This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you purchase through these links. See my full disclosure here.
Rae Wellness is a rapidly growing vegan brand that seeks to provide consumers with a variety of affordable wellness solutions. Its slogan reflects that exactly: “Wellness shouldn’t be expensive”.
Their probiotic formula was designed to support your gastrointestinal health and balance your gut flora. Rae claims it creates only the best products with the purest and most powerful ingredients following the highest standards for quality, and this is exactly what we have to determine in this review.
Is their probiotic formula as good as they say, or is it just a marketing stunt? Let’s do an in-depth review of this probiotic supplement and determine whether it’s worth a try.
Main Takeaways
- This product is vegan and has been independently examined by an ISO-accredited laboratory and is approved by the Clean Label Project.
- While the inclusion of apple cider vinegar (ACV) is touted to have gut-calming properties, scientific evidence is inconclusive and there’s a chance it may impair gastric emptying, possibly worsening bloating.
- The supplement contains several probiotic strains known to support gut health, but it’s difficult to assess their effectiveness given that dosages are not disclosed.
Rae’s Pre + Probiotic Overview
Rae’s probiotic supplement is entirely vegan as its ingredients are purely derived from plants or synthesized in a lab.
Its capsules are made from rice grain powder and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a chemical compound derived from cellulose which is essentially a fiber present in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods’ cell walls.
Each bottle comes with 60 capsules, which is the equivalent of 30 servings, meaning you’ve got to take 2 capsules per day to consume a full serving.
In a full serving, you can find two ingredients – 300 mg of apple cider vinegar and a proprietary probiotic blend with the following probiotic strains: L. acidophilus, B. bifidum, B. longum, S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, and L. paracasei, which are probably the most effective stains, according to scientific literature.
Additionally, and this applies to each of their supplements, this formula has been independently examined by a laboratory that has received ISO accreditation. It has also been approved by the Clean Label Project, a non-profit organization that encourages businesses to always be transparent in their product labeling. Last but not least, they manufacture their supplements in the USA though their ingredients are sourced internationally.
But more importantly, does this formula work as intended? Below, I’m going to look at the ingredients it contains and determine whether it achieves what it’s purported to do.
Rae’s Ingredients & Potential Benefits
Even though it’s clearly a probiotic formula and contains several bacterial strains, Rae has also decided to include apple cider vinegar, claiming it helps to calm the gut.
For those who are often constipated or suffer from a condition where their gut is frequently upset, they want immediate relief, so it’s important to understand whether apple cider vinegar is actually capable of achieving that.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Advocates of apple cider vinegar make many claims about its benefits, and one such claim is that drinking a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar in a glass of warm water can treat bloating and other digestive issues.
In fact, there are many videos on YouTube from so-called doctors and experts claiming that apple cider vinegar is indeed effective in that sense.
Here is one such video:
Unfortunately, other than anecdotal claims that ACV can quickly treat bloating and other digestive conditions, there is no direct evidence to prove that.
In fact, the one clinical study ever completed on ACV and digestive problems found that ACV actually impairs gastric emptying, which means that it takes longer for the muscles and intestines to push stool out of the body, so you’re left with more gas. 1
Therefore, it’s possible that ACV could actually make your symptoms of gas and bloating even worse, so it would be wise to wait for further research to come out about this subject before taking ACV as the solution.
With that being said, there may be situations in which apple cider vinegar may prove beneficial.
Given that ACV is acidic, it may improve stomach acid levels in those who have low levels of stomach acid to aid digestion, which in principle might treat gas and stomach bloating, conditions that result from slow digestion.
ACV is also an antimicrobial substance, so it may be capable of killing bacteria in the stomach or intestines, which could theoretically help you with digestion. 2
ACV does have some benefits, but those are different from what many individuals claim. Studies show that ACV has a modest ability to reduce the glycemic index of foods, making it a possible tool for helping to manage blood sugar and also to suppress appetite. 3, 4, 5
Whether it helps with digestive issues or not is yet to be evidenced, but more research needs to be made since many people clearly advocate it as a solid solution for gas and bloating.
What Is A Proprietary Probiotic Blend?
A proprietary probiotic blend is essentially a combination of several bacterial strains, but since it’s proprietary, it’s not disclosed on the label how much of each bacteria they’ve included in the supplement.
You know that each serving contains 1.6 billion colony-forming units (CFUs), but you don’t know how much of each bacteria type was included in the formula.
Proprietary blends are often seen as a negative because if someone wants to determine whether a given supplement is effective, they need to know the respective doses of each ingredient, otherwise, it’s hard to assess whether a formula is worth it.
In any case, most of the bacterial strains included in this formula are known to be beneficial for gut health, so it’s highly possible that you could experience some benefits from taking this supplement.
Some of the bacterial strains in Rae’s probiotic supplement include:
- L. acidophilus
This bacterial strain is one that you’ll find in many other supplements, and there is evidence suggesting that L. acidophilus may help reduce cholesterol levels more effectively than other types of probiotics. 6
However, the evidence is mixed, and it’s difficult to determine whether this benefit comes from consuming this probiotic on its own, or with other probiotics.
