Can you take probiotics every day? Or should you take breaks? How long should you take probiotics for?

These are questions that come up a lot. Many people ask, if I’m taking this every day, then surely it’s best to take a break from time to time so that I don’t become dependent on it. After all, this is what we have to do with pharmaceutical medications, so aren’t supplements the same?

The answer may not be what you think, so in this article we’re going to dive into the best practices around taking probiotics long term. We’ll look a little at the science, what it shows, and what the best routine should look like for you.

Can you take probiotics every day?

The simple answer to this question is yes, but with a caveat. As with all probiotics, the evidence surrounding both how effective they are, but also how safe they are, is completely strain specific.

So, for example, both LGG and BB12 have been shown in many studies to be completely safe for long term use, with little to no side effects when used, because researchers wanted to find out how they can impact certain health conditions in the long run. Therefore, we can conclude that it’s safe to use these bacteria in the long term as that’s what the clinical research has proven.

However, some strains have not got any real long-term evidence, with some not even having any human evidence, and so for these strains taking them long term would most likely be perfectly safe, but it they haven’t really been studied for long term use, so the truth is it’s hard to know exactly what effects they may have.  

The reality is, the vast majority of probiotics are deemed safe for human consumption, as this is a legal requirement before they can be sold. But, safe for human consumption, and effective in the long term, are two very different things. If you’re looking for a long-term probiotic to support your gut as part of your daily routine, then consider using strains with a strong body of research into long term use, such as LGG or BB12. This way, you know you’ll be getting a long-term solution that’s really been clinically tested and proven, as opposed to something with little evidence behind it.

Why are probiotics usually taken daily?

Most probiotics will recommend you take them every day, and there is a reason for that. As we covered in our article on probiotic colonisation, most probiotic bacteria are transient in the gut. This means that, whilst some will stay present for longer than others, they all eventually pass through your gut and out of the other end. This is quite simply because, in the average adult, our microbiome is very well established, and there isn’t really enough room for a new bacteria to have a real chance of carving out a niche and permanently living there.

The upshot is, if we want to keep experiencing the benefits of our probiotics, we need to keep the population of those microbes in our guts reasonably high. Since they pass through the gut, the best way for us to do this is daily supplementation.

It’s also worth using strains that have good mucosal adhesion, such as LGG or BB12. These are bacteria that attach themselves well to the mucosal lining of the gut. This ensures that they’ll stay present for a little longer after you take them, as opposed to just passing through in a matter of hours.

Does taking probiotics every day make them work better?

The answer is, not necessarily. Taking probiotics every day makes sure that there’s a consistent population of them in your gut, which is important if they’re going to have an effect in the long term.

But the main thing to remember is, you need to be using strains that have real clinical evidence behind them to know that you’ll get any real benefit. Some strains have been shown to have good long-term effects as well as short term ones, some have only shown short term effects. Some haven’t even been studied in humans. So, as always, picking the right strain is the biggest priority.  

Do probiotics build up in your gut over time?

Sometimes they do, but not always, it all depends on the mucosal adhesion of the bacteria. Some bacteria will adhere very well, and so can stay present for days or even weeks in some cases. With these bacteria the numbers can build up over time as you keep adding more every day at a faster rate than they transition out of the gut. These probiotics are the ones that often have some of the best long-term effects because they’ll stay present for longer.

However, some bacteria transit the gut in under 24 hours, with some passing through in as little as 4 or 5 hours, and so for these microbes taking them every day will keep them present, but their numbers won’t really build up over time as they pass through the digestive tract much too quickly.

What happens when you stop taking probiotics?

It’s popular to think that you’ll go through some sort of ‘withdrawal’, as is often the case with pharmaceutical drugs, but this is very rarely true of probiotics. Once you stop taking them, the numbers of that bacteria will steadily reduce in your gut until they’re mostly all gone. This can take a few days, or even a few weeks depending on the strain you were taking, but your body can’t become dependent on bacteria in the same way it can become dependent on drugs.

Will symptoms come back if I stop?

All that will really happen is that the benefits that bacteria may have been giving you will taper off and eventually stop. This isn’t necessarily a problem, as for people who’ve taken probiotics to address a temporary issue, such as digestive support whilst travelling, they may not need them long term. Often though for people using probiotics to address permanent or chronic issues, they may find the issues start to come back after they stop supplementation. For that reason, these people often elect to keep using a good probiotic in the long term.

