Does ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Work for Every Body?

ZBiotics© Pre-Alcohol Probiotic can help you feel better the day after drinking, especially when paired with responsible drinking behaviors. While many people have an excellent experience with the product, we know that there’s a possibility the technology behind ZBiotics won’t work for everyone. Our research shows that about 5% of people don’t see a benefit, in large part due to individual differences in biology. Because our team sometimes receives questions about this, we’re sharing a bit more about why our product may not work for that 5%.

How Your Body Processes Alcohol and Acetaldehyde

While most of the alcohol you drink is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream for processing by the liver, a small amount is actually broken down directly in the gut – in large part by your microbiome – before it is absorbed. Our pre-alcohol probiotic is designed specifically to target gut-derived acetaldehyde, the unwanted byproduct of alcohol that your gut cannot break down on its own and primarily causes negative effects the next day.

That function is normally sufficient to have a very meaningful impact, because gut-derived acetaldehyde is the largest source of acetaldehyde in the body for the vast majority of the population (citation). However, some individuals metabolize alcohol differently from others, due to differences in their biology. This can massively affect how alcohol makes them feel in ways Pre-Alcohol wasn’t built to address.

Just one example is the estimated 8% of people worldwide who have difficulty naturally breaking down acetaldehyde in their liver, the main location of ethanol metabolism. This is due to a genetic mutation that impairs their liver’s natural mechanism for metabolizing acetaldehyde (citation). For this population, the liver – not the gut – is the primary source of acetaldehyde build-up in the body. This can lead to particularly uncomfortable responses to alcohol consumption. And because Pre-Alcohol operates in the gut, not the liver, these are responses that won’t be helped by our product.

Every Microbiome is Different

Another factor that can alter the experience of taking ZBiotics’ bioengineered probiotic is your gut-microbiome. Everyone’s gut-microbiome is unique and dynamic, constantly changing in response to diet, health, medications, and other environmental factors. The probiotic in Pre-Alcohol activates in the gut – normally without issue. However, if your microbiome's environment is in a particularly unique state, it may not support this activation. Such a case could be temporary or persistent, depending on the surrounding environmental factors affecting the gut.

The idiosyncrasies of the gut microbiome may also be behind the rare customer feedback we receive about an upset stomach or bout of bloating. In some individuals, drinking alcohol causes gastrointestinal discomfort, which is not related to the probiotic they consumed beforehand. But, especially for first-time probiotic users, there is always a chance that the introduction of a probiotic – even a transient one such as ours – may cause some gastrointestinal discomfort (citation). These feelings are generally rare and short-lived. However, for anyone experiencing longer term discomfort, it’s important to contact a healthcare professional and make sure there’s nothing serious going on.

Unique Microbiomes Mean More Possibilities

The above factors are by no means an exhaustive list. There are many more that contribute to how our bodies tolerate and respond to alcohol. This relates to the emerging terms “personalized medicine” and “personalized nutrition,” which refer to approaches that tailor healthcare and diet to each person’s individual biology. That’s because we are increasingly learning that differences in our biology dictate how well our bodies respond to efforts to improve them.

We now know it’s not “one size fits all” when it comes to health and wellness. In the future, it’s possible our unique genetic makeup could be used to uniquely improve the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease (citation). And, as mentioned, we all have unique microbiomes; even identical twins have distinct microbiomes (citation). The biological differences between each of us are many, and what works for one person may not work for another.

Our 100% Money Back Guarantee

The fact that everyone’s own unique biology can be so different is one of the beautiful things about nature and evolution. It’s also one of the things that make it difficult to create products that are 100% effective for 100% of people. While we’re proud to have carefully and safely created genetically engineered products that are helpful to the overwhelming majority of folks, we know there’s going to be that ~5% of people out there who may not feel a benefit. So, we firmly stand behind our 100% money back guarantee policy. For anyone in that 5%, please reach out and we’ll make sure we provide a full refund. And whether our customers are satisfied or dissatisfied, we want people to join the conversation about health, science, and genetically engineered probiotics; and to get in touch with our team. We love hearing how people respond to our products – good and bad.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice.