Used to be Udo's Choice, now Flora brand. Udo says to empty the capsule into your mouth because that's where the probiotics from food would start naturally anyway. If you're new to probiotics, to avoid distress start with 1 a day then work up to to 3 a day until you feel it, then you can cut back. I like to take with food in the middle of a meal. Keep in the freezer. Some companies ship with a cold pack and some don't. I've tried the shelf stable time release types that are supposed to make it past the stomach, but nature doesn't work that way and I have not had better results with those than with the Flora Super Bifido Plus 102 billion cells. There's a popular sweet and tasty yogurt that says it has "billions" of their special culture. I can't find anywhere that says how many billions so I wouldn't rely on that for my probiotic infusion, although I know many who do. There simply aren't enough cultures in those products to do the job. Take up to 3 of these and I am sure you will get the relief you've been seeking.