Dr. Ohhira Probiotics Review – An Award I Wouldn’t Give

|  Marketing  |  Ingredients  |  Additives  |  Reviews  |  Pricing  |  Overall  |

With this Dr. Ohhira Probiotics review, I aim to clarify and explain all things related to the original version of the supplement.

We’ll start off, as usual, with promotional materials and all the promises they associate with the thing. After that, we will dive deep into the actual beneficial ingredients and how they can help us. Which we’ll then transition into all of the “glue” ingredients and the potential dangers. Lastly, we will also look at the customer reviews, global success rate, and pricing as well.

This Dr. Ohhira Probiotics Review To Discover If It’s Worth That Price

According to the manufacturer, Dr. Ohhira Probiotics is “the world’s most popular premium probiotic supplement. It has won numerous International Supplement Awards, including Best Supplement Award by Better Nutrition Magazine for seven years running.” So, there must be something here right [R]?

As for the product page and their website itself, it’s quite messy. They have at least two different product pages (there is more like nine) for the product which is unlike what we’ve seen so far with any Probiotic supplements, including Nature Made Digestive Probiotics (review) and Nature’s Bounty Probiotic 10 (review). Plus, either one doesn’t really give the impression that there’s another one somewhere [R, R].

Overall, I feel they could definitely be doing a much better job at complementing each other. And really, why the two pages? I imagine it would sell a whole lot more if they fused them together.  Which brings me to the marketing side of things.

Yes, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. But other than that, they have a really odd way of doing things.

I mean, there are those separate pages we have to visit (but first to find!!) for a single container to be less pricey if we buy more than one. Which also then gives free U.S. shipping. But we can’t get either of the deals no matter how much we order through that most basic product page.

As for the benefits, they promise many. But they all kind of revolve around this idea of Dr. Ohhira Probiotics being the most advanced whole food Probiotic out there. The secret of which lies within this notion of it going through a three-year fermentation process which supposedly maximizes the health-augmenting properties of each ingredient and which results in what they regard as an organic, living fusion that strengthens our own exclusive internal bacteria.

And so, it’s all about enhancing digestive health, promoting the immune system’s function, and improving nutrient absorption. Pretty much just like any other Probiotic out there, including 1MD Complete Probiotics Platinum (review) and Phillips’ Colon Health (review). The core difference lies in this notion that it supports (the way they put it) our exclusive probiotic fingerprint. Which I feel is a really bold thing to say.

On top of all that, it is also said to be 100% Vegetarian, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Chemical-Free, and Non-GMO. But is the supplement really that good?

To Review Ingredients, It Doesn’t Get Clearer Than A Proprietary Blend

As far as purely the beneficial ingredients, it certainly seems so. The greatness of Dr. Ohhira Probiotics comes from the fusion of three biotics: Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Postbiotics. Which truly is a fusion in the sense that it’s all just mixed together.

Per capsule, this thing does 420 milligrams of Proprietary Fermented Food Concentrate. Which is then, yes, a thing of the three mentioned biotics types.

For Prebiotics, we’re getting fruits like prunes, goji berries, figs, blueberries, red bayberries, and Yuzu fruit, as well as there are vegetables like Japanese mugwort and komatsuna, mushrooms like Shiitake, Agaricus, and Maitake, and Seaweed like Hijiki, Wakame, and Kombu kelp.

For Probiotics, we’re getting 12 different strains: Bifidobacterium breve (ss. breve M-16v), Bifidobacterium infantis (ss. infantis M-63, Bifidobacterium longum (BB536), Enterococcus faecalis TH10, Lactobacillus acidophilus (ATCC SD5212), Lactobacillus brevis (NBRC 3345), Lactobacillus bulgaricus (NBRC 13953).

Then, there are also Lactobacillus casei (TO-A), Lactobacillus fermentum (NBRC 3071), Lactobacillus helveticus (ss. jugurti BBRC 3809), Lactobacillus plantarum (TO-A), and Streptococcus thermophilus (NBRC 13957).

For Postbiotics, we’re getting a bunch of nutrients developed in the fermentation process. These include short-chain fatty acids, other organic acids like acetic, citric, fulvic, humic, phenylacetic acids, oligosaccharides, polyphenols, melanoidin, trace amounts of chelated minerals, vitamins, and amino acids.

And so, in theory, all of this is really, really good. These certainly will provide a ton of value as they are. And I have no doubt that this can easily deliver on all of those three core promised gains. That said, there are, however, a few aspects I’m not that fond of [R, R, R, R, R].

First, we’re not given any indication about the amounts of any individual ingredients. The problem with this is that typically the addition of Prebiotics can easily range all the way from 100 milligrams (like in New Chapter Probiotic All-Flora) to 500 milligrams (like in Nutrition Essentials Probiotic) to several grams (like in ActivatedYou Morning Complete).

