Reviewed product: Florastor

General score: 2 ½ / 5 stars

Form of presentation: capsules

Serving dimensions: 9mm x 22mm

Cost: $49.99

Recommended dosage: 2 capsules/ day

Packaging content: 50 capsules

Daily cost: $1.99

Viability: through/ at expiration date

CFUs count: not available

Ingredients: 1 main strain of probiotics, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo (250mg)

Customer satisfaction: not guaranteed

Product category: daily usage probiotic

Purchasing: via the manufacturer’s main website

General review

As you can probably already deduce by the 2 ½ / 5 stars evaluation, my experience with Florastor wasn’t generally all that impressive. Although it had both its perks and drawbacks, the negative aspects definitely influenced my global review concerning this rather expensive product.

On the one hand, Florastor does indeed present a couple of benefits which cannot be ignored. For example, this probiotic states that it does not require refrigeration, which makes for better portability and an overall practicality very much needed in today’s times. As a result, you can easily take Florastor with you while you’re travelling or simply in a hurry to get to work without having to worry that you’ll diminish the ‘friendly’ bacteria’s beneficial properties through ‘improper’ transportation conditions.

In terms of administration, the process is fairly easy to remember: just take 1 capsule in the morning and 1 in the evening by swallowing the capsule whole or by sprinkling its contents in water/ over food (both cold). The second recommendation is very advantageous for people who don’t like swallowing bigger pills because it means you can still enjoy a good probiotic kick and not detest the moment you actually have to take it during the day.

Another positive characteristic linked to Florastor is its wide spectrum of usage. As the packaging suggests, this probiotic supplement can be used by any person, regardless of their age, as long as you don’t administer it to children younger than 2 months. It goes without saying that this specification is highly in favour of this product’s general quality, since most other similar products can be either used in smaller dosages by children or completely discourage their administration to individuals who are under the age of 18 years.

On the other hand, Florastor failed to satisfy from a number of points, the first of which being its general cost. Not only will you have to pay almost $50 for less than a month’s worth of administration for this probiotic supplement, but the double dosage will bring you to just short of $2 for each day’s ‘friendly’ bacteria boosting. Now compare that to the average $0.70 most effective probiotics usually amount to and the cost won’t seem that ‘friendly’ anymore.

In addition, we have to take into consideration Florastor’s allergenic potential: by presenting trace amounts of soy and lactose, this probiotic becomes particularly troublesome for individuals sensitive to these substances. My own administration period also resulted in prolonged stomach cramping and discomfort, which I definitely didn’t like in this experience at all.

Unlike other probiotic supplements, the Florastor capsules are commercialized in a clear bottle, which clashes with the probiotic’s supposed ‘no refrigeration’ policy. Just think about it: if light and heat tamper with the bacteria’s viability, why further expose the capsules in this manner? Not to mention that there is no mentioning of the supplement’s CFUs count anywhere on the label, which doesn’t make for an overall convincing dietary enhancer in the end.

At a global level, the 2 ½ /5 stars review granted to Florastor was a result of the probiotic’s good administration range and method of usage, alongside a rather disappointing quality-cost ratio, allergenic potential, and disagreeable side effects.

Detailed description

Ingredient list

The main – and only – probiotic component of Florastor is the beneficial microorganism scientifically known as Saccharomyces boulardii lyo. This probiotic component was first isolated at the beginning of the 20th century from the mangosteen and lychee fruits, a detail which places it amongst the few such ‘friendly’ bacteria not originating from a dairy environment (hence better adaptable to a vegetarian or even vegan lifestyle when taken in the shape of supplements).

Ever since, this unique type of yeast has been used as a pharmaceutical component in order to accelerate the organism’s natural digestive patterns, enhance immunity screening, and promote a heightened sense of wellbeing in a person’s day-to-day life. By creating thriving colonies inside the gut, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo has the capacity to ‘attune’ itself to the body’s own responsiveness and generate better food decomposition patterns, as well as improve shielding against pathogens.

Owing to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo has the capacity to promote an accelerated rhythm of detoxification inside the body, accompanied by facilitated absorption of nutrients at the level of the gastrointestinal tract, enhanced immunity (since almost 70% of a human’s natural defense against pathogens resides inside the small intestine and colon), and less instances of severe mood swings.

It also means that this probiotic can remain constantly engaged in protecting the organism against the overgrowth of various harmful pathogens for longer periods of time. The most obvious result of such an active and beneficial process is reflected in fewer to none episodes of diarrhea, in particular ‘traveller’s diarrhea and antibiotic-induced diarrhea. The same defense mechanism applies in the case of Clostridium difficile and Helicobacter pylori infections. Moreover, individuals who suffer from short bowel syndrome could benefit from less incidents of bacterial overgrowths while having this probiotic as a regular part of their diet. Consequently, not only will Saccharomyces boulardii lyo ‘fight’ against the development of these ‘bad’ bacteria, but it will also help regenerate the normal microflora levels otherwise present in the stomach, small intestine, and colon.

Aside from the prevention of numerous digestive problems, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo is equally employed in alleviating or treating gastrointestinal illnesses like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), ulcerative colitis, ulcers, etc. Moreover, this probiotic has also been shown to improve the health levels of the urinary and vaginal systems alike, with fewer instances of infections and yeast overgrowths being attributed to the presence of Saccharomyces boulardii lyo colonies inside the organism.

