Probiotic Shots vs. Probiotic Supplements

What’s the difference between probiotic shots and probiotic supplements?

These days, there are so many different ways to get your daily probiotic fix - from food and drinks, to supplements like capsules and pills. But there’s a new player on the probiotic block that’s making major waves: Shots!

You may not know this but probiotic shots are an effective carrier for your daily dose of living bacteria. Similar to capsules and pills, they are produced with a high concentration of probiotic CFUs for a more purposeful delivery method. But what are probiotic shots, exactly? And what potential benefits do they have over probiotic supplements?

What Are Probiotic Shots?

Let’s start with the basics - what are probiotic shots? Probiotic shots are a liquid-based probiotic carrier, bottled with a concentrated amount of living bacteria to support and nourish the gut. Given the ‘beverage’ style of this product, they typically are seen as a tasty way to enjoy your daily probiotics, without sacrificing CFUs.

Typically Probiotic Shots come in a wide range of flavours, accompanied by vitamins and minerals for extra fortification, and can be low in sugar and vegan friendly. A typical shot is anywhere from 50-100ml.

What Are Probiotic Supplements?

Let’s move on to probiotic supplements - what are they and how do they differ from probiotic shots? Probiotic Supplements come in capsule, pill or even powder format, with the entire dose of probiotics encapsulated in a stable outer shell. This is typically ingested, and the casing is broken down in the stomach to release the bacteria contained within.

 

The Benefits Of Probiotic Shots

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s dive into the detail. Below, we’ve listed the benefits of choosing a probiotic shot over a capsule.

1. They Taste Great

One of the most compelling benefits of probiotic shots would have to be the flavour. Unlike standard probiotic supplements, probiotic shots come in a wide range of sweet flavours to delight your palate. For example, the Perkii Probiotic Shot range includes flavours such as Super Berry, Ginger, or Greens.

Despite the sweet taste, the shots are also low in sugar to support the life of the bacteria within. Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to your daily probiotic every morning.

2. They Offer A Wider Consumption Window

Typically with normal probiotic supplements, you’d need to take them at a certain time to ensure they pass through the stomach when it’s less acidic. If the probiotics inside the Probiotic Shot are micro-shielded (like PERKii’s), this is less of an issue.

Micro-shield technology provides protection for the probiotic inside over extended periods, increasing their survival time at low pH. This means you can enjoy these supplements at almost any time of the day.

3. An Ideal Environment For Living Probiotics

There’s a bit more to it than just a great-tasting product. Unlike standard probiotic supplements, a liquid-based probiotic shot provides the ideal conditions that living bacteria generally need to survive and thrive.

It’s commonly known that living probiotics require 3 important things to sustain life: refrigerated temperatures, moisture, and a balanced sugar supply - all of which are supplied in probiotic shots.

 

The Benefits Of Probiotic Supplements

Supplements like capsules and pills offer a few benefits that you’ll need to consider when deciding between the two probiotic carriers. We’ve summarised these below:

1. They’re Easy To Store

At first glance, probiotic supplements might seem a lot easier to store compared to probiotic shots. Unlike shots, supplements don’t necessarily need to be stored in the fridge - they can often be left in a dry, cool spot instead.

However, as mentioned previously we do know that living probiotics require moisture, a refrigerated temperature, and a balanced supply of sugar to survive - which many probiotic supplements don’t offer.

This can bring into question the number of active CFUs inside a capsule or pill, and ultimately the number reaching your gut alive.

2. They Have a Long Shelf Life

Another great aspect of probiotic supplements is that they tend to have a longer shelf life than probiotic shots, which have between 4-6 months. With the proper storage techniques, these products can be stored between 1 to 2 years, which is handy if you’re buying in bulk.

It is also worth considering that living probiotics can lose their potency over time through natural degradation, so they can become much less effective over the months and years from their initial purchase date.

So, How Do They Stack Up?

With all of the information provided, what’s the better probiotic solution? It really comes down to what matters most to you. What we know is Probiotic Shots offer much more flexibility than supplements with regards to consumption window, assuming the probiotics inside are micro-shielded.

Furthermore, the general liquid nature of a Shot creates an ideal environment for living probiotics to thrive. The 3 components of this environment are: moisture, temperature control and nutrients (or food source). Finally, Probiotic Shots can offer a great-taste that becomes enjoyable to take on a daily basis, to keep you on track with your goals.

Where supplements thrive is in their ease-of-storage and shelf-life, though there are caveats to both of these. To conclude, there's an argument to say that supplements are more clinical in that they only contain the probiotic. However, what we have determined is that the Probiotic Shot format is designed to provide an ideal environment for a clinical dose of living probiotics to survive… as well as a great-tasting way to kick start your day!

 

PERKii Probiotic Shots

If you’re on the hunt for a daily shot with probiotics micro-shielded to resist stomach acid and get through to your gut, we’d recommend getting your hands on the new PERKii Immunity Probiotic Shot range.

There’s a lot to love about these small and mighty shots: They are bottled with 8 billion Targeted Release Probiotics as well as vitamin c, to support normal immune system function.

Low in sugar and naturally flavoured, PERKii Immunity Probiotic Shots are available in 3 natural flavours: Super Berry, Super Ginger and Super Greens. Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to taking your daily probiotic. Head to the online store to shop now.