I have a quandary: I have issues with taking a high-colony-count probiotic, but my gut function is totally shot from a poor diet and on/off antibiotic use (for acne) over the years. (I suffer from IBS--and possibly more than that--and constipation, which became severe after I took an antibiotic this past April for a UTI.)
I tried Ultimate Flora (15 billion count), taking one capsule every 2-3 days to see what would happen. I wound up having horribly painful cramps that woke me in the middle of the night and lasted for 2.5 hours at a time. I also had diarrhea pretty much after each dose and developed several deep cysts. I suspect my gut, being stripped of all the good stuff, wasn't ready for such a product.
Is there a more "gentle" probiotic I could try to ease my body toward good gut health? Most experts recommend at least a 20-billion-per-dose flora count, but with such a rough experience with 15 billion...
I see that Culturelle has only 11 billion per dose and contains only Lactobacillus. (I've read that if one's gut health is really out of sorts, then it's best to start with just Lactobacillus before taking a probiotic that includes Bifidobacterium.)
**edit**: And wouldn't this figure? I just have read that Bifidobacterium acts in the colon and, thus, may be the better option for constipation. Hmm... Don't take Bifidobacterium if your gut is really out of whack--and mine is--but take it for constipation--which I definitely have. A new quandary. Fantastic. :/
Thank you,
PI
Have you tried Digestive Enzymes as an alternative?
I currently take Enzymedica's Digest formula; I've not noticed a difference in terms of my constipation but figure it may help my body to assimilate nutrients a bit better.
I've not tried Digest + Probiotics; I don't think the CFU (400 million) is enough to do anything, especially if one's gut is overrun by bad bacteria. I suspect that that low of a CFU may be a case of Enzymedica getting something (from paying customers) for nothing. 🙁
So I suppose I'm looking for a product with a CFU in the lower billions. (Again, a product with 15 billion CFU--which has both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium--caused me both gut and skin issues, so maybe a lower CFU is better. Or maybe it was just the wrong probiotics cocktail for my particular issues.
You could try fermented foods instead. Try drinking water kefir or kombucha. Or add kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, etc to your diet.
Well, not if there's an underlying histamine problem. For me, fermented foods are at the top of the NO list. Wish I could drink kefir and kombucha, but I can't 🙁
Anyway, gentle probiots: PB8 vegetarian formula. Soglar Acidophilus Plus.
You could try fermented foods instead. Try drinking water kefir or kombucha. Or add kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, etc to your diet.
Well, not if there's an underlying histamine problem. For me, fermented foods are at the top of the NO list. Wish I could drink kefir and kombucha, but I can't
Anyway, gentle probiots: PB8 vegetarian formula. Soglar Acidophilus Plus.
This is the second time in as many weeks that someone's mentioned the food-histamine connection. I know nothing about this, but am I right to believe that it means certain foods cause an allergic reaction (in some form or another)?
I can't/won't touch anything dairy-based, so kefir's out. And anything containing yeast--like kombucha--wouldn't be a good option for me, either; I need to cut a ton of things out of my diet, as I'm certain I have Candida overgrowth, at the very least. (I've failed the "spit test" every time I've taken it.)
I can't find the PB8 formula on Solgar's website (using the "vegetarian" filter). Is it under another name now? Or could you tell me what bacteria and CFU(s) it contains? And did (or do) you break out from it and continue to use it anyway, or have you never had a problem from taking it?
Actually, I said water kefir. Not dairy. It also contains beneficial yeasts. There are some claims that these beneficial yeasts help fight the pathogenic yeasts like candida. But you could experience a die off reaction. Also, one of the places I read that also mentioned that there was such a thing as yeast intolerance. All things to consider/test. http://top8free.com/hidden-allergens/yeast-allergen-list/
You might also look for bacilus coagulans, a super strain so well protected it not only survives the digestive tract but food processing so will likely soon be added to all kinds of junk. It's supposed to be very good for IBS. It's in a digestive enzyme I bought for my dog.
But of course, your gut needs a variety of beneficial flora.
You could try fermented foods instead. Try drinking water kefir or kombucha. Or add kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, etc to your diet.
Well, not if there's an underlying histamine problem. For me, fermented foods are at the top of the NO list. Wish I could drink kefir and kombucha, but I can't
Anyway, gentle probiots: PB8 vegetarian formula. Soglar Acidophilus Plus.
This is the second time in as many weeks that someone's mentioned the food-histamine connection. I know nothing about this, but am I right to believe that it means certain foods cause an allergic reaction (in some form or another)?
I can't/won't touch anything dairy-based, so kefir's out. And anything containing yeast--like kombucha--wouldn't be a good option for me, either; I need to cut a ton of things out of my diet, as I'm certain I have Candida overgrowth, at the very least. (I've failed the "spit test" every time I've taken it.)
I can't find the PB8 formula on Solgar's website (using the "vegetarian" filter). Is it under another name now? Or could you tell me what bacteria and CFU(s) it contains? And did (or do) you break out from it and continue to use it anyway, or have you never had a problem from taking it?
Histamines trigger an allergic response, but you don't have to be "allergic" to a histamine trigger to have a reaction. For instance, tomatoes raise histamines in the body in many histamine -sensitive people...so, the more tomatoes they eat, the more histamine reactions they have. It's not a specific allergy to a particular food/ product...it's more about the histamines each food/product releases in the bloodstream. It's complicated, but I hope this makes sense for now.
If you suspect a histamine intolerance, then stay away from anything fermented. Even probiotics need to be kept to a minimum, with simple strands, until you get used to them
PB8 (vegetarian version) is a different brand. I recommended 2 brands: PB8 and solgar (acidophilus plus)...both of these work fine for me.
Histamines trigger an allergic response, but you don't have to be "allergic" to a histamine trigger to have a reaction. For instance, tomatoes raise histamines in the body in many histamine -sensitive people...so, the more tomatoes they eat, the more histamine reactions they have. It's not a specific allergy to a particular food/ product...it's more about the histamines each food/product releases in the bloodstream. It's complicated, but I hope this makes sense for now.
If you suspect a histamine intolerance, then stay away from anything fermented. Even probiotics need to be kept to a minimum, with simple strands, until you get used to them
That likely explains why I have certain symptoms--like increased fatigue and bodily aches--after eating spaghetti and don't eat it nearly as often anymore.
It stinks to have to avoid all fermented foods, since I do like pickles, bread for making a sandwich and sauerkraut on Italian sausage (also on bread...heh). *sigh*
PB8 (vegetarian version) is a different brand. I recommended 2 brands: PB8 and solgar (acidophilus plus)...both of these work fine for me.
Ahhh... Now it all makes sense. 🙂
I took Alternativista's advice and purchased Bacillus coagulans but haven't had the courage to take it yet. Due to my previous experience, there is no risk of me taking any probiotic daily--at least not to start. (Neither my face nor my gut tolerated one capsule of Renew Life's Ultimate Flora brand--15 billion CFU--every third day.) The product I purchased this time around by http://Thorne Research.
PI
There are certain bacteria that thrive in places where oxygen is available, hence the term aerobic, whereas there are also bacteria that thrive through fermentation rather than cellular respiration. There are some probiotics that do not need oxygen to live, which the probiotics which are found in yogurt. Those probiotics will not do anything to your skin if applied as yogurt because they cannot survive in the presence of oxygen; they are the anaerobes. However, there are certain bacteria, these are the probiotics in Probiotic Action, that do need oxygen to survive, and those are the ones you want to put on your skin. Not all probiotics are the same and its important to know the difference.