I have read (and experienced) that yogurts with active cultures are good for our intestines. Not sure about those drinks, but if they have active cultures, then they might be helpful.

A lot of the probiotic drinks on the market are a con. Studies have shown that they basically don't contain nearly as much of the 'good bacteria' that they claim to, and actually contain some 'bad bacteria'. These are bascially just a money making scheme, cashing in on people's desire to be healthy, and to a point, fashionable. It seems to be trendy now to take some form of daily probiotic drink, so everybody's jumped on the bandwagon. However, the majority of the afore mentioned type drinks are made by brands that you haven't even heard of, possibly even supermarket own brands. Most of the main brand probiotic drinks on the market (such as Actimel) do contain lots of 'good bacteria' that could theoretically do you some good. In a study carried out in Sweden, taking probiotic drinks appeared to make workers less likely to be sick, of 94 workers who took a daily dose of Lactobacillus reuteri over 80 days, 10 took sick days, compared with 23 of the 87 who took a placebo. The differences were most marked among shift workers. (Source: Guardian Unlimited) Keeping your 'good bacteria' topped up has been shown to improve digestion, improve the immune system thus increasing our ability to fight disease. Probiotics may also help to reduce the severity of food allergies and intolerances, and may help reduce severity of symptoms in both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis. (Source: foodreactions.org) Personally, from my own experience, I think that they are primarily just a con. Even if they do work, what you get from them isn't much different to what you'd find in some live yoghurt, though I suppose people may find it easier to just have one drink at the beginning of the day, rather than eat healthily throughout. I took a main brand probiotic drink every day for a month last year, and to be honest it didn't make me feel the slightest bit different. I didn't feel 'healthier', and my general performance at Uni, work etc didn't really improve.

I can only add to this by means of anecdotes - for myself they 'help' but it's not a transformation. It is more pronounced beneficially for my wife - and a very good friend just sent me a personal message on my site mentioning how happy he was and feeling great after taking some quality probiotics.

It really does do good. These products aren't introducing E. coli, it's introducing the family of lactobacilli bacteria to the gut and for females the vaginal flora. I was dealing with a cycle of vaginal issues, bacterial vaginosis and yeast infection. I kept getting prescription drugs to clear up the problem, but it persistently came back. It lasted a whole year. I did my research reading tons of peer-reviewed articles and decided to start a regimen of 1 yogurt a day plus 1/4 c. of yogurt drink, and I can say that I'm cured and I'm glad to stop visiting the gyno and that $20 co-pay.

Like everything else - some makers are better than others. Some probiotic drinks may have as little as 1 bacteria. The best probiotic drink I know of is kefir. Although kefir and yogurt are similar in taste, Lifeway Kefir has more than double the amount of live and active cultures - 10 strains of bacteria, where as most yogurts generally have only two or three. You can find kefir at the grocery store in the organic dairy area or at your local health food store. I would definitely recommend adding this to your diet. The pomegranate flavor is awesome. Check out the health benefits on this site: http://www.lifeway.net/research.php

Hi, The theory is correct but they do not contain high enough live bacteria. You are better using a high strength supplement rather then the drinks

It's a pile of crap and I wish someone would ban the stupid adverts. I'm sick of seeing that stupid hag promoting ativia trying to get people to eat 1 a day. She says it lowers cholesterol but lets be honest, who here knows what the hell cholesterol is and what the big deal is. I mean if your not over weight and shoving burgers down your throat all day long then there's no reason what so ever why you should bye this crap and I pity the fools that fall for these scams.