When To Take Your Probiotics?!

Members often ask when to take their probiotics. Before meals? With meals? After meals? On an empty stomach?

Well, there’s a reason a definitive answer has been hard to find.  Turns out, there isn’t one. Plenty of theories exist but no studies compare actual rates of survival.

That said, this kat dug up some good tips for ensuring maximum potency whenever you take probiotics.

1. Take your probiotics at a consistent time of day. Whenever you decide to take your probiotics, try to be regular and take ‘em at the same time each day.
2. If you take your probiotics on an empty stomach, take ‘em with a glass of water. Water will help dilute your stomach’s normally highly acidic environment. Water also ensures your probiotic friends won’t stay in your stomach long, as water is more quickly ushered to the small intestine. Dr. Rodier prefers this approach, but it’s not the only way to go.
3. If you take your probiotics with food, take them with something light and easy to digest, like fruits or salads. Avoid protein and other foods that take a long time to digest. Protein in particular spurs the stomach to secrete lots of acid, and because digestion takes so long, your probiotics will be swimming around in high acid for up to 4 hours before making it to your small intestine.
4. If you take your probiotics after meals, try to wait at least 30 minutes. Most of the acid will have been secreted and absorbed at this point, and thus your stomach’s pH will be a little closer to neutral and food will already be on the way to your intestine.

If you have stories to share on your own experiments with taking probiotics, fair members, drop this kat a line!

And don’t forget, the spore-forming probiotics in Soothing Greens were designed specifically to make it safely to your intestines, regardless of pH.