Do probiotics help with cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support a probiotic as a treatment for high cholesterol. Pooled trials in adults with raised levels found LDL about 0.17 mmol/L lower than control and no change in HDL or triglycerides. Another pooled analysis, in overweight adults, found no change in total cholesterol.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support a probiotic as a treatment for high cholesterol or as a replacement for anything a doctor has recommended. The changes are small averages across trials that used different products, and the same literature includes a null result. A review of 249 trials across probiotic uses found that effects are strain-specific and purpose-specific and that many products have no trial of their own; a product that lists species without strain codes can't borrow any result below.

What the trials found

A 2019 meta-analysis of 19 randomized trials in 967 adults with raised cholesterol found that probiotics lowered total cholesterol by 0.25 mmol/L (95% CI -0.39 to -0.12) and LDL by 0.17 mmol/L (95% CI -0.25 to -0.09) versus placebo or no treatment. There was no significant effect on triglycerides or HDL. Reductions were larger with longer intervention, with certain strains, and in younger people with mildly raised cholesterol.

A 2018 meta-analysis of 32 trials (1,971 people) reported a pooled mean difference in total cholesterol of -13.27 (95% CI -16.74 to -9.80), with significant results for several strain groups: L. acidophilus with B. lactis, VSL#3 and L. plantarum. Higher baseline cholesterol, longer treatment and capsule form were associated with larger effects. The authors also reported that strain and dose had no significant influence on the overall effect, even as individual strain groups showed results, so the analysis does not point to a strain or dose to choose.

A 2026 meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials in overweight and obese adults, mostly from East Asia, found small reductions in body weight and BMI with probiotics but no significant effect on total cholesterol or triglycerides.

Analysis	People	Total cholesterol	LDL	HDL / triglycerides
19 trials, 967 people	Raised cholesterol	-0.25 mmol/L	-0.17 mmol/L	No significant change
32 trials, 1,971 people	Mixed adults	Mean difference -13.27 (units not given in the abstract)	Not reported in the abstract	Not reported in the abstract
12 trials	Overweight and obese adults	No significant change	Not reported in the abstract	Triglycerides: no significant change

Across all three, the pattern is small average changes in people who started with higher cholesterol, and nothing in people who didn't. None of the analyses identifies a strain, dose or duration you could rely on.

Probiotic effects are strain-specific, so a result for one named strain is not a result for "probiotics" in general, and a product that lists species without strain codes can't borrow it. See what the research shows across probiotics and how to choose a probiotic.

Questions people ask

Do probiotics lower cholesterol?

In pooled trials in adults with raised cholesterol, the difference from placebo or no treatment was about -0.17 mmol/L for LDL and -0.25 mmol/L for total cholesterol. In overweight adults, one analysis found no change. It isn't evidence that a probiotic treats high cholesterol.

Which probiotic is best for lowering cholesterol?

The 2018 analysis found significant results for L. acidophilus with B. lactis, VSL#3 and L. plantarum, but also reported no overall influence of strain or dose, and the 2019 analysis said only that certain strains did better. That is not enough to name a best one.

Do probiotics affect HDL or triglycerides?

Not in the 19-trial analysis in adults with raised cholesterol, and not in the 12-trial analysis in overweight adults for triglycerides.

When to talk to a doctor

High cholesterol is found by a blood test and is worth discussing with a doctor, especially with a family history of heart disease. A probiotic is not a treatment for high cholesterol, and nothing above supports changing or skipping anything a doctor has recommended. If you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or have a weakened immune system, ask a doctor before adding any supplement (see who should not take probiotics).