Soil-based, and Dr. Martin has been saying it on the show for over thirty years. In his words all probiotics are good, the dairy ones you keep in the fridge included, but the best are soil-based, because you cannot kill them, you can travel with them, and they get past the stomach acid to the gut where they belong.
Key takeaways
- His rating is good, better, best. Dairy probiotics are good. Soil-based are best.
- The tell is the label. If it says refrigerate, he says it is dairy-based, and he would put it in the freezer.
- Soil-based bacteria are hardy. You can take a torch to them, in his words, and they get past the stomach acid.
- He wants at least 10 strains either way. That is what he calls broad spectrum.
- He does not tell you to throw the fridge one out. Don't ditch them, switch them.
Side by side, in his words
Every line in the table is something he said on The Doctor Is In. The episode is beside it.
| What he covers | Soil-based probiotic | Refrigerated (dairy) probiotic |
|---|---|---|
| Where the bacteria come from | The soil. Strains hardy enough that, in his words, you can take a torch to them and not destroy the bacteria. |
Dairy. He says most probiotics on the market are dairy-based, and he likes them, just less. |
| Storage | Room temperature. They last forever, he says, and heat does not touch them. |
The fridge, and he says you are better off putting them in the freezer. They do not last long. |
| Travel | Bring them anywhere. Don't leave home without them, is how he puts it. |
Out of the fridge on a trip, in his words, you are losing potency pretty quickly. |
| Getting past the stomach acid | Hardy enough to get past the stomach's acidity into the gut where they belong. |
A lot of times, he says, it ain't getting past the stomach acidity. |
| Strains | He wants at least 10 different strains, which is what makes a probiotic broad spectrum in his book. |
Fewer, in his experience. Soil-based last longer and are much more broad spectrum, is his reason for the switch. |
| His rating | Best. Nothing like them, in his words. |
Good. All probiotics are good, all of them, but they're not the best. |
Hear him answer it
A listener asked him straight out on episode 1739 whether the probiotics are soil-based. His answer, under two minutes, is on the Q&A page for that question, with the audio. The episode is here.
His words, with the episode
Good, better, best
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1739Yep. Look, the best probiotics are one that you don't have to refrigerate. Okay. All probiotics are good. You know how I rate things, right? Good, better, best. The best are soil-based. You know, dairy-based, or, they're good probiotic. Problem is they don't last long. They need to be refrigerated
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 1739 at 18:54
What's the difference, a listener asked
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 669Gayle was asking about soil-based probiotic, what's the difference? Well listen, soil based probiotics, you can take a torch to them and you're not going to destroy the bacteria in there. Okay? That's why I like them.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 669
The fridge, the freezer and the suitcase
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 683Two, again, you can get dairy probiotics. The problem with dairy probiotics, you have to refrigerate them. And actually they're much better not even in the fridge, you better put them in the freezer. Now, you're traveling. Now, you're losing potency pretty quickly. The nice thing about soil-based probiotics is that they last forever. You could take a blowtorch to them and you're not going to destroy the bacteria. And they're meant to get past your stomach acid, and be distributed throughout your body, including your gut.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 683
He likes the dairy ones. He just likes these more
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 614Even dairy probiotics. I like them. I just like soil-based probiotics better. Why is that? Well, they last much longer and they are much more broad spectrum. That's why. But do I like dairy and dairy probiotics? Absolutely, I like them.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 614
Told that refrigerated is better? He says no
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1069"I am told that refrigerated probiotics are better for you." That's not true. Okay, that's not true. And Jean, the best probiotics are soil based probiotics. They're soil. You can heat them, you can do whatever you want to them. You can't kill them. That's what you want. Okay? Now, am I against refrigerated, and I wouldn't even put them in the refrigerator. If you got probiotics that need to be refrigerated, put 'em in the freezer. But they're not the best.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 1069
When does he say one over the other?
When does he say keep the refrigerated one?
He never picks it over a soil-based one, but he never tells you to bin it either. He says all probiotics are good, and if the fridge one is what you have, put it in the freezer and take it. His line on episode 663 is the whole position in five words.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 663But I would tell you to ditch your dairy probiotics and switch them. Don't ditch them, switch them. Soil is better because it doesn't matter what you do to a soil probiotic, you can't destroy it.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 663
When does he say soil-based?
Every time the question comes up, and the reason is always the same: it survives. The stomach acid, the heat, the suitcase, the months in the cupboard. His caution about the fridge kind is not that it is bad, it is that it may not arrive.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1116Dairy probiotics are good. If you have to refrigerate a probiotic, I'm not saying it's no good, just understand that a lot of times it ain't getting past the stomach acidity.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 1116
What he says either way
Broad spectrum. Whichever kind you take, he wants a multitude of strains, because in his words different strains do different things.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 669And I recommend soil base with at least 10 different strains, that makes them broad spectrum. And soil based, they're hardy. They get past your stomach's acidity to get into the gut where they belong.
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, episode 669
