Floraspring is a probiotic supplement made by a brand called Revival Point. It's used to support weight loss.
But does Floraspring contain research-backed ingredients for weight loss? Does it contain any unhealthy additives? Why are some of the company's claims medically inaccurate? And which retailer sells this supplement for the best price?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Floraspring to give our take on whether or not it's likely to cause weight loss.
We'll highlight some questionable health claims on the Floraspring website, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells this supplement for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in Floraspring are shown above.
The total probiotic dose per serving is 25 billion colony-forming units (CFU), which is within the effective dosing range.
A medical review on probiotic dosage published in the American Family Physician Journal found that a minimum daily dose of 10 billion CFU was effective.
Lactobacillus acidophilus is a strange choice for a weight loss formulation.
This probiotic species was associated with "significant weight gain" in a medical review published in the Microbial Pathogenesis journal.
Lactobacillus fermentum is the second-listed probiotic species, and we can't identify any clinical evidence that it causes weight loss.
Bifidobacterium breve may be effective, because a specific strain of this probiotic species called Bifidobacterium breve B-3 is clinically shown to cause weight loss.
However, we consider this unlikely because the average ingredient dose in Florapring's blend is 1.79 billion CFU, while the dose used in the above-linked study was 50 billion CFU.
Lactobacillus casei is clinically shown to cause weight loss in animal studies, as we documented in our Garden of Life Probiotics review article.
The inactive ingredients in Floraspring, shown below, should be safe and non-toxic:
Overall, we consider Floraspring unlikely to cause weight loss, because we're unable to identify any clinical studies showing that its active ingredients cause weight loss in humans.
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of questionable and uncited health claims on the Revival Point website.
As shown below, the brand has a number of weight loss claims with numerical citations, but we can't find the matching citations providing proof of these claims anywhere on the page:
The Revival Point website claims to have a 4.1 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot, as shown below:
However, at the time of updating this article, the brand's rating on Trustpilot is 3.4 out of 5.
When we initially published this article, the brand's website claimed that lactobacillus acidophilus is associated with weight loss, and cited a medical study which clearly states "the beneficial effects [of lactobacillus acidophilus] are strain dependent."
Since we highlighted this information along with the fact that Floraspring failed to publish the strain used, the brand has removed this claim from their website.
We urge consumers to avoid supplements from brands making bold health claims without proof to support these claims.
Inaccurate Probiotic Labeling
Floraspring refers to the ingredients in their formulation as “strains,” which is scientifically incorrect and suggests a lack of understanding of probiotics.
Probiotics have a genus, species, subspecies, and strain in descending order as outlined in this great probiotic overview published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What is described on Floraspring’s label are probiotic species, not strains.
Lactobacillus acidophilus, for example, is a species. Lactobacillus acidophilus CIRM-BIA 442 would be an example of a probiotic strain.
A strain is a more specific designation than a species, and different strains within the same species can have different health effects.
We generally consider it to be a sign of a low-quality probiotic brand when only the species is listed. We recommend purchasing probiotics where the strain is listed for each ingredient, as this is important information.
One of the few probiotic brands that publishes the strain of every probiotic ingredient is Seed, and we published a Seed probiotic review for readers who are interested.
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
Ceylon cinnamon was described as "an effective anti-obesity agent" in a 2022 meta-analysis. The study authors concluded that effects were greater at doses at or over 3 grams daily.
Illuminate Labs Ceylon Cinnamon Extract is our standardized Ceylon cinnamon supplement which is third-party tested to ensure purity and potency.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Both of the products mentioned in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Where to Get the Best Price
Floraspring is sold at a variety of online retailers.
Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase at the time of updating this article:
Brand website: $49.95 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $49.95 (free shipping, link to official Walmart listing)
Amazon: $49.95 (free shipping, link to Amazon listing)
Floraspring is around 10% cheaper on Amazon and Walmart than the brand's website when factoring in shipping fees.
The Walmart listing is published by the brand, while the Amazon listing is from a third-party seller.
Floraspring Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Floraspring in our opinion:
Pros:
- Probiotics can support gut health
- No unhealthy additives
Cons:
- No evidence of weight loss effects in humans
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Uncited health claims
- Inaccurate Trustpilot rating claim
- Inaccurate probiotic descriptions
