1MD, full name 1MD Nutrition is a “physician-formulated” supplement brand that sells a variety of products from joint support to probiotics. The brand describes their supplements as “effective” and containing “clinically-studied ingredients.”

But do 1MD supplements really contain ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective? Do they contain any unhealthy ingredients? Which 1MD supplement is best-formulated? And is 1MD better or worse than popular supplement brands that sell similar products? 

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of the most popular 1MD supplements (Probiotics and LiverMD) to give our take on whether or not they're likely to be effective, and whether or not they're healthy.

We'll also compare 1MD to other supplement brands in the same product categories to pick our winners.

Key takeaways:

• Probiotics formulation should support gut health
• LiverMD should support liver health
• Higher-quality formulations than average supplement brand

1MD Probiotics Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in 1MD Probiotics, called Complete Probiotics Platinum, are shown below:

Most of the active ingredients in this formulation are a blend of probiotics at a total dose of 51 billion colony-forming units (CFU).

This is actually a higher daily probiotic dose than is recommended by the authors of a medical review on probiotics published in the American Family Physician journal. 

We don’t believe this probiotic dose is likely to cause any harm in otherwise healthy adults, but we also haven’t come across any clinical evidence that this high of a dose is necessary.

Some of the probiotic species in this supplement have research-backed benefits.

Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of the more common probiotic species, and was shown in a 2022 medical study to improve gastrointestinal health, reduce cholesterol in individuals with high cholesterol and even improve cardiovascular health.

LactoSpore is a probiotic strain that’s clinically shown to cause weight loss in overweight individuals, as we documented in our review of another supplement containing this ingredient called Probio Slim.

Lactobacillus gasseri was shown in a clinical trial published in the Nutrients journal to improve stress response in healthy adults.

Fructo-ogliosaccharides (FOS) is the only other active ingredient in this formulation, and we can’t locate any clinical trials proving this ingredient to be effective at the 50 milligram (mg) dose in Complete Probiotics Platinum.

A 1996 clinical trial on this ingredient found no beneficial effects on gut health even at a 12 gram (g) per day dose, which is 240x the amount in 1MD’s probiotic supplement.

The inactive ingredients in this formulation are entirely safe and non-toxic.

Overall, we consider 1MD Probiotics to be likely effective for improving gut health, and from a formulation and efficacy perspective we would recommend this supplement given that it contains an effective probiotic dose with a wide range of probiotic species, and has no questionable additive ingredients.

Ritual Synbiotic+ is our top probiotic pick.

It contains prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, and is free from any ingredients we consider unhealthy.

1MD LiverMD Review

The ingredients in LiverMD are shown below:

This is another one of 1MD’s most popular supplements, and is formulated to support optimal liver health, according to the brand.

Milk thistle was described in a medical review published in the Phytotherapy Research journal as “the most well-researched plant in the treatment of liver disease.” The 160 mg dose in LiverMD appears to be effective based on the range of doses used in the above-linked review.

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) was shown in a 2021 meta-review to be effective at treating liver failure, although doses were not reported. NAC is a potent antioxidant, but we can’t find any clinical trials proving it effective at the 500 mg dose in this supplement.

Alpha lipoic acid was shown to help heal the liver in a medical review published in the Free Radical Biology and Medicine journal, but the researchers described the effective dose as 600 mg and stated that in studies using low doses, “little or no effect was observed.” LiverMD only provides 100 mg of this ingredient.

Selenium status was shown to be associated with improved liver health in a 2022 medical review, but we would recommend speaking with a doctor before taking nearly 400% of the Daily Value (DV) of any mineral daily.

We’re unable to identify any other active ingredients in this formulation that we consider effective for supporting liver health, but as with the previous supplement, the inactive ingredients are entirely safe and non-toxic which is a good sign.

1MD does a good job of only marketing this supplement for improved liver health, and avoiding any health claims suggesting this product should be used to treat any liver disease. 

As we discussed at length in our review of Pure Health Liver Health Formula, we have not come across any convincing medical evidence that over-the-counter (OTC) dietary supplements are effective in the treatment of liver disease, and we would recommend that any patients experiencing liver disease speak with their doctor rather than try to treat their condition with supplements.

Overall we consider LiverMD likely to support and optimize liver health, although we would recommend consulting with a doctor prior to using this supplement on a regular basis, due to the relatively high selenium dose.

1MD vs. Popular Supplement Brands

Here's how 1MD compares to other popular supplement brands selling similar products, in terms of formulation quality and healthiness, in our opinion:

Physician's Choice

Marketed as the "#1 Probiotic," this supplement brand fails to publish the specific probiotic strains used, as we documented in our Physician's Choice review article.

Inactive ingredients list contains sunflower oil, making this a (slightly) less healthy option than 1MD Complete Probiotics Platinum.

Winner: 1MD

Bio X4

This probiotic brand failed to document the specific probiotic strains used at the time of our last analysis.

Also contains digestive enzymes, which we consider unnecessary in healthy adults.

1MD Complete Probiotics Platinum is better-formulated.

Winner: 1MD

Liver Health Formula

This detox supplement contains research-backed active ingredients, but none that we consider effectively dosed based on a review of medical research.

LiverMD is better-formulated.

Winner: 1MD

1MD Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Highly effective formulations
• No questionable additive ingredients
• Relatively affordable given potency
• Positive customer reviews
• Most ingredients effectively dosed
• Brand doesn’t make dangerous health claims

Cons:

• Proprietary supplements don’t appear clinically tested
• Brand doesn’t publish third-party test results of supplements

Conclusion

1MD is one of the highest-quality supplement brands we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

We consider both of the supplements analyzed in this article (Complete Probiotics Plus and LiverMD) to be likely effective for the stated health goals, and both products are free of unhealthy additive ingredients.

We would recommend that consumers speak with their doctor prior to using LiverMD for an extended period of time due to its relatively high dose of selenium.

This brand is a good example of why buying supplements formulated by health experts like doctors tends to be a better choice than buying from brands with no public health experts involved. We’ve noted a strong correlation in our reviews of high-quality supplements and doctors on the founding team.

In the future, we hope that 1MD funds clinical trials published in peer-reviewed medical journals proving the efficacy of their supplements, since this is the gold standard for proprietary formulations.

We consider 1MD Complete Probiotics Platinum to be better-formulated than Physician's Choice and Bio X4 (competing probiotic supplements), and LiverMD to be better-formulated than Liver Health Formula (a competing detox supplement).