Is Your Probiotic Supplement Effective?

How To Pick A Probiotic Supplement That Works
And Get It At A Great Price

With all the media craze surrounding probiotics and their incredible health benefits, we decided it was time to write an in depth analysis of the benefits and what you want to look out for when buying an effective probiotic supplement.

The increase in popularity of probiotic supplements is growing and supplement manufacturers have been crawling out of the woodwork to create their ‘version’ of a probiotic supplement, with wild claims as to its actual benefits. As each new company bursts into the market with their own ‘proprietary formula’, it becomes harder to separate fact from fiction, premium product from worthless imitation.

We decided it was time to analyze them ourselves to find out which products were subpar, which were flat-out lying about what was even in their pills, and which, if any, might actually be worth a try.

It’s hard to believe, but most companies slap on a label that says ‘Probiotic Supplement’, often without even mentioning which strains of probiotics are found in the product or how much of the key ingredients are in each pill or without actually including the amount they claim.

What Did We Research?

With hundreds of manufacturers out there, we wanted to figure out what to look for and how to overcome our concerns regarding nutritional health supplements. We started the process by making a list of the main concerns we have over buying a good probiotic product.

  • It’s not going to be effective. The truth is, there are a lot of products that don’t work at all. Typically, this is because they don’t contain the right ingredients or the right proportions. A lot of interested consumers don’t realize how exact a science creating an effective supplement really is.
  • It’s going to be too expensive to afford. As we conducted our research, we found that a lot of companies sell probiotic supplements for $100 or more! Who wants to risk that kind of money on what could just be snake oil salesmanship?
  • The company I buy from might just be exploiting another fad. How can you tell when a manufacturer is just trying to cash in on the latest trend? Most of those companies are all gimmick and no substance. How do you know that the company you choose to buy from is giving you the real deal?

Finding High Quality Probiotic Supplements

So, how can you identify the legitimate products through all the smoke? There are a few key factors to look for that can all but guarantee the product is genuine.

  1. Third-Party Monitoring: Independent monitoring companies track each company’s reputation and customer satisfaction. One of the most important qualities for a supplement manufacturer is their reputation. Look for a company with a solid reputation backed by third party monitoring.
  2. Risk-Free Money Back Guarantee: Go with a company that guarantees their product and offers your money back if you aren’t satisfied. If the company is not willing to put their money where their mouth is, that means they don’t believe in their own product.
  3. Third-Party Testing: Different than third-party monitoring, third-party testing verifies the quality of each company’s products. Third-party testing is really expensive for manufacturers, since it can actually disqualify entire shipments of pills. But when companies don’t have independent quality control, there is no guarantee that their products are what they claim to be.

Our Research On Probiotic Supplement Brands

Your time and money is valuable and we don’t want you to waste either one. So we did the research on most of the top probiotic supplements available.

We studied each product to determine which consistently had not only the right ingredients, but also the right proportions. We disqualified the ones with unnecessary, synthetic fillers and those whose contents differed drastically from pill to pill.

But we didn’t stop there. After all, numbers and percentages are only part of the story. We went on to seek out real customers who had used the products we tested. We asked them for testimonials and compared them with our notes, and then compiled this information to give you a list of the best products on the market.

What Our Research Uncovered

A good probiotic supplement should contain multiple strains of probiotics. Many probiotic supplements only contain one or two strains, but as each strain provides a specific health benefit, the more strains it contains, the more benefits you will experience. The most researched and studied probiotics include those from the genus Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces boulardii, so including all of these in a probiotic supplement is ideal. A probiotic supplement should also include a prebiotic, such as Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which acts as a food source for the probiotics, thus increasing their production in the gut. These prebiotics are not digestible, so they allow the probiotics to travel through the digestive tract whole to reach the gut where they are best utilized.

The strains of probiotics are not the only indication of a successful supplement, the potency is also important. An effective probiotic supplement should provide a significant and potent daily serving of at least 20 Billion CFU. This CFU indicates the culture count of the probiotic and is a measure of how strong it is. The ideal potency is around 20 Billion CFU as less will provide fewer benefits, but too high can’t be taken for a long period of time. There is no need for any additional unnecessary ingredients, binders, fillers, additives or preservatives.

We found only one product that met this criteria. Our #1 top product choice contains:

  • 10 strains of the most researched probiotics - many only include one or two strains.
  • The probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii - most other probiotics don’t include this strain.
  • A prebiotic, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) - many formulas do not include this.
  • The optimal potency of 25 Billion CFU - many others are either too high or too low.
  • A vegan-friendly formulation - many other probiotics are harvested from dairy.
  • No unnecessary ingredients, binders, fillers, additives or preservatives.

Most brands did not pass the above criteria.

Some of the probiotic manufacturers included the right ingredients, but had a weaker potency or did not include a prebiotic to enhance the production of probiotics in the gut. They use much less than what was used in the clinical studies that led to significant effective results. Many probiotic supplements are not vegan-friendly and may contain dairy. Other companies filled their supplements with cheap fillers, binders, and other synthetic ingredients. Almost all of them avoided quality control testing.

