Are you a man who wants to improve your heart and lung health or boost your immune system? What about your digestive health?
If so, you might benefit from finding and using probiotics that are specifically designed for men.
The number of probiotic supplements out there that claim to help maintain the health of your gut has increased in recent years. This is due to the fact that studies have come out explaining that our gut health is so important to our overall health. More specifically, studies have shown how the health of our gut impacts our mental health and well-being.
In this article, you will discover a detailed review of the 8 best probiotics for men's health…
Don't have time to read the entire review?
If you're a busy person who doesn't have time to read this entire probiotics review, we've simplified everything for you. Here is a straightforward table that provides you with a quick rating of our favorite probiotics for men.
Best Overall: Probiotic P3-OM | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best Value for the Money: Vitamin Bounty – Pro 50 Probiotic | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best Organic Ingredients: Garden of Life RAW Probiotics Ultimate Care | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best tasting Probiotic: Nutrition Essentials Probiotic | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best for Men Ages 50+: FLORASSIST GI with Phage Technology | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best for IBS & Stomach Issues: Earth’s Pearl Probiotic & Prebiotic | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best Gluten-Free Probiotic: Garden of Life Primal Defense ULTRA | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE | |
Best for Vegetarians: Dr. Tobias DEEP IMMUNE Probiotics | CLICK HERE FOR PRICE |
Why is a Probiotic Important for Men's Digestive Health?
First off, using the “right” probiotic is a critical part of optimal gut health.
The gut is often referred to as the “second brain” because it contains tons of neurons and actually houses an entire ecosystem of bacteria. This ecosystem consists of about 100 million neurons, which is more than the spinal cord holds.
While the gut does not think, reason, or solve multi-linear regressions, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that the gut’s health has a strong impact on one's mood.
Obtaining a healthy gut flora leads to optimal overall health, digestion, and well-being. There is continuous communication between your gastrointestinal tract and your brain, which is referred to as the gut-brain axis. A healthy gut can not only improve the regularity of your digestion, but it can also boost your cognitive function and even the health of your skin.
More research is needed for us to completely understand all of the benefits of the various probiotic strains, but it is clear that not all probiotics are created equal. For example, Lactobacilli live in the digestive, urinary, and genital systems, and are found in fermented foods like kimchi.
Bifidobacteria are lactic acid bacteria that typically live in the intestines and can also be found in fermented foods. Depending on your health condition, you want to make sure you are taking the strain of bacteria that is most likely to help you.
For example, if you want to help acne or diarrhea, you will want a probiotic that has L. acidophilus in it. For eczema, look for a product that contains L. rhamnosus. L. plantarum is best for fighting inflammation. For GI support and brain function, L. casei is your best bet.
The point is, you have to make sure that you are choosing the right probiotic for the issue that you want to treat instead of blindly picking one off of the shelf.
What to Look For in a Probiotic
First, it is important to make sure the probiotic is not expired (more on this later). Look to see if the bacteria is live, and look for a note on the label that says the number of “CFUs” (which stands for “colony forming units”) is in the billions.
Anything less will not give you the potency that you need. A high-quality brand will state the amount of live organisms, and will name the exact strains that they use in their formula.
Because the different strains of bacteria have different functions and live in different places in the digestive tract, probiotic supplements that have multiple strains will likely be more effective than products that only have one or two strains. This is because different strains often work together to impact your health.
To make sure that the bacteria is live, the label will note that the living microbes are viable until the end of the “best by” date instead of the manufacture date (so consumers can be sure the bacteria are still active when consumed). The quality of a probiotic is more important than anything else, and bargain supplements are usually low-quality. You should be spending between $25 and $60 if you are getting a high-quality product.
How to Store Probiotics
Make sure to store your probiotics away from heat and moisture because these can kill some of the microbes. You should store your supplements in a cool, dark place such as the refrigerator. Most probiotic strains are quite fragile and must be protected from heat.
Probiotic Expiration Dates
The probiotic supplement industry has no requirements regarding expiration dates, so this information is telling in terms of product quality.
