The probiotic wars are heating up! Have you noticed how many new probiotic products are popping up everywhere you look? As a female nutritionist, I've become obsessed with finding the best probiotic products to recommend to my community. I usually do this by trying popular probiotics for myself. The truth is that we all win when more and more probiotic products battle it out for dominance on the shelves because gut health is the foundation of true health, longevity, energy, and weight loss.

That said, I think its super important we all understand that supplements alone cannot cure all of our problems. Living healthy starts with eating healthy and committing to daily, challenging fitness. So, although probiotic supplementation can improve some people's gut health, that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. One thing is for certain though, creating healthy eating habits and exercise will help enhance the probiotic of your choice.

I recently devoted some time to trying out products from Seed and MegaSporeBiotic. Both of these brands came highly recommended by colleagues in my line of work. Which one was better? I'm about to help you discover everything that will help you choose between Seed and MegaSporeBiotic. First, I want to make sure you're looking for a probiotic for the right reasons.

The Importance of Taking a Probiotic

I'll admit to feeling a bit like a broken record when it comes to probiotics. There's no denying that diet and exercise are the priorities. I want people to maintain healthy, balanced guts using high-fiber, whole foods that nourish the microbiome.

Stress, sugar, processed foods, illness, and genetics can all cause our microbiome to get out of sync. What's more, the simple act of taking an antibiotic medication that is prescribed to you can decimate your levels of good gut bacteria. There's a good chance that your gut is suffering if you've taken an antibiotic within the past year.

Taking a probiotic would be important enough if these supplements only helped with gas, bloating, and digestive issues. While they support all of those things, probiotics are actually in the business of helping to create whole-body healing that impacts everything from the immune system to mood. We only started to realize the important role that having a healthy gut microbiome plays for total health within the last few years. We now know that 70% to 80% of the immune system is located within the gut!

"The microbiome and the immune system are critically intertwined," says Dr. Jonathan Jacobs at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Immune cells located in the gut interact with the microbiome. The foods we eat ultimately determine what those cells look like by affecting the diversity and composition of the gut bacteria available for the immune cells. What's present in the gut ultimately "trains" the immune systems.

When we have a varied diet full of natural fiber sources, we enjoy microbial diversity. When we have a diet full of processed foods, this results in reduced bacterial diversity that can ultimately promote inflammation and chronic illness. In fact, probiotics may help to cut risks for certain cancers.

"Probiotics help your immune system function at its best so it can detect and kill cells that can become cancer," according to researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. Probiotics appear to have especially strong benefits for preventing colon cancer. MD Anderson researchers point out that several studies show that people with colon cancer have an unhealthy population of gut bacteria before the cancer develops.

There's also compelling research showing that a healthy gut can help with weight loss, energy levels, skin conditions, autoimmune conditions, and several forms of chronic illness. One last point that's worth mentioning is the mood-gut link. It's estimated that 90% of the body's serotonin is produced in the gut. While most "mood" treatments focus on the brain, people are increasingly using probiotics to help create the balance needed for proper serotonin production.

It seems like we're only just beginning to unlock the power of gut health. I can tell you from my experience as a nutritionist that I've seen the way prioritizing gut health has brought my clients from being "down in the dumps" with their health to feeling more energized than ever.

This brings me back to my motivation for reviewing Seed Daily Synbiotic and MegaSporeBiotic. Let's jump into my comparison reviews to help you get an idea of what each product offers.

Head-to-Head Comparison of Seed Vs. MegaSporeBiotic

About Seed Daily Synbiotic

Seed Daily Synbiotic caught my eye because this is a two-in-one capsule that's both a probiotic and prebiotic. I always get excited when probiotic manufacturers add in prebiotic elements because prebiotics provide "food" for healthy gut bacteria. In addition to providing better results, probiotic supplements that contain prebiotics can also help you to avoid throwing your money away on products that can't create sustained results.

I also really love the diversity of the bacterial strains included in this formula. You're getting four different probiotic blends designed to support digestive, cardiovascular, and dermatological health for the price you'd pay for a single strain! There's also a micronutrient synthesis mix that ramps up your gut to be able to properly use the fuel you're giving it.

