Fermented Probiotics and the Best Brand for Gut Health

Probioitics are about survival of the fittest.

You can down as many pills with billions of bacteria or as many strains as you want, but if those weaklings all die in your gut, you’ve just wasted a ton of money. The best probiotics at my local health food stores sell for $30-$60 a bottle for maybe 25-50 pills.

My general philosophy was always to have two or three brands of probiotics in my fridge at all times to maximize the variety of strains of bacteria in each pill and the quantity. It’s kind of like hedging your bets. If one didn’t work well, another might.

Then I found this brand: Dr Ohhira’s Fermented Probiotics by Botanica.

I’m always skeptical when something is named after a doctor, and they add the word Ph.D to make him sound like he knows what he’s doing. But the product was interesting.

Most probiotics are just lactic acid bacteria, sent on a test roller coaster ride into your stomach and you have no idea if they’ll crash or survive. But this product combines 92 fermented fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and seaweeds, plus 12 strains of lactic acid bacteria and relatively harmless “other ingredients” including beeswax, carageenan, safflower oil, spring water and natural caramel colour from sugar beets. The three-year fermentation process means that the weak strains have theoretically already been weeded out and what remains are the strong strains that have a better chance of surviving your GI tract. They’re also supposed to be somewhat protected by this “nutrient-rich culture medium.”

The pills are also vegan-friendly and there’s no hidden lactose, which are often problems with everything from Tylenol to vitamins.

You’re supposed to take two a day on an empty stomach. If you take it right after a meal (which is often when you want to take them, to reduce bloat or ease digestion), they won’t be as effective. They’ll get diluted in your stomach. So I’ll keep taking other probiotics that immediately reduce that “I’ve eaten too much” feeling and take these in the morning. If your digestion isn’t awful, you’re probably fine with 1 a day, and when the pills cost this much (almost $100 for 60 capsules at my local shop, though they were on sale for $70 because no one was buying them at that price), you don’t want to waste them. But, theoretically, if you inundate your stomach with all this good bacteria, it will create a healthy gut environment more quickly, and be self-sustaining. That’s my theory, anyway. So if you need a lot of help, go with 2 a day. If you just need a boost, 1 a day.