Keri Gans is a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified yoga teacher and author of The Small Change Diet, a Shape Magazine advisory board member and blogger for US News & World Report. The Keri Report, her own bi-monthly podcast and newsletter, helps to convey her no-nonsense and fun approach to living a healthy lifestyle. Gans is a sought-after nutrition expert and has conducted thousands of interviews worldwide. Her expertise has been featured in media outlets such as, Glamour, Shape, Self, Women’s Health, The Dr. Oz Show, ABC News, PIX11 Morning Show, Good Morning America and FOX Business. She lives in New York City with her husband Bart and four-legged son Cooper, is a huge animal lover, Netflix aficionado and martini enthusiast. Here she discusses the benefits of using postbiotic supplements.

Question: What are postbiotics?

Answer: Postbiotics are non-living metabolites and compounds produced by micro-organisms like yeast or probiotics during a fermentation process and confer a health benefit to us. Postbiotics are made outside the body in a consistent, specialized process.

Question: How do they work?

Answer: Postbiotics work mostly through the gut. However, there are different types of postbiotics, and each has its own unique composition that can work differently within the gut and have different benefits. For example, EpiCor postbiotic helps to positively modulate the gut microbiome and supports immune and gut health.

Question: What are their health benefits? Is there research to back this up?

Answer: Each postbiotic can be different so be sure to look for ones that are backed by science. For example, EpiCor, the No. 1 leading postbiotic brand, has more than a dozen clinical and preclinical trials showing that a 500 mg daily dose can support immune and digestive health to help people live more healthy days.

Question: What are the best ways to supplement with postbiotics?

Answer: Besides taking the recommended 500 mg, EpiCor postbiotic should be taken every day, anytime of the day with or without meals, and year-round for immune and gut benefits. To make sure your supplement is powered by EpiCor postbiotic, look for the trademark or logo on the packaging. EpiCor postbiotic is a whole food fermentate so in the ingredient lists you can look for yeast fermentate, dried yeast fermentate or dried fermentate made using Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.

Question: How can retailers discuss the need for postbiotics with their customers?

Answer: I like to explain it simply. Realistically, most people don’t eat fermented foods daily—foods such as kimchi, miso, tempeh or kombucha. So, in order to easily reap the health benefits, think of your postbiotic supplement as a fermented food in a capsule.

Question: Other comments?

Answer: Healthy living never comes down to a simple nutrient, but rather incorporating a healthy lifestyle, which includes a well-balanced diet, daily physical activity, adequate sleep and reducing stress levels. A supplement is always meant to support, not replace.