Best probiotics

Lily55

As our immune system is so dependent on good stomach health and flora - which probiotics are you all using please?

mary625

I was told by the naturopath to use any brand that has to be refrigerated. However, I like best the ones she sells in her office but can't get them unless I go there. Right now I'm using a Whole Foods 365 brand from the refrigerator case.

Ariom

I've been taking ProBiotics for many years, and like to change the type I take now and again.

I am taking "Green Vibrance" at the moment, and really love it. It has a high nutritional value as well as plenty of probiotics and enzymes. It needs to be kept in the freezer after opening.

sundust

I use Garden of Life Raw Probiotics. All I can say is, they are fantastic and I noticed a difference immediately.

When taking antibiotics I switch to Nature's Way Reuteri capsules, they are better for preventing any related problems.

Lily55

Thanks for the suggestions, still researching them and find that many of the sources are from or partly from, cows dairy which we are supposed to avoid!!!! Any info on that?  Is it different if its probiotic??????

Absolutely nothing is simple where cancer prevention is concerned is it???????

Joeybirdie5311

I totally rely on "Lifeway" kefir.  I sell tons of it at my Holistic Center.

jojo68

Joeybirdie....Isn't Lifeway kefir pasteurized, therefore most active enzymes are dead?  I would think making a homemade kefir would be much better?

peggy_j

Lily, really we're supposed to avoid all cow's dairy? Can you post a link to your source? I've heard that there is one component that some people question, but is that the component used in the probiotics? Obviously, organic is always better to avoid exposure to pesticides. FWIW, I am lactose intolerant and consumed very little dairy for about 30 years and that didn't save from from a BC Dx, so I'm a bit jaded about the claims made against dairy. I want to eat healthy for cancer prevention and range of other reasons, but sometimes I wonder if moderation is the key. Good luck in your quest for a probiotic. I bought one at the health food store in the refrigerated section and it seems to be working well.  If you are traveling, there is a shelf-stable kind, but my understanding is that keeping them refridgerated is always best.

new_direction

Im using brottrunk at the moment. I tried to find some information about it in english and this came up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_Drink

Blessings2011

I usually take whatever I can afford at the moment, as long as there are no artificial ingredients or fillers.

How many of you take probiotics with tap water?

I heard (I think on Dr. Oz) that taking them with tap water, which is usually heavily chlorinated, will kill much of the good bacteria before it even gets to your gut.

peggy_j

Blessings, that's interesting. I've never heard that we should avoid taking probiotics with tap water. I googled "probiotics chlorine" and got a ton of hits to websites that discuss all the problems with chlorine in our drinking water. Apparently, it kills our gut flora every time we drink it. FWIW, I've never heard of any of these websites, so I'm not sure how reputable the information is. Does anyone have a reputable source? I use a water filter that claims to reduce the chlorine (it does not claim to eliminate all chlorine). So what are we supposed to do, only drink distilled water or ???  

One website also claims that we are inhaling chlorine vapors when we take a shower or bath. (but that site was selling devices to reduce this. So it may be true but I wish there was an objective website with that info. I checked ewg.org and they discuss the risks for pregnant women drinking tap water, but I couldn't find info about vapors). It also makes me wonder if I should continue to swim, due to the chlorine there. I wonder if competitive swimmers have a problem--does anyone know? Seems like they are in the water so much and so attuned to their bodies, that if inhaling chlorine were a problem, they would know, and may know how to mitigate it. Does anyone know?

