I swapped my usual probiotic for Emily English’s Epetōme – here’s my review

For the past couple of years, I’ve had my Seed supplements shipped over from the United States on a rolling subscription at no meagre fee of around £47.78 per month including shipping. The whole process has been expensive, but health is wealth so I was willing to part with the cash.

At £54.99 for 30 capsules, Epetōme isn’t exactly a budget buy either but what you’re paying for here is efficacy. There are a lot of supplements out there to choose from, but they’re not all of the same quality and many don’t measure up when it comes to clinical trials. An expert-backed supplement that cites recent objective studies on its website is far more likely to help your health than something with impressive marketing and a celebrity endorsement.

The other difference between Epetōme and Seed is that English recommends taking one capsule a day, whereas the experts at Seed recommend two of its capsules. This doesn’t alter the price – Seed will send 60 capsules per month and Epetōme will send you 30, but there are subscribe and save options for both brands that can help decrease the price a little.

I took my Epetōme duo cap in the mornings with breakfast for the full month and wrote down any changes I noticed. As I had feared, changing my probiotic did come with a few side effects in the early days. My stomach felt a little unsettled and I felt bloated as my body adjusted to the new formula. However, after a week, I felt totally fine again and was back to my usual self. If you’re taking a probiotic for the first time, or if you’re changing the type you usually take, this can affect your gut microbiome as the bacteria recalibrates and you find your baseline.

By the third week, I was feeling good, but not markedly different from how I felt taking the Seed capsules. But this is probably because my gut was already in quite good shape and I try to consume probiotic foods every week and eat a balanced diet of healthy fats, proteins, carbohydrates and plenty of fruits and vegetables that support gut health.

Doing this will ultimately keep your gut happy, whereas an unbalanced diet that’s heavy on hard-to-digest foods, refined sugars, fats and alcohol can make it a lot harder for your gut flora to stay balanced and thriving. If you eat a lot of fatty, sugary and processed foods, you might notice more stomach issues, less energy and more bloating in general, so while the advice to eat a balanced diet might sound basic, it’s a golden rule for a reason. I enjoy the odd pizza or glass of wine so taking a probiotic supplement helps with that but moderation is key for a healthy gut.

By my fourth week on the Epetōme supplements I was feeling great. My body had fully adjusted to the duo caps and I was eating all the foods I usually enjoy with no complaints from my stomach. I didn’t feel any more or less tired than usual and my mood was pretty stable and positive throughout the month. It’s hard to say whether the Seed or Epetōme supplements were better or worse than each other because my body seemed to be saying that they were as good as each other and ultimately performed the same function in sustaining my health.