 Though foods may be better carriers for probiotics than supplements, if one does choose to go with supplements, they'd be taken before, during, or after meals. When it comes to probiotic supplements sold in capsules, the commercial literature is often confusing, and that sometimes the consumer is instructed to take the probiotics with meals, sometimes before or after meals, and occasionally on an empty stomach. This has led to a serious confusion for the industry and the consumer. Surprisingly, it doesn't appear as if any studies had ever examined this question until now. To be able to measure probiotic concentrations minute-by-minute throughout the entire process, they had to build a fake digestive tract. Fake stomach, fake intestines, but complete with real saliva, and digestive enzymes, acid, bile, etc. What did they find? Here's the survival of three different types of probiotics, before, during, and after meals, and separately, in oatmeal and milk, milk alone, apple juice, or water. Conclusion. Probiotic bacteria survival was best when provided within 30 minutes before or simultaneously with a meal or beverage that contained some fat content.