Best Probiotic Drinks Of 2022, According To Nutritionists

Nikhil Goswami

In recent years, humans have found numerous ways to take care of their guts, especially with probiotic drinks. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that can be found in food, supplement, and drinks

Researchers have studied the link between overall health and gut health for a long time. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that improve our immune and digestive systems. They also improve the production of good bacteria, which leads to improving gut health. 

Probiotic supports the body in fighting harmful and bad bacteria that cause illnesses or chronic diseases. Research has proven that a probiotic drink can improve digestive health and reduce the risk of heart disease.

In addition, probiotics may also help treat irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea and influence our mood and weight. Probiotics collectively work as countless microbes of different species residing in the human body. Since the gut microbiome evolves constantly, studies agree that the microbes’ diversity is good for our overall health.

Furthermore, over one billion probiotics, parasites, viruses, and fungi coexist in the gut. However, medication, diet, or illness may disturb the gut microbiome and make humans sick. Although the FDA has not regulated probiotics and has not approved health claims associated with probiotic drinks, some studies show that probiotic foods maintain the relationship between bad and good bacteria.

Ways to Take Probiotics

There are different ways to consume these beneficial microbes, such as having various meals containing live and active cultures. Therefore, food like pickled vegetables, yogurt, kimchi, tempeh, kombucha tea, sauerkraut, miso, and kefir can help to increase the levels of healthy bacteria in your gut. 

Prebiotic foods made from plant fibers help the gut bacteria to survive in our guts, allowing them to work effectively. You can find probiotics in asparagus, onion, bananas, garlic, and whole grains like barley, oats, and wheat.

Additionally, food items like sourdough bread, cane sugar, and yogurt smoothies can be the best probiotic supplements, and probiotic beverages are also highly effective in maintaining good microbes in your body.

Moreover, while buying groceries, you should check the label of the diets you consume for words like “live active cultures.” Additionally, look for products with probiotic strains such as Saccharomyces boulardii and, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium. Alternately, if you don’t like dairy, you can consider the diary-free probiotics options. 

Whether you want a few flavors per four servings or drinkable yogurts, probiotics got you covered. Some basic probiotics include Milk kefir, Buttermilk, Probiotic lemonade, Apple cider vinegar drink, Coconut kefir, and Green juice.

Finally, you should compare serving size, nutrition facts, and cost to select the product that fits your needs.

The Healthy Benefits of Using Probiotic Drinks

People often wonder if can i take probiotics on empty stomach. However, consuming probiotic drinks before breakfast enables individuals to enjoy some health benefits, including maintaining their digestive health. Also, probiotic drinks have become easy means of getting the right amount of probiotics in the gut.

Unlike probiotic supplements, probiotic drinks contain nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, and protein. However, you spend more on these drinks than naturally receiving probiotics when you use fermented soya, sauerkraut, kimchi, and drinkable yogurt.

When you use probiotic drinks in the form of kombucha, yogurt smoothies, and kefir, you consume live cultures found in them, which yield tremendous benefits. Some of the health benefits of probiotic drinks include:

Support Gut Health

Probiotics contain good bacteria that boost gut health and support the intestinal tract system. Also, probiotic ensures that the body absorbs more nutrients while it helps us maintain bacteria balance in the gut.

Hence, you suffer less from irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating.

Fight Infections

Over the years, many brands have transformed the wellness industry with several probiotic drinks in the market. More people have realized that it can help them strengthen their immune systems and build defenses. 

You can avoid suffering from fungal infections and urinary tract infections when you drink plant-based probiotic beverages. For instance, you can use the best probiotic drinks to improve your bile flow, cleanse the gallbladder, and support the liver. 

These steps ensure that the body withstands harmful bacteria that can lead to chronic illnesses. Besides these functionalities, probiotic drinks help to fight off free radicals associated with cell damage and inflammation. 

Probiotics boost your nutrient absorption and reduce symptoms like colds, flu, digestive disorders, and skin issues. The heart also benefits from some probiotic drinks containing antihypertensive and antihypercholesterolemic effects.

May Improve Mental Health

When the digestive system suffers from any health challenges, it can affect our mental health. Some people often refer to the digestive system as the second brain. Further, unhealthy gut health leads to insomnia, irritation, and lethargy, which can greatly affect an individual’s mental health. Probiotic drinks have been known to improve gut health and digestion.

Probiotic drinks may also manage leaky gut syndrome and inflammatory responses, which helps to promote an individual’s overall wellness.

Minimizes Food Sensitivities or Risk for Allergies 

The best probiotic drinks can improve your immune system, which prevents sealing the gastrointestinal tract or a leaky gut. With a probiotic product, you can also reduce the risk of food allergies and symptoms of lactose intolerance. 

