Gut health is the fastest-growing corner of the UK supplement market and the one with the loosest vocabulary. Probiotic, prebiotic, postbiotic, biotic, synbiotic and microbiome are used almost interchangeably in advertising, and they mean genuinely different things. Getting the definitions straight is most of what you need to read a label in this category.
It also sets expectations correctly. This is an area where the science is moving quickly, where results are often strain-specific rather than general, and where UK rules permit no health claims at all. That last point shapes everything a British label is allowed to tell you, and it is worth understanding why.
Three words, three different things
A probiotic is a live microorganism which, in adequate amounts, is intended to be taken for a purported benefit. The defining feature is that it is alive, which is why storage and shelf life matter for these products in a way they do not for a vitamin tablet.
A prebiotic is not alive. It is typically a fibre that passes through the upper digestive tract undigested and is fermented further down by the bacteria already living there. Inulin and fructooligosaccharides are the two you will see most often.
A postbiotic is the newest of the three and the least tightly defined in everyday use. It generally refers to non-viable microbial cells, cell fragments, or the compounds micro-organisms produce. Because there is nothing alive in it, a postbiotic ingredient does not have the same stability constraints.
A product containing both a probiotic and a prebiotic is sometimes called a synbiotic. Our own formula declares all three types separately, which is the arrangement the name Triple Biotic describes.
Probiotics: live microorganisms, counted in CFU
Live cultures are measured in colony-forming units, abbreviated to CFU. The figure estimates how many viable organisms are present and capable of multiplying. Our panel states a nine-strain probiotic blend at 20 billion CFU per one-capsule serving.
CFU counts viability and nothing else. It is not a potency score, it is not comparable to a milligram figure for a vitamin, and a bigger number is not automatically a better product. A 50 billion CFU product containing strains irrelevant to what you were interested in is not superior to a 10 billion CFU product containing a strain that has actually been studied for it.
The number also says nothing about how many organisms survive stomach acid, reach the lower gut, or persist there. Those are separate questions, they vary by strain and by formulation, and no CFU figure on a bottle answers them.
The counting basis: at manufacture or at expiry
This is the single most useful question to ask about any probiotic, and it is almost never answered on the front of the bottle. Live organisms decline over time. A CFU count can therefore be stated on either of two bases: the number present at the point of manufacture, or the number guaranteed to remain at the end of the product's shelf life.
Those two figures can differ substantially for the same product. A count measured at manufacture will always look larger, and a product quoting an end-of-life guarantee may hold a genuinely higher number at the moment you actually swallow it, despite a smaller figure on the label.
Some brands print the basis on the label; many do not. If it matters to you, ask before you order. We will tell you which basis our figure uses if you email us, and we would rather be asked than have you assume.
Strains, not just species
Bacterial naming works in three levels: genus, species and strain. Lactobacillus is a genus. Lactobacillus rhamnosus is a species. Lactobacillus rhamnosus followed by a specific designation such as a code number is a strain, and the strain is the level at which research findings actually apply.
This matters more than any other point in this article. Two strains of the same species can behave quite differently, so a study on one strain is not evidence about another that shares its species name. When marketing cites research for a species while the bottle contains a different strain of it, that is a real gap and not a technicality.
Our label names Lactobacillus plantarum, L. rhamnosus, L. casei, Bifidobacterium lactis, B. longum, B. breve and Bacillus coagulans within its nine-strain complex. It does not print the individual strain designations or the CFU split between them. That is a limitation of the current label rather than something we are pleased about, and both are available if you ask us.
Prebiotics: inulin and FOS
Our panel declares 100 mg of inulin and 100 mg of fructooligosaccharides, both as prebiotics. Inulin occurs naturally in chicory root, Jerusalem artichokes, onions and garlic; FOS is a related group of shorter-chain fructans found in many of the same foods.
Both are fermentable fibres, and fermentation produces gas. That is normal, and it is also why some people find prebiotic fibres cause bloating or wind, particularly at first or at higher amounts. Anyone following a low-FODMAP diet under dietetic supervision should note that inulin and FOS are both high-FODMAP, and check before taking them.
