Probiotics

[larknm]

On another thread here Fidgiegirl referred to taking probiotics. Is that every day, for those of you who do it? What's the effect? How much do you take and what brand and which probiotics?

[kenh]

I have live yogurt every night before bed.

[lmerullo]

Probiotics are present in yogurt that has live culture, as well as any that are specially marketed as containing a probiotic, ie: Activia, et al. It is also available as a supplement, most often in pill form. I am not able to consume dairy products, so I take a pill. My doc recommended I do a trial period on probiotics, and see if there was a benefit for me. I suffer from frequent UTI's - and then a yeast infection will normally follow treatment with antibiotics. So far, the probiotics have definitely reduced the UTI occurrence for me.

These are naturally occuring organisms, and IMHO should cause no harm. So, if you think you would benefit, give it a try.


Here's what the mayo clinic says:

Although more research is needed, there's encouraging evidence that probiotics may help:


Treat diarrhea, especially following treatment with certain antibiotics
Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections
Treat irritable bowel syndrome
Reduce bladder cancer recurrence
Speed treatment of certain intestinal infections
Prevent and treat eczema in children
Prevent or reduce the severity of colds and flu

[herbgeek]

I only take them in the fall, for 30 days or so, not all year (though I do eat yogurt with live cultures on a fairly regular basis). I get mine at Trader Joe's, they are shelf stable. I hear the refrigerated ones have more active bacteria (makes sense) but that would be one more stop to find a health food store.

[Delaney]

I take one to two pills a week. Some of the probiotic pills are expensive, but I've found the cheap pills seem to contain the same ingredients and seem to work just as well. There are lots of options at Amazon.com or drugstore.com. The last time I bought a bottle of 100 pills, the cost was under $4.

I think we need healthy bacteria because of over use of antibiotics. Also, probiotics can also provide some defense against bacterial infections such as c-diff. C-diff is an epidemic in our hospitals and that type of superbug is debilitating and very difficult to cure. Going to the hopsital for any reason will put you at risk to catch C-Diff.

[fidgiegirl]

I feel sooooo much better on probiotics. My current one is saccharomyces boulardii, which is actually a kind of awesome good yeast, I guess. All the stuff I've read about it talks about c-diff, too! It can survive stomach acid to actually make it into the gut and do its good. I went off mine for about 3 weeks in order to do some GI testing and it was not a pleasant 3 weeks. Now that I'm back on I'm feeling better again. I took a brand called Pearls, ordered them off Amazon - they worked well for me, too. The pharmacist said you have to get kinds that survive the trip through the stomach journey and Pearls evidently did. Maybe that's why yogurt was never enough to make a difference for me - perhaps all the bacterial goodness was killed in my stomach.

[iris lily]

In a weak moment I spent a enormous amount of money for powdered probiotics for the dogs. I don't know what possessed me. I don't take supplements myself,why should my dogs? Soon that batch will be used up, and no more.

And no, I notice no difference.

[madgeylou]

i definitely notice a difference! my fiancee takes a supplement called perfect greens or something, and it has probiotics in it. the dosage you are meant to take is 5-10 pills a day, but i took two the first day and was in gas pain agony for a few hours. blerg. it was gas pain higher up in my digestive tract than i'm used to, too.

anyway, i've just been taking 1 now for about a month and my body seems to have adjusted well to it. i may go up to 2 pills, but i can't imagine taking 10!