The great thing about this ‘friendly’ type of bacterium is that, over time, its positive influence extends to the entire spectrum of human wellbeing. For instance, people who exhibited longer lasting colonies of Saccharomyces boulardii lyo in their system displayed improved responses to lactose intolerance (which occurs when the gut is unable to properly decompose the ‘tough’ sugars in milk, hence leading to gas, bloating, irregular bowel motility, etc.), normalized cholesterol levels, and even less occurrences of acne breakouts.

All in all, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo has proven itself as a very valuable probiotic for the pharmaceutical world in connection with its digestive, immune, and general health-maintaining capacities, thus remaining one of the most active, beneficial, and resistant microorganisms inside the human body.

Allergenic potential

If you start using Florastor as your daily probiotic, then you will have to be extremely careful when it comes to its allergenic potential. As stated on the label, this product contains both lactose and traces of soy, two ingredients well-known for their troublesome side effects in sensitive individuals. Not to mention that this also contradicts the label’s statement that the probiotic is ‘appropriate for lactose intolerance’, which it clearly isn’t once you get a good look at the ingredients list. So try to find a suitable alternative for your probiotic needs if you are either lactose intolerant or allergic to soy, since even these small amounts could lead to unwanted outcomes in the long term.

On the other hand, Florastor is explicitly free of other major allergen substances such as corn, meat, egg protein, milk protein, fish, nuts, or shellfish, which is indeed a big advantage when compared to other similar dietary enhancers. Add to this the fact that the probiotic is gluten-free, as well as based on a vegetarian formula, and you could easily include it in your day-to-day regime without any problems whatsoever.

Florastor also contains magnesium stearate, hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose, and titanium dioxide, but these are used as the base for the ‘good’ bacteria content and do not pose any allergenic threat to the vast majority of users.  

Overall cost

As previously pointed out, you will have to spend roughly $49.99 for each bottle of Florastor you purchase. More explicitly, you will invest $1.99 on each daily administration of this probiotic, since the packaging contains 50 capsules and the instructions recommend using 2 capsules per day.

All in all, it’s a pretty steep price for any sort of daily probiotic, regardless of its high quality or not. Check with any professional nutritionist and they will tell you that a good quality-cost ratio revolves around the 70 cents mark for every regular usage – which, obviously, is a far cry from the present product’s situation. In fact, Florastor is almost three times as expensive when administered on a habitual basis, so you should really take that into consideration before starting out this product in particular.

To make matters worse, my experience with Florastor did not produce a long-lasting impression in a positive sense, which means I wouldn’t personally recommend to anybody spending $50 on a probiotic which does not highly impress with its results in the long run. Having gone through other probiotic supplements as well, I can definitely agree that there are much more advantageous alternatives out there on the market nowadays.

Side effects

When you start using a new ‘friendly’ bacteria enhancer on a regular basis, it’s pretty much a given that you should expect some sort of discomfort or abdominal cramping. This happens because your gastrointestinal tract has to first get used to the new bacteria being introduced in the system and only then reach a beneficial and digestive-friendly balance. Nevertheless, these side effects should not last more than a couple of days at a time.

But, with Florastor, I experienced visceral pain and overall discomfort all throughout the administration period, which is clearly a strong drawback for the supplement. While trying to make sense of this, I noticed that nowhere on the label does the manufacturer mention Florastor’s probiotic potency, namely how many CFUs you are taking with each individual capsule.

Aside from it being a very unprofessional choice – after all, why would you buy a probiotic enhancer without knowing its potential in the first place? – the lack of this very important information could actually be the cause of the prolonged discomfort I went through while using Florastor. More exactly, at 2 capsules as a regular administration dosage, the probiotic could be too strong for some individuals with sensitive stomachs, myself included. Whether it was just my unfortunate case or a CFUs-linked issue, I strongly advise in favour of consulting with your doctor or personal physician before using Florastor for the first time.

Manufacturer guarantee

The bad news regarding Florastor continues in the manufacturer guarantee department as well, with the company responsible for this probiotic supplement not making any type of official claims regarding money-back policies or any other sort of guarantees. In all truthfulness, this specific aspect takes away greatly from the item’s overall quality because it implies that the manufacturer does not make an effort to cater for its potential customers’ needs or even commercial rights, for that matter.

Furthermore, let’s take into consideration the item’s pricing: at almost $1 for every single capsule of Florastor – namely with 30 cents over the average price of a good quality probiotic supplement – you should at least be given a guarantee for the supplement’s CFUs count, not to mention one for your customer satisfaction. And, although this detail does not directly affect the item’s potential to result in good digestive patterns and overall health, it would have been better to benefit from an explicit manufacturer assurance in light of Florastor’s expense.

Purchasing

You can acquire Florastor via the manufacturer’s official website.

Florastor – general view

Category	Florastor
General rating	2 ½ / 5 stars
Recommended usage	Daily usage probiotic
Ingredients	Saccharomyces boulardii lyo (250mg)
Allergenic potential	High allergenic threat (contains traces of lactose and soy)
Cost	$49.99 for 50 capsules (25 days’ worth of administration)
Side effects	Abdominal discomfort and pain
Manufacturer guarantee(s)	Not present
Purchasing	Through the company’s main website