It is worth keeping the amounts in perspective. 200 mg of prebiotic fibre in total is a small figure next to the roughly 30 g of fibre a day UK guidance suggests adults aim for. Wholegrains, pulses, fruit and vegetables do the heavy lifting; a supplement of this size is a contribution, not a fibre strategy.
Postbiotics and the rest of the panel
Our postbiotic entry is 100 mg of heat-treated Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Heat treatment kills the organism, so what remains is non-viable cellular material rather than a live culture. Interest in these ingredients has grown partly because stability is far less of a problem when nothing needs to stay alive.
The panel also declares 100 mg of Sophora japonica extract from flower buds, a plant source most often associated with the flavonoid rutin. It has no authorised UK health claim and appears here as a declared amount.
The other ingredients line for this formula names magnesium stearate as the flow agent, maltodextrin as the carrier for the cultures, and hypromellose as the vegetarian capsule shell. Maltodextrin appears in no other formula in our range; it is here because live cultures need something to be carried on.
Why UK labels cannot make claims here
If you have wondered why gut supplement packaging in Britain talks in vague terms about wellbeing rather than saying anything concrete, this is why. Under retained EU law now applied in Great Britain, health claims must be on the authorised register and used in approved wording. No claim for a probiotic, prebiotic or postbiotic ingredient has been authorised.
The word probiotic has itself been treated as an implied health claim by regulators, which is why some products describe themselves as containing live cultures instead. It is a strange consequence of the rules, and it explains a lot of the linguistic contortion in the category.
The practical implication for a shopper is simple. Any UK product page telling you what a CFU count will do for your digestion, your immunity, your skin or your mood is going beyond what is permitted. That applies to us as much as to anyone else, which is why our own claims row for this formula says, in full, none.
What a good gut label looks like
Given that no claims are allowed, the differences between products come down to disclosure. A label worth trusting will let you answer these.
- Are the probiotic, prebiotic and postbiotic components declared separately, with individual amounts, rather than pooled into one blend figure?
- Are the species named, and are the strain designations available on request if not on the label?
- Is the CFU basis stated, or will the company tell you when asked?
- Is the storage instruction clear, and does it match how the product was shipped to you?
- Are the cautions present for people who are immunocompromised or have a central venous catheter?
- Is the language compliant, or is the page making promises no UK supplement is allowed to make?
Frequently asked questions
What does CFU mean on a probiotic label?
Colony-forming units — an estimate of how many viable microorganisms are present and able to multiply. It measures viability, not effectiveness, and it tells you nothing about which strains are included or how they behave. Always read it alongside the strain list rather than on its own.
Is a higher CFU count better?
Not inherently. Research findings in this area are usually specific to particular strains at particular amounts, so a large count of strains irrelevant to your interest is not superior to a smaller count of a well-studied one. The counting basis matters too: a figure measured at manufacture is not comparable to one guaranteed at end of shelf life.
Can you get live cultures from food?
Yes. Live yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and some other fermented foods contain live microorganisms, and they come with the rest of the food alongside them. Note that pasteurisation after fermentation kills the cultures, so a shelf-stable jar is not necessarily equivalent to a refrigerated one.
Do probiotics need to be kept in the fridge?
It depends entirely on the formulation, and the label is the authority. Some products are formulated to be shelf-stable at room temperature; others require refrigeration to maintain their count. Our own label asks for storage in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight with the cap closed. Follow whatever your bottle says rather than a general rule.
Before choosing a supplement
- Read the complete current label, including the active and the other ingredients.
- Compare the daily serving rather than the number printed on the front of the bottle.
- Add up every source of the same nutrient across your whole routine.
- Ask a pharmacist or qualified healthcare professional about medicines, pregnancy, breastfeeding, surgery or an existing condition.
- Remember that food supplements do not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Related guides on this formula
- Choosing a gut supplement: a probiotic label checklist
- Fibre, prebiotics and everyday habits that support gut comfort
View the Triple Biotic Complex label, the full ingredient panel and current purchase options.
Also useful: RevaHealth Journal · full range · Ingredients · Contact.
References and further reading
- NHS: Probiotics
- NHS: How to get more fibre into your diet
- GOV.UK: Great Britain nutrition and health claims register
This article is general educational information, not medical advice. Food supplements are not medicines and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Always read the complete physical label before use, and speak to your GP or pharmacist if you are unsure whether a supplement is right for you.
