6 Best Probiotics For Diverticulitis (2023) Study Results
Medically reviewed by: Disclaimer: This guide may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through any links you click.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, around 200,000 people with Diverticulitis are Hospitalized each year in the United States.
I first became aware of Diverticulitis when a close family member was diagnosed with the condition. I decided to do some research and put together this guide on the relationship between Probiotics and Diverticulitis to help them.
I also had my family member with Diverticulitis try a probiotic supplement in this guide for 30-days and I will share their feedback.
What Probiotic Strains For Diverticulitis?
Best Diverticulitis Probiotic Overall
Alicia's Naturals Flowflora,
40-Billion CFU,
Diverticulitis Studied Probiotic Strains,
Contains Prebiotic Fiber,
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Lactobacillus & Bifidobacterium
This large review from 2021 I found stated that "Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis "have been proven effective in managing acute uncomplicated diverticulitis".
The same review also mentioned that various other, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria strains may be effective in managing Acute Diverticulitis in regards to their efficacy on intestinal inflammation.
Lactobacillus Reuteri
This 2019 randomized double blind placebo controlled study mentioned that Lactobacillus Reuteri previously known as Limosilactobacillus, may help with Acute Uncomplicated Diverticulitis because of the anti-inflammatory benefits.
88 adults with diverticulitis took part in the study that involved taking the probiotics with antibiotics. There was reduced abdominal pain & inflammatory markers versus a placebo group.
Lactobacillus Paracasei
This final study concluded that Lactobacillus Paracasei taken for 14 days along with a high fiber diet was effective in reducing abdominal bloating and abdominal pain in symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease. The study that included 34 participants said the combination could be a promising option for treatment.
The anti-inflammatory & immunomodulatory effects that these Lactobacillus Strains have on the digestive system may be what helps with Acute Uncomplicated Diverticulitis but not all strains have the same efficacy.
Microbiota Dysbiosis May Lead To Diverticulitis
A recent 2021 review carried out by Italian researchers was published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine. It looked at the role gut flora plays in Diverticulitis. They found that patients who were developing acute diverticulitis began to have Dysbiosis changes in gram positive Lactobacilli, Clostridium & Bacteroides bacteria.
It's thought that this imbalance between good bacteria & bad bacteria could "be linked to mucosal inflammation" which in turn could worsen the bacteria imbalance working in a nasty loop. Whilst they hypothesized probiotics could be a potential treatment for this Dysbiosis they stated that there wasn't yet enough data to make a conclusion on their efficacy for diverticular disease.
7 Best Probiotic Brands For Diverticulitis
Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum & Bifidobacterium breve
Physician's Choice is a probiotic supplement that comes with 10 probiotic strains and a 60-Billion CFU count.
I haven't tried this probiotic but I sure did some deep research.
In my experience, a 60 Billion CFU count is super high and too high for a lot of people.
Whilst it may provide benefits, the sheer high volume will likely also cause initial side effects.
I did check the customer reviews for Physicians Choice and there were two customers that said this probiotic helped them with diverticulitis which is great.
The capsules are acid-resistant and it comes with a unique prebiotic fiber blend. The prebiotic fiber blend contains organic chicory root 50mg, Organic Acacia Senegal 50mg, and Organic Jerusalem Artichoke Root 50mg.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifdobacterium Lactis, Lactobacillus Plantarum & Lactobacillus Paracasei.
FlowFlora from AliciasNaturals.com contains a high dose of 4 hand-picked scientifically studied Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains and a 40 billion CFU which provides results while being easy on the stomach.
If you haven't guessed already, Alicia's Naturals is my brand and FlowFlora is a probiotic that I created after testing over 27 other probiotic supplements for the ProbioticReviewGirl blog.
Prebiotic fiber is vital for probiotic bacteria to feed on and FlowFlora contains a prebiotic fiber called Fructooligosaccharides or FOS for short. Some Prebiotic foods that are high in FOS include Jerusalem Artichoke, Bananas and Yogurt. You will notice later on that there are also some other probiotic supplements in this guide that contain FOS.
FlowFlora capsules are coated in a gluten free substance derived from natural brown seaweed that makes it resistant to stomach acid making sure it travels deep enough through your colon. Read my FlowFlora review here.
My family member tried FlowFlora for 30-days and it did help with their Diverticulitis flare-ups according to their feedback 🙂
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Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium Infantis, Bifidobacterium Lactis, Lactobacillus Acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus Planatarum Lp-115, Lactococcus Lactis LI-23, Lactobacillus Casei Lc-11, Lacatobacillus Paracasei LPC 37 & Lactobacillus Brevis Lbr-35.
Renew Life's probiotic has a 30-billion CFU count which is on the lower end and only one capsule per day is recommended.
Renew Life has a good mixture of both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria.
It has 12 different strains in total and some of the Lactobacillus strains could be good for AUD.
The capsule is claimed to be delayed released but no further information is given.
RenewLife also does not mention any prebiotic fiber in the ingredients which is disappointing.
ISS Bif Bifidobacterium Lactis (SD-5219), Lactobacillus Acidophilus (SD5221), Bifidobacterium (SD- 5674), Bifidobacterium Lactis, Bifidobacterium Longnum, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Brevis, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Fermentum, Lactobacillus Helveticus, Lactobacillus Kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus Kefirgranum, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Lactococcus Lactis, Lactococcus Cremoris, Streptococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacilllus Kefir, Lactobacillus Parakefir, Lactobacillus Planatarum, Lactococcus Lactis Biovar Diacetylactis, Leuconostoc Lactis, Leuconostoc Mesenteroides, Leuconostoc cremoris, Leuconostoc Dextranicum Kluyveromyces Marxianus, Brettanomyces Anomalus, Deberyomyces Hansenii, Saccharomyces Cervevisiae, Saccharomyces Exiguus, Torulaspora Delbrueckii.