And so, since we only get 420 milligrams of the whole thing, Prebiotics can easily be the absolute majority or even 90-99% of each capsule. Thus, typically leaving very little room for Probiotics and Postbiotics. Which would, well, suck.

I’m not saying it’s the case here. But it could be. And that’s my point. We do not know. Plus, we won’t find a single number indicating how much Probiotics to expect. Which only adds to this anti-ideal-ness.

Second, postbiotics we’ll get anyway. From any supplement that offers Prebiotics and Probiotics, Postbiotics is a natural byproduct that happens and is created within our bodies. And so, yes, there might be some added gains due to and through that fermentation process of theirs [R, R, R].

However, Postbiotics is not some ultra thing that only Dr. Ohhira Probiotics provides and we can’t get any other way. In fact, it’s argued they are something that can’t happen outside of our actual guts [R, R, R].

But either way, it should never be, “Oh, I want to get this because there are Postbiotics here and it must be good, and it seems that this other supplement doesn’t provide that.” No, Postbiotics we’ll get anyway. And so, it’s not a superiority factor of any kind (maybe just a tiny one). At least that’s the way I see it.

Additives Are Certainly Not Award-Winning Supplement Worthy

One of the claims that Dr. Ohhira Probiotics persist on is this idea of being Preservative-Free. Which most people associate with the product not having any additives at all. And I myself sometimes get deluded by this claim, too. Especially given all the other free-of claims and everything getting constantly reassured to be completely natural and stuff. Plus, the fact that they don’t provide any kind of “other ingredient” or additive list or picture.

Which is not what true quality brands typically do when there are actually additives involved (because supplements can also be made completely without those in certain cases). And so, I almost assumed there are none involved. But a picture of theirs I saw on another website busted that bubble.

Just looking at Dr. Ohhira’s creation – medium-sized, black-ish capsules – yeah, to be without additives, it sounds too good to be true. And it is. It turns out that there are actually quite a bit of additives involved.

So, it’s Mountain Spring Water, Safflower Oil, Roasted Non-GMO Starch, Glycerin, Food-Grade Carrageenan from Red Seaweed, Class 1 Natural Caramel Color, Calcium Carbonate, Glycerin Ester, Vitamin E, Beeswax, and Lecithin. It’s quite a list if you ask me.

Quite a few more than the 2-4 that we typically find in quality supplements.

Either way, there are a couple of things I don’t like here.

First, Class 1 Natural Caramel Color. With this, we finally learn that in claiming “No Coloring” they didn’t actually mean Color-Free which is what I expected. I mean, I believe that’s something that any average human being would have expected when first reading the claim how it was written.

What they actually mean with it instead is that they haven’t used artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, and artificial whatnot.

Other than that, I’m not really a fan of coloring just in general. I mean, sure, the Natural Caramel Color here very likely does not pose the harms that its artificial sibling does (like cancer). But still, it feels very unnecessary. Even more so, because colors too can have a negative impact, no matter how natural they are [R, R, R, R, R].

Second, Calcium Carbonate. Yes, it is a compound naturally found in stuff like chalk, limestone, and marble. And, yes, it even gets commonly used as the Calcium form in the cheaper, typically lesser quality multivitamins and supplements in general. However, it is still something that can cause trouble and unpleasant side-effects. Meaning, just because it can be considered “natural” does not necessarily mean it can’t be harmful. Moreover, personally, I would not dare to call a supplement like Dr. Ohhira Probiotics hypoallergenic [R, R, R, R].

Third, vitamin E. So, we’re back, again, at the claims; this time it’s that “without [..] preservatives.” Artificial preservatives are what they actually mean [R, R].

Because although vitamin E (what likely is D-Alpha Tocopherol) is technically not a preservative (EU doesn’t list it under preservatives or E200-E299, it’s E307), it kind of is. This is because it is used to prevent rancidity, hence, to preserve freshness, hence, a preservative [R, R].

But fourth, is the most important aspect to consider of all. Carrageenan.

Overall, it’s quite a shady additive. Some studies have suggested that it has no adverse effects, that it’s completely safe. Whereas others do not agree with that at all [R, R, R, R].

Per the latter, to the very least, it’s a substance that promotes inflammation (and so, all chronic diseases and just ill-health in general). But there’s also the potential it might cause cancer, suppress the immune system, increase insulin resistance, and have other negative health outcomes, among which even digestive issues (now, isn’t that last one quite paradoxical with a Probiotic digestive-health-oriented product!!) [R, R, R, R].

And, thus, while it’s extremely difficult to say for now whether this ingredient is actually harmful, there’s definitely that potential and lack of proof to say that it’s truly harmless. And so, personally, I would make sure to avoid it both in food and in supplements (like this Dr. Ohhira one). It’s just not worth the risk.

Customer Reviews & Success Rate Is High But Fakes, Again, A Concern

That completes the theoretical aspects of the thing. Now, how well have the Probiotics of Dr. Ohhira done in terms of actually helping people? Let’s research the customer reviews.

