Should You Take A Probiotic Every Day?

Suppose you are taking a probiotic for a reason, like improving your gut health. In that case, it is advised that you take one probiotic supplement each day to increase the chances of the probiotic working. You might be taking a probiotic supplement for several reasons, that might even relate to controlling your intimate bacteria from being disrupted, nevertheless one supplement a day is all you need! Now, you will need to make sure you are not just taking the correct dosage per day, but make sure that you are also taking them correctly. Many factors can alter the effectiveness of a probiotic (food being one) but how they are stored and the type of probiotic you are taking are both two standard variables that can lead to a difference in overall experience if not handled correctly! In today's blog post, we will be discussing what you can expect to happen to your body when you take probiotics each day as well as what type of probiotics can be more effective for long-term use…

What happens if you take a probiotic every day?

The results from taking daily probiotics are dependent on the reason you are taking them; if you are taking daily probiotics to help heal your gut then after a few weeks that is exactly what you should notice and feel. A healthier gut! Probiotics are considered very safe to take everyone so long as you know that they are suitable for you, and are taken correctly as well as not interfering or being taken with any other medication or treatment! Even though a probiotic is considered a food supplement, it’s not immune to potentially affecting certain antifungal treatments and medications therefore being aware of how they might affect one another taken together is important. If you are ever unsure what medication you can take with your probiotics then you can speak to your GP or pharmacists but typically there are not many reasons to worry about this in most cases. 

Are probiotics less effective if not taken every day?

If you are not taking your probiotics each day, as advised, then you are limiting the chance of them doing any good for your health and well-being. For instance, it’s difficult enough for the gut to have a natural balance of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria and probiotics can take time to help rebalance and stabilise any of the ‘harmful’ bacteria. You will be significantly cutting your effectiveness if you are not being consistent with your probiotic supplement each day. If you are not taking your probiotics every day then you could say that taking them is pointless or near too as the gut needs the probiotic bacteria regularly for a considerable amount of time for it to be helpful for the body. You want to ensure that you are taking one probiotic supplement either first thing in the morning or the evening before bed but at least 2-3 hours before or after eating. We must also add that a higher dosage does not mean it does not need to be taken every day; even a probiotic supplement with a dosage of 10 - 20 billion CFU still should be taken once a day unless stated otherwise! 

Are shelf-stable probiotics effective?

There is some debate as to which probiotics are more effective over others, refrigerated or non-refrigerated probiotics; which are more effective? It can be hard to classify one type better over the other in regards to their effectiveness alone as everyone's body is different and what works best for some might not be the same for all. Therefore, when we refer to better, we are more focused on what is more likely to offer more benefits. Shelf-stable probiotics can be kept at room temperature and do not need to be chilled or kept in a temperature-controlled environment like a fridge. These types of probiotics can therefore be kept in plain sight so that you can easily remember to take them. Plus their overall shelf life is expected to be much longer than probiotics that need to go in the fridge. It’s highly likely that your first probiotics supplements will be shelf-stable and have a long shelf life as they are the more popular option for those first getting into probiotics as well as though who want to make the process easier for the; as they are also travel-friendly for convenience! 

Are refrigerated probiotics better for long-term use?

Refrigerated probiotics do not have to refer to supplements; they could also include probiotic foods that need to stay chilled, like fermented food and yoghurts. If your probiotics need to be kept in the fridge, the probiotic bacteria inside them need to be chilled to keep the bacteria alive and potent. Manufacturers will have most likely done their rigorous testing to ensure that through transit the bacteria can stay alive but it’s important to chill your probiotics right away if it says to do so. If not, the bacteria will die and therefore be useless inside the body! Probiotics that need to be refrigerated are known to be very potent and therefore effective although they are not very travel-friendly as well as having a shooter use-by date on them (for freshness). You might not want to take these types of probiotics long-term if you like to travel as they must stay chilled for effectiveness at all times. Even a few days out of the fridge could kill the bacteria rendering the supplement useless. A way around this is to take a shelf-stable probiotic as your main supplement and then top up your probiotics with probiotic foods like Lactobacilli yoghurts, kimchi and other fermented and fibrous foods! 

We hope you find the Health Insider Blog helpful and a reliable resource that aims to answer all your most pressing questions relating to probiotics and what they can help with! If you have any personal questions or want additional support on a query, then you can send us a DM on Instagram where we aim to get to you as soon as possible!