Offers a Solid Source of Nutrients

Probiotic drinks and gut bacteria can introduce vitamin B12, protein, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin D, and other nutrients to your body. For instance, kefir contains protein, essential minerals, and healthy fats.

You can receive antioxidants, daily calcium, and vitamin C when you use some fermented vegetable drink products. Additionally, you can receive healthy enzymes, beneficial acids, and vitamins with kombucha. 

May Aid Weight Loss

People who want to lose weight can also use probiotic drinks. Since some weight-loss products can affect general health, drinks like kombucha, kefir, and yogurt-based drinks can help lose weight without the side effects. 

For example, kombucha contains low calories and sugar and still tastes pleasant. Many women grab any of the probiotic drinks to lose weight and boost their gut health.

Can Prevent and Manage Diarrhea

Using probiotics can prevent and reduce serious diarrhea. While the antibiotics you use can disrupt gut bacteria and cause diarrhea, probiotic drinks can help replenish healthy gut colonies. 

Thus, when you use probiotics, it can reduce diarrhea associated with antibiotics. Moreover, it can prevent other types of diarrhea and reduces the effects of severe diarrhea. 

Reduces Severity of Digestive Disorders

If you suffer inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, you can use probiotics containing Lactobacillus strains and Bifidobacterium to alleviate the condition. 

In 2015, researchers proved that you could use probiotic strains like E. coli Nissle to manage your ulcerative colitis. As a result, when you naturally increase your probiotic consumption, you can have relief from the following:

  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • Constant Colics
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Chronic constipation
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn’s disease

Improves the Immune System

Besides improving the gut microbiome, probiotic cultures strengthen the immune system, inhibiting bad gut bacteria from growing. 

There are numerous probiotic drinks that boost natural antibody production in the body. For example, a probiotic drink can support the activities of natural killer cells, T-lymphocytes, and IgA-producing cells.

Probiotic strains like Lactobacillus GG can reduce some kids’ distress caused by chronic respiratory infections. On the other hand, Lactobacillus crispatus reduces women’s risk of suffering from urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Thus, we can say that an effective way of improving the good bacteria in the gut microbiome is by consuming food sources rich in probiotics. Some of the probiotic food sources include Greek yogurt, pickles, tempeh, fermented foods, dark chocolate, and olives.

May Support Vaginal Health

Women who consume probiotic drinks have fewer problems with vaginal infections. Probiotics keep women’s urogenital system in check, especially the vaginal canal, which requires active cultures.

In most cases, bad microbes find it difficult to live in the vaginal canal because of the acidic nature of Lactobacilli strains. However, using spermicides, antibiotics, or birth control tablets can disrupt this healthy ecosystem.

In addition, women’s urogenital challenges like urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, or yeast infections may reduce with the support of probiotic cultures. 

However, we have not seen enough evidence recommending probiotic strains like Lactobacilli for bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, it is best to consult a doctor regarding the use of probiotics for a confirmed diagnosis of any infection before using probiotics for treatment.

Key Points

Synergy Trilogy: The product is an original raw kombucha created for people in need of better health. The product comes fully fermented for thirty days with more than nine billion microbes. If you want to boost your immunity, support your gut health, and enjoy a healthier life, you can take advantage of kombucha products. 

Water Kefir Culture: The probiotic beverage offers many health benefits like protection against cancer and improved immunity. 

It comes as a vegan-friendly and dairy-free product with a pleasant taste. Water kefir contains yeast and beneficial bacteria. Furthermore, you can also prepare this drink at home from water kefir grains and sugar water. You can make it with fun flavors if you have a sweet tooth.

Buyer Guide for Selecting Good Probiotic Drinks

When selecting any probiotic beverage, you should consider the product’s label’s service size, bacteria strain, and nutrition facts. 

We recommend products containing a variety of live active cultures and probiotic strains. The internet has hundreds of probiotic supplements with numerous health claims, but we have listed what you should consider before buying.

A Billion Probiotics is Better

A first-time user may find it difficult to understand why we talk about swallowing billions of microbes. Probiotic supplements work differently because they offer you different strains of live cultures.  

For instance, probiotic foods with billions of microbes work more effectively than those with only millions of good bacteria. For instance, a single probiotic dose has five to a hundred billion colony-forming units. 

We measure the potency of probiotics by the number of live active cultures they contain. The more probiotic strains a product contains, the more potent, and we prefer those with higher active cultures. 

Check for Diversity 

The human gut is unique and contains a diverse community of live active cultures in the form of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Therefore you should consider using a probiotic drink with more strains and live probiotics.

Sometimes, these strains come as a proprietary blend, but with blends, it becomes difficult to know the number of colony-forming units strains contain. For example, fake brands often offer you a single probiotic species like Lactobacillus acidophilus. 

Therefore, buy products with probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium, including Saccharomyces boulardii and Streptococcus thermophilus, among others.

