Although I have a PhD in Pharmacology, it wasn’t until I had been taking antibiotics for a bad gum abscess that I personally had a ‘Eureka moment’ about the importance of bacteria in our guts. The antibiotics I took successfully treated my abscess but also wiped out a large portion of my ‘gut flora’ and I began having nasty IBS-like symptoms for almost a year. Not a pleasant experience!
A reduction in natural gut flora can allow ‘bad bacteria’ like C. Diff to proliferate in the alimentary canal in its place. This can lead to diarrhea and nausea at best (my symptoms), but fever and stomach pains if untreated, and ultimately even a meeting with the Grim Reaper in the worst cases. It’s not something you should ignore.
My GP instructed me to take probiotics to help recover the situation, and I’m pleased to announce that the situation was fully recovered after about six months of taking daily probiotic capsules and yogurts. I am now a firm believer in the influence of probiotic supplements on general health and well-being and am a strong advocate for them – the scientific evidence is also plain to see in peer-reviewed literature. Sadly, the gum abscess has not been so successfully treated, and more antibiotics have followed, and so I am constantly looking to road test new probiotics.
In this article we’ll discuss the importance of gut fauna in the human body and investigate the best probiotic for women to aid with the recovery of your fauna if you’ve suffered a disruption.
Gut Flora – why are they so important?
Gut flora is the general term for describing the microorganisms which live naturally within the human digestive system. That may make you feel slightly queasy, but actually these tiny lifeforms are essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism and offering some immunity from disease.
There are around four thousand (!) different bacteria strains living within the typical human gastrointestinal tract, and the harmonious relationship between host and guest (known as a symbiotic relationship) has evolved over millennia to be mutually beneficial. The good bacteria in your intestines can handle the breakdown of molecules in food which your body cannot deal with, and are also responsible for gas build-up – something we’ve all experienced! It’s crazy to discover that your gut flora can add up to 1.5kg to your overall body weight!
This doesn’t mean that there are no ‘bad bacteria’ in your guts. Actually the ‘good to bad’ ratio should be around 4:1, and as long as that ratio remains constant (known as homeostasis), all will proceed swimmingly. As soon as something happens which can upset that balance then you may get ill.
What Can Disrupt Gut Flora in Women?
The upsetting of the balance of good vs bad bacteria in your gut is known as dysbiosis. This is essentially the state when homeostasis is disrupted, and the bad bacteria proliferate at the expense of your health. The trigger factors for this state are typically very similar for both men and women:
- Medication such as antibiotics – in my case it was metronizadole
- A sudden dietary change with increased consumption of sugar and/or protein
- High alcohol consumption
- Stress and depression can cause digestive problems and lead to dysbiosis. There is also some evidence of depression in women being caused by dysbiosis – i.e. the two conditions may be linked in both directions.
- Poor dental health which can cause proliferation of bad bacteria
- Unprotected sex which can put you at risk of bad bacteria entering your body – this is more of a risk for women then men.
It’s clear that some of these risk factors can be reduced by careful consideration of your diet, and if you think you have dysbiosis then it is recommended that you get this checked by your GP or medical provider. They will get a full scan of your body’s waste products to analyze the levels of each bacteria type.
Vaginal Flora Disruption
It’s not just the digestive system which can have its ecosystem put out of whack. If you’re a women, the ‘good bacteria’ in your vagina can get disrupted by a whole host of very common factors – for instance, wearing tight clothing or simply frequent washing of your vagina with soaps and gels can cause bad bacteria to proliferate – this can lead to conditions like thrush or bacterial vaginosis. Treatment with antibiotics can then further exacerbate the problem in a similar way to the gut. In these cases, it can be useful for women to take a vaginal probiotic in order to restore normal equilibrium.
So What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are ‘active’ products which are used to help replenish and revitalize your gut or vaginal fauna. The ‘active’ part of the description means that probiotics contain live bacteria or yeast which gets processed by your body and helps restore the balance in the area which you’re targeting.
It might sound slightly counter-intuitive to add new bacteria to your body in order to help counteract an existing bacterial problem, but actually probiotics have been used for many years for this purpose, and they work by balancing out the proportion of good vs bad.
