Probiotics / gut health page

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

So a few blogs recently have looked at the role of gut flora in health (Whole Health Source being one).


Anyone have thoughts or experiences on either using probiotics to change their gut bugs after switching to PB; or does it come naturally; or....?


I'm just wondering if this is a weak spot I need to look at fixing. Hey, a great excuse to chug down these babies http://www.marschocolatedrinksandtreats.com/probiotic_drinks/


I've heard sourkraut (sp) and kefir recommended, but I can't stand the former and don't even know what the latter is...

[dfast]

I drink kefir quite often - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir. It's really tasty. I find it helps an awful lot if I've slightly over-consumed carbs or have been indulging in too much Primal 'junk'. It also, *cough*, keeps things moving...

[Mr B]

how come that galaxy stuff lists everything except what kind of probiotics it contains and how much?

[dfast]

I've seen the TV ads for this stuff; it's just a cover for what is essentially junk food:


Skimmed milk (65%), water, sugar, chocolate (3%)(sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, lactose, vegetable fat, whey powder, milk fat, Emulsifiers: Soya lecithin, E476, water, flavouring), cocoa powder, stabilisers: modified tapioca starch, E460, E466, E415, E407, whey powder, malt extract, glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, emulsifier: E471, wheat flour. (Heat treated)


The best part is this bit:


Under 2% fat

No added sugar (WTF??)

Full of milk goodness

No artificial colours or sweeteners

A source of calcium


Don't buy into it!

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

Sorry I should have made my sarcasm more obvious hehe! Yeah I saw the ingredients, not sure where "sugar" becomes "no added sugar"...


So kefir looks interesting, where do people normally get the starter grains from? And does that mean you have to sive the grains back out of it before you drink it?

[Mr B]

lol yeah, shoulda also pointed out the "wtf?!" at the rest of those ingredients.

[Tarlach]

[quote]

Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology at University College London, said that the promotion of daily probiotics was devoid of robust scientific evidence that they improved health in any way. He added that while topping up on “good bacteria” might sound sensible for rebalancing or enhancing conditions in the human gut, it was based on “a lot of shaky understanding”.


“It’s all well and good saying that certain bacteria are good for you, but we don’t know about all the other species in the gut and how they all interact. We are basing a lot of probiotic understanding on shaky ground. You need to know you are using appropriate strains for appropriate conditions in appropriate people and we just don’t know those things.”


He said that there was some “instinctive sense” in thinking that manipulating the gut flora - or microbiota - might help with adverse events. But for people with compromised immune systems, increasing the bacterial load could risk problems such as septicaemia blood poisoning if there was a defect in the barrier in the gut separating bacteria from sterile tissue.


“No bacterium is totally innocuous. If you are healthy there is probably no harm in taking probiotics, but there is also no benefit. But to increase the bacterial burden if you are immuno-compromised is asking for trouble.”Prof Wilson added that the possibility of problems linked to probiotics would not be picked up because doctors rarely considered them as a cause.
</blockquote>


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6438753.ece
[quote]

Probiotics, the potentially beneficial bacteria and yeasts available as diet supplements and in some foods, may not be as helpful as widely believed. A new study suggests that under certain circumstances, they can be deadly.


This study, was the largest randomized, double-blinded trial of its kind, and the authors found no other reason for the harmful effects.
</blockquote>


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/health/19regi.html?_r=1


The study:
[quote]

probiotic prophylaxis with this combination of probiotic strains did not reduce the risk of infectious complications and was associated with an increased risk of mortality
</blockquote>


http://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...act?isEOP=true

[Vivian]

my mother is currently taking probiotics, from ultimate flora, and the dose is 15 billion for h. pylori; my dad and i are also taking it...is this dangerous?

[Pikaia]

The Lancet study posted above is applicable only to critically ill individuals, and probably applies more specifically to those with severe GI dysfunction.


A brief discussion of the study can be found here ~

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/572279

In order to view it you&#39;ll need to cut and paste the link into Google, and then click on the first search result. Trying to access the discussion directly leads to a subscriber-only message.


I wonder if the study results might have been different if the authors had used the single strain Lactobacillus GG rather than the multistrain formulation that they chose to use. In any case, the study serves as a good reminder that no medical intervention is risk-free. Sadly, in the context of pancreatitis, the risks seem to outweigh the hypothetical benefits.

[dfast]

I usually buy kefir &#39;ready made&#39;. The prices varies somewhat depending on the brand but the cheapest I&#39;ve found it is £0.89 per 500ml bottle, which is darn cheap. Do you have a Whole Foods near you? Actually, most health food shops near me sell it in some form...there&#39;s also a Greek grocery shop that sells Polish kefir (for some reason!).