The brands we did pick, we stand by. We are confident that these products can help you achieve your health goals.

Our Probiotic Supplements Top Pick:

We are excited about our first pick and we think you’ll agree. This company has a solid reputation, a high-quality product, third-party monitoring and testing. It also has a solid return policy and stands by its products.

Keto

Rating: Excellent

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  • High Quality Ingredients
  • The Right Proportions
  • Risk Free Trial
  • Affordable Price
  • Powerful Testimonials
  • Reputable History

#1 Top Pick

Research Verified Probiotic

If you want to try a probiotic supplement, then Research Verified should be your first choice. If any probiotic supplement is going to work for you, this is it.

It contains a patented 10-strain probiotic blend called Pro-X™, providing the most optimal strength of 25 Billion CFU. It also includes the prebiotic, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which is essential for the absorption of the probiotics in the gut. This product doesn’t have any binders, fillers or unnecessary ingredients, and is 100% safe to use. It is also a vegan-friendly product.

Quality:

Their product contains an optimal strength multi-strain probiotic blend which is necessary to obtain the most health benefits. The inclusion of Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) aids absorption and maintains a healthy gut pH level.

Reputation:

Their reputation is top notch. They have several third-party monitoring services, including buySAFE, Norton, and Trustee, as well as an A+ rating from the quality monitoring company QualityTrusted.

Guarantee:

All purchases of Research Verified Probiotic are backed by a 365-day Risk Free 100% Money Back Guarantee. That is the best guarantee that we have seen from any manufacturer. This 1-year guarantee shows how confident they are in their product.

Perhaps most importantly, they’re an established company that offers excellent customer service, safe checkout and on-time delivery.

They clearly have a commitment to quality as well, and guarantee that their supplements are made in an FDA registered laboratory that is cGMP certified.

So, if you’re looking for the best probiotic supplement available from a reputable company with a rock solid 365-day money back guarantee, we’d say this is the product to try.

The only issue with Research Verified Probiotic is that due to the high demand they are often sold out. To avoid having to put yourself on a waiting list, take advantage of the benefits while they’re still in stock.

Find Out More

Rating: Good

#2 Pick

Men’s Elite Probiotic

Just behind our number one choice is a product called Men's Elite Probiotic. This probiotic supplement is specially designed for men as it contains a form of purified Shilajit which has been shown to increase testosterone levels. We really like that this product contains more than one strain of probiotics, as multiple strains provide more health benefits. However, it only contains four strains which is fewer than other products we have reviewed. It also has quite a high price point considering you are getting less than some other products. Continue reading to find out more about this product.

We also liked that fact that it is vegetarian, vegan and kosher friendly. On a positive note, it doesn’t contain any unnecessary ingredients, such as unhelpful proprietary blends. This is a well known company and we felt that it was definitely a well made product. One small issue was the fact that it contains rice flour (without actually stating how much). This filler provides no benefit whatsoever and red flags are raised over the amount in each capsule, especially given that the active ingredients only provide 100 mg per day daily serving. Could it be that the inactive ingredients overpower the active ingredients?

We were left wondering whether this product really was as good as the manufacturer claims. Clinical studies show that the ingredients it contains are beneficial, and our own tests showed that it was a good product, but we would like to have seen some exogenous ketone salts included in their formula. For this reason, it fell slightly short of our #1 choice. We also didn't like the fact that it contained rice flour and that we could not see any customer reviews that support the product. However, saying all of that, if you don’t mind taking a chance, this product could be for you.

Rating: OK

#3 Pick

Think Biome Plus Probiotic

Our #3 choice is a product called Think Biome Plus Probiotic which claims to strengthen gut microbiomes. This product states that it contains multiple strains of probiotics, which is ideal, plus the prebiotic FOS. However, when we delved a little deeper into what this product offers, we found that it doesn't include FOS as a main ingredient. There is no indication of how much of this essential ingredient there is in the product so it may not be of any actual benefit. FOS is necessary for the absorption of the probiotics for the most effective results.

However, this product remains a slight mystery in that even though it is marketed as a product for boosting ketosis, it does not contain any exogenous ketone salts in their formula and it also fails to provide a potent daily serving. Since the company itself has a good track record in the industry, and we were able to find several positive reviews about the effectiveness of this product, we do consider this to be a solid product. Just remember that it has a few slight disadvantages.

A serving only contains 200 mg of DHEA, which is not the key ingredient that is used in clinical studies plus, it does not contain any ingredient that helps to increase absorption such as piperine. This means that we have no real true idea of whether or not this supplement will get you the results you are looking for because there are no studies to back up the key ingredient in their product. We did like the fact that it is vegan and vegetarian friendly, and that it is formulated for helping weight loss.

If you don’t mind taking a product that doesn't contain ketone boosting salts, and a lower daily dosage as our #1 product, then this product could be right for you.

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