Ever since I started making conscious choices about my health, I kept on hearing that our overall well-being is directly linked to our gut health. Have you wondered the same way? I continued looking for easy ways to support my gut health and learned about prebiotics and probiotics.
I just couldn’t stop thinking how beautiful life would be for people with almost no digestive issues like constipation, diarrhea, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome and with strengthened immunity, and improved vitality. Prebiotics and Probiotics added to our daily routine can easily help us to achieve these benefits. You can check out my favorite natural source of prebiotics here.
If you are not sure whether your probiotics need is met with diet, I have a recommendation for the best probiotics found in the market.
What Are the Best probiotics for women?
Based on our health goals, body types, and dietary preferences, we need to research on few factors and make informed decisions on which supplements we should take. For some of us probiotics work just fine and for others, we might need either prebiotics or synbiotics. We also need to consider the strain diversity, purity, and shelf stability of these products. Below is the list created considering all the above details :
1. Garden of Life, Dr. Formulated Women’s Probiotics
This is one of the best sellers in Women’s probiotics and is backed by science. This product doesn’t have any artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. It contains 50 billion CFU(Colony Forming Units) of 16 strains of probiotics including Lactobacillus fermentum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, etc.
Key benefits :
Supports the digestive and immune systems of women
Contains clinically studied strains, L. reuteri and L. fermentum that help maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria and pH levels for vaginal health and overall women’s health
Once-daily dose
PRICING :
$32 in Amazon
$37 in gardenoflife website
PROS :
Offers immune, digestive, and vaginal support
Vegeterian and Dairy Free
Soy-Free, Gluten-Free
No refrigeration needed
CONS :
Expensive
Some users report having digestive issues like: diarrhoea, bloating and gas
2. Align Probiotics
Align Probiotics is also one of the most recommended brands and is supported by research. It has strains like Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Lacticaseibacillus which help with both digestive as well as vaginal health. It contains 1 billion strains of CFU of bifidobacterium 35624 strain.
Key benefits :
Supports the digestive and vaginal systems of women
Contains clinically studied strains, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus 35624 along with chaste trees to balance digestive, and vaginal health while also relieving PMS in women.
Once-daily dose
PRICING :
$29 in Amazon
$36 in Target
$34 in CVS
$35 in Walgreens
PROS :
Offers digestive, and vaginal support
Vegetarian and dairy-free
Soy-Free, Gluten-Free
No refrigeration needed
Widely available
CONS:
Some reviewers report having digestive issues like bloating and gas
CFU count was not disclosed on the package (I had to get the information from their website)
3. DS-01 ™ symbiotic
This is my personal favorite. I love the fact that it is a combination of probiotics and prebiotics and so is called symbiotic. It has a probiotic inner capsule and a prebiotic outer capsule and is made of punicalagin concentrated from Indian pomegranate. It contains 53.6 billion AFU(Active Fluorescent Units).
Key Benefits:
Supports digestive health, cardiovascular health, dermatological health, and gut immune function.
It is created by using new technology that includes microbes even if they are not culturable.
Pricing:
$49.99 on the Seed website
$64.99 on Amazon
Pros
Offers digestive, cardiovascular, dermatological, and immune support.
It is Vegan, Dairy-free, Corn-Free, Soy-Free, ShellFish-Free, and Sesame-Free, with no preservatives.
No refrigeration is needed.
Third-party tested.
Cons
Expensive
Some reviewers complain of having digestive issues after taking this.
4. NOW Supplements, Probiotic-10™
This probiotics is highlighted as “Amazon’s choice” and is highly rated. It is cheaper than other available probiotics and is allergan free. It has 25 billion CFU of 10 probiotics strains, like Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, etc.
Key Benefits:
Supports the human gut
Contains clinically verified strains, L. acidophillus, L. plantarum, B. Lactis,etc that help maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria in GI tract.
Doesn’t contain artificial flavors
Pricing:
$19.99 on the nowfoods website
$21.8 on Amazon
Pros:
Offers GI support
Cheaper than other available probiotics
Allergan-free, Vegan
Cons
Requires refrigeration
Some reviewers didn’t like the way it is packed.
What Is probiotics ?
Probiotics are living bacteria and yeast similar to microorganisms naturally found in the human gut. They help with the digestion process, preventing the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and pathogens.
How Can probiotics Benefit You ?
There are many researches that have shown the importance of probiotics on our overall wellbeing. Probiotics help us with nutrient absorption, weight management and balanced digestion. They also create positive impact on mental health and boost our immune system.
How We Conducted Our Research
When doing our research to find the best product, we determined using these factors:
a. Strain: Probiotics are usually classified based on strain. When doing our research, we made sure to include probiotics that have the most common and clinically tested strains like: Bifidobacterium(B), Lactobacillus(L), Streptococcus and Enterococcus. Each of these strains have different impact on the body, so we need choose probiotics based on our health condition.
b. Colony Forming Unit (CFU): We searched for the products that has at least 20 billion CFU as those are usually considered better options.
c. New Technology: While we focused on probiotics with high CFU, we also made sure to include probiotics that is using AFU(Active Fluorescent Unit) as it is more advanced and precise measurement of viable cells.
Wrapping Up
If you are genuinely interested in maintaining healthy lifestyle, we should start with gut health. Good gut is maintained with a good probiotics. We can take food reach in prebiotics that help to grow healthy microbes in our body or prepare fermented food rich in probiotics. An easiest and least time-consuming way is to find a good probiotic supplements that works best for your body.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I take probiotics everyday ?
Yes, you can take probiotics as a part of your daily routine. But it is necessary to choose the probiotics that suits your need and also best to consult with your doctor/health professional if you have any health concerns or conditions.
2. Are probiotics safe during pregnancy ?
Probiotics are generally considered safe during pregnancy but it is best to consult your doctor before taking any supplements.
3. Are there any side-effects of taking probiotics for women ?
Probiotics are usually safe for everyone, including women. But, some women can experience some side effects like : bloating, gas, constipation and digestive discomfort initially.
4. Can we prepare probiotics-rich food at home ?
Many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that nature provides are rich in prebiotics. We can also prepare the “probiotic-rich” foods at home. And thanks to modern technology, it is now easier than ever to educate ourselves about these foods worldwide and add them to our daily diets. Some famous examples include Dosa, Idli, Pickles, Kimchi, Beet Kanji, Yogurt, Kefir, Cheeses, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Miso, Tempeh, etc. I try to add these foods every couple of days to my meals, which has greatly boosted my health.
