Total Restore and Bio Complete 3 are two of the most popular gut health supplements on the market today. Some of you may have read our review of Bio Complete 3’s pros and cons, as well as our review of Total Restore side effects and ingredients. Those that have will know that we are far from impressed with either of these products!
Both Bio Complete 3 and Total Restore are made by Gundry MD. This is the supplement company created by and named after Dr. Steven Gundry, the heart surgeon turned TV personality and supplement tycoon. Gundry is a cardiac surgeon but seems to also assume a great deal of knowledge regarding the gut. So great is his knowledge that he is the only “gut specialist” to recognise a condition called “leaky gut syndrome”.
Many of Gundry’s supplements are supposedly designed to prevent or fix “leaky gut syndrome”; a condition which apparently causes systemic inflammation and a range of other health issues, such as obesity and diabetes. There is no hard evidence to show that “leaky gut syndrome” exists outside of the mind and marketing materials of Gundry, but that’s a conversation for a different time!
One question we routinely get asked is, which supplement is better, Bio Complete 3 or Total Restore?
When comparing Total Restore and Bio Complete 3, which is better for gut health and digestion? Which is safer? Is one better for weight loss? Is one better value for money? Let’s compare Bio Complete 3 and Total Restore to find out!
Total Restore Ingredients
So what are the ingredients in Total Restore?
Many people are surprised to learn that Total Restore is not a probiotic; it contains no probiotic bacteria of any kind. Nor is Total Restore really a prebiotic! The formula doesn’t contain any of the specific prebiotic fibers we normally see in high-quality prebiotic supplements.
Here is the Total Restore ingredients list:
As you can see, Total Restore is a collection of plant powders, some minerals, and some L-Glutamine thrown in for fun.
On the whole, this is a very disappointing formula.
Right off the bat you’ll notive that the doses used in Total Restore are all tiny. All combined, the ingredients add up to less than 1g. This means what little prebiotic fiber they deliver is going to have a negligable impact.
None of the ingredients in Total Restore are known to have meaningful effects on gut health either. Things like cinammon and licorice may be said to be good for digestion, but they will not help deliver any of the benefits promised by Total Restore.
Bio Complete 3 Ingredients
What about the ingredients in Bio Complete 3? Does this supplement have more to offer than Total Restore?
Here is the Bio Complete 3 ingredients list:
As you can see, this is a very different supplement to Total Restore, even thought they do promise broadly similar things.
While the Bio Complete 3 formula is very different ot Total Restore, it does share its total failure to deliver on its many promises!
The main ingredient in Bio Complete 3 is Tributyrin. This is a triglyceride used in the manufacturing of margarine. While butyrate – a part of tributyrin – is known to have anti-inflammatory effects in the gut, tributyrin is a different thing altogether. It has not been studied in humans, and it has no known beneficial effects on gut health.
The only other ingredients in Bio Complete 3 are 200mg of Sunfiber (a pathetic dose for this ingredient) and some Bacillus Coagulans; an effective but common probiotic found in many fermented foods.
Total Restore vs Bio Complete 3 Benefits
We’ve looked at the ingredients in both Bio Complete 3 and Total Restore. Neither formula is very exciting, and neither really stands a chance of delivering on the promises made by Gundry MD.
But in comparing Total Restore vs Bio Complete 3, which has the better benefits?
This is very difficult to say. Both Bio Complete 3 and Total Restore have the same fundamental problem: poor ingredients and low doses. This means that neither product is likely to produce significant benefits.
However, of the two, we think Bio Complete 3 is likely going to make athe biggest difference to your gut and digestive health. The simple reason for this is the fact that it contains Bacillus Coagulans.
Bacillus coagulans is a probiotic bacteria species which is known to improve overall gut health and digestive system function. People routinely take Bacillus coagulans for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diarrhea, gas, respiratory tract infections, and more conditions (although there is little evidence supporting the use of Bacillus coagulans for non-digestive disorders).
Bio Complete 3 contains a reasonable quantity of Bacillus coagulans, which will likely help people struggling with digestive issues relating to microbiome imbalances and distrubances.
Aside from this one ingredient, there is really not much difference between the benefits of Bio Complete 3 and Total restore – neither supplement is going to make a huge difference to your digestive health!
Bio Complete 3 vs Total Restore Side Effects
What about side effects?
We know that many gut health supplements – probiotics and prebiotics – can cause adverse side effects. So which is safer, Bio Complete 3 vs Total Restore?
While Bio Complete 3 is a slightly better supplement than Total Restore in terms of effectiveness, Total Restore is significantly better in terms of side effect risks.