I'm going to talk a bit about the capsule delivery system before diving into the actual formula used to make Seed Daily Synbiotic. Seed uses an outer prebiotic capsule made with punicalagin concentrated from Indian pomegranate that actually gets "biotransformed" by gut microbes into powerful metabolites that boost human health and vitality. Next, a probiotic inner capsule is filled with clinically and scientifically studied strains that have been biofermented in Europe.

Use coupon code FHM15 for 15% off

A Glance at the Formula

Seed Daily Synbiotic is in a class of its own when it comes to the quality and diversity of its probiotic strains. Each capsule is packed with 24 clinically and scientifically studied probiotic strains that are mixed with a polyphenol-based prebiotic to support systemic health. Here's the strain list to help you see the value of what you're getting:

• Bifidobacterium longum SD-BB536-JP.
• Bifidobacterium breve SD-BR3-IT.
• Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SD-LP1-IT.
• Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus SD-LR6-IT.
• Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HRVD113-US.
• Bifidobacterium infantis SD-M63-JP.
• Bifidobacterium lactis SD-BS5-IT.
• Bifidobacterium lactis HRVD524-US.
• Lactobacillus crispatus SD-LCR01-IT.
• Lacticaseibacillus casei HRVD300-US.
• Bifidobacterium breve HRVD521-US.
• Bifidobacterium longum HRVD90b-US.
• Bifidobacterium lactis SD150-BE.
• Limosilactobacillus fermentum SD-LF8-IT.
• Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus SD-GG-BE.
• Limosilactobacillus reuteri RD830-FR.
• Ligilactobacillus salivarius SD-LS1-IT.
• Bifidobacterium lactis SD-CECT8145-SP.
• Bifidobacterium longum SD-CECT7347-SP.
• Lacticaseibacillus casei SD-CECT9104-SP.
• Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SD-LPLDL-UK.
• Bifidobacterium lactis SD-MB2409-IT.
• Bifidobacterium adolescentis SD-BA5-IT.
• Limosilactobacillus reuteri SD-LRE2-IT.

I want to put this into perspective a bit by sharing that the probiotic products that you'd find on the shelf locally might contain anywhere from one to three strains. I honestly felt like I was striking gold whenever I found a probiotic with more than one strain until I discovered the ingredient list for Seed probiotic. The rest of the ingredient list is pretty standard. The capsules are made using chlorophyllin, hypromellose, fermented gellan gum, organic rice fiber, and water.

Pros:

• This is a probiotic powerhouse! Strain number and quality are unmatched.
• Tailored for complete health.
• This is a vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, shellfish-free, sesame-free, corn-free, and preservative-free product. It's cleaner than clean.
• The unique capsule design ensures that live strains survive! Strains also stay viable when moving through the digestive tract. So many products actually give you inactive, dead strains that don't provide any real value.
• Made using more than 50 quality-assurance and quality-control (QA/QC) checkpoints that ensure purity.
• Gentle on the stomach.

Cons:

• While I think this is a great value, the price is higher than average.
• The pills are a little big.

Pricing and Purchase Options

A one-month supply of Seed Daily Synbiotic is $49.99. Shipping is always free when ordering directly through the Seed website.

Use coupon code FHM15 for 15% off

About MegaSporeBiotic

I was intrigued by the fact that MegaSporeBiotic is marketed as a 100% spore-based, broad-spectrum probiotic. This supplement's claim to fame is its ability to maintain healthy gut-barrier function. The brand claims that it actually reconditions the gut by promoting microbial diversity.

I think this is a pretty cool approach to probiotics. While the claim about the spores "retraining" the gut sounds impressive, the truth is that every probiotic essentially does this. As I shared at the beginning of this post, microbial diversity that's achieved by dietary diversity is what actually helps to train immune cells. I have no doubt that MegaSporeBiotic can help with that. However, I will say that the same is true of the multitude of strains offered by the Seed probiotic I covered again.

A Glance at the Formula

First, I like that MegaSporeBiotic's probiotic blend uses five spore strains that have been shown to boost gut-barrier health and immune function. While this isn't as robust as Seed's mega formulation, five strains is still impressive compared to most off-the-shelf products. The strains included in this formula are:

• Bacillus Licheniformis.
• Bacillus Indicus HU36™.
• Bacillus Subtilis HU58™.
• Bacillus Clausii.
• Bacillus Coagulans.

