How to Know if You Need a Probiotic

SEPT 1, 2025

Should I be taking a probiotic?

“Why should I take a probiotic? I’ve tried them before and they don’t do anything!”

I’ve heard this both from patients and from doctors, claiming taking a probiotic is ineffective. But is that true? Have you ever tried taking probiotics and felt they weren’t helping? Or even making your symptoms worse? Why does this happen?

Well, probiotics are not a one size fits all supplement. They aren’t even something that everyone needs or should be taking. Instead, they need to be looked at the way we look at medications – you need to take the right one that will help your specific issue.

Probiotics are most commonly bacteria, though there are a few probiotic yeast as well. There are currently thousands of different strains of probiotics. Each strain is unique and serves a different purpose in the body. Some strains have healing properties and help to heal the gut lining. Other strains have an antibiotic effect and will help fight against the “bad bacteria” in our gut, which will help improve our gut balance. Others will produce a compound called butyrate – which will help promote integrity of our gut lining. It will also feed other beneficial bacteria, increasing the diversity of bacteria in our gut. Other probiotics can help the body handle toxins, both from the “bad bacteria” as well as other toxins that make their way into our bodies.

So how do you know what probiotic you should be taking? If you have a very healthy gut, eat a large variety of plants, don’t eat much if any ultraprocessed foods, have minimal stress, spend time in nature, and get great sleep every night – you might not need one! Just keep eating well and living a great lifestyle!

For the rest of us – some probiotics can be beneficial. If you don’t have signs of leaky gut, such as food sensitivities, digestive troubles, skin issues, or brain fog for example, then you may do well with adding several types of probiotics foods into your diet and taking a blend of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus based probiotics, such as OrthoBiotic by Orthomolecular. You likely don’t need the probiotic supplement every day, but taking it every few days or cycling on and off can help our gut to be at its best.

Have a lot of symptoms? Tried probiotics and other gut supplements or medications and still struggling? You may want to consider getting some gut testing done to see what’s going on inside and get a personalized plan to help heal your gut and improve the balance of bacteria.

I offer complimentary 15 minute gut health consultations where we can talk about your concerns and see if gut testing makes sense for you. Or talk with your provider at your next appointment.

Mandie Kolarik
Gut Health RN and Integrative Coach