Bio Complete 3’s main ingredient is a triglyceride called Tributyrin. This is a substance used to make margarine; it is not normally present in the natural human diet, and it has no known benefits relating to digestive health or gut microbiome function.
More worryingly, this ingredient has not been properly studied in humans. The only clinical trials done on the use of tributyrin as a supplement have used mice, and the only benefits seem to be for mice subjected to acute ethanol exposure.
Because tributyrin has not been properly tested in humans, we cannot call this ingredient safe, especially since it has no known benefits either!
By contrast, the ingredients in Total Restore have all been specifically tested for regular human consumption. Most are just foods you may eat anyway, but in powdered form. So while the product has few benefits, it has few side effects risks.
That said, both Bio Complete 3 and Total Restore may cause side effects. These include:
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
These side effects result from, in the case of Total Restore, consuming so many weird plant extracts, and in the case of Bio Complete 3, consuming tributyrin and probiotic bacteria.
While probiotics can help digestive issues, they can also cause them, and make existing problems worse. Your microbiome is a delicately balanced thing, and throwing unusual, exogenous bacteria ta it on a daily basis can cause severe imbalances. This is why we recommend prebiotics for long-term gut health. We are not doctors and this is not medical advice.
Total Restore vs Bio Complete 3 Value For Money
Neither Total Restore nor Bio Complete 3 represent very good value for money. In both cases, Gundry MD has made a cheap supplement full of ineffective, unproven ingredients that are unlikely to produce any benefits whatsoever.
Across the board doses are low; neither product contains a great deal of dietary fiber, and the other ingredients are practically pointless besides their fiber content.
Considering that the only effective ingredients in Bio Complete 3 are a tiny amount of fiber and a widely available probiotic, it doesn’t make sense to pay $70 for a bottle when some yogurt and veges would do the same thing, but with fewer side effects!
Total Restore also makes no financial sense; all of these ingredients can be obtained from cheap herbal teas, and the minerals from a generic multivitamin. There’s nothing in Total RFestore ot justify the price tag!
If your priority is value for money, then you are always going to be better using a daily prebiotic supplement which provides 2-5g of specially selected dietary fiber known to promote healthy bacteria growth in the microbiome.
Which is better: Bio Complete 3 or Total Restore?
Is Bio Complete 3 better than Total Restore? Or is Total Restore the better supplement for gut health?
The answer is that neither Bio Complete 3 nor Total Restore is better than the other overall. Bio Complete 3 likely has more of an effect than Total Restore, while Total Restore is much less likely to cause side effects.
Neither of these supplements from Gundry MD look like they can really do what they claim to do.
If you really want to maximize gut health and digestive function over the long-term, than neither Bio Complete 3 nor Total Restore is the best option (and certainly not the most economical). Reather, a professional prebiotic supplement is the best way to guarantee long-term, lasting gut health with minimal side effects and maximum benefits.
So What Is The Best Supplement For Digestive Health?
If your goal is to optimize overall digestive health and enjoy all of the benefits that come with it, then the best supplement for you is always going to be a combined prebiotic/probiotic stack which uses a range of probiotic bacteria and a high quality prebiotic fiber such as FOS or Inulin.
Ideally, the probiotic supplement you use will exclusively contain bacteria species that have been proven to improve digestive health, promote immunity, control appetite and improve skin quality in several clinical trials. Bacteria strains you want to look out for include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus paracasei, and Lactobacillus plantarum. These bacteria species are highly beneficial to health and performance.
The type of prebiotic fiber is also important. Not all fibers are the same; some are better than others at feeding healthy bacteria. So it is vital that the best gut health uses prebiotic fiber that is most effective at selectively feeding the healthy bacteria it is introducing to your gut in the first place. This brings us to the most important aspect of a good probiotic - without some prebiotic fiber, taking a probiotic is practically pointless!
After reviewing dozens of popular probiotics and prebiotics, we think there is one clear winner: YourBiology Gut+.
The benefits of taking YourBiology on a daily basis include:
- Lasting changes to gut microbiome
- Promotes weight loss and inhibits weight gain
- Regulates hormones levels (including testosterone and estrogen)
- Better digestion, less bloating, no cramps
- Improved ability to digest dairy
- Enhance immune system function
- Higher energy levels all day long
- Bealthier skin, hair and nails
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Johan Theorin is an author, editor, and competitive cyclist. He is the author of most of the content on this website, and he is the site editor. Johan has spent years researching joint health, sports performance and recovery. He is a leading biohacking expert and an experienced physiotherapist.
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