1MD 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 potentially unhealthy additive ingredients? What retailer sells 1MD products for the best price? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of 1MD supplements?

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) based on medical studies, to give our take on whether each supplement is likely to be effective or if it’s a waste of money.

We’ll also provide a cost breakdown featuring which retailer sells these supplements for the best price, and feature 1MD customer reviews.

1MD Probiotics Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in 1MD Probiotics, called Complete Probiotics Platinum, are shown above.

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.

VSL#3 is our top premium probiotic pick. This probiotic supplement has been studied in 25 clinical trials, and a 2020 meta-study on VSL#3 concluded the following:

"...many studies demonstrated that VSL#3 has a beneficial effect on obesity and diabetes, allergic diseases, nervous systemic diseases, AS, bone diseases, and female reproductive systemic diseases."

But is 1MD’s liver supplement as well-formulated? We’ll review in the next section.

1MD LiverMD Review

The ingredients in LiverMD are shown above. 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.

Where to Get the Best Price

1MD supplements are sold at a variety of online retailers. Here’s a price breakdown for the two supplements analyzed in this article, at the time of publishing:

1MD Complete Probiotics Platinum

Walmart: $54.99 (link)

Brand website: $49.99 (link)

Amazon: $41.99 (per bottle for 2-pack – link to official Amazon listing)

1MD LiverMD 

Brand website: $49.99 (link)

Walmart: $43.95 (link)

Amazon: $41.99 (per bottle for 2-pack – link to official Amazon listing)

When purchasing a 2-pack on Amazon, both supplements are 16% cheaper per-bottle than on the brand’s website. This cost savings can increase even further when 1MD is not running a free shipping promo and if the brand charges for shipping and handling for orders through the brand’s website.

Real Customers Review 1MD

Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.

Complete Probiotics Platinum is the brand’s most-reviewed Amazon product, with over 4,000 total reviews and an average review rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.

The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Aaron Rosales” who claims the supplement is effective for short-term use:

“This probiotic is not for everyone, and not for the dose suggested for everybody. If you have had a cycle of antibiotics, years of bad diet, chronic stress, etc then you probably have really low healthy bacteria. This will be a great option for you as it has diverse strains, 51Bill CFU's, prebiotics, and will survive stomach acid. This will build up your healthy gut flora very quickly! However, I don't recommend taking this more than 2-3 months as it could start to have adverse effects at this potency.”

The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Monti” who claims the supplement is overpriced and no more effective than cheaper options:

“I had to go to something cheaper and it works just as well as this. Don't waste your money, there are cheaper brands that work just like this. And I still didn't receive my free bottle. I'm giving it one star because it led me to the one I'm taking now... From Walmart. Save money peeps!” 

1MD has an average review rating of 1.35 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. Some customers complain about order-related issues, but the brand responds to every customer complaint and review in an attempt to resolve the situation at the time of publishing this article, which is the sign of a high-quality brand.

A TikTok creator named Grace Noel claims that a 1MD supplement optimized her daily wellness routine:

@graceful_health New Year’s resolution of drinking @1mdhealth CardioFitMD before workouts. It’s loaded with essential vitamins🤍 #healthyhabits #1MDNutrition #1MDhealth #CardioFitMD #Commit2TheFit #ad ♬ original sound - Grace Noel☀️ health & wellness

Pros and Cons of 1MD

Here are the pros and cons of 1MD as a brand in our opinion:

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.

Amazon reviews of 1MD are mostly favorable, and we would recommend that consumers planning on purchasing from this brand do so on Amazon, because the unit price is cheaper than buying from the brand’s website at the time of publishing this article.

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.