Some also take probiotics for long term benefits that don’t address any specific issue, but are just good to have, such as a boost to the immune system or a more resilient gut environment, or a reduction in bloating. Since probiotics are transient and pass through the gut, these people will find that to maintain the effects in the long run, they need to keep supplementing, and keep the population of those microbes consistent to keep seeing results.

Should you take breaks from probiotics?

Simply put, there’s no need to. There is no scientific evidence at all that cycling probiotics, so for example taking them for 4 weeks and then taking a break for 2 weeks, has any benefit at all either to your health or to the safety of the supplement, although this concept is quite popular online. This is because the benefits from probiotics come from maintaining a population of those bacteria. Furthermore, the body can’t become dependent on a probiotic, there’s no potential for addiction or dependence at all, so there is no danger of withdrawal as there often is with pharmaceuticals.

In fact, research has shown that the best effects come from consistency, and that the frequency at which you should take a probiotic really depends on the strain used. For this reason, it’s always best to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines when it comes to dosing, as they will have tailored these to the strains they’ve used.

Can taking probiotics long-term make your gut dependent on them?

Quite simply, the answer is no. There is no research to show that the gut can in any way become dependent on probiotics, and so when you stop taking them there won’t be any sort of withdrawal period at all.

All that happens is that the numbers of that bacteria will naturally decline and eventually vanish, and you’ll stop experiencing the effects they may have been having.

It’s for this reason that probiotics can be a good long-term solution for many individuals, as if they decide they want to stop, they can at any time. Of course, to keep experiencing any benefits they may be getting from their probiotic, they’ll need to keep supplementation up.  

Is long term probiotic use safe?

Really, it all comes down to the strain, and what the studies show, but the answer is almost 100% of the time yes. It’s quite rare for probiotics to be studied in long-term trials, as these are very expensive, and so most probiotics have very little long-term usage data.

For example, strains like LGG and BB12 both have hundreds of clinical trials, often conducted over periods of multiple months and in some rare instances years. This gives us evidence that they’re safe long-term, because none of the participants in these studies had any adverse reactions.

However, for other bacteria that have only been studied in trials over the course of 2 or 3 weeks, all we know is what they do over the course of 2 or 3 weeks. So, whilst it’s highly unlikely these microbes could be a problem in long-term use, the truth is we don’t have enough research to really know.

This is just another example of why it’s important to pick the right strain when choosing a probiotic. Strains with solid, long term clinical evidence like LGG or BB12, are always going to be a better bet over strains with less evidence or only short-term clinical research behind them.

Do you need to take probiotics forever?

Not necessarily, no. It really all comes down to why you took them in the first place.

For people who take them to address temporary issues, such as digestive upset, diarrhoea, alongside a course of antibiotics, or whilst travelling, they may find that once the issue has passed they no longer need the probiotic, it’s done its job and they can stop supplementation.

However, for people attempting to address more chronic or long-term issues, such as the effects of IBS/IBD, chronic diarrhoea, SIBO, or other long term digestive disorders, these people may find that stopping the probiotic leads to a return of the symptoms it was supressing. And so, for these people, consistent use in the long-term may be the best option.

Most people take probiotics as a preventative to keep their guts healthy. For these people, long-term use will ensure that the benefits of their probiotic will continue to be present. If they stop, all that will happen is that any benefits they were getting will slowly taper off and eventually stop completely. The effects of this will vary a lot from person to person, and of course, depend on the strain they were using.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when trying to decide how long to take a probiotic for, it really depends on what you want to achieve. To address short term issues, sometimes only a short-term course is needed. For those looking to deal with long-term issues, or those who just want to support their guts in the long-term, consistent use can be key.

We do know that long-term use of probiotics is typically completely safe, but it’s always best to make sure that the evidence supports that use for the strain you’re taking. Strains like LGG and BB12 have a strong body of long-term evidence, for example, so we know we can use them long term.

There’s no need to take breaks from them, as this won’t really lead to any benefit, and may even detract from the probiotic benefits, and of course, probiotics aren’t in any way addictive, and your body can’t become dependent on them.

This all illustrates that a good, evidence backed probiotic, can be a good solution for both short-term use, as well as long-term support. Picking an evidence based strain, in a concentration that works, is the key.