I especially like seeing the Bacillus Licheniformis strain that is known to help produce the full spectrum of B vitamins. Bacillus Clausii also gets me excited because it's a great one for immune function. Overall, I can't say anything bad about this combination of probiotics.

MegaSporeBiotic also formulates this product to offer Bacillus spores in a bi-phasic state that allows them to remain dormant until they reach the human gastrointestinal tract. While I don't necessarily have the background to audit that claim, I will say that the entire benefit of this probiotic supplement hinges on it being true. These strains need to come back to life to benefit your body.

Pros:

• Nice assortment of probiotic strains.

Cons:

• Transparency about ingredients and testing could be better.
• A little rough on the stomach.
• Price was much higher than I expected.

Pricing and Purchase Options

MegaSporeBiotic doesn't really do price transparency. The company actually makes you register with an account in order to view pricing and purchasing options. I can tell you from my experience that the cost works out to about $55 for a 30-day supply.

Comparing Probiotic Formulas

Both of these products bring lots of good stuff to the table. Overall, the Seed formula is more robust. In addition to offering a blockbuster list of probiotics, it also provides prebiotics.

Comparing Cost and Value

I was pretty shocked to discover that MegaSporeBiotic was more expensive than Seed. I assumed that Seed's probiotic represented the top of the price ladder for probiotics. However, I didn't mind the cost because the quality of ingredients and thorough testing more than justified the price for me. I honestly think that MegaSporeBiotic is a product that would make more sense in the $30 to $35 price range.

Comparing Effectiveness

I felt good when taking both of these products. I'll admit that I'm not always the best "test subject" because I generally take very good care of my gut. The one takeaway for me was that I definitely felt more energized when taking Seed compared to my trial with MegaSporeBiotic. I also found that I was able to glide through my "cheat" days a little more easily without adverse gut affects while taking Seed. I took that to mean that my gut was so healthy during my Seed trial that it was able to endure a little bit of laziness on my part without letting my microbiome fall apart.

Main Differences Between MegaSporeBiotic and Seed

As a consumer, I felt that transparency was the biggest difference for me. I love that Seed is so transparent about price, ingredients, and testing. I was a little bit disappointed that MegaSporeBiotic didn't seem to have that same level of transparency. Two other big differences stuck out at me.

The first is that Seed uses specially designed capsules that combine probiotics and prebiotics to nourish gut health in a full-scope way. Secondly, Seed also blows every other probiotic supplement out of the water by delivering what I believe is the biggest probiotic assortment among supplements in this category.

Which Is the Better Probiotic: Seed or MegaSporeBiotic?

I think these are both great products. However, you have to feel bad for any product that is trying to directly compete with what Seed Daily Synbiotic can do. The quality, high-tech engineering, and sheer gut diversity offered by this product makes it the ultimate "rescue supplement" for your gut microbiome. In addition to offering impeccable ingredients, this product delivers those powerhouse ingredients using a delivery system that can survive in your gut to actually produce the benefits you're seeking.

My Final Thoughts

I'm excited for you to experience life with probiotics. A product like Seed Daily Symbiotic won't just help you to avoid gas and bloating. It can actually help to "retrain" your immune cells to make your body healthier. In addition to feeling great today, you may also be insulating yourself from cancers or chronic diseases that could hit years from now. Of course, no probiotic should be seen as a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet full of natural probiotic and prebiotic foods. I want to see you keeping up with leafy greens, beans, pure yogurt, fresh fruits, and other must-have foods after starting your probiotic regiment!

Visit Seed Daily Synbiotic here and use code FHM15 for 15% off your order

or,

Visit MegaSporeBiotic here

Combine Your Probiotic With a Healthy Diet To Enhance Your Gut Health

Enjoying a healthy gut microbiome is something we all strive for. One way to catapult your way to that point is through a healthy meal plan. Our team of registered dietitians and nutritionists focus on creating healthy, macro-friendly recipes for you to enjoy and create healthier eating habits. We also offer a free weekly meal plan that you can sign up for below.

So, whether you decide to go with a probiotic like Seed or MegaSporeBiotic, or opt out of probiotics in general, our free weekly meal plans can help you live healthier, happier and improve your overall gut health!