Buy Dairy-Free

If you are lactose intolerant or cannot consume dairy, we recommend you consider diary-free supplements containing Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains, respectively. Your product can have at least thirty billion colony-forming units with these strains. You can read more about the production date and expiration on the label.

You should go for live probiotics products that aid digestion and improve a healthy lifestyle. 

Avoid Certain Fillers and Binders

You must read the label for other ingredients, artificial flavors, potential benefits, and the fermentation process. Also, the product should offer the same health benefits as natural bacteria. For example, some fake brands use fillers and binders like cornstarch or lactose on their products, which can cause adverse side effects like bloating and gas. 

Additionally, you should ensure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients on the list.

Check Probiotics Dates

Do not always assume that the probiotic you bought has no questionable items. Therefore, you should check for the production and expiration date. If your product expires, it loses its potency and may cause you harm.

You can check the official website to learn more about the product. Some probiotic products can last for two years; however, there are products with high-quality and longer shelf-life. Also, you can learn about the best way to store the product after reading its label.

The Right Probiotic Dose

If you desire to use probiotic foods or supplements for your gut health, we recommend you begin with 30 billion colony-forming units. In addition, use the product on an empty stomach daily for some time before you can decide whether to continue with the product.

However, we recommend that people consult their doctors before using the probiotic method if they have any GI problems or are under any medication. Moreover, pregnant women and children should also use probiotics only after consulting their primary care providers.

Other health Benefits

Probiotics offer users other health benefits like

  • Blood pressure: people with blood pressure have a fast relief when they use probiotics.
  • Inflammation: It helps reduce systemic inflammation in patients, which causes many chronic diseases. 
  • Depression and anxiety: With probiotic strains like Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum, you can reduce your level of depression and anxiety.
  • Blood cholesterol: Many probiotic products have helped people lower their LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. However, studies about this treatment remain controversial. 
  • Skin health: You can experience healthier skin if you have eczema, rosacea, acne, and other skin problems. 
  • Anti-aging: Although studies have not provided much light on this research, you can boost the cells to replicate faster with probiotics. 

Potential Side Effects 

While probiotic products may not cause potential side effects, you should only buy from reputable brands. The secret is finding the right product for your needs. If you use the wrong product, you may suffer from boating, irritability, or irregularity issues. However, these side effects disappear if you stop using the product.

People who suffer from side effects from some products should consider changing to new strains. You can work with a professional if you have medical issues like gastrointestinal illnesses. Some probiotic strains can worsen your health condition if they react with your body.

Healthy Probiotic Drinks To Purchase

We have scoured the internet to round up some of the best probiotic drinks on the market. Here is a list of these products:

  • Activia Probiotic Dailies

Product information

Per Serving: 3 g protein, 1.5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 70 calories, 5 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbs (10 g sugar),50 mg sodium

Activia Probiotic Dailies tastes pleasant and affordable. You enjoy at least 70 calories for your three-ounce serving when you drink the product.

  • Siggi’s Plain Filmjolk

Product information

Per Serving: 8 g protein, 80 calories, 150 mg sodium, 5 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbs (10 g sugar), 0 g fat (o g saturated fat)

The simple ingredients associated with Siggi make it popular. The product has 16 grams of protein and 4g of added sugar. In addition, users consume different probiotics, which makes them good stuff.  

  • Lifeway Plain Kefir Drinks

Product information

Per Serving:

 0-gram fat (0 g saturated fat), 120 mg cholesterol,90 calories, 11 g protein, 12 g carbs (12 g sugar), 5 mg cholesterol

The probiotic drink provides you with twelve strains of probiotics that include Bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, and Saccharomyces, plus around fifteen to 20 million colony-forming units. Furthermore, Lifeway Plain Kefir Drinks offers you 30 percent of daily calcium, 25 percent of Vitamin D, and 11 grams of protein.

The product lacks added sugars, which makes it healthier for people who don’t need sugar.

  • Good Culture Probiotic Smoothie

Product information

Per Serving: 7 g protein, 140 calories, 20 mg cholesterol, 6 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat), 16 g carbs (14 g sugar), 75 mg sodium

Good Culture Probiotic Smoothie contains twelve different strains, 0 grams of added sugar, and 7 grams of protein. In addition, it contains kefir prepared with pasture-raised dairy and has thirty-five billion live and active cultures.

  • Chobani Low-Fat Greek Yogurt Drink

Product information

Per Serving: 17 g carbs (15 g sugar), 20 mg cholesterol, 140 calories, 95 mg sodium, 11 g protein, 4 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat)

The product allows you to use it on the go without difficulty. In addition, the Chobani Low-Fat Greek Yogurt drink tastes good and is very affordable.

