GoodBelly Strawberry Fruit Juice Drink

GoodBelly Strawberry Fruit Juice Drink

GoodBelly Probiotic Fruit Drink

I found out about GoodBelly juice drinks from my local public radio station. Between shows they’d have an advertisement for the “non-dairy probiotic fruit juice based drink”. Intrigued I went off in search of this stuff. The first visit to the GoodBelly website suggested that my local Fred Meyers carried it, but when I went there it was not to be. I then tried a local Safeway(may also be known as Vons), which did indeed carry it, but it took some looking as it was near the yogurt and not on the juice aisle.

So what exactly is in GoodBelly? Obviously it’s a fruit drink with probiotics, but getting in a bit deeper it appears they grow their own strains of B. Lactis & L. Planatarum299v from oat flour & barely malt which I imagine the little bacterias munch down on. While their test show that the product doesn’t contain detectable amounts of gluten, it is not considered a gluten free food. This is important if you suffer from Celiac Disease. So basically you whirl some juice concentrate, fruit puree & probiotics together & you have GoodBelly.

How does it taste? Pretty good actually! I tried the Bluberry Acai & the Strawberry flavors.  There’s a slightly sour aftertaste to it, but it doesn’t taste bad. It is comparable to other juices you’d find on the market, just not as sweet(which is a good thing). I could not find the quart containers, so I had to use the little “Good Belly Plus shots”, which are about 2.7oz(80ml) each. There are usually some fruit seeds hanging out at the bottom of the container no matter how well you shake the darn things up.

Was it effective? The little shots contain 20 billion colony forming units(CFUs), to me, this seems like too much. While their website does state “You can never get too much of a good thing”, I would have to disagree; especially for people just starting with probiotics. Much better to taper up with a small amount of probiotics to let your system adjust. Overall I experienced the same thing I’ve dealt with with other probiotics – constipation  & bloating.There is such as thing as the “Herx Effect”, where you have to tough out these symptoms for days/weeks before you start feeling the benefits. However, I’ve tried toughing it out with other products and in the end I have to stop taking them because these symptoms do not subside. Thus, my search for the perfect probiotic continues. Importantly, do not take my experience for your own. Try the product, see how it works for you! We all have different bodies & mine is extremely picky. Bottom Line:  It did not cure my IBS, but who knows about yours?

Cost? Cost is a concern, it was about $3.50 for 4 little shots. You’re suppose to drink one per day. This could get pricey, especially when considering you can get a bottle for a months worth of probiotics in some cases for $10. You’re looking at $26.10 per month if you’re going to be drinking a GoodBelly a day. Keep in mind though that some of the higher quality probiotics are just as much and don’t offer as many CFUs, nor are they as tasty. GoodBelly does offer a $1.00 off coupon on their website. This lil’ coupon could save you quite a bit! It looks like you can only use it once per visit, but you could just do it with your weekly shopping & be good to go. The website has had it up there for months, hopefully they don’t take it down anytime soon.

Final thoughts? A worthy choice for those who may not like taking a pill or those who are adverse to trying healthy things. It’s worth a shot! :)

If you don’t have access to GoodBelly locally you can order some GoodBelly ToGo packets from Amazon.com.