Normally, your body maintains a robust culture of bacteria in your gut. These bacteria promote a healthy balance of good bacteria and support digestive and immune health.
Sometimes, your normal levels of healthy bacteria can wane. For example, when you take antibiotics to fight off an infection, they can also kill off the good bacteria in your body. When this happens, harmful bacteria can begin to grow and may affect your digestive health.
Taking women's probiotic supplements may help restore the natural equilibrium of bacteria in your gut to promote balance. These supplements include live bacteria cultures that can thrive and multiply once they reach the warm, moist environment in your intestines.

When browsing our selection of probiotics for women, you may notice that some call for refrigeration. Why do some probiotics need to be chilled?
Since probiotics contain live cultures, they need careful climate control. Bacteria can be killed if the air gets too warm or moist, leading to a less-effective product. By storing probiotics in the refrigerator, it preserves the bacteria to keep them alive and active when you ingest them.

You may have noticed that different supplements claim to have varying amounts of CFUs, which refers to colony-forming units. It indicates how many bacteria you get per dose. These numbers usually range in the billions to provide you with as many good bacteria as possible. Generally, a higher CFU count means the probiotic is more robust. People with mild digestive issues or sensitivity might choose a lower CFU count for a small boost, but people needing long-term support may want a higher CFU count. Our selection of women's probiotics includes products starting with 1 billion CFUs up to 100 billion CFUs, providing you plenty of options when it comes to finding the right dose.

Your gut contains more than one strain of helpful bacteria, so our women's probiotics also contain numerous strains of bacteria. Popular types of probiotics include the following:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus: beneficial bacteria living in the digestive (small intestine), urinary, and genital systems.
• Bifidobacterium bifidum: inhabitants of bacteria in the large intestine that produce acids that may help reduce the colonization of harmful bacteria and support regularity.

Unlike men, women also have to think about the health of their vaginal flora. These bacteria live in the vagina and minimize harmful bacteria and yeast from growing out of balance. Supplementing with probiotics can help you maintain a healthy bacterial balance to regulate your vaginal health.
Browse The Vitamin Shoppe's selection of women's probiotics online or visit your local store to find the supplement that meets your needs.

The Vitamin Shoppe has dozens of brands available, but the top women's probiotics brands we feature are:

• The Vitamin Shoppe's own brand
• Garden of Life
• Renew Life
• Jarrow Formulas
• Nature's Way