  • Farmhouse Culture Gut Shots

Product information

Per Serving:0 g protein, 220 mg sodium, 1 g carbs (0 g sugar), 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 5 calories

Farmhouse Culture Gut Shots has simple ingredients like sea salt, red beets, vegetable juice, fruit, water, cabbage, and ginger. Also, the product is organic and prepared from sauerkraut juice, including unpasteurized with many strains of probiotics.

  • GoodBelly Probiotic Shots

Product information

Per Serving: 1 g protein, 30 calories, 0 mg sodium, 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat),6 g carbs (3 g sugar)

GoodBelly Probiotic Shots contains at least twenty billion colony-forming units, which include various strains. Therefore, the product is dairy-free, non-GMO, soy-free, and has low amounts of sugar. 

Consumers absorb nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, iron, and vitamin C, depending on the variety they pick. 

  • Health-ADE Kombucha Pink Lady Apple

Product information

16 FL-OZ Per Serving: 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 80 calories,0 mg sodium, 0 g protein, 18 g carbs (14 g sugar),

Health-ADE Kombucha Pink Lady Apple contains kombucha with apple cider vinegar flavor. While some people may not enjoy some probiotics, this product has a great flavor you will enjoy. 

In addition, it offers consumers a non-dairy option.

  • Califia Farms Probiotic Dairy-Free Unsweetened Yogurt Drink

Product information

Per Serving: 3 g protein, 100 calories, 9 grams fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 240 mg sodium, and 4 grams carbs (1 g sugar)

The product offers you simple ingredients, dairy-free, and plant-based products. 

  • Harmless Harvest Dairy-Free Yogurt Drink

Product information

Per Serving:12 g carbs (3 g fiber), 7 g of added sugars, g fat (4 g saturated fat),100 calories, 20 mg sodium, and 1 g protein.

Most people may not want to use a product that affects their bodies. Hence, Harmless Harvest Dairy-Free Yogurt Drink provides you with 4 grams of saturated fat, which amounts to twenty percent of a human’s daily nutrient value.

Meanwhile, coconut contains saturated fat that offers you the same health benefits. Saturated fats help the body reduce fat, which leads to weight loss.  

However, you must not consume more than necessary of this product. The product has a healthy balance of fiber, sugar, and saturated fat. 

  • GT Kombucha Gingerade

Product information

Per 16 FL-OZ Serving: 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat),12 g carbs (12 g sugar), 50 calories, 0 g protein, 10 mg sodium

GT Kombucha Gingerade has become a popular brand on the market. The OG kombucha brand manufactures different flavors of its blend, kombucha. However, the GT has become the favorite flavor of many consumers. 

The product offers the lowest sugar content (12 grams) and does not contain added sugar. The probiotic drink has three strains and five organic acids that ensure you have a great gut microbiome and ease of digestion. 

Top 3 Unhealthy Probiotic Drinks

  • Tropicana Essentials Probiotics Juice

Product information

Per Serving: <1 g protein, 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 33 g carbs (29 g sugar), 140 calories, 10 mg sodium 

Tropicana Essentials Probiotics Juice contains a variety of nutrients like potassium and vitamin. However, it contains an unhealthy amount of carbohydrates that may affect people’s health. As a result, many people avoid it.

  • GoodBelly Probiotic Juice in Raspberry Blackberry

Product information

Per Serving: <1 g protein,100 calories, 15 mg sodium, 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 23 g carbs (19 g sugar) 

GoodBelly Probiotic Juice in Raspberry Blackberry contains 19 grams of sugar per eight ounces, and it has barely one gram of protein and lacks most nutrients. You can consider using juices with healthier ingredients and no added sugars.

  • Vitacup Probiotic Infused Coffee Pods

Product information

Per Serving: 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 5 calories, 45 mg sodium, 1 g protein, 0 g carbs (0 g sugar)

Vitacup Probiotic Infused Coffee Pods may not be a great probiotic product, especially for the environment. The product used coffee pods, which may not work well in some people’s bodies. If you have a problem with caffeine, you may not want to use this product. Finally, it is also on the expensive side and might not be affordable to all. 

Conclusion: What Drinks Are Good For Your Gut?

We need more than probiotic foods or supplements to maintain a good gut. Exercise and a day-to-day diet can help in improving our gut. Nevertheless, some lifestyles can affect the thriving of good gut bacteria.

With probiotic drinks, you can enjoy a wide range of health benefits but may suffer a few adverse effects if you use the wrong product. In addition, you can use probiotics to treat symptoms of anxiety, depression, neurological disorders, digestion issues, and weight loss.

We recommend you consult your doctor before using any product if you have an underlying health condition. For instance, the World Gastroenterology Organization Global Guidelines can offer information about the benefits of using probiotics. 

Caution is advised before you start using any probiotic products. You should buy from a reputable brand and don’t rush the dosage. For people who dislike the bland taste of some of the products, you can consider using a few flavors. 

 

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