Raw Probiotics Colon Care Cooler is a new release from the reputable Garden Of Life. It has a whopping 33-probiotic strains mostly made up of Kefir Milk (buying non-dairy kefir water might be better and cheaper) and a 50-billion CFU count. I had a good experience with Colon Care but I don't have diverticulitis.
Just because a probiotic has a super high CFU count and a bunch of strains doesn't make it the best. I like to choose a probiotic that has a higher dose of individual strains suited to my purpose. Also, some of the 33 strains in this supplement are similar strains with just minor variations.
Garden Of Life's colon care has an impressive Eastern European Raw Fruit and Veggie blend that makes a good prebiotic fiber. It contains Red Bell Pepper, Green Pea, Carrot, Plum, Cherry, Strawberry, and Fruit all at 45mg. I like to eat these prebiotic foods naturally every day.
Lactobacillus Plantarum, Lactobacillus Fermentum, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium ifantis, Lactobacillus Casei, Bifidibacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium Lactis, Lactobacllius Reuteri, Lactobacillus Salivarius, Lactobacillus Paracasei, Lactobacillus Gasseri, Bifidobacterium Bifidum, Bifidobacterium Breve, Streptococcus Thermophilus.
Hyperbiotics Pro 15 is a probiotic I have tried before and reviewed on this blog. I did find some issues with the reviews on their Amazon page that may or may not have been fake.
Their Pro-15 probiotic has (you guessed it) a total of 15 probiotic strains which consist of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium bacteria, and one Streptococcus strain. Interestingly one of the strains is L. Reuteri which was mentioned in one AUD study.
Hyperbiotics contain the same FOS prebiotic fiber in FlowFlora but contain only a 5-billion CFU per capsule. They recommend taking 3-capsules per day to get a Billion CFU but keep in mind one bottle only contains 60-capsules.
Hyperbiotics Pro-15 stand-out feature in my opinion is their patented delayed release formula which helps the capsules get passed your stomach acid.
Uni-bactCF-15 (Bacillus Coagulans).
Nutrition Essentials is also another probiotic I have tried and reviewed for ProbioticReviewGirl. The probiotic is unique in that it doesn't use Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium bacteria. Instead it uses Uni-BactCF-15 (Bacillus Coagulans).
Bacillus Coagulans have not been studied for AUD but this probiotic does have a lot of good reviews for stomach pain. Bacillus Coagulans is quite a robust probiotic strain that can survive harsh conditions.
They state the probiotic is 900-Billion CFU which would be completely insane if that was true but it's not. Nutrition Essentials is actually 30-Billion CFU per capsule and 900 CFU per bottle. It contains the FOS prebiotic fiber and weirdly is only for sale on Amazon.
Probiotics For Diverticulitis Reddit Threads
The Diverticulitis subreddit was created back in February 2014 and over the years there have been various threads talking about the use of probiotics.
The earliest thread I found was posted 6-years ago and was simply titled "Experience with probiotics?". One Redditor replied in this thread saying that any generic probiotic version should work but that Culturelle probiotic worked best. Culturelle contains one single strain of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus.
Another Redditor said that Probiotics were the single best thing they had used for Diverticulitis and they had less frequent attacks after using the capsules every day and eventually every few days.
Another thread from 7-months ago asked Redditors to share what probiotics everyone was taking. Align Probiotics, VSL3, Florajen, Visbiome, and Garden Of Life were all mentioned. Most of these probiotics mentioned contain Lactobacillus Bacteria.
What Is Diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis is a condition that causes painful inflammation and infection to tiny sac protrusions that reside in the large intestine.
It's said that in younger people lacking a diet low in fiber could potentially lead to painful Diverticulitis by creating pressure in the bowel. Often people over the age of 60 get Diverticulosis without experiencing any symptoms.
Fasting or going on a liquid diet for up to 72-hours may help to relieve some cases of Diverticulitis because of the anti-inflammatory effects and most Doctors will prescribe antibiotics orally or via IV. You may need a CT scan or be kept in hospital if your case is serious enough.
Diverticulitis may cause extreme abdominal pain, low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting and generally feeling unwell. If you experience any of these symptoms it's important to consult with a Doctor asap.
Final Thoughts
It's clear to me that more studies on specific probiotic strains for Diverticulitis are needed and more funding is needed. The potential to help people suffering from the painful side effects of Diverticulitis should be taken into account.
Always consult with a medical professional first for any issues with your health and follow their prescribed treatment. Nothing in this guide is medical advice and I am not a Doctor.
Other Related Probiotic Guides
Probiotics may not help with diverticulitis in everyone and there aren't any studies confirming they work as a permanent cure. Do not use probiotics as a replacement to any prescribed medication.
Hey Alicia! I ended up buying FlowFlora with the coupon code last month and so far so good! The probiotic bacteria inside of it have eased my abdominal pains significantly.
Hi Kate, i suffer diverticulitis, its not fun, i actually take a probiotic and it certainly has helped with the pain, there is so many brands on the market you never know which one is best,All the best anyway hope it gets easier for you
cheers Bev