#guttok and #guthealth have been trending all year long, but let’s be honest: the world of our guts is more complicated than a green powdered drink can solve. Eating foods that are beneficial to the gut and supporting them with probiotics may lead to a healthier tummy. This post will highlight the best probiotics for vegans because, to our surprise (or no surprise at all), not all probiotic products are vegan.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics, more often called “good bacteria,” are a hot topic, and the word floats around online, on social media, and even on the packaging of some of your favorite products. But what exactly are they, and why are they so darn popular?
The best way to explain probiotics is to look at them like live microorganisms, usually bacteria, that can have health benefits for our body, says gut health expert dietitian Amanda Sauceda. She shares that these little bacteria can impact not only our gut health but also our immune system and even our mood.
With the increase in awareness around our guts' impact on overall health, probiotic-rich foods and supplements are becoming a go-to for people wanting to better their health. However, if you’re curious about probiotics but aren’t sure where to start, consult your healthcare provider and then use this as a guide in finding the best probiotic for vegans, if you’re vegan.
Are probitoics vegan?
Probiotics, the microorganisms or bacteria, are vegan as they are bacteria and not animals or plants. However, in most cases, the probiotics need a vessel to be delivered, which is sometimes not a vegan product.
A wide variety of probiotics are grown using a dairy-based medium like milk or when making them not vegan. While the end product may not have large traces of dairy, it is made using a dairy-based product, thus making it not vegan.
Watch out for probiotics that contain dairy (it will say "contains dairy" under the nutrition facts)
Another common non-vegan ingredient is seen when probiotics are encapsulated and made from gelatin. The ones listed below are the best probiotics for vegans that have none of these non-vegan ingredients.
What can probiotics help with?
Probiotics may help with more than just gut health. “Probiotics could be helpful with a variety of concerns like antibiotic-associated diarrhea, your immune system, mastitis, and even mood.” Says Sauceda.
Let’s look at how they [probitoics] can help with these different concerns.
Digestion
A healthy gut microbiome is essential for digestion, nutrient absorption, and overall well-being. Probiotics help with digestion by replenishing beneficial bacteria, which factors like poor diet, stress, or antibiotics can disrupt.
"Good gut bacteria" help break down foods, making vitamins and minerals more readily available. They also help protect against harmful pathogens and play a vital role in improving the gut lining.
Immune System
The gut is a central hub for immunity because most of your immune cells live there. Having a balanced gut microbiome helps enhance our body’s natural defense system.
Probiotics help the gut barrier prevent harmful substances from entering the bloodstream. They may also stimulate the production of natural antibodies and encourage immune cells. Certain strains, like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, have been well-studied for their immune-supportive properties.
Possible Mood Improvement
Probiotics can positively influence mood by supporting the gut-brain axis—a communication network linking the gut and brain. The gut produces neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are key to regulating mood and emotions.
An imbalanced gut microbiome, caused by stress, poor diet, illness or other factors, may lead to inflammation and disruptions of neurotransmitter production. Probiotics work by helping to restore this balance, reducing inflammation, and promoting a healthy environment for good mood transmitters.
Research shows that certain probiotic strains, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, may have mood-boosting effects by lowering cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and enhancing overall emotional well-being. They also help regulate the vagus nerve, which connects the gut and brain, further influencing mental health (1).
List of Vegan Probiotic Foods
Not only can probiotics be found in supplements, but they can also be found in many foods. When shopping for dairy alternatives that are probiotic-rich, make sure to read the label to ensure the product is vegan and does have probiotics added.
Incorporating more gut-healthy foods into your diet can be a good place to start with a food-first approach. “I think fermented foods are a better place to start for most people when they want to take a probiotic for general good health” Sauceda shares.
Examples of vegan probiotic foods include;
- Kimchi
- Non-dairy yogurt (like Forager or Kite Hill)
- Sauerkraut
Sauceda also shares that it is important to note that even though fermented foods don’t always qualify as a probiotic food they still have health benefits like increased digestibility and increased availability of nutrients (2).
Fermented foods may lose the beneficial cultures if the product is pasteurized, baked, or smoked.
If you’ve already added probiotic-rich foods and want to try a probiotics supplement, first chat with your healthcare team. In the next part of the post, you’ll get the down low on how to pick the best probiotics for vegans.
