Probiotics are basically the ‘good’ bacteria that live in our bodies. Sometimes the balance of good and bad bacteria can become unbalanced, this can be due to things such as an unhealthy diet or being on a course of antibiotics.
Probiotics are a supplement that people take for all sorts of different reasons, such as weight loss, acne, mental health, to boost the immune system, and for many including myself for digestive issues like Gastritis and IBS.
I remember many years ago having some issues with digestive problems, I had heard that probiotics could be a useful supplement and so with no research at all I bought myself a tub of cheap probiotics from the supermarket.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that I didn’t notice any improvement in my symptoms and so after 2 weeks stopped taking them. It was many years later when I was suffering from issues with Gastritis that I decided to give them another go. This time I investigated what were the best ones for my issues and spent a little more money than I had on the supermarket ones, plus i gave the probiotics longer to work, you are unlikely to see the full benefits in a couple of weeks.
This time I noticed lots of improvements, some I wasn’t expecting. My digestion certainly was better, food didn’t seem to sit in my stomach for so long, I didn’t seem to have as much trapped wind and my bowel movements became more regular.
There are various probiotics that are better at treating different conditions, but the main ones are Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
Best Probiotics for Women
Garden of Life Probiotic Supplement Capsules for Women
This probiotic supplement contains Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium for digestive health L. reuteri and L. fermentum for vaginal health.
A good friend of mine suffers from recurring vaginal thrush, she has been using these for several months and has found they have really improved her symptoms.
They contain 50 billion CFU and 16 probiotics for immune system health and are gluten free.
Best Probiotics for Kids
Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Organic Kids+ Plus Vitamin C & D Chewables Tablets
These are brilliant probiotics for kids, they taste great and come in 3 yummy flavours – Berry Cherry, Strawberry Banana, & Watermelon, contain no added sugar and are chewable. They contain 5 billion CFU and 14 probiotic strains
My daughter suffered from Eczema, particularly on the back of her knees and insides of her arms. These helped with this. I love that they are organic too.
Best Chewable Probiotics
Probiotics 6 billion CFUs | 200 Chewable Tablets by Horbaach
I know lots of people struggle to swallow tablets and these ones are great if you have an issue with this.
These have a lovely flavour, are suitable for vegetarians and are gluten-free.
It has 6 billion active organisms from 14 probiotic strains
These are a great price for the quality too.
Best Time Released Probiotics
Earth’s Pearl Probiotic & Prebiotic – for Women, Men and Kids
These are particularly good for helping with gas and bloating and the pearls are time-released, so you take one first thing in the morning and you can benefit from its effects all day.
They are very easy to swallow, as you suck on the pearl for a few seconds and then swallow it down.
It says it’s also 15 times more effective than other capsules as it delivers 15 times the amount of live bacteria straight to the intestinal tract.
The other bonus is that it says it has a money-back guarantee, so if these don’t suit you, you can return. I haven’t tried this though, so I’m not sure how straightforward it is.
Best Probiotics for Men
Garden of Life Probiotics for Men
Another vote for a Garden of life product, but I really do rate them, their products are consistently good in my opinion.
This one has 50 billion CFU and 15 probiotic strains. Its ingredients specifically provide support for the Colon.
It also contains Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria for digestive health and constipation relief, it also helps with gas.
It’s suitable for Vegetarians and is dairy and gluten-free.
Best Probiotic for Weight loss
Womens Probiotic Weight Loss | Purely Inspired 100% Pure Probiotics + Weight Loss
These are a very popular brand that contains probiotics and slimming ingredients to help you boost your weight loss.
They contain the ingredient C. canephora robusta, which in tests found that subjects lost an average of 10.95 lbs with a low-calorie diet in 60 days, and 3.7 lbs in 8 weeks with a calorie-reduced diet and moderate exercise.
Reviews for these are very good and people have reported really positive results.
They need to be taken 30-60 minutes before your largest meals to work properly.
Best Probiotic for Constipation
Phillips Colon Health – Probiotics Capsules
Most probiotics will help to improve constipation. I have always found whatever brand I use; My Bowel movements will become more regular.
But if you have an ongoing issue or your constipation is quite bad this one is very good. I have a friend who suffers with IBS – Constipation and she swears by these.
It contains 3 types of probiotics: Lactobacillus Gasseri KS 13, Bifidobacterium Bifidum G9 1, and Bifidobacterium longum MM 2
It also promises 1.5 Billion CFU’s at the time of expiry, unlike many other brands.
Best Probiotics for H.Pylori
Supersmart – H. Pylori Fight
Many of my fellow Gastritis sufferers have helicobacter pylori and need to take antibiotics. This supplement can be very useful to fight the H.Pylori bacteria which can be hard to eradicate. Sometimes people need to have multiple courses of antibiotics to get rid of the bug.
These natural probiotics contain (Lactobacillus Reuteri) which can help neutralize H. Pylori.
Probiotics and Antibiotics
Antibiotics are wonderful and help people with infections every day but as they do their job to kill off all the bad bacteria in your body, they, unfortunately, kill off all the good stuff too, especially in your intestines, resulting in an unbalanced digestive system.
Probiotics are one of the first things you should think about taking when having antibiotics, they help fill your digestive system with ‘good’ bacteria helping reset the balance of the natural flora in your gut.
There are various opinions on this, but it’s generally advised to take probiotics 2 hours after your antibiotic, to give it the best possible chance of doing its job.
Some health professionals also suggest waiting till you have finished taking your course of antibiotics before starting the probiotics, this is to stop them from cancelling each other out. It’s not known for sure if this is the case, but I took this advice and waited to be on the safe side.
