Best probiotic for travel: how to compare labels instead of claims

Why there is no ranked list on this page

Two reasons, and the first is self interest. We sell one of these products. A ranked list from us would put ours at the top, you would be right to ignore it, and it would be worth precisely what you paid for it.

The second reason is the one that actually binds. Ranking supplements against each other by how well they work is a comparative claim, and it requires evidence we do not hold about products we did not make. Plenty of sites do it anyway. That is their risk, and it is a good reason to distrust the list.

What is genuinely useful is a method. Everything below is printed on a label or recorded on a public register, so you can apply it in a chemist aisle in about two minutes.

The six things to compare

Nothing in that list is about which product is best, because a label cannot tell you that. It is about which product is which, which is a question a label answers very well.

How to read the register, in two minutes

The Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods is public and searchable, and using it puts you ahead of almost every shopper in the aisle. Search the product name at the TGA site, open the entry, and open the public summary.

What you are looking for is the Permitted Indications block, which lists the claims in the TGA's own standard wording, and the Warnings block underneath it. For Travelan, entry 106709, the indications include wording about traveller's diarrhoea and the warnings record lactose and cow's milk protein. For Inner Health Travel Bug Probiotic, entry 477446, the indications concern diarrhoea in adults, children and healthy infants.

Both of those are quoted verbatim on their own pages here, with links: how to take Travelan and Inner Health Travel Bug.

What is actually on the Australian shelf

Three different categories get shelved together, which is most of why this is confusing.

• Bovine colostrum tablets. Travelan is the known one. Not a probiotic at all: colostrum powder, 200 mg per tablet, taken before meals, and it contains dairy.
• Single-strain probiotics. Inner Health Travel Bug is the pharmacy example, one yeast strain at 5 billion CFU a capsule, one a day for travel, 20 to a pack.
• Multi-strain probiotics. Several named organisms in one capsule, usually at a higher total CFU and often with a prebiotic. Wander Gut sits here: five strains, 60 billion CFU per two-capsule serve, plus prebiotic Inulin FOS, 60 capsules to a bottle.
• Oral rehydration sachets, which are not in this category at all but belong in the bag regardless, and are what Australian health services point to once someone is actually unwell.

The fourth item is not a competitor, it is the thing people forget. It is on the Bali medical kit list for a reason.

Our own label, held to the same test

It would be poor form to give you a method and then exempt ourselves from it, so here is Wander Gut run through all six.

Strains, named: Saccharomyces boulardii 10 billion, Lactobacillus acidophilus 15 billion, Lactobacillus rhamnosus 15 billion, Lactobacillus plantarum 10 billion, Bifidobacterium lactis 10 billion. CFU per serve: 60 billion across two capsules, plus 250 mg prebiotic Inulin FOS. Daily dose: two capsules, preferably with water. Pack: 60 capsules, which is 30 serves. Storage: shelf stable, no refrigeration, keep sealed and out of direct heat and sunlight. Permitted claims: none of the diarrhoea indications described above, and we make none.

Suitable for adults and children over 3 years. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, managing a medical condition, or giving it to a young child, check with your healthcare professional first. Always read the label and follow the directions for use.

On price and availability: ours is sold direct from this site only, from $39.95, free shipping on two bottles or more, which is a distribution choice explained on our about page. Pharmacy products will usually be cheaper per pack and are on a shelf near you right now.

The questions worth asking a pharmacist

• Which of these is right for me given what I already take? The only person in the conversation who can weigh that.
• Is there anything here I should not take given pregnancy, nursing, a condition, or a child's age?
• What should I have in the bag for when someone is already unwell, as distinct from a daily routine? The answer will usually start with rehydration sachets.
• Which claims is this one allowed to make? A good pharmacist will tell you straight, and you can check the register yourself afterwards.

None of that requires buying anything from anyone, including us.