The Best Time to Take Probiotics

In today’s world, many people can benefit from taking probiotics as our modern diet is devoid of organisms that our ancestors obtained through consuming natural vegetation. Common destroyers of probiotics include pesticides, alcohol, antibiotics, and many other prescription drugs such as oral contraceptives. 

People may consider taking probiotics if they have been taking a course of antibiotics, take other medications, or have been eating poorly. Those who drink alcohol and sodas regularly, and do not consume fermented foods daily may benefit from introducing probiotics. As always, check with your practitioner first if you have a medical condition or take medication. 

The best time to take a probiotic is every day when you are most likely to remember, which is usually at mealtimes. There is no magic time, take your probiotics consistently, that’s the best advice. 

What do we recommend? As always follow the suggested use directions on the label of the probiotic that you buy because these directions are specific to the strains and their stability.  

Most Garden of Life Probiotics can be taken with or without food because we select hardy strains that survive stomach acid and all the other juices like bile, along the way to the intestines.  

Often people take probiotics with their morning vitamins at breakfast, but they can be taken with any meal or before bedtime. The latter option provides ample time for probiotics to exert their benefits in the gut during the night without interruption from food or drink giving them a chance to colonize in the colon and create beneficial short chain fatty acids to nourish the gut lining and help with regularity in the morning.

Garden of Life Raw Probiotics and Dr. Formulated Probiotics (including our fan favorite Dr. Formulated Women’s Once Daily Probiotic) can be taken at any time of the day, with or without food. What’s most important is that you take them consistently. You can plan to take them around meals, so you don’t forget, or possibly first thing in the morning as part of your wake-up routine. Whatever routine works for you and helps you to remember to take them daily. 

Primal Defense Probiotics are best taken on an empty stomach, approximately 30 minutes before a meal or 2 hours after a meal.  

With regards to shelf life and storage, please remember to follow the storage directions on the probiotics label. If you bought a probiotic from the cooler you should keep it in the refrigerator with the lid on tightly to keep moisture out of the bottle. If you bought a shelf stable probiotic you can keep it at room temperature in a dry place. Garden of Life uses a special bottle that has a desiccant lining and moisture barrier to keep the probiotics dry and to keep them shelf-stable throughout the end of 2-year expiration date.