Nu Biome is a pink-colored gut health supplement 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 customers "support your intestinal microbiome and feel your best every day."
But does Nu Biome contain ingredients shown in research studies to optimize gut health? Are there any unhealthy additive ingredients? What's the controversy surrounding this brand? And how do real customers rate and describe the effects of Nu Biome?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Nu Biome to give our take on whether or not this supplement is likely to improve gut health, and to assess its healthiness.
We'll feature a popular video that discusses a few controversies surrounding this brand, and share customer reviews of Nu Biome.
Active Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in Nu Biome are shown above.
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 regular 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 dose, which is around the caffeine dose in half a cup of coffee, causes beneficial changes to gut function.
Xylooligosaccharides are an effective prebiotic ingredient.
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.
Pomegranate fruit extract was shown in an in vitro (test tube) trial to increase probiotic concentrations in the gut, but this is a weaker standard of evidence than a human trial.
We cannot find any medical studies with human trial participants showing that 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 that's clinically shown to have anti-obesity effects, as we documented in our Bio X4 reviews article.
A medical review on this probiotic species found that it can also improve digestion of food.
To the credit of Nu Skin, the company now publishes the dose of each active ingredient. When we first published this review article, some active ingredient doses were included in a proprietary blend that failed to list each individual ingredient dose.
Overall, we consider Nu Biome somewhat likely to support optimal gut function, given its effective doses of xylooligosaccharides and a probiotic species.
Inactive Ingredient Analysis
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 some 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 altogether.
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 inactive ingredients, we don't currently recommend Nu Biome overall.
Nu Biome Controversy
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 People Try Nu Biome
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
Our Clean Gut Health Picks
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.
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ contains 100% soluble fiber, which was described as "one of the most important nutrients for the gut microbiota" in a clinical review published in the Molecules journal.
Bulletproof Express 3-in-1 Probiotic is our top value probiotic supplement, because it costs only $1.20 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Probiotics "can improve in the immune, gastrointestinal...health systems in healthy adults" according to a 2019 medical review.
VSL#3 is our top premium probiotic pick, because 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."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
Nu Biome Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Nu Biome in our opinion:
Pros:
- Contains research-backed prebiotics
- Contains research-backed probiotics
- May support optimal gut health
- May support digestive function
- Brand publishes each active ingredient dose
Cons:
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Relatively high chromium dose
- Some active ingredients may be underdosed
- Contains citric acid
- Contains natural flavor
