I’m frequently asked about what brand of probiotics I use, so I put together this short list. Here’s a more detailed ingredient comparison for you.
Keep in mind that high caliber probiotics need to be refrigerated. If you’ve found a budget brand that has been stored in a non air-conditioned warehouse, shipped in a hot truck, and then stocked on shelves for several weeks, the probiotics are likely nonviable for the consumer.
The image here shows what comes inside every Visbiome box. It’s a handy temperature monitor to help customers know they’re getting probiotics that haven’t been ruined by exposure to heat.
The companies mentioned here take a number of precautions and extra steps to insure that their probiotics are alive and well by the time you receive them.
VSL #3 ($63)
- Pharmaceutical grade
- 112.5 billion live lactic acid bacteria per capsule
- Freeze dried to maintain viability
- Highest available concentration of beneficial bacteria
- Ships in a cooler with an ice-pack.
- Must be refrigerated upon arrival.
- Manufactured in Italy
- Gluten free
- As of 2016, product contains cornstarch and silicon dioxide
Visbiome ($52)
- Pharmaceutical grade
- 112.5 billion live lactic acid bacteria per capsule
- Freeze dried to maintain viability
- Highest available concentration of beneficial bacteria
- Ships in a cooler with an ice-pack.
- Must be refrigerated upon arrival.
- Flavored/unflavored powdered form (450 billion per packet)
- Manufactured in USA
- Gluten free
- Does not contain cornstarch or silicon dioxide
How I Know My Probiotics Are Working
I can’t speak for everyone on this… but I can tell within 24-48 hours of ingesting the probiotics mentioned above that things have started to work. There’s a marked change in volume, consistency, and scent of the… excreta. I never really noticed any of these changes after trying store-bought brands.
Here are two addition resources for helping better understand if your probiotics are working:
- Healthy Living Benefits – How Do You Know Probiotic Supplements are Working?
- LiveStrong.com – How Do You Know Probiotics are Working?
A Chiropractor's Opinion 