How long before eating should you take probiotics? Is it better to take them in the morning or evening? Can you take them continuously? We provide the answers to these and other questions.
Probiotics are ‘friendly bacteria’ which are normally already present in the human body.
Taking probiotic supplements to boost your levels of beneficial microorganisms is a very effective way of helping to maintain balance in your gut microbiota and support your health in general (1).
But they need to arrive in your gut in the right condition in order to deliver these health benefits…
It’s a frequently-asked question: what time of day should you take probiotics? Morning or evening?
The truth is it doesn’t really matter whether you take your probiotics in the morning or evening. What’s important is the viability of your supplement (2):
For convenience, it’s easier to take your probiotics in the morning, 15-30 minutes before breakfast (but make it a light breakfast, not brunch). That way, your probiotics will retain their efficacy.
However, if you think you’ll forget to take them in the morning, or find they give you a few side-effects at first (such as gas) which are harder to cope with during the day, then you can carry on taking your probiotics in the evening. Just make sure you do so before a light dinner or with a light snack just before bed (when you’ve had a few hours to digest your dinner). You thus have a few different options.
First and foremost, it’s important to follow any instructions on the probiotic label.
If there are no specific recommendations, it’s a good idea, as explained above, to take your probiotic in the 30 minutes before – or indeed with - a light meal or snack.
Generally speaking, probiotics are not one-off cures, so you shouldn’t expect to see an immediate effect in the hours following supplementation.
That’s why we talk about a course of probiotics: it’s more a long-term ‘treatment’ designed to rebalance the gut flora.
Thus it usually takes several weeks of supplementation, alongside an appropriate diet, to feel the first effects of probiotics.
There’s still the question of how long a course of probiotics should last, and how many times a year to take them. Firstly, the period of probiotic supplementation depends on the reason you’re taking them:
Whatever the circumstances, it’s important to follow the recommendations for each probiotic formulation to optimise benefits.
No. It’s better to take breaks from time to time, rather than continue supplementing with probiotics for long periods without interruption. This is for two main reasons:
And if your problems persist after taking one or more courses of probiotics, be sure to consult your doctor.
To end, here are 4 examples of effective probiotic supplements and formulations:
References
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