When is the Best Time to Take Probiotics?

Are you thinking about adding a daily probiotic to your health routine? The beneficial gut bacteria probiotics provide support digestion and promote gut health, as well as offering support for a healthy immune system, as there is a definite connection between your immunity and a healthy gut.

Probiotics play an important role in mood, digestive health, breaking down nutrients, and balancing any harmful bacteria. 

But all these benefits aside, when is the best time to take a probiotic?

What Time Should You Take a Probiotic?

To get the full benefit from probiotic supplements, most nutrition experts agree that the best time to take a probiotic is just before, or right as you begin a meal. 

Why is this timing crucial? It’s the period in which your stomach is least acidic. At this point, your body has not started producing a large enough quantity of stomach acid to digest food, making it easier for probiotics to enter your gut successfully, so that you receive the most benefit from them.

This is the time that the most healthy probiotic bacteria survive and colonize in the gut, where they are able to support your gut health and immune system.

So, time of day doesn’t matter, but taking probiotics before you eat is a good idea. Research has shown that probiotics consumed at the start of a meal or 30 minutes before eating survive more consistently than those consumed after food, when stomach acid is much higher. 

Does the Type of Probiotic Matter?

The type of probiotic you consume can affect when to take it. Coated, time release capsules are more likely to survive your stomach acid if taken after a meal. A live strain probiotic supplement, will offer you the most benefit if taken before you eat, at bedtime or first thing in the morning. A caveat to the first-thing-in-the-morning idea for consumption, is that sometimes probiotics taken on a completely empty stomach can cause some gastric upset, making just before meal time truly ideal.

Split Dosages

You can also split the amount of probiotics you are taking in two if you’d prefer, taking half in the morning, and half in the evening. This way, probiotics won’t overwhelm the gut, but provide maximum benefits throughout the day. 

Summing up, while the exact time of day you take probiotics doesn’t matter, just planning to consume them before or just at the start of a meal is the best time, both to increase their potency and allow them to get to work without the interference of excess stomach acid. Likewise, taking close to a meal time will mitigate any potential issues with an upset stomach, so this timing is a win-win all around!

Learn More About Longevity Herbs

Keep your healthy bases covered with the addition of a healthy vitamin, probiotic, or other supplement to your diet. At Longevity Herbs, we can help!

If you’d like to learn more about Longevity Herbs, browse our product selection online or contact us today.