Since the product page does not contain a review section, there are no insights to gain there. Whereas the testimonials don’t really ever show the full picture of things. It’s usually easy to find at least someone who has liked the supplement, just as it is to find some that haven’t. So, great to give some remote idea but not really useful if we’re after the truth.

Hence, I took it to all other sellers and retailers to find all Dr. Ohhira Probiotics reviews that I could. And quite a few I did.

In total, I managed to find 1652 reviews. Out of this number, 1514 were positive (3-star, 4-star, 5-star) and 138 were negative (1-star, 2-star). Which means that it is enjoying a pretty decent success rate of 91.6%.

This is likely even higher given that people typically are more interested in reporting negative experiences than positive ones.

And so, while there are people absolutely swearing by it, saying, “it’s the best Probiotic” even, it’s not the story of everyone.

Some didn’t feel any benefit. Others are very unhappy with Carrageenan and Caramel Color. Others yet were not happy about the packaging. Others more were irritated about the price (and its progression over time). But for rather many, it did the opposite of what it was supposed to. It either caused or worsened people’s digestive health and just caused more issues.

And then, there was another really concerning one. This one comes from a long-time customer, one that has taken the Dr. Ohhira Probiotic for years. Per his/her words, there used to be a pasty gel inside the capsules; it is no longer the case; instead, the capsules appear to be empty. The person describes it as a decline in quality.

I’d say that it’s probably a fake that was sold. It’s a concerning trend I’ve been finding testimonies and testaments of across a wide range of different supplements sold on Amazon. Just some examples of this include Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar (review) and Code Age Multi Collagen (review).

I Believe The Pricing Of This Dr. Ohhira Is Pretty Bad

So, the pricing is pretty difficult with Dr. Ohhira Probiotics. The thing is that there are a ton of different options in terms of how much of the supplement we get that one could supposedly go for. And the pricing varies. What seems to remain a constant, however, is this idea that the more we order right off the bat, the cheaper per capsule it will be.

Still, I don’t think we should just go and buy ourselves a year’s worth of this Dr. Ohhira product. Hence, for the sake of this section, we will opt with the typical month’s worth. That’s something we can get a box of for $28.76. In other words, that’s 95.9 cents per capsule which is the serving size.

Now, how does that compare?

Well, that’s really hard to say, to be honest. I mean, do you remember that part where they don’t actually disclose how much of each (Prebiotics, Probiotics, Postbiotics) is there? Yeah, that kind of screws up any attempt at comparing it to the other Probiotics on the market.

And so, it kind of wrecks this section as well.

Nevertheless, we can try and do some estimates and for fun comparisons.

If we compare this to something like the Natren Healthy Trinity Probiotic (review), that’s $2.33 per serving but provides 30 billion CFU for that. Also, the Bowtrol Probiotics (review) option doesn’t really come cheap. This one costs $1.33 for 20 billion CFU. But, to tell the truth, I wouldn’t pick the Dr. Ohhira Probiotics over anything that’s at least 10 billion CFU.

And if we compare the prices in terms of 10 billion CFU, both of the mentioned cost far less. What’s even more obnoxious is that there are products like Live Conscious Pro-45 that not only are significantly cheaper, but also, the way I see it, bring tons more value.

Hence, while, yes, the Probiotics of Dr. Ohhira might be something rather unique, they are also kind of obsolete. And in terms of price, I wouldn’t say it’s affordable. Or even just reasonable.

I Would Recommend To Avoid, Marketing, Price & Additives Ruins It

Overall, I feel quite disappointed with this award-winning Dr. Ohhira Probiotics thing.

Yes, the Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Postbiotics in this one get fermented for three years. Yes, overall success rates are pretty great. Yes, the promotional materials are wonderful. But I’m just not thrilled with the beneficial ingredients. Plus, there’s really no telling how much or how miserable the total Probiotics amount could be.

Then, the promotional materials while technically are accurate, I imagine quite many people will take them for which they are not.

Or, in other words, I believe that an average buyer will be led into thinking that these Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics do not contain any colors or preservatives (or just additives at all) when they actually do.

But the worst thing is that there’s Carrageenan also there which is something I would generally recommend avoiding (at least for the time being). And there’s one other thing they forget completely about. It doesn’t do release-delayed capsules which just means that a portion of the Probiotics it does contain will die off in the stomach acid.

At the end of the day, I feel this just goes to show that award-winning isn’t everything (don’t they usually buy their way into such rewards, anyway?). I mean, (out of avoid it, consider it, shortlist it, buy it) I would not recommend even considering it. This is an avoidable one by my standards.

Even more so, because I would pick something like the Live Conscious Pro-45 (full review) over this one any day of the week.

Other than that, I hope this Dr. Ohhira Probiotics review helped you find the information you were looking for. What do you think of the product? Would you buy it? Let me know below.