Anatomy of a Probiotic Label
Reading a probiotic label can be overwhelming. Each bottle has its own code of probiotic abbreviations. Let’s break down what all those airport-looking codes mean and how they can guide you in picking the right probiotic for you.
Colony Forming Units (CFU): This tells you how many active and live microorganisms are in each dose. Avoid choosing products that label the CFU “at the time of manufacturing”. This does not account for the decrease that occurs while being stored.
How to Store: For probiotics to work, they have to be alive. Some probiotics are stored in the fridge, and some are shelf-stable. Check the packaging to ensure you are storing yours correctly.
Genus + Species: Each probiotic should have its genus and species, for example; Lactobacillus is the genus, acidophilus is the species.
Strain: A probiotic may have different strains within the same species, but they have different benefits. The number of strains doesn’t always mean the product is better than a single strain. It mostly depends on the type of strain and what the evidence has found to be beneficial for (3).
Putting that all together, there are the best probiotics for vegans listed in no particular order.
7 Best Probiotics for Vegans
Because every person is different, products aren’t the same for everyone. Some might find benefits from probiotic-rich foods, while others find probiotic supplements to work best.
There’s a little decoding to do when choosing a probiotic: “You have to work backward a bit when deciding which probiotic to take.” Sauceda says, “First, want to identify the main reason you’re looking to take one. This is because you want to match the health benefit to a probiotic strain that has been researched to help with that concern.”
It’s recommended to try a probiotic for at least 30 days; if you don’t see any benefit, it might not be the right one. The most effective dose for probiotics are from 100 million to 50 billion or more colony forming units (CFU)/dose. Still, it can vary based on the reason for using the probiotics (4).
Future Kind
Future Kind has products that are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, including their vegan probiotics with 30 billion CFUs from strains that can help with gut health like gas, and bloating. These strains may also offer support to the immune system.
They offer a full report of their third-party testing in the product description on their website and offer carbon-neutral shipping and eco-friendly packaging.
Garden of Life
Garden of Life OnceDaily probiotics are a great, cost-friendly choice. This probiotic is shelf-stable and has 14 Strains and 30 billion strains that have been shown to help with digestive and immune health.
This probiotic is also NSF certified– meaning it is high quality. It is also soy-free for those who need to avoid soy.
ResBiotic
The resB Lung support probiotic has made it’s way to more and more consumers as our collective care or concern for our respiratory health has increased after the COVID-19 pandemic.
These strains have 30 billion CFUs and are studied to help support respiratory function while also aiding in gut and immune health.
Resbitoic has an HSA/FSA program if your insurance offers those benefits.
Culturelle
The Culturelle Daily Digestive Health probiotic has 10 billion CFUs of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG which has been shown to help with CDIF, IBD-P, and traveler's diarrhea prevention. It may also help support immune function.
While it has probiotics, it also provides 200mg of prebiotics from inulin– or chicory root fiber extract.
Now Foods
The Women’s probiotic from Now Foods can be called “old trusty.” It’s from a reputable and trusted brand that verifies the strains in each probiotic product. This product has 20 billion CFUs from L. rhamnosus HN001 and L. acidophilus La-14.
These strains have been studied to help not only reduce gas and bloating but also to maintain a healthy vaginal pH level.
GoodBelly
You may have had their fun probiotic shots with the smiley face on them, and lucky for us, they aren’t only fun to drink they have probiotic strains that are best used for antibiotic-associated diarrhea, Clostridium difficile (CDiff) associated diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
The GoodBelly probiotic shots and drinks are refrigerated products and must stay cold to keep the good gut bacteria alive. Not only do their probiotic drinks give these benefits, but the shelf-stable capsules do as well.
MaryRuth Organics
Mary Ruth, who feels like the mom to all vegans has a wide line of supplement products, but the Women's 40+ precision probiotic in liquid drops has been shown to have strains that help specifically with IBS. It offers 3 Billion CFU and is made with 100% vegan ingredients.
Wrapping It Up
All in all, probiotics can work wonders for your gut health, immune system, and even other bodily systems, such as your respiratory tract. You can find them in some foods, and in some of these, they are listed as the best probiotics for vegans.
The dose isn’t the biggest piece of the puzzle, but instead the strain and what you are taking the probiotic for.
Of course, before making any changes speak with your doctor or your health provider. While I am a dietitian, I am not your dietitian :).