Another likely benefit is it may help in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, and unlike the previous benefit, the evidence for this one seems more solid. 7
- B. bifidum
Although I would like to properly assess this particular strain and its potential benefits, there’s no extensive research available on it.
However, since it’s part of the genus Bifidobacterium, its effects may be similar to other strains within the same group.
- B. longum
One randomized controlled trial found that B.longum is more effective than a placebo at alleviating symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 8
The study involved 243 French participants with IBS who were recruited by their gastroenterologists and requested to take a daily capsule containing 1×109 colony-forming units of B. longum.
Another study also showed similar results. 9
- S. termophilus
Apart from its ability to work in conjunction with other “good” bacteria to help break down food, absorb nutrients, and fight off “bad” organisms that might cause diseases, there are no unique benefits to this strain.
Some people use S.termophilus for diarrhea, constipation, and colic, but there’s not enough evidence to to support these uses.
- L. bulgaricus
L. bulgaricus has a long history of documented safe use, and it’s actually one of the two bacterial cultures required for yogurt production (the other one is S. termophilus). It is used for that purpose because it’s capable of withstanding very high temperatures.
Although more research is necessary to the extent of its benefits, the NIH says that initial research is very promising and shows that L. bulgaricus may be used to manage conditions such as liver disease, common cold, inflammatory bowel disease, and diarrhea caused by antibiotics.
- L. paracasei
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel clinical trial (also referred to as the Sizu study), found that the intake of L. paracasei for five weeks improves psychological and physiological markers of stress and anxiety in healthy adults. 10
There is also evidence that L. paracasei is effective in inhibiting pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escheria coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. It has also been shown to stimulate an immune response of the cell wall lining of the gut to fight off viruses and allergies.
Although some of these bacterial strains need more research in terms of unique benefits some might provide, some of them have shown promising results that go beyond supporting gut health.
Is Rae’s Pre + Probiotic Worth It?
Rae has attempted to innovate by including apple cider vinegar in its probiotic formula, but unfortunately, there isn’t sufficient evidence to prove that ACV benefits your gut.
In fact, one clinical study suggests that it may actually make matters worse by slowing down gastric emptying, which could lead to a larger accumulation of gas in your intestine.
For that reason, I don’t see why you should invest in Rae’s probiotic formula when they could have done a better job of providing you with a more complete probiotic profile. Yes, it contains solid probiotic strains, but it’s difficult to tell how much of each strain the supplement contains because it’s concealed under a proprietary blend.
So, in actuality, it could contain some of the less solid strains, as opposed to the more compelling strains.
With that being said, it’s still an option that you could consider as the price point of the supplement is quite low, particularly if you’re looking for something that doesn’t break the bank.
You can find this supplement on the brand’s official website.
Editor’s note: The content on this website is meant to be informative, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The content of our articles is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. It’s always best to speak with your doctor or a certified medical professional before making any changes to your lifestyle, diet, exercise routine, or trying a new supplement.
References:
1. Hlebowicz, J., Darwiche, G., Björgell, O. et al. Effect of apple cider vinegar on delayed gastric emptying in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a pilot study. BMC Gastroenterol 7, 46 (2007).
2. Yagnik D, Serafin V, J Shah A. Antimicrobial activity of apple cider vinegar against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans; downregulating cytokine and microbial protein expression. Sci Rep. 2018.
3. Ostman E, Granfeldt Y, Persson L, Björck I. Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Sep.
4. Johnston CS, Buller AJ. Vinegar and peanut products as complementary foods to reduce postprandial glycemia. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Dec.
5. Darzi J, Frost GS, Montaser R, Yap J, Robertson MD. Influence of the tolerability of vinegar as an oral source of short-chain fatty acids on appetite control and food intake. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014 May.
6. Cho YA, Kim J. Effect of Probiotics on Blood Lipid Concentrations: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Oct.
7. Stéphane Sadrin, Souad Sennoune, Bernard Gout, Sébastien Marque, Jacques Moreau, Karim Zinoune, Joël-Paul Grillasca, Olivier Pons, Jean-Michel Maixent, A 2-strain mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: A placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, Digestive and Liver Disease, Volume 52, Issue 5, 2020.
8. Sabaté JM, Iglicki F. Effect of Bifidobacterium longum 35624 on disease severity and quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. World J Gastroenterol. 2022.
9. Zhou C, Fang X, Xu J, et al. Bifidobacterium longum alleviates irritable bowel syndrome-related visceral hypersensitivity and microbiota dysbiosis via Paneth cell regulation. Gut Microbes. 2020.
10. Elaine Patterson, SÃle M. Griffin, Alvin Ibarra, Emilia Ellsiepen, Juliane Hellhammer, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Lpc-37® improves psychological and physiological markers of stress and anxiety in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel clinical trial (the Sisu study), Neurobiology of Stress, Volume 13, 2020.
