7 things a probiotic label won't tell you
Works on any tub, ours included
7 things a probiotic label won’t tell you
Labels leave things out. Not illegally, and usually not on purpose, they simply are not required to say it. If you are the sort who turns the pack over before buying, these are the seven questions worth asking, where the answer hides, and how ours does on each one.
Skip straight to what it costs →
The seven checks
Why labels leave this out
A supplement label is not a nutrition label with more detail. It is a different form with different rules, and the rules cover what has to be printed rather than what you want to know.
Brands have to name their ingredients. They do not have to say how much of each active sits inside a blend, or which exact strain they used, or whether that big number on the front was counted the day it was made or the day you open it. All of it is legal and most of the shelf does it.
So none of the questions below are accusations. They are the things the form never asks, which leaves you to ask them.
A brand that publishes a number it did not have to publish has measured something
A few of them nobody is required to answer at all, the survival figure being the clearest one. That is exactly why it is worth asking. A brand that skips it has told you something too.
How to use this
Grab whatever you are taking at the moment. Any brand, ours included.
Read the question, look at your own label, then tap to see what is missing.
These work whether or not you ever buy anything from us.
Which member of that family you are actually getting. A species is a large group and the research is not run on the group, it is run on one specific strain, written with a code on the end. Two products can list the same species and contain organisms that behave nothing like each other.
Some brands publish the full designation, so this is not a secret of the industry. It is a choice, and you can see who made which one.
How to check it
Look for a code after the Latin name. GG, HN019, 35624. If the line stops at two words, the pack has not told you what is in it.
MindBelly
Four strains, each named and each clinically studied rather than generic. B. longum for GABA production, L. plantarum on the serotonin pathway, L. rhamnosus GG for BDNF, L. reuteri for oxytocin support.
A number. Stomach acid is the whole problem with swallowing live cultures, and a phrase like survives stomach acid is not a measurement of anything. Unprotected strains do badly at stomach pH, which is why delivery matters more than the count on the front.
A survival figure is not required on any label, which is why most packs skip it. Nothing stops a brand publishing one, so the ones that do are telling you they measured it.
How to check it
Look for a percentage with a pH next to it. A percentage on its own does not mean much, because survival at pH 6 and survival at pH 3 are different questions.
MindBelly
Micro-encapsulated for 84% survival at pH 3.0. Both halves of that are published, the number and the pH it was measured at. The pack names the micro-encapsulation; the figure is here and on the product page.
Whether the cultures have anything to eat when they arrive. Live bacteria need fibre to feed on, and a probiotic sold without one is doing half the job and charging for the half it does.
Where a prebiotic does appear, it is often the words on their own with no ingredient named, which is close to telling you nothing.
How to check it
Look for a named fibre in the ingredients rather than the word prebiotic on the front. Chicory root inulin, acacia, partially hydrolysed guar gum.
MindBelly
Chicory root inulin, named in the ingredients. It is in the same stick as the cultures rather than sold to you separately.
That is three of the seven. If you have seen enough, the price is here.
$49 for the Welcome Kit, which is the pouch plus the blending wand, then $69 a month. Or $79 to buy the pouch once.
$49 today, then $69 a month. Cancel from your account after the second order.
Which ingredient is supposed to be doing the brain part. A probiotic can support the gut end of the gut-brain axis and have nothing in it aimed at the other end, and most of them are exactly that.
The check is not whether the front of the pack says mood. It is whether an ingredient list backs the word up.
How to check it
Read the ingredients and see whether anything on the list is there for cognition. If the only actives are bacteria, the brain claim is coming from the bacteria alone.
MindBelly
Four nootropics alongside the cultures, each named with what it is for. Mango leaf extract for cerebral blood flow, L-Tyrosine for neuron function, Huperzine-A for acetylcholine, L-Theanine for calm focus.
Who did the testing and what they tested for. Tested by whom is the entire content of the claim, and a pack that will not name the party has not made a claim you can follow up.
Certification bodies exist and publish their registers, so a named certifier is checkable in a couple of minutes. An unnamed one never is.
How to check it
Look for the name of the certifier, not the word certified. Then look the brand up on that certifier register.
MindBelly
Made in an NSF certified, FDA registered facility, Good Manufacturing Practice certified, with suppliers who are members of the International Probiotics Association. Four named bodies, all of which keep public registers.
How much, and under what name. Caffeine is cheap and it works immediately, which makes it the easiest way to make a focus product feel like it is doing something on day one.
It is not hidden, it is just listed under a plant name most people do not read as caffeine. Guarana, green tea extract, yerba mate and kola nut all are.
How to check it
Read the full ingredient list, not the front. If you find guarana, green tea extract, yerba mate or kola nut, there is caffeine in it.
MindBelly
None. The focus ingredients are caffeine free, which is why it can be taken in the afternoon without the question of whether it will cost you the evening.
What the second month costs, and how you get out. A first-order discount is not a price, it is an introduction, and the number that matters is the one that arrives after it.
This is the one check you run on the website rather than the pack, and it is the one most people skip.
How to check it
Find the ongoing price before you enter a card, and find the cancel path before you need it. If either takes more than a minute to locate, that is your answer.
MindBelly
$79 to buy the pouch once. On subscription the Welcome Kit is $49 for the first month, which includes the blending wand, then $69 a month. Pause, change or cancel from your account after the second order. 90 days money back from the first order, opened pouch included.
Now ours
Run the same seven on this before you read our summary.
How we did on our own seven
Seven for seven, which is the point of choosing checks you can actually answer.
Every line above is printed on the pack or on the product page, so you can verify all of it and none of it needs taking on trust.
One thing this does not claim. MindBelly is the gut-brain corner of the cupboard and nothing wider. Vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3, your multivitamin and anything prescribed all stay where they are.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
What it costs
Same standard we just applied to everyone else. The month-two price is on the card.
Then $69 a month. Cancel from your account after the second order.90-day money-back satisfaction promise, opened pouch included.
If you do not feel it has helped, email hello@mindbelly.com as you approach day 90 after your first glass, along with your order number, and we will refund what you paid. Opened pouch included.
What buyers say
The nootropics are immediately noticeable and I’m looking forward to the probiotic effects, which build cumulatively over a few weeks.
Mindbelly is the probiotic drink I’ve been looking for! The taste is delicious and fruity. Mindbelly’s price is fantastic for the high quality, tastiness, and effectiveness of the product. I start every day with Mindbelly and recommend that everyone try it. In a world full of toxins and foods laced with poisons it’s important to me to take care of my microbiome. It increases my mental clarity as well.
I have been looking for a mid day helper to get me through the slump in the afternoon that isn’t caffeine. I can’t drink caffeine past noon anymore or it keeps me awake, and I’m working on improving my sleep quality. I wanted something natural to help me stay focused without stimulants. I like that it is a long game gut health supplement, but also has tropics to help me with focus right away.
Questions we get
From your account after the second order ships. Account, then Subscriptions, then Manage. No call and no email needed.
You not wanting to keep it, for any reason, with your money back. Opened pouch included. It is not a promise about how you will feel.
300mcg, printed on the panel alongside every other active. Check 04 above.
Micro-encapsulated for 84% survival at pH 3.0, the figure and the pH it was measured at. Check 02 above.
No. Vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3, a multivitamin and anything prescribed all stay.
$69 a month for as long as you stay on it, and you can pause, change the interval or cancel from your account once the second order has shipped.