Probiotic bacteria or yeasts are typically added to yogurts such as ‘Yakult‘ in order to make consumption nice and easy, however they are also available in capsule form for quick and easy consumption or insertion. Yakult originated in Japan back in 1935, and so has plenty of history and scientific data behind it.
So what is the best probiotic for women to take? Well it certainly depends on what problem you are trying to solve. If it’s the IBS-like symptoms of a gut flora imbalance then there is no difference between men and women in terms of what to take – see our recommendations below. If you are trying to solve the problem of a vaginal bacteria imbalance then you will need a specific vaginal probiotic for women – these are supplied in capsule form and require inserting into the vagina, typically before bed.
Probiology Capsules - Best Probiotic For Gut Fauna
When I was suffering with my gut fauna imbalance, I was recommended to take Probiology capsules, and I cannot praise them highly enough. I found that taking Probiology for a 6 month period helped regain the balance in my digestive system, and relieve the IBS-like symptoms.
Probiology contains four strains of good bacteria for your gut – these are:
- Lactobacillus Acidophilus
- Bifidobacterium Lactis
- Lactobacillus Plantaram
- Lactobacillus Paracasei
As you can see by the ‘lacto’ description used in the naming structure, these good bacteria are derived from fermented milk and are exceptionally well suited to the human body. They do not require refrigeration and so you can keep these in a pocket or handbag until you wish to take one.
Each capsule of Probiology contains around 40 billion colony forming units (CFUs) which is about double the main alternatives. This is very likely to be linked to the effectiveness I saw when taking them.
The capsule technology used to carry the good bacteria to your gut is important, because if the capsule dissolves before reaching the key areas of the digestive tract then the beneficial impact will be seriously reduced. The Probiology capsules use an acid-resistant delivery system called MAKtrek marine polysaccharide complex. This is a patented material derived from brown seaweed which offers 250x better survival rates for the good bacteria to get past the stomach (which is full of acid) and into the main digestive tract.
Overall, I was very impressed with the performance of Probiology and can highly recommend the capsules. Daily dosage is two per day and there are 60 capsules per jar – a month’s supply. The manufacturers offer a full money-back guarantee if they don’t provide the improvements that you’re looking for. Our top pick.
Biotics-8
Biotics-8 is a new probiotic from Bauer Nutrition which has impressed us recently. It is not aimed specifically at women, but that should certainly not put you off from trying it if you’re female.
So why do we like it? Well primarily because it does not just contain probiotic bacteria, but also packs in prebiotics, vitamin D and fiber within each of the sixty capsules in a jar. This wide range of active ingredients means that Biotics-8 is an excellent all-round performer which can offer additional benefits beyond balancing your gut flora.
What are Prebiotics?
You may not have heard about prebiotics. These are ingredients or nutrients which promote the growth of your own good gut bacteria within your digestive system and are resistant to damage from stomach acid. Prebiotics are therefore different from probiotics because probiotics are the actual good bacteria themselves. By swallowing a capsule including both pre and pro-biotics, you are giving your body the ultimate tools to use in order to restore gut balance.
Biotics-8 contains two main prebiotics – these are 25mg of Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and 45mg of inulin powder (a fiber compound derived from chicory). Both these ingredients have been shown in peer-reviewed studies to aid in balancing gut flora. In addition, each capsule includes 55mg of three different enzymes which also produce a prebiotic effect.
Probiotic performance
As would be hoped for, Biotics-8 also contains a range of ten different probiotics with a total of 20 billion CFUs per capsule. This is half the level of our top recommendation (Probiology), but coupled with the other ingredients may offer more suitability for your situation. There is some evidence to suggest that taking Biotics-8 can improve both your immune system as well as your overall mood.
One downside of this product is that the recommended dosage is a whopping three capsules per day. This means that a jar of 60 capsules only lasts three weeks. It is also fairly expensive, but Bauer Nutrition do offer some deals occasionally – it’s worth checking their website to see if a deal is running before purchasing.
