What should you look for in a probiotic supplement if diet alone is insufficient?
If diet alone isn’t cutting it, the main thing to look for in a probiotic supplement is strain diversity, since the goal is to rebuild a more varied microbiome, especially after things like antibiotics, or during peri and menopause when certain helpful bacteria tend to drop.
What to look for
A good option usually includes multiple strains, not just one. In our webinar with gastroenterologist Dr. Kumkum Patel, she specifically called out strains that support diversity like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and also mentioned Akkermansia as helpful for gut lining tightness. In the Q&A, she also talked about probiotic supplements being useful when you can’t reliably get enough probiotic foods and fiber to repopulate your gut after antibiotics.
Consider a synbiotic (probiotic + prebiotic)
A synbiotic pairs probiotics with prebiotic fiber, which helps feed the good bacteria you’re trying to grow. At Alloy, that’s why we made the Alloy Synbiotic, it combines spore-based probiotics plus prebiotic fiber. If you want to see ingredients and how it’s used, you can read more here: Alloy Synbiotic details Or go straight to checkout: Alloy Synbiotic checkout
Alloy Synbiotic
$74.97
A helpful video clip
Dr. Patel talks through what to look for in a probiotic, including why multiple strains matter, in this chapter: Menopause and Your Microbiome | Dr. Kumkum Patel - Fermented Foods & Probiotics
If you want the fuller gut health overview from the same expert interview, this article is a good companion: Gut Health: Tips from Dr. KumKum Sarkar Patel
This answer was created using the following resources: