Is a daily probiotic worth taking?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
For most healthy people, the evidence is thinner than the marketing. Specific strains help specific situations: certain ones shorten antibiotic-related diarrhea, and some ease IBS symptoms in some people.
A general capsule for general wellness has little proof behind it, and effects vanish when you stop.
Fermented foods, yogurt, kefir, and above all a fiber-rich varied diet feed your own bacteria more durably than any pill. If you try a probiotic for a defined problem, give it four weeks and judge honestly.
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