Does Greek yogurt have probiotics?

Does Greek yogurt have probiotics?

Usually it contains live bacteria, yes. All yogurt is made by fermenting milk with two bacteria, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, the pair named in the international food standard for yogurt. Those cultures stay alive in the pot unless the yogurt is heat-treated after fermentation, which kills them. The British Dietetic Association's advice is to check that the label says it "contains live or active cultures".

Whether to call those bacteria probiotics depends on who's asking. An international expert panel says the word should be kept for well-characterised microbes with a demonstrated health benefit, and in 2021 it suggested that a fermented food with live microbes should say "contains live and active cultures" rather than "probiotic", unless a probiotic strain has been added. In UK advertising, the word "probiotic" is itself treated as a health claim, and no probiotic has an authorised one.

Yogurt cultures do have one authorised claim. In Great Britain, a yogurt or fermented milk containing at least 100 million live colony forming units of those two starter bacteria per gram can say: "Live cultures in yoghurt or fermented milk improve lactose digestion of the product in individuals who have difficulty digesting lactose." It's the only authorised GB health claim involving live bacteria, and it covers digesting the lactose in the yogurt itself.

Does Greek style yogurt have probiotics?

The same answer applies. "Greek" and "Greek style" describe a thick yogurt and, often, where it was made. Neither word tells you about the bacteria. Both start as yogurt fermented with live cultures, so check the pot for "live cultures", look for any extra strains named in the ingredients, and make sure it doesn't say it's been heat-treated.

What is live yoghurt?

Live yoghurt, also written live yogurt or live culture yogurt, is yoghurt that still contains the living bacteria used to make it. These are the two starter bacteria named above, and they stay alive unless the yoghurt is heat-treated after fermentation. The BDA advises choosing pots that say "contains live or active cultures", and storing them as the label says, because storage affects how many live bacteria are left. Live is not the same as probiotic. The NHS describes probiotics as usually added to yoghurts, and says there is little evidence to support many of the health claims made about them. The authorised lactose claim quoted above applies only to yoghurt with at least 100 million live starter bacteria per gram.

Which yogurt has the best probiotics?

No single yogurt is best. Look for:

• "live" or "contains live cultures" on the label
• any added strains named in the ingredients, ideally with a strain code, if the yogurt is sold on its extra cultures (our probiotics guide explains why the strain matters)
• plain yogurt, which the NHS says is a good choice because it usually has no added sugars; check flavoured pots for added sugar and saturated fat
• a pot kept in the fridge and eaten before its date, since the BDA notes that storage affects how many live bacteria are left

What is kefir, and is a kefir drink good for you?

A kefir drink is a fermented milk made with a mix of bacteria and yeasts, so it usually contains a wider range of microbes than yogurt. An international expert panel puts the count at up to 100 billion lactic acid bacteria in a single serving of many live yogurts and kefirs. Whether that makes it better for you is unclear. A 2025 meta-analysis of seven trials with 385 adults found kefir made no significant difference to blood pressure or to C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation (Rashidbeygi and colleagues), and a 2026 review of eight human studies found only modest, mixed changes in gut bacteria (Hamsho and colleagues). The BDA adds that kefir and kombucha may contain helpful microorganisms but aren't considered probiotics, because there's too little evidence about their health effects. Check flavoured bottles for sugar, since the NHS says adults should have no more than 30 g of free sugars a day.

What foods have probiotics?

Fermented foods that haven't been heat-treated after fermentation contain live microbes. This table shows how common fermented foods sold in the UK compare, following the classification in the 2021 expert consensus on fermented foods.

Pasteurised or raw sauerkraut

Sauerkraut and kimchi are both cabbage fermented by lactic acid bacteria, and the same species start the process in each. Raw, unpasteurised versions still contain those bacteria. Pasteurised jars don't, although they're still fermented foods. If a jar isn't sold chilled, check whether it's been pasteurised. Both can be salty, so check the salt on the label too.

Kombucha

Kombucha is sweetened tea fermented with bacteria and yeasts. Most kombuchas contain live microbes, but some are heat-treated. See the next sections for what research says about it.

Cheese

Most cheeses contain live microbes. If you're pregnant, the NHS says hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan are fine, while soft mould-ripened cheeses such as brie, soft blue cheeses and anything made from unpasteurised milk must be cooked thoroughly first. Pasteurised yogurt is fine in pregnancy; unpasteurised milk and yogurt should be avoided.

Does heat kill probiotics?

Yes. Heat kills the bacteria and yeasts in fermented foods. Bread is baked after it's fermented, which kills the microbes, and fermented foods that are pasteurised or heat-treated afterwards contain none. The same happens in your kitchen: stir live yogurt into a curry or miso into soup at the end, off the heat, if you want the cultures to survive.

Heat-treated foods still count as fermented foods, and the expert panel suggests describing them as "made by fermentation".

Are fermented foods good for you?

They can be a good part of a varied diet, but the evidence for specific health effects is thin outside yogurt. The 2021 consensus notes that, apart from yogurt and other cultured dairy foods, few well-designed trials of fermented foods have been published.

In a 2021 US trial lasting 17 weeks, with 18 healthy adults in each group, a diet high in fermented foods steadily increased the variety of bacteria in participants' guts and lowered several markers of inflammation. It was small, and it tested a whole diet rather than any one food.

Guts UK, the digestive health charity, advises that if you have a healthy gut and no digestive symptoms, you eat a variety of plant foods rather than taking a probiotic.

Is kombucha good for you?

It's too early to say, because there is very little research in people. A 2019 systematic review searched the literature and found one study of kombucha in humans, and called for clinical trials (Kapp and Sumner). The 2021 expert consensus says the evidence for health promotion is mostly limited to chemical analyses and animal and cell studies. A few small trials have appeared since. In a 10-week trial of 59 adults with excess body weight on a reduced-calorie diet, 200 ml a day of green tea kombucha did not increase weight loss, though some markers of inflammation differed between the groups (Fraiz and colleagues, 2024).

What are the benefits of kombucha, and what is it good for?

The benefits printed on bottles, such as better gut health, haven't been shown in good trials in people, so it is best seen as a tea-based fermented drink. Most kombuchas contain live microbes and some are heat-treated, so check the label. Many are also sweetened: the NHS says adults should have no more than 30 g of free sugars a day.

What are gut friendly foods?

Fibre-rich foods and a wide mix of plants are the best-supported choices, with fermented foods as an extra. The NHS says adults should aim for 30 g of fibre a day, and that fibre helps digestion and prevents constipation. Its examples include wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, brown rice, potatoes with the skins on, pulses, fruit, vegetables and unsalted nuts or seeds. The BDA names onions, garlic, asparagus, artichoke and chicory root as sources of prebiotics, the fibre that feeds gut bacteria.

Variety may matter too. In a US citizen-science study, people who ate more than 30 different plants a week had a more diverse gut microbiome than those who ate fewer than 10, although diets were self-reported and the study can't show cause (McDonald and colleagues, 2018). Fermented foods can add to the mix: a 2025 review of 25 studies found they improved how often people opened their bowels and the consistency of stools, with mostly low-certainty evidence (Mukherjee and colleagues). Our fibre calculator shows how your day compares with 30 g.

Where Natura fits

Daily Gut, in the Natura cabinet (coming soon), is one capsule a day containing Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus at 10 billion CFU, with fructooligosaccharide (FOS) fibre. It will be sold as a single bottle and in the Gut Pack, and it has no authorised health claim. For people with healthy guts, the advice above is to start with food. If you're weighing up a supplement, read our guide to how long probiotics take to work first, including who should ask a doctor before taking one.