An expiration date that is stated on a probiotic supplement is the company's promise that the bacteria contained in the product will stay alive and potent at the specified levels on the label until the expiration date. Typically, this date is based on the product's formulation and stability testing data, meaning the company is paying attention to these important things.
It is best to find a probiotic supplement that clearly displays the expiration date. If you can't find an expiration date, you should be wary of the product. Without this information, there is no way to know the length of time that the bacteria are expected to live, whether that is a week or a year.
Some retailers do not include expiration dates, and instead record a stamp that guarantees the product's potency on the date it was manufactured. This is useless because all labels should be truly representative of the product when they are leaving the manufacturing facility. The important thing is that the product will remain potent three to four months later.
What Kind of Packaging Is Important?
The form in which the probiotic is created, and how that form allows the bacteria to remain alive and healthy from when it is in its packaging to when it reaches your gut is very important.
Buying a supplement that is just dead bacteria or bacteria that will die as soon as you ingest it is pointless. Look closely at the packaging of the product because the health of the bacteria is impacted by their environment.
Delivery systems have made advancements because of this issue. The best probiotic supplements will use a method of delivery that will make sure a significantly high percentage of its bacteria will remain alive as it reaches your intestines. Look for details on the label. A company that can explain how their product works is probably selling a product that actually works.
While it is still good to refrigerate your probiotics to be safe, delivery systems have been made to protect the bacteria from light, heat, and moisture. Look for packaging that is thick and opaque, with desiccant pouches, for example. There are some other new styles of packaging that are also effective.
8 Best Probiotics for Men (Our Review for 2024)
Keeping everything listed above in mind, here are the eight best probiotics for men on the market in 2024.
1. Best Overall: Probiotic P3-OM
It can be difficult to establish the efficacy and potency of probiotics. Although numerous assays exist to test the number of colony-forming units, that’s not always an indicator of quality. Instead, Biooptimizers rely on proven results for their probiotic product.
Trusted figures in the health and fitness community, such as Elliot Hulse and Stefan James all swear by this probiotic. Some of the claims made about this product stand on shaky ground, however, but there’s no denying that it has spectacular results for many people.
The P3-OM probiotics are made by a patented process that results in a significantly increased viable number of L. plantarum CFUs. L. plantarum is one of the most studied probiotics and has been linked to a wide range of positive health outcomes. A single capsule of P3-OM has over 2 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus plantarum.
Various probiotics in this product are chosen for their proteolytic nature. This means that they help break down proteins into usable amino acids. If you struggle to digest protein-dense foods such as beef or mutton, this probiotic might help.
The specific formulation is also designed to reduce bloating, gas, constipation, acid reflux, and several other digestive problems. Moreover, it claims to support the immune system.
The capsules contain the L. plantarum colony-forming units, and rice bran. No other artificial colors or flavors are added and the capsules are of vegetable origin.
PROS
CONS
2. Best Value for the Money:Vitamin Bounty – Pro 50 Probiotic
The formula is the most important part of any effective probiotic supplement. The Vitamin Bounty Pro-50 supplement contains 13 strong probiotic strains, which creates a maximum benefit. While others have just one or two strains, the 13 strains in this supplement offer a remarkable advantage.
These probiotic capsules contain freeze-dried strains of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is one of the most widely used probiotic strains. Lactobacillus acidophilus boosts immunity, reduces diarrhea, and helps you maintain proper gastrointestinal health.
Another high-quality strain in this probiotic is Lactobacillus brevis. These bacteria help reduce inflammation in the bowel, promote digestion, and prevent and treat ulcers.
This probiotic supplement contains sufficient concentrations of each of its bacteria, which is measured in CFUs. Higher CFUs designate a richer concentration of the probiotic. The Bounty Pro-50 Probiotic has 50 billion CFU of probiotic organisms per capsule, making this one of the highest doses on the market. The high dose and the exceptional strain profile makes this a very efficient supplement.
