Probiotics and diet soda

elphie754

I have a really weird question. Would it effect your probiotics if you take them with diet soda? Reason I ask is the scientist in me seems to think the diet soda would kill the live culture, but not 100% sure about that. I have been taking them with water for this very reason, but curiosity killed the cat.

TimothyFish

No, compared to the acids that are in your stomach, the chemicals in diet soda are practically health food.

elphie754

TimothyFish wrote: »

No, compared to the acids that are in your stomach, the chemicals in diet soda are practically health food.

I know stomach acid is really acidic, but I guess my train of thought was the diet soda is a corrosive substance not naturally occurring in the gut.

TimothyFish

If you had said beer instead of diet soda, you might have been onto something, since alcohol does kill cells. But artificial sweeteners aren't particularly dangerous and would only cause mild irritation with prolonged exposure.

elphie754

TimothyFish wrote: »

If you had said beer instead of diet soda, you might have been onto something, since alcohol does kill cells. But artificial sweeteners aren't particularly dangerous and would only cause mild irritation with prolonged exposure.

I wasn't really referring to the artificial sweetners being the reason but rather the corrosive nature.

Christine_72

I've been advised that the best time to take probiotics is on an empty stomach, before bed with a glass of warm water.

elphie754

christinev297 wrote: »

I've been advised that the best time to take probiotics is on an empty stomach, before bed with a glass of warm water.

Did they ever say why?

Christine_72

From what I remember, it's best to take them on an empty tummy so there's no food (or as less as possible) to interfere with the probiotics.
I also started using a different brand a month ago, as I rotate different strains. On the label it said "take in the morning with food"..... I called the manufacture to question this, and the lady I spoke with said that info on the bottle is incorrect and she will be talking to the labeling team, or whoever it is to get this changed! She concurred that before bed on an empty tummy is the correct way.
Also, I think taking before bed gives it 8 or more hours to get passed through without the interference of food and drink.
I've been taking probiotics daily for over 10 years, and the before bed thing has been the most common and oft repeated piece of advice I've had.

Christine_72

As for the warm water... I can't give you the reason for that, it's just something I've read a few times. Could be helpful or not??

pa_jorg

I don't know the answer to this, but it is an interesting question. I used to drink soda then stopped. I started taking probiotics several months ago. Just this past weekend I had some soda and my stomach was really off for a full day. I was actually wondering if the combo of the two was to blame or if I had simply become intolerant of the soda.