Nu Biome is a powdered gut health supplement that’s mixed into water to make a wellness drink. It’s sold by a brand called Nu Skin that primarily sells skincare products, and is manufactured by a company called Pharmanex. The brand claims that Nu Biome “helps support…intestinal balance with a powerful dual action solution of pre- and postbiotics.”
But does Nu Biome contain ingredients proven to optimize gut health or are these just marketing claims? Are there any unhealthy additive ingredients? And how do real customers describe the effects of Nu Biome?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions by reviewing every ingredient in Nu Biome and sharing customer reviews. Because Nu Biome contains a large number of ingredients, we’ll break our ingredient review into two sections: an active ingredient review (ingredients that are supposed to make a product effective) and an inactive ingredient review (ingredients like fillers and flavoring agents).
We'll give our take on whether this supplement is likely to be effective or if it's a waste of money.
Active Ingredient Review
Chromium is a mineral, and we're unable to identify any medical studies suggesting it improves gut health.
It seems illogical in our opinion to take 286% of the Daily Value (DV) of a mineral on a daily basis without being deficient in that mineral. It can be unsafe to take high vitamin and mineral doses without a deficiency because it can increase blood levels of that vitamin or mineral to an unsafe range.
Caffeine is included at a 50 milligram (mg) dose, and we can't find any medical evidence that this amount, which is around the amount in half a cup of coffee, causes beneficial changes to gut function.
The remaining active ingredients are included in a proprietary (“prop”) blend.
Xylooligosaccharides are an effective prebiotic ingredient, but may be underdosed in Nu Biome. A clinical trial published in the Gastroenterology Research and Practice journal found that xylooligosaccharide supplementation improved the balance of beneficial versus harmful bacterial strains in the gut, but the dosage used was 1,200 mg per day.
The average ingredient dose in Nu Biome’s prop blend is only 403 mg, and we cannot locate any medical studies suggesting this dose is effective.
Pomegranate fruit extract was shown in an in vitro (test tube) trial to increase probiotic concentrations, but this is a weaker standard of evidence than a human trial. We cannot find any medical studies with human trial participants proving pomegranate fruit extract improves gut function, nor does Nu Skin cite any, so we’ll consider this ingredient likely ineffective.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis is a probiotic. We find it confusing that Nu Skin describes this ingredient as a "postbiotic." A medical review of this ingredient, which clearly refers to it as a probiotic, found that it can improve bowel regularity and how quickly the body digests food. No change in bloating or abdominal pain was noted.
Overall we consider this supplement to be potentially effective for improving gut health given that it includes a probiotic ingredient shown to cause some favorable changes to the gut and to digestion.
Inactive Ingredient Review
Nu Biome contains two inactive ingredients we recommend avoiding.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancing ingredient that’s typically manufactured from a fungus called Aspergillus niger. As we documented in our Neocell Collagen reviews article, citric acid is shown to cause whole-body inflammatory reactions in a small subset of individuals.
Natural flavor is a broad term that refers to any number of chemical compounds used as flavoring agents. Medical research has shown that there are some legitimate toxicity concerns with some natural flavor ingredients, and while we consider natural flavor healthier than artificial flavor, we recommend avoiding products containing natural flavor as an ingredient.
It's also notable that Nu Biome has three separate natural flavors (raspberry, watermelon and lemonade) which is worse than one in our opinion.
Due to the inclusion of these questionable additive ingredients, we don't recommend Nu Biome overall.
Is The Brand Behind Nu Biome Fraudulent?
Nu Skin, the multi-level-marketing (MLM) brand behind Nu Biome, was investigated in an extremely interesting exposé published by YouTube creator "iilluminaughtii." The video documents how Nu Skin has been accused of being a pyramid scheme, how the brand has been sued for sex discrimination, and orders from regulatory agencies made to Nu Skin due to false claims:
Real, Unsponsored Nu Biome User Reviews
A TikTok user named Tara shared a Nu Biome review including an unboxing and taste test:
@tara.1982 Nu biome from nuskin #ReTokforNature #probiotics #nuskin #nubiome #tummy #bloat #fy #fyp #fypシ #fypage #fypシ゚viral #fypdongggggggg #for #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage #tiktok #mama #guthealth ♬ original sound - Tara.1982
A TikTok user named "melafrua" claims that Nu Biome helped her sister lose weight, and the video includes before-and-after images:
@melrafua Transformation is not an overnight thing….. It takes DISCIPLINE & CONSISTENCY to keep on the PURPLE💜 & PINK💖 🔥😘 Meta is now finally AVAILABLE + NuBiome TOGETHER😍: 💜Protect GI Tract & organs 💖Help promote better gut health 💜Help remove fat from liver 💖Help improve antioxidant defense system 💜Help maintain healthy blood glucose Did you know? Only 1 in 8 people are Metabolically healthy??? I had no idea 🧐 Meta is the #1#1roduct on the market right now. We’re expecting this to fly off the shelves like our Pink Drink did (and still does😍) If you’re one of the 80% of women or men that struggle with GI or Metabolic issues and any of this sounds 👌🏼 message @Banga&Amu4ever to get yours today! 👇🏼🙋🏻♀️ #m#metap#purplepilln#nubiomeg#guttohaveitg#guthealthp#pinkdrink ♬ Who Is She - Qveen Herby
Research-Backed Gut Health Supplement
The product we recommend for optimizing gut health is Supergut Fiber Mix. This powder supplement provides two different types of resistant starch from whole foods: green banana powder resistant starch and resistant potato starch.
Resistant starch is unique because it avoids digestion in the small intestine and instead provides nutritional support to healthy bacterial strains in the large intestine, functioning as a prebiotic.
A medical review published in the Advances in Nutrition journal analyzed data from various clinical trials and concluded that resistant starch intake was associated with improved gut health, weight loss in overweight and obese individuals, and improved insulin resistance.
Supergut’s fiber supplement contains no questionable additive ingredients. The only ingredients are different types of fiber sourced from whole foods.
Interested consumers can check out Supergut Fiber Mix at this link to the product page on the official brand's website.
