion Induces a Less Inflammatory Cytokine Profile and a Potentially Beneficial Shift in Gut Microbiota in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study"
    
      U.S. National Library of Medicine: "Lactobacillus"
    
      NLM: "Bifidobacterium"
    
      NLM: "Saccharomyces"