PERKii probiotic shot review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Perkii Immunity Super Berry probiotic shot. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this gut shot.
This 60ml gut shot is available in Woolworths supermarkets in Australia.
A unique probiotic product
A lot of scientific study by the University of Queensland has gone into developing this product.
PERKii’s main point of difference with other probiotic products is the way they ensure that the probiotics survive your acidic stomach and get to your gut alive - which is very important! In simple terms, PERKii uses calcium alginate to micro-shield the probiotics as they pass through the stomach and this then breaks down in the gut releasing the live and healthy probiotics to colonise your gut.
As they claim on their website, “Inside its natural micro-shield, PERKii probiotics are 10,000x more likely to survive in the stomach, than non-micro-shield probiotic”. Although it’s worth noting that these studies were done on the strain Lactobacillus Casei which is in some of PERKii’s other products, however the strain in this probiotic shot is Bifidobacterium lactis.
Ingredients of PERKii probiotic shot
This shot has quite a few ingredients, some of which I’m not super thrilled about.
Specifically it includes: Water, juice concentrate (apple, lemon, blueberry, raspberry), b. lactis (probiotic), calcium alginate, erythritol, natural flavours, vitamin C, potassium sorbate, steviol glycosides, natural colour.
As you can see, it does include a few additives.
For example, it has erythritol and steviol glycosides which are natural sweeteners. More on this below.
Even more curious and concerning is that it includes potassium sorbate which is a preservative. Given that preservatives specifically aim to reduce microbial activity, it seems strange to find it in a probiotic drink - whose main benefit is the microbes it contains! Perhaps the micro-shielding from the calcium alginate protects the probiotics in this shot from the anti-microbial action.
In any case, potassium sorbate has been shown to reduce diversity of gut bacteria. So it’s quite surprising and confusing to see this used in a gut shot - especially one which is otherwise so science based.
It also includes natural flavourings and colourings.
Sweeteners: good or bad?
Regular readers will know that I don’t love sweeteners - whether they are natural or artificial. This is because artificial sweeteners have been shown to negatively affect gut microbe composition - and so it could be that natural sweeteners also have a negative affect on your gut. There are other potential side effects of these natural sweeteners, but more research is needed.
Currently, health authorities generally see natural sweeteners as safe, but studies have shown some mixed results. In any case, I’d prefer to avoid sweeteners altogether to be on the safe side.
Read more about the current research done on stevia and erythritol - the two most common natural sweeteners.
Benefits of PERKii probiotic shot
Aside from the drawbacks, this gut shot comes with some health benefits.
Probiotics
The main benefit of this gut shot is the probiotics (ie live beneficial microorganisms) it contains.
There is just one strain present in the form of Bifidobacterium lactis. Each shot contains 8 billion colony forming units of this probiotic - which is far higher than other brands.
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Juice concentrates
The apple, lemon, blueberry and raspberry juice concentrates provide:
antioxidants
vitamins (like C and K) - it is also fortified which vitamin C
various beneficial compounds like polyphenols, anthocyanins and ellagic acid
Collectively these support immune function, heart health and digestion.
However, these concentrates don’t seem to add any fibre like you might expect as the drink contains 0g of dietary fibre.
Appearance
As you can see above, it has a very pale pink colour. What you can’t see above is a bit of sediment which stayed in the bottom of the shot, which when added gives is a slightly murkier appearance.
Flavour
It has a strong aroma of raspberry and strawberry. The aroma is almost too strong and comes across as artificial or fake.
The taste is an overly sweet, dull generic berriness. There’s also something to the taste which is hard to describe (is it a bit milky??) which perhaps comes from the calcium alginate.
Overall the taste is okay enough - it’s not offensive, but it does comes across something which relies too much on natural sweeteners and flavourings. Luckily it’s a gut shot as you wouldn’t want to drink 300ml of this!
Cost of PERKii probiotic shot
The shot sells for $4 in Woolworths.
Summary
2.5 stars out of 5.
Great that it has bacteria shown to survive your stomach, but its use of a preservative and the average, unnatural taste let it down.
Pros
micro-shielded probiotics to survive your stomach
a lot of colony forming units of probiotics
good source of vitamin C and some other vitamins and minerals
Cons
includes a preservative
just one strain of probiotics
average taste
no fibre
Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut enthusiast and passionate kombucha maker!
Related articles
