When to take Probiotics: Morning or Evening?
Either morning or evening. If you’re taking a live strain probiotic supplement, you ideally want to consume them 20 minutes before you eat. By taking them first thing in the morning, or last thing at night before food it allows more of the probiotics to get into the large intestines where they will have the most benefits.
If you’re looking for something more reliable than probiotics in terms of getting your gut bacteria to flourish – we recommend a prebiotic. You can read our Performance Lab Prebiotic review for more information.
Or if you wish to see our Best Prebiotics you can see those here.
Does it really matter when to take Probiotics, be it morning or evening?
That is up for debate. Numerous manufacturers recommend taking probiotics on an empty stomach, while some argue that you should take it with a meal – regardless of what time of day it is.
When it comes to the actual science of this, certain probiotics such as Saccharomyces boulardii have been seen to survive in equal numbers under conditions of being taken both with and without food. [1]
Whereas other bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium do better when taken up to 30 minutes before you have a meal. [1]
It may not matter when you take a probiotic – but it does matter how often you take it. By keeping consistent and having a probiotic either at the same time once every morning, or once every night – you’re keeping the flow of bacteria to your gut constant. In doing so you can help keep your stomach optimized with that healthy bacteria to give you better overall digestive health.
Summary: Morning or Evening – When should you take a Prebiotic?
In summary, it appears to be your choice. You can take a probiotic in the morning, or in the evening. The real key is consistency.
Although some brands say that their product should be taken with food and other ones don’t, the science says for some bacterial strains that this doesn’t even matter and the end result of bacteria in your gut remains the same.
However, for the best effects, it’s recommended that you just continue to take your probiotic at the same time each day. This keeps the constant supply of probiotic bacteria coming and allows your gut to keep at the same optimum level of bacteria throughout the day.
If probiotics aren’t your thing, and you don’t want the risk of your probiotics dying en route to your stomach, I suggest you look into prebiotic fibers. These are much more reliable as they don’t introduce any new probiotic bacteria into your gut, but actually feed the amount that you already have.
Related articles:
- Bio Complete 3 Review: Effectiveness, Side Effects, Pros and Cons
- Can Probiotics Make You Constipated?
- How long does it take to repopulate the gut with good bacteria?
- Is Benefiber a Prebiotic?
- When to take Probiotics Morning or Evening?
- Can Probiotics Give You Diarrhea?
- Why do Probiotics Sometimes Cause Gas?
- How often should you take a probiotic?
- Performance Lab Prebiotic Review | Does it Beat Probiotics? Our #1 For Digestive Health
References:
[1] Tompkins TA, Mainville I, Arcand Y. The impact of meals on a probiotic during transit through a model of the human upper gastrointestinal tract. Benef Microbes. 2011;2(4):295-303. doi:10.3920/BM2011.0022
Hi, I’m Pablo Garduno. I am a biohacking enthusiast, and Head Writer of SanDiegoHealth.org. I write the majority of the content on this site, and appreciate you taking the time to read my work.