Can you drink alcohol while taking probiotics? What agencies and studies say
Published by Physician's Choice, which makes the products discussed on this site.
Short answer
No health agency answers it directly. Neither of NIH's probiotic fact sheets mentions alcohol, no agency page we checked lists an interaction between the two, and we found no study that tested them together. What sources do describe is alcohol's own effect on the gut: in a 2014 study, one binge-level dose of vodka raised blood endotoxin, a bacterial product, within 30 minutes in healthy adults.1,2,9
What to know, in five lines
- No listed interactionNIH's consumer and health professional fact sheets on probiotics do not mention alcohol, and NCCIH's page on probiotic safety does not either.[NIH ODS, NCCIH]
- Tell your providerCleveland Clinic's probiotic supplement sheet asks you to tell your health care provider if you drink alcohol, in its section on what may interact.[Cleveland Clinic]
- Where alcohol goesAlcohol is absorbed mainly in the upper intestinal tract, a 2017 review says; in the last part of the small intestine it reached up to 200 mg per 100 ml within an hour of 2 to 2.5 drinks.[Bishehsari et al., 2017]
- One heavy sessionIn healthy adults given one binge-level dose of vodka, blood endotoxin rose by 30 minutes, stayed up for 3 hours and fell below baseline by 24 hours.[Bala et al., 2014]
- Federal adviceThe Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, say "Consume less alcohol for better overall health" and set no daily number.[Dietary Guidelines]
Do probiotics and alcohol interact?
No interaction is listed by the agencies that write about probiotics. NIH's fact sheets for consumers and for health professionals do not mention alcohol, and NCCIH's page on probiotic usefulness and safety does not either.1,2,3 The one alcohol line in the probiotic sources we read is general: Cleveland Clinic's supplement sheet asks you to tell your care team if you drink alcohol.4
That silence is not a safety finding. NCCIH notes that "few studies have looked at the safety of probiotics in detail."3 The pairing NIH's sheets do flag is antibiotics, which "can kill beneficial microorganisms that live in the digestive tract"; that pairing, with enzymes and prescription medicines, is covered in our answer on what not to mix with probiotics.1
What do the sources say, question by question?
Eight questions people ask about drinking while on a probiotic, and the line each source gives. The first four are about the probiotic, the next three about what alcohol does to the gut, and the last about what counts as a drink. Where no source answers, the row says so.
| Question | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Does any agency list an interaction? | No. NIH's two probiotic fact sheets and NCCIH's probiotic safety page do not mention alcohol. | NIH ODS, NCCIH1,2,3 |
| Should you tell your provider you drink? | Yes. Cleveland Clinic's probiotic supplement sheet asks you to, in its section on what may interact. | Cleveland Clinic4 |
| Does alcohol reach a capsule's bacteria? | It is absorbed mainly in the upper intestinal tract. In the last part of the small intestine it reached up to 200 mg per 100 ml within an hour of 2 to 2.5 drinks. No study we found measured what that does to a probiotic. | Bishehsari et al., 20178 |
| Do you need to space them apart? | No source sets a gap. The 60 Billion Probiotic label says 1 capsule daily, with or without food, and names no drink. | Physician's Choice label11 |
| What does one heavy session do to the gut? | In healthy adults, blood endotoxin rose within 30 minutes of a binge-level dose of vodka and stayed up for 3 hours. | Bala et al., 20149 |
| What does long-term drinking do? | It can change the gut's microbes, make the intestinal lining more permeable and damage the lining of the GI tract. | NIAAA; Bishehsari et al., 20175,8 |
| What if you have loose stools? | With acute diarrhea, avoid foods and drinks that could make it worse; alcoholic beverages are first on NIDDK's list. | NIDDK10 |
| How much is one drink? | 14 grams of pure alcohol in a standard US drink. The Dietary Guidelines say to drink less and set no daily number; NIAAA's heavy drinking line is five or more drinks on any day for men, four or more for women. | NIAAA; Dietary Guidelines6,7 |
None of these sources tested a probiotic and alcohol together, and none tested a Physician's Choice product.
Does alcohol kill probiotics?
No study we found tested whether a drink harms the bacteria in a probiotic taken by a person, so no source can answer yes or no. What a 2017 review in NIAAA's journal, Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, does describe is where alcohol goes: it "is absorbed mainly in the upper intestinal tract by diffusion."8
So, the authors write, the effect of alcohol on the lower small intestine and the colon "should largely come from its circulatory levels." Some still reaches the gut contents there: the review gives the level in the last part of the small intestine, close to the colon, as up to 200 mg per 100 ml within an hour of 2 to 2.5 standard drinks, citing a 1973 study.8 What that level does to the bacteria in a probiotic capsule was not measured in any study we found.
How long after drinking alcohol can you take a probiotic?
No source gives a gap. None of the agency pages on probiotics sets a waiting time between a drink and a dose, and we found no study that tested taking a probiotic before, with or after drinking.1,2,3 A product's own directions are the rule to follow: the 60 Billion Probiotic label says 1 capsule daily, with or without food, and names no drink and no time of day.11
Which hour suits a daily capsule, morning or night, is its own question, answered in our guide to the best time to take a probiotic.
