The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Tina (Houston, Usa) on 04/25/2012:
Probiotics in your gut are highly dependent on other factors for example if one has more enzymes in their system, the probiotics could multiply in that environment and sustain themselves. However enzymes get depleted with age, and most cooked foods and packaged and processed foods are enzyme free, so either one can supplement with high quality enzymes, or have a daily veggie green juice (FRESH) not the pasturized ones sold in the stores without enzyme content.
Also, ingesting probiotic rich foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkrauet, cortido (all made by lacto fermentation) are rich in probiotics, so if one consumes bits of these daily, there is no real need to supplement with Over the counter probiotics unless one is on an antiobiotic course.
Finally the quality of over the counter probiotic hugely varies according to how it was manufactured, transported and stored in the stores. Heated temps above 68 degrees kill probiotics, and very few brands mention that on their packaging. So best to eat lacto-fermented veggies and dairy mentioned above instead of relying on half baked probiotics.
