Should You Take Probiotics Every Day?
If you’ve taken supplements before, you’ll probably know that most should be taken every day in order to reap the benefits. But what about probiotics?
In general, it’s a good idea to take probiotics every day. In fact, there are many reasons why this can be highly beneficial not only for treating specific health conditions, but for keeping yourself and your family well every day.
Why Take Probiotics?
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live within your intestines and help your body function properly. They’re involved with a huge range of important processes, from digesting food and absorbing nutrients to producing hormones.
They’re also required for healthy energy production, immune defenses, daily detoxification, and even cognitive function.
When taken as a supplement, probiotics can help improve your overall health. The concept of taking probiotics is not actually new at all: humans have been eating probiotic-rich foods for centuries.
Foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, miso, and yogurt have been fermented in a way that allows them to harbor a range of probiotic bacteria.
It’s especially important to take probiotics after a course of antibiotics, as they can help replenish any beneficial bacteria lost to the medication.
It’s estimated that around 500-1,000 species of bacteria live in your intestines, and those 100 trillion+ microorganisms are around 10 times greater than the number of cells in your body. Each probiotic strain has slightly different benefits.
With thousands of probiotic products now available, it’s possible to take specific strains to treat specific conditions. Probiotics can be taken in the form of capsules, powders, tablets, or liquids. Because your body can’t produce probiotics on its own, it makes sense to lend it a helping hand with a supplement.
Reasons to Take Probiotics Daily
There’s a vast amount of scientific research behind the benefits of probiotic supplementation.
Some people take them to treat specific ailments, such as IBS or other digestive disorders. Some people might only take probiotics after a course of antibiotics.
However, the main aim is to improve the quantity and quality of bacteria in your gut so that they can help your body function more efficiently.
No matter how healthy you think you might be, your gut flora can be affected by many different things on a daily basis. Stress, diet, medications, hormones, and environmental factors have an enormous influence on how well things are in your intestines.
It’s because of these external factors that many of us need to nurture our gut microbiome every day.
Here are some of the reasons to take probiotics daily.
Diet
Many foods can harm your gut bacteria. .Some of the worst offenders include sugar, artificial additives, trans fats, processed foods, and red meats.
Chemicals in alcohol or in drinking water can also damage gut flora.
Studies have shown that many chemicals in processed foods and beverages can encourage the growth and prevalence of pathogens, which in turn can upset the balance of your gut microbiome.
Stress
Most of us face some form of stress in our daily lives. Research has suggested that psychological stress and depression can cause us to eat ‘comfort foods’, which can severely harm our gut bacteria.
Worse still, stress and depression can trigger a constant onslaught of stress hormones, inflammation, and other autonomic changes that reshape the composition of the microbiome. (2)
Medication
Along with antibiotics, other medications that affect the gut include the contraceptive pill, proton pump inhibitors, metformin, and laxatives. (3)
Many of these medications can have catastrophic effects on gut flora which can lead to a variety of digestive issues, weight gain, a greater risk of inflammatory bowel disease, and emotional issues such as depression and anxiety.
Digestive disorders
It’s thought that around 25-45 million people in the US suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and another one million have some form of inflammatory bowel disease.
This is often linked to antibiotic use, which is known to upset gut flora and predispose people to digestive issues.
Evidence For Taking Probiotics
Numerous reviews recommend taking probiotics every day, both for health maintenance and for treating a variety of health issues.
Probiotics don’t just help to improve gastrointestinal microbiota. They have also been shown to boost your immune system, reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels, relieve symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, reduce high blood pressure, and even improve lactose metabolism.
In addition, probiotics may help to support gut-brain communication, which has been suggested as a therapeutic solution for anxiety and depression. (4)
Daily supplementation with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains has been found to reduce symptoms in people with these disorders and improve overall digestive function.
Probiotics are generally recognized as safe to take every day and typically have no side-effects besides occasional digestive upset. They have been used successfully by millions of people around the world and will continue to be one of the most researched and evidence-based supplements available.
A Probiotic You Can Take Every Day
Looking for a probiotic that actually works?
Our probiotic uses time-release tablets to get its probiotic bacteria safely past your stomach acid.
Then it delivers its bacteria slowly over 8-10 hours, meaning that it's both gentle and powerful.
Our customers have seen dramatic improvements in conditions like IBS, acid reflux, Candida, heartburn, and more.
Here are a few key features of our probiotic:
- Time-release tablets that deliver 15 times more bacteria past stomach acid, when compared to regular probiotic capsules.
- Probiotic bacteria are released slowly over 8-10 hours.
- 12 probiotic strains chosen for their effect on gut health and immunity.
- 15 billion CFUs of probiotic bacteria.
- 60 tablets per bottle (enough for 2 months).
- Free of nuts, dairy, gluten, soy. Non-GMO and vegan. Made in the USA.