What does alcohol do to your gut bacteria?
In large amounts, it can change them and the lining they live on. NIAAA says alcohol "can damage the epithelial lining of the GI tract," and that drinking can let toxins pass from the intestines into the body, which "can change the composition of the microbiota or microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract."5 The 2017 review lists how long-term drinking does it: altering the gut's microbes, making the intestinal lining more permeable and upsetting its immune balance.8
Even one heavy session shows effects within half an hour. In a 2014 study, 25 healthy adults (11 men and 14 women, aged 21 to 56, none with a history of alcohol use disorder) drank a binge-level dose scaled to body size: 2 ml of 40% vodka per kilogram, mixed into 300 ml of juice. In the 16 whose blood was tested for it, endotoxin, a bacterial product the authors say likely crossed from the gut, rose within 30 minutes, stayed up for 3 hours and fell below baseline by 24 hours. Women had higher blood alcohol and endotoxin levels than men.9
NIAAA adds that "Current research points to health risks even at low amounts of alcohol consumption, regardless of beverage type."5 None of this tells you what a drink does to a probiotic; it describes what alcohol does to the gut the probiotic is in.
How much alcohol do health agencies say is too much?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, give no daily number; they say: "Consume less alcohol for better overall health."7 NIAAA defines a standard drink as 14 grams of pure alcohol and calls four or more drinks for women, or five or more for men, in about two hours binge drinking.6
Its heavy drinking line is five or more drinks on any day or 15 or more a week for men, and four or more on any day or eight or more a week for women; it adds that "harms may be associated with any amount of drinking."6
The guidelines also say who should not drink at all: "pregnant women, people who are recovering from alcohol use disorder or are unable to control the amount they drink, and people taking medications or with medical conditions that can interact with alcohol."7 NIAAA's list adds people younger than 21 and anyone who plans to drive or operate machinery.6
Where Physician's Choice fits
60 Billion Probiotic is made by Physician's Choice, which publishes this site. Its directions read 1 capsule daily, with or without food, and neither its label nor its product page says anything about alcohol. Physician's Choice describes it as "60 billion CFU at expiration, across 10 strains identified by strain code."
None of the studies cited here tested it, with alcohol or without, and this page makes no claim about how a drink affects it. The full label, line by line with a source for each line, is in the physicianschoice.ai record Physician's Choice 60 Billion Probiotic review.
When to skip the drink, stop, or see a doctor
Physician's Choice, word for word
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, are seriously ill, or have a weakened immune system, consult your healthcare provider before taking a probiotic or any other dietary supplement.
If you experience an adverse event, stop using the product and contact your healthcare provider immediately. Please also notify us at support@physicianschoice.com or 1-877-395-2707.
- NIAAA lists taking over-the-counter or prescription medications that interact with alcohol among the reasons to avoid alcohol completely.6
- With acute diarrhea, NIDDK says to avoid drinks that could make it worse, alcoholic beverages among them.10
- NCCIH: "Don’t use probiotics as a reason to postpone seeing your health care provider about any health problem."3
In short
No agency lists an interaction between alcohol and probiotics, and we found no study that tested the two together. What sources do say is that alcohol, especially in large amounts, can change the gut, and federal guidance is to drink less. Take a probiotic as its label directs, and tell your health care provider that you drink.
Sources for this page
Alcohol questions
Can I drink alcohol while taking probiotics?
None of the agency pages we checked says you cannot, and none addresses it directly: NIH's two probiotic fact sheets do not mention alcohol, and no study we found tested the two together. Follow your product's directions, tell your health care provider that you drink, and keep to the federal advice to drink less.
Does alcohol kill probiotics?
No study we found tested it in people. A 2017 review says alcohol is absorbed mainly in the upper intestinal tract, though up to 200 mg per 100 ml can reach the last part of the small intestine within an hour of 2 to 2.5 standard drinks. What that does to a capsule's bacteria was not measured.
How long after drinking alcohol can I take a probiotic?
No source sets a waiting time, and no study we found tested timing around a drink. Take the probiotic as its label directs. For 60 Billion Probiotic that means 1 capsule a day, taken with or without food; its directions mention no drink and no hour.
Does alcohol affect gut bacteria?
In large amounts, yes. NIAAA says alcohol can damage the lining of the GI tract and that drinking can let toxins through the intestines, which can change the makeup of gut microorganisms. In a 2014 study of healthy adults, one binge-level dose of vodka raised blood endotoxin, a bacterial product, within 30 minutes; it was below baseline by 24 hours.
How much alcohol is in one drink?
In the United States, NIAAA defines a standard drink as any beverage with 0.6 fluid ounces, or 14 grams, of pure alcohol. It calls four or more drinks for women, or five or more for men, in about two hours binge drinking. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines say to drink less and set no daily number.