{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"probiotics","kind":"supplement","name":"probiotics","aliases":["Lactobacillus","Bifidobacterium","LactoBif"],"brands_sg":["California Gold Nutrition","21st Century","Garden of Life","NOW Foods","Lemme"],"class":"probiotic","tags":["gut","immune"],"use_for":"antibiotic diarrhea, ibs · colds: fewer/shorter, weak data","use_after":"with antibiotics: within 2 days of the first dose works best","use_duration":null,"take_with":"water · some products need the fridge — the label says which","pros":["aad risk cut ~51% in meta-analyses of a few strains","ibs: modest benefit, 21% fewer persisting symptoms","unlikely to harm healthy people; minor effects like gas"],"cons":["effects are strain-specific; no blanket verdict","no formal recommendation for healthy people","rare blood infections reported in the severely ill"],"dose_note":"labels count colony-forming units (cfu); many products give 1 to 10 billion cfu a dose, some 50 billion or more, and higher counts are not necessarily more effective; the cfu that matters is the count at the end of shelf life, not at manufacture; against antibiotic-associated diarrhea, espghan 2023 cites lgg or s. boulardii at 5 billion cfu/day or more started with the antibiotic (a paediatric recommendation); no rda, ul or fda dv exists; hsa sets no daily limit and no probiotic is on its prohibited/restricted list","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"CFU","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["severely ill, immunocompromised, icu or central line — bacteremia and fungemia reported; ask your doctor first","preterm infants — fda 2023 warning on invasive, potentially fatal infection; hospital decision only","over 65 — aad prevention data showed no benefit in that age group; ask your pharmacist"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_use","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Mechanisms; Probiotic Selection and Use","quote":"Because the effects of probiotics can be specific to certain probiotic strains, recommendations for their use in the clinic need to be strain-specific … There are currently no formal recommendations for or against the use of probiotics in healthy people","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_cfu","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Dietary Supplements (CFU counts)","quote":"Many probiotic supplements contain 1 to 10 billion CFU per dose, but some products contain 50 billion CFU or more … products with higher CFU counts are not necessarily more effective","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_label","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Probiotic Selection and Use (shelf-life CFU, storage)","quote":"labeled with the number of CFU at the end of the product's shelf life, not at the time of manufacture … check the labels … for recommended storage conditions; for example, some require refrigeration","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_aad","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Antibiotic-associated diarrhea","quote":"any of a few species and strains of probiotics might reduce the risk of AAD by 51% … in children and adults age 18 to 64 years but not in adults age 65 years and older","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_timing","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (timing, ESPGHAN 2023)","quote":"Taking probiotics within 2 days of the first antibiotic dose is more effective than starting to take them later … recommends administering doses of 5 x 10^9 CFU/day or more of LGG or Saccharomyces boulardii starting simultaneously with antibiotics","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_ibs","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Irritable bowel syndrome","quote":"a meta-analysis of 23 RCTs in a total of 2,575 patients found that, overall, probiotics reduced the risk that IBS symptoms would persist or not improve by 21% … but the quality of the studies was low","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_safety","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Safety Considerations","quote":"Probiotics are unlikely to cause harm in healthy people, and side effects are usually minor … self-limited gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas … linked to bacteremia, fungemia … or infections that have resulted in severe illness in some cases","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nih_ods_probiotics_groups","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Probiotics Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (Updated: March 25, 2025) — Safety Considerations (at-risk groups, FDA 2023 preterm warning)","quote":"most of which involved individuals who were severely ill or immunocompromised … were in an intensive care unit … had a central venous catheter … administering probiotics to preterm infants may cause infection or invasive and potentially fatal disease","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nccih_probiotics_uri","url":"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know","label":"NIH NCCIH — Probiotics: What You Need To Know (Last Updated: August 2019) — Upper Respiratory Infections","quote":"A 2015 evaluation of 12 studies with 3,720 total participants indicated that people taking probiotics may have fewer and shorter upper respiratory infections. However, the quality of the evidence was low because some of the studies were poorly conducted","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"nccih_probiotics_types","url":"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know","label":"NIH NCCIH — Probiotics: What You Need To Know (Last Updated: August 2019) — What types of bacteria are in probiotics?; Can probiotics be harmful?","quote":"The most common are bacteria that belong to groups called Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium … The risk of harmful effects from probiotics is greater in people with severe illnesses or compromised immune systems","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_hs_guidelines","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. 020 (January 2026), s3 working definition + clause 4.8 (Tables 4–5 cover vitamins and minerals only)","quote":"a. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, enzymes, probiotics and other bioactive substances … 4.8 HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_prohibited_2025","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. 001 (October 2025), clause 1.3 + Annex A/B","quote":"to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [no probiotic, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium or Saccharomyces row in Annex A or B]","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/probiotics","label":"iHerb Singapore — 'Probiotic Supplements for Gut Health' category page, default 'Featured' order, 897 results","quote":"California Gold Nutrition, LactoBif® 30 Probiotics … 21st Century, Cranberry Plus Probiotic … Garden of Life, Dr. Formulated Probiotics, Once Daily Women's, 50 Billion … NOW Foods, Probiotic-10™ … Lemme, Purr, Vaginal Probiotic Gummies","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":[{"brand":"Garden of Life","example":"Garden of Life Sport Creatine Monohydrate + Probiotics Kosher 60 servings","programme":"NSF Certified for Sport","matching_products":1,"brand_total_certified":23},{"brand":"Lemme","example":null,"programme":"NSF Certified for Sport","matching_products":0,"brand_total_certified":1}],"updated_at":"2026-08-30T17:59:38.376296+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}