This product comes in a patented, vegetable, delayed-release capsule that is developed and tested in a certified facility. The capsule prevents the live organisms from dying in your stomach acid, which means more cultures are delivered to the lower GI tract for maximum efficacy. The technology of the capsule ensures superior colonization and reproduction of the bacteria strains in the small intestine. The capsule itself is developed and tested in a facility certified by the National Sanitation Foundation, and the potency and purity are both guaranteed.
This product has a proprietary blend of fermented greens, including extracts from wheat grass, oat grass, barley grass, and alfalfa. This combination gives your body essential nutrients, and helps the probiotics colonize.
PROS
CONS
3. Best Organic Ingredients: Garden of Life RAW Probiotics Ultimate Care
Some products rely on a large dose of a single, proven probiotic. Others mix and match to create blends of probiotics that complement each other. Garden of Life lies squarely on the very tip of the mix-and-match end of the spectrum. This product contains a dizzying number of probiotics from a variety of sources.
In theory, this should make it more versatile. However, that’s not always the case. Research shows that some strains of probiotics are remarkably effective, while others do little to nothing for some users. So, it’s entirely possible that some of these probiotics will be largely inert in your body.
To get a sense of just how many probiotics are combined in this product, there are two strains of Bifidobacterium, twelve strains of Lactobacillus, four of Lactococcus, and many more. Most come from Bulgarian yogurt and Eastern European kefir cultures and all are of natural origin.
The final tally adds up to 34 probiotic strains and over 100 billion colony forming units.
The good news is that whether the probiotics are effective or not, Garden of Life has an ace up its sleeve. In addition to the probiotics, they’ve added a protein-digesting enzyme blend made up of protease, acid protease, and protease S. Even if the probiotics have no effect, the enzyme blend will certainly aid in the digestion of proteins.
But that’s not all. The capsules also contain a blend of fruit and vegetable powders, including red bell pepper, green pea, carrot, plum, cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. In theory, this plant blend should help the bacteria grow and replenish.
These capsules are gluten-free, soy-free, and non-GMO. If you’re looking for something with exclusively organic and natural ingredients, this is the probiotic for you.
PROS
CONS
4. Best tasting Probiotic: Nutrition Essentials Probiotic
Nutrition Essentials Probiotic functions like a vitamin. It is named for its ability to improve body nutrition, and it supports more than just the digestive system. It has been found to deliver up to 90% live probiotics once it gets to your lower GI tract.
This product has the most CFUs per serving when compared to similar supplements. It promotes proper digestive health, a strong immune system, and the regulation of bowel movements. Nutrition Essentials Probiotics are made in the USA in a lab that is FDA-certified and has strict GMP standards.
Nutrition Essentials Probiotics are all natural and safe, and contain both pro- and prebiotic ingredients to help reduce appetite, improve regularity, and support digestive health. This product also helps relieve acne and fights fatigue. This Nutrition Essentials Probiotic Supplement contains the highest level of nutrients to help aid your digestive health.
PROS
CONS
5. Best for Men Ages 50+: FLORASSIST GI with Phage Technology
Life Extension’s FLORASSIST GI probiotic isn’t specifically marketed as a product for men over 50. However, it has some characteristics that make it an ideal choice for men of advanced ages. Specifically, the “phage” technology helps get rid of bad bacteria that waning immune systems might have trouble with.
Bacteriophages are very specialized types of viruses that only attack and kill bacteria. Their bacteriophage blend is formulated to seek out the bad bacteria in your gut and allow the good bacteria to thrive.
The latest formulation of this product contains seven different strains of probiotics and over 15 billion colony-forming units. To make sure the bacteria make it through your digestive tract intact, they’re dual-encapsulated. The double capsule ensures they don’t get extirpated in your stomach acids.
FLORASSIST GI doesn’t need to be refrigerated and the live cultures are guaranteed at the time of manufacture. That makes it fairly convenient to store these. However, probiotics generally lose potency over time, so it’s best to use them as soon as you purchase them and check the date of manufacture.
The vegetarian and non-GMO capsules can be taken with or without food and one a day is enough. Truth be told, 15 billion CFUs is probably more than the average person will need for daily support. But if you’re looking to treat specific deficiencies, it could mean the difference between success and failure.
