Probiotics became popular a few years ago in India. I’d been hearing about them in podcasts etc, abroad. But there had been no supplements available in India. One of the first ones I tried is called Enterogermina and doctors prescribe it but it is also available over-the-counter at most chemists. It changed my life I think. Again, I can’t claim to know exactly what it did to my body – but two main things I noticed were that my bowel movements were better and that it probably alleviated my allergies as well.
You have to understand that there is no single magic pill that will suddenly make your body go from unhealthy to healthy. I have been working on my diet for a few years now. Once I crossed the age of thirty, I started feeling a bit of a slowdown – physically and mentally. I just wasn’t as “fresh” anymore. So I started experimenting with things like quitting dairy ( yes all of it for a few months to see what it did ), quitting sugar and carbs. Drinking apple cider vinegar. Steaming multiple times daily to help alleviate my allergies. Quitting alcohol for a bit. And on and on. I wrote down everything I ate – to measure exactly how much fuel I was putting into my body. Then came the supplements. So it’s not like I woke up one day and took these Schwartz Probiotic capsules and suddenly life was great. I’d been working on it for a few years and then when I heard about probiotics, I decided to add them to my supplement pile.
I’ve been eating Enterogermina for the most part. But like all great products, it was very often out of stock. And it is not available to purchase online. I wanted a substitute and I tried a bunch of them. They didn’t feel nearly as effective as Enterogermina did. Till I got to the Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotic 40 Billion CFU. Now this isn’t available in India – I order it off of Amazon and it was imported – so there’s customs duties and shipping etc. I take one capsule each day, so this 60 capsule bottle lasts me two months. After GST implementation, pricing has gone up even more, so the bottle I purchased for about Rs. 2,400, is now priced at Rs. 4,000.
If prices drop, I might order this one once I run out of it. Enterogermina is almost similarly priced but Enterogermina has clinical trials behind it and proven effects etc. There are cheaper products available but I have no tried all of them. The things I look for, before ordering probiotics is :
01. Reviews – what have other verified purchasers said. This doesn’t have to be scientific or specific. This is to get an overall feel of the general opinion and to look for specific bad experiences, if any.
02. How many units? ( Again, I am not a doctor or a scientist and I don’t know how many is enough but it seems it’s better to go higher than to go lower. ) 40 Billion CFUs is the highest I’ve come across yet, hence the Schwartz product.
03. Based on 01 and 02 above, price. If reviews are great and the unit numbers are high, then I don’t mind paying more.
I have ordered a cheaper brand with 25 billion CFUs to tide me over till, hopefully, prices re-stabilize and then I will order the Schwartz one once again. I consume one capsule a day with dinner.
I am not a doctor so please do check with your doctor before experimenting with these products. If you know of or have used a better supplement, please do tell!
Other supplements / vitamins I’ve written about on this blog.
Other health / fitness features on this blog.
