I’m a sucker for online advertising. But, I don’t watch infomercials. Ever. Even still, eventually, the Dr. Steven Gundry Magic Pill informercial sucked me in.
Call it a moment of weakness – or 11 minutes of weakness!
Steven Gundry (MD) is a cardiovascular surgeon who was overweight despite working out incessantly. He and his wife traveled the world and gathered information about how to live healthier and longer.
Now I sound like an informercial. Ha!
He talks about avoiding certain foods, blah, blah, blah
Too Long Didn’t Watch – pay attention advertisers – give me the hook up front.
The Science of Probiotics and Friends
The concept of probiotics isn’t new. Keep your gut healthy and your overall health benefits. Sounds good, eh? Let me break it down just a little more. The Bio Complete 3 says it has prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics.
Probiotics are the living bacteria that we ingest in food and supplements that helps keep our guts healthy. Prebiotics feed them and postbiotics are the waste they excrete. Collectively this creates the healthiest environment for digestive and gut health.
The challenge is that all of these ingredients in the Bio Complete 3 are proprietary blends – which means as a consumer, you really can’t get any more detail behind the TM.
The Benefits of Gut Health
Having your digestion and gut work well can improve energy and mental health, support weight loss, reduce bloating, and boost your immune system.
What’s not to love?
So far so good. Here’s the rub. Probiotics are a tricky little thing because they need a fine balance to get where they need to be and work appropriately.
The Ordering Process
Let me start with saying that the ordering process was maddening. I had to scroll through pages of marketing hype to get to the order button. Talk about discouraging.
When I decided to commit to trying his system out for 90 days, it took another 5 minutes of saying “no, thanks. I don’t need any additional specials”. In fact, AFTER I put in my payment information, all of these pop up boxes came up one after another. I was about TEN in before I quit the transaction in disgust. I never got a confirmation but a few days later I received a notice that the order had shipped.
If this were my business, I’d cut the hassle by 4,000% and probably increase sales as a result.
I committed to 90 days, knowing that things take time to show effectiveness. Three bottles for 90 days costs about $188. Far from a bargain in my mind – but if it delivers on its promises, worth it, right?
The Gundry MD Bio Complete 3 Program
Day 1
Already I’m having issues. It’s four pills taken daily. Four?!
I hate swallowing pills. I’m bad at it. I’m the person who still take chewable vitamins if it’s an option. Even better if it’s in gummy form. But, four capsules. Four! EVERY DAY! I don’t sense this will go well for me.
The bottle says four pills daily. The website says two pills twice a day. That feels very different to me but I went with the bottle, figuring it was more likely to be accurate. I have no idea why my brain rationalized that way – but there we are.
My problem solving brain thought “I’ll open them up and mix them into a smoothie” . Boom. Problem solved. I already do that with another vitamin capsule – what’s the harm?
A lot it turns out.
Now granted, there’s no instruction saying you should (or shouldn’t) open them. But they are the Worst. Tasting. Capsules. Ever. In a smoothie filled with berries and collagen and honey – I had to choke it down.
Let me be your lesson. Don’t do that. NO way. Never again.
Day 1. Check.
Only 89 to go.
I’m not feeling very hopeful.
Day 9
Somehow I’ve managed not to skip a day. I’m personally shocked.
Generally I would say that my energy has picked up in a positive way. I feel heavier but my clothes seem to fit a little better. I decided I would give it a full two weeks before I got onto the scale. Everything else (food and exercise) has pretty much been the same.
Day 14
I’ve had bad bloating, worse than normal and the scale hasn’t gone down. It’s discouraging but I know this may take time.
Day 80
I’m eating more vegetables, opting for raw food and/or real food (which generally is how I eat anyway) and I can’t say that I notice much difference. Maybe I’m not bloating eating starchy veggies (?) – which used to be an issue, but I won’t really know until I stop using it.
The Results
I finished the 90 day regime with only a couple of days skipped. Looking back at journal entries, at best I would say that I didn’t notice anything dramatic. Now in hindsight, I think my body is happier WITHOUT the pills. I feel more “regular”, my energy is fine, my bloating is actually better.
So do I think it worked for me? I don’t. At least not enough to pour more money into it and keep taking four pills each day.
NOTE: There is a money back guarantee which I decided NOT to use. I find that often those processes are more hassle than they are worth.
I still think a probiotic has value and can help maintain a healthy lifestyle. But on the Gundry MD Bio Complete 3 – it’s a hard pass for me.
Of course, everybody is different and everyone reacts to things differently. If you’ve tried these and had a dramatically different result, please share in the comments below.