Greens powders are all over the supplement market, as you will be able to tell if you’ve ever taken a look at the best greens and my many articles about supplementing with these powders!
Although most greens powders contain a wide range of ingredients, from grasses, algae, fruit, and herbal extracts, one of the most frequently added types of ingredients that brands love to shout about in recent years is probiotics.
Whether online or in a supplement store, you will come across greens powders containing probiotics if you are looking for a greens powder.
The brands that produce these formulas use the presence of probiotics as a great marketing tool, making people feel like they’re getting a lot more for their money. Still, the concern is that it could just be “window-dressing” and not serve many nutritional and health benefits.
So, perhaps you’re thinking of choosing a greens powder for gut health, you’re trying to weigh up whether you should spend more money on a powder with probiotics or you’re simply curious as to whether greens powders with probiotics are as powerful as they appear.
In this article, I will explain the pros and cons of probiotics in greens powders, concluding whether you should choose a probiotic greens powder! Let’s get into it.
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms that benefit the gut and provide health benefits for most people. The gut contains around 100 trillion bacteria cells, most of which are useful and benefit your health daily, and probiotics are also this ‘good’ type of bacteria.
Probiotics can be found in fermented foods, such as kimchi, cheese, and yogurt. If you have a healthy diet and consume foods containing probiotics, you probably won’t need to consume probiotic supplements. However, a lot of people consume probiotics in supplement form.
The Claimed Benefits of Probiotics
Probiotics are supposed to help balance the bacteria in the gut, help prevent diarrhea and constipation, and reduce symptoms of IBS and other digestive illnesses. They might even boost heart health and mental health.
There are 6 commonly used probiotics in greens powders – B. animalis, B.breve, B.lactis, B. longum, and L. acidophilus, and you can learn about the benefits of each of these probiotics by checking out my in-depth probiotics for men article here.
The Fragility of Probiotics
One of the biggest problems with probiotics, specifically probiotics that are added to supplements such as greens powders, is that they’re very fragile, meaning that it’s unlikely that they will reach your gut and provide benefits.
Probiotics will find it very difficult to survive throughout the manufacturing process, the storage process, and even the digestion process. Heat, a key element in manufacturing most greens powders, is one of the worst things for probiotics.
So, it’s unlikely that the probiotics within a super greens powder will reach your digestive system properly and provide you with health benefits.
They May Not Work, and They’re Not Suitable For Everyone
Research has shown that probiotics don’t live in some people’s guts, depending on the individual’s microbiome and gene expression, so probiotics in a greens powder might be useless for you, depending on your gut.
As well as this, research has shown that although probiotics are safe for most people, they’re not suitable and can cause illnesses in those with weakened immune systems, autoimmune conditions, and severe illnesses.
People on antifungal medication should also avoid probiotics as they interfere with them.
Look Towards Synbiotics…
One of the main issues with probiotics is survival through manufacturing and into the gut. So, if you are intent on consuming a probiotic supplement, you might want to look to synbiotics.
Synbiotic supplements contain probiotics and prebiotics and are specifically designed to survive.
Although unfortunately, people tend to think probiotics and prebiotics are the same, they’re very different. Prebiotics are compounds in foods that provide energy for the ‘good,’ healthy bacteria in your gut. They promote the growth of ‘good’ bacteria.
So, with synbiotics, you will benefit from both probiotics and prebiotics, and you are much more likely to provide the consumer with benefits, meaning they’re a much better option!
The popularity of synbiotics is growing exponentially, and it’s clear why.
So, Should You Choose a Greens Powder With Probiotics? – No, and Here’s Why!
Although I’m all for mixing greens powders with protein and other powdered supplements, I don’t think there’s much point in producing greens powders with probiotics. Let me explain.
- The probiotics in a greens powder may not have survived the manufacturing process, so it could be a waste of money.
- Even if the probiotics survive, they might not survive in your gut, depending on your microbiome and gene expression.
- Lastly, there hasn’t been extensive research done on probiotics in greens powders, and quite frankly, I think some brands may just add them into formulas so they can claim it’s the “complete” and only supplement you need.
The Solution…
If you want to add probiotics to your diet, I would suggest taking a look into synbiotics or taking a high-quality, heavily researched, and tested probiotics supplement.
However, as long as you’re eating a healthy diet and consuming essential nutrients, including foods and nutrients that benefit the gut, you will probably not even need probiotics.
In my opinion, buy a greens powder that’s a greens powder primarily for the greens and vitamins/minerals and if you're keen on having brain nutrients or adaptogenic herbs too.
If you want to buy a greens powder that will benefit your digestive system, select a greens powder with potent ingredients that specifically benefit the digestive system (although most do contain ingredients that will). You can always look for a proven symbiotic, too!
LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation
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