Types of Probiotics and How to Pick the Right One for Your Needs, according to Gut Health Research

Leslie Finlay, MPAUpdated: Jul. 05, 2022

Over the shoulder view of young Asian woman browsing through medical products and reading the label on a bottle of medicine in front of the shelves in a pharmacy

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Probiotics are a popular topic, but choosing the right one can be confusing. Here's what nutrition experts and the latest studies say to look out for, plus how to tell whether your probiotic is working.

Sources

Rachel Larkey, MS, RD, CDN, CLC, a registered dietician working in New York City and Seattle
Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, Senior Dietician at UCLA Medical Center and author of Recipe for Survival
PLOS One: "Choosing an appropriate probiotic product for your patient: An evidence-based practical guide."
Frontiers in Microbiology: "Probiotic Supplements: Hope or Hype?"
BMJ: "Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health."
Frontiers in Endocrinology: "Unhealthy Lifestyle and Gut Dysbiosis: A Better Understanding of the Effects of Poor Diet and Nicotine on the Intestinal Microbiome."
Nature Medicine: "A library of human gut bacterial isolates paired with longitudinal multiomics data enables mechanistic microbiome research."
Frontiers in Microbiology: "Role of Lactobacillus reuteri in Human Health and Diseases."
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology: "Recent Development of Probiotic Bifidobacteria for Treating Human Diseases."
Journal of Fungi: "Saccharomyces boulardii: What Makes It Tick as Successful Probiotic?"
Biology: "Multi-Strain Probiotics: Synergy among Isolates Enhances Biological Activities."
Digestive Diseases and Sciences: "Efficacy of Single-Strain Probiotics Versus Multi-Strain Mixtures: Systematic Review of Strain and Disease Specificity."
Beneficial Microbes: "A review of dose-responses of probiotics in human studies."
Integrative Medicine: "Chapter 50 - Inflammatory Bowel Disease."
National Institutes of Health: "Probiotics: What You Need to Know."

Originally Published: April 13, 2022

Leslie Finlay, MPA

In addition to The Healthy, Leslie has written for outlets such as WebMd.com, Fodors.com, LiveFit.com, and more, specializing in content related to healthcare, nutrition, mental health and wellness, and environmental conservation and sustainability. She holds a master's degree in Public Policy focused on the intersection between public health and environmental conservation, and an undergraduate degree in journalism. Leslie is based in Thailand, where she is a marine conservation and scuba diving instructor. In her spare time you'll find her up in the air on the flying trapeze or underwater, diving coral reefs.