PROS
CONS
6. Best for IBS & Stomach Issues: Earth’s Pearl Probiotic & Prebiotic
Earth’s Pearl Probiotics is a probiotic supplement that is geared towards providing you with gastric and intestinal regularity, improved immunity, and overall health support. The brand claims that it constitutes “the world’s best probiotic.”
As suggested by the name, these probiotics come in the shape of pearls. Each bottle contains 60 time-release patented-technology pearls that are easy to swallow. This form of encapsulation makes this probiotic up to 15 times more effective than other capsules, and allows it to deliver 15 times more live bacteria to your gut. It is recommended to take one pearl each day, but this can be increased to three pearls per day to increase immune support. Each dosage contains four billion CFUs of probiotics.
The formula in these pearls is based on five main probiotic strains, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, and Bifidobacterium lactis. It also contains a prebiotic to help the probiotics thrive.
The supplement is free from gluten, wheat, glucose, eggs, soy, eggs, tree nuts, shellfish, chemicals, and any artificial ingredients.
This probiotic helps to relieve gas, boost immunity, give you energy, and improve your mood. The pearls also protect your body from the overgrowth of yeast. Because these probiotics support and improve healthy digestion, they also improve the bioavailability of the vitamins and minerals from the foods and other supplements you consume.
PROS
CONS
7. Best Gluten-Free Probiotic: Garden of Life Primal Defense ULTRA
This probiotic contains 15 billion CFU and has 13 strains of bacteria, such as Lactobaccilus acidophilus, Bifidobacteria, and others that work in conjunction to increase your body's ability to absorb the nutrients that it needs. This product also helps to relieve constipation and support digestive health.
It uses many different potent probiotic strains that can help your body with daily digestion and even specific stomach ailments. This means that this probiotic is very flexible as far as different products are concerned.
This product is soil-based, and is the only shelf-stable probiotic powder on the market that contains a whole-food blend in combination with homeostatic soil organisms (HSO). This blend is specifically made to relieve constipation and give you more regular, comfortable bowel movements.
This vegetarian probiotic is gluten-free and shelf-stable.
PROS
CONS
8. Best for Vegetarians: Dr. Tobias DEEP IMMUNE Probiotics
This probiotic supplement was designed by a medical doctor, and is unique in the sense that it provides immediate relief for common gut complaints, even in small doses. This supplement works on the “less is more” principle, which explains its lower dose.
It contains 4.4 billion CFU and four strains of bacteria that are both highly resistant and well-researched. The bacteria in these probiotics are reinforced by the company's patented probiotic booster, PreForPro®. It is great for protecting from stomach acid because its patented capsules have a proven targeted release, allowing the bacteria to be safely delivered deep into the intestines.
This probiotic not only helps increase the healthy bacteria in the GI tract, but also helps fight bad bacteria. The spore-forming strains of the bacteria remain viable in a wide range of conditions and temperatures, making the product stable. In fact, in stability testing, this probiotic had virtually no decrease in colony forming units over a 24-month period when it was stored at room temperature.
Because this is a low-dose probiotic, it may not be the right choice for you if you are trying to completely repopulate your gut, or are seeking significant improvement in your digestive health. But it is effective in providing relief from minor stomach ailments, and, if taken consistently, it can lead to regularity in the digestive system.
PROS
CONS
The Verdict: Best Probiotic Supplement for Men
The clear winner of this roundup is Probiotic P3-OM. This effective probiotic has over 2 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus plantarum, allowing it to treat a wide range of conditions.
The stabilized capsule makes sure that live organisms make it to the lower part of your GI tract, which is where they are effective. These capsules are easy to swallow, and a great option for men.
Conclusion: What is the Best Probiotic for Men's Health?
Hopefully this guide steered you to the probiotic that is best for your personal needs. Whether that is the best vegetarian, non-gmo, budget friendly, sturdy bacteria, gluten free or best overall probiotic supplement.
If you have any insight into the probiotic supplements, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Finally before you leave if you could take a moment to share this post on your favorite social media platform it would be appreciated.