In Use
I tried Biotics-8 as part of my ongoing battle with poor gut health following multiple rounds of antibiotics in the past three years. I decided to start with just 1 tablet per day at the start in order to gauge their strength before moving up to 2 and then 3 a day over the course of the first week.
Although this was not a scientific study, I found that my stomach unrest and risk of having to run to the loo became greatly improved after a couple of weeks of taking the Biotics-8 and this certainly improved my mood. In some ways, the claims of the capsules for mood enhancement from the Vitamin D3 ingredient seem superfluous, because if your gut health is improved’ you’re naturally going to be feeling better anyway! This was my experience.
In summary, I would certainly recommend Biotics-8, and there are many happy customer reviews to be found on the internet regarding it. I will certainly take it again immediately after antibiotics, but cannot afford to keep buying the tablets indefinitely.
How to Check if Your Probiotics Are Active?
You may have had a jar of probiotic capsules lying around in the cupboard for a few years, but are unsure whether they are still potent and active. An easy way to check this is to break open a probiotic capsule and pour the contents into a bowl. Add about a quarter of a cup of whole-fat milk to the mixture and give it a stir, then wait 24 hours. If the milk has curdled after this time, then you know you have your capsules are live and active and ready to sort out your gut balance!
Garden of Life Probiotics - Best For Urinary Tract Health
If you’re a woman who suffers regularly from urinary tract infections (UTIs) then the Dr. Formulated Urinary Tract+ probiotics made by Garden of Life is very likely to offer protection and reduction of infections.
These are very large capsules which measure almost an inch long (around 2.4cm!) and carry a humongous payload of 50 billion culture forming units (CFUs) from 16 different probiotic strains of good bacteria. In addition there is vitamin D for mood enhancement and some prebiotic fiber ingredients based on cranberry and potato (starch). They are the real deal, and not too expensive.
In Use
My wife and daughter regularly suffer from cystitis which is a common UTI chiefly affecting women. They decided to try out the Garden of Life probiotic capsules which were ordered in from Amazon. My daughter struggled to swallow the huge capsules but eventually managed to get them down. The results were impressive – after taking for 3 months, neither of them had suffered from any UTI – something which was happening on almost a monthly basis with one of them previously.
Although this was obviously not a rigorous scientific study, we believe there is definite worth in taking the Garden of Life probiotic if you can handle the capsule size. The active lactobacillus rhamnosus included in the capsules has been shown in studies to reduce the frequency of UTIs on a similar scale to full blown antibiotics. Definitely check them out if you’re having regular flare-ups.
Canesflor - Best Vaginal Probiotic for Women
Canesflor capsules are the best probiotic for women who suffer from UTIs such as bacterial vaginosis (BV) and are getting thrush after taking antibiotics. This can turn into a never-ending cycle of getting BV (often after sex), taking antibiotics and then getting thrush after the good vaginal bacteria are wiped out.
The Canesflor capsules are made by the well known manufacturers of Canesten cream. They contain a range of lactobacilli ‘good bacteria’ which are released into the vagina after you insert a capsule. It’s recommended that you do this at night before bed, and to insert as deeply as possible into the vagina as possible – if you struggle with this then it’s recommended to moisten the capsule slightly before insertion. It’s a shame that no applicator is included with the capsules as insertion can be a little awkward if you’re not used to doing it.
Please note that the Caneslor probiotics are not a cure for thrush or UTI – they are about preventing conditions reaching a point where those conditions proliferate. If you’re suffering from a UTI then it’s worth visiting your doctor to get it fixed and then start using the Canesflor after it’s cleared up. Doseage levels are recommended as daily for six consecutive days before entering ‘maintenance mode’ of one capsule per week for four weeks.
Overall, this is a quality product which is relatively inexpensive. We recommend it as the best probiotic for women who suffer from vaginal UTIs such as BV or thrush.
That concludes our round up of the best probiotics for women. These capsules are definitely recommended to help promote good bacteria within your digestive system or vaginal tract. We highly recommend speaking to your doctor if you have any IBS-like symptoms or feel that your gut flora balance has been disrupted. Hopefully you can get it back under control with the right course of action for you.