Momine

Peggy,  have wondered about chlorine too, but unfortunately I do not know the answers to your reasonable questions. What I do know is that there are all kinds of companies selling expensive water purifiers, and that the ones I looked at made very flimsy claims.

peggy_j

Momine, thanks for your comments. Sometimes I feel like a lunatic, trying to figure out which concerns are real (and what we can do about them, if anything). FWIW, I drink more water than most people, so in the back of mind I've wondered if that played a part in why I got BC @ 46 w/ no family history. Anyway, I remember seeing those chlorine-filter shower heads about 10 years ago, so it's possible they are helpful, but hard to know.

mavric08

I'm also a big fan of many of Garden of Life's natural products. They have a terrific line of Probotics that get great reviews by users. Here is a good resource: mygardenoflifeprobiotics.com

Joeybirdie5311

@joellelee.....Only the milk in the Lifeway Kefir is pasteurized.  The milk is then innoculated with the kefir so no good bacteria is lost from the kefir.

Lily55

I am having huge problems getting the right ones here in Europe......have been on strong natibiotics for 3 weeks out of last four now and really want some good strong ones.....nearly run out of mine and dont think they are powerful enough

ahdjdbcjdjdbkf

I'm taking Ultimate Flora Critical Care since I've had 7 surgeries in 18 months and many, many strong antibiotics of all kinds.

justadaughter

I know in the UK Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride recommends Biokult, but she is not an oncologist.

corky60

My naturopath recommended Metagenics Ultra Flora IB. It is expensive but works. I take it at least 30 days, sometimes 60 days, after taking meds that can act on the intestinal flora. It does seem to help with regularity. I recently had a test where I had to swallow gastrografin AKA the devil's bile. I can't decide if it's acidic or alkaline, but it really irritates the delicate tissues and it seems to unbalance the gut flora as well. My naturopath said that once I "seed" the gut with good flora that I don't need to use the probiotic every day, maybe quarterly to annually depending on my body chemistry.

The probiotic needs to be refrigerated. My dr. keeps it in a refrigerator. When I get it online I order a faster mail delivery and it's shipped wrapped in foam.

sbaaronson

Hi All:

I like Essential Probiotics from SCD Probiotics. It is a liquid, you take 1-3 TBS depending on your digestive state. I started off with 1TBS the first week, went up to 3 the second and back down to 1 on a regular basis. I take it like a shot with a bit of vegetable juice every morning. Life changing...

Stacey

farmerlucy

Thank you all for this wonderful post. About 4 months after diagnosis I developed what I called fire breathing dragon syndrome. When I awoke and started stressing I could feel the acid churning in my throat. It was so bad it literally burned the back of my throat, up thru my nose and even in my eyes. My docs all thought I was crazy. I told my gastro doc "when I think unpleasant thoughts it burns my throat". I think he was ready to commit me. 

After over a year of this (it did get better when I started to calm down, and was off the antibiotics) I read a post about probiotics. That was when everything clicked. I'd been on really strong antibiotics for the mx, the exchange, and a gall bladder surgery last year. Plus I was on antianxiety meds and an antidepressant for the first time. Not to mention the terrifying stress from a BC diagnosis. My poor stomach was a mess.

After just a day or so of the probiotic I started to feel better. Right now I'm taking a non-refrigerated pill, but I think the next time I'm at Sprouts I'll get some refrigerated probiotics.

Just wanted to stop by and say thanks. You never know when your post can really help someone.

Hugs!

pipers_dream

I take Inner Eco made with fresh coconut water, so, non-dairy. It comes in a bottle in the fridge case and you dose it out by the spoonful. It's actually rather pleasant and since I've always had gut problems, I will probably continue to take it for a good long while. I am on a daily regimen now of that plus Mg tabs at bedtime plus fiber supplement in my morning coffee and that is the only thing that will keep me "going" every day. Seems like every little thing will stop up the works and no probiotic has ever made any difference before.

simplelife4real

I like to switch it up in terms of which probiotic I take. I figure our gut normally has lots of different kinds in it, so by taking different strains I'm adding back a variety of bacteria to my gut.

Momine

Farmerlucy, so glad it helped you. I am huge believer in probiotics, having originally cured (20 years ago) recurring yeast infections with them. I also think that probiotics should be standard for cancer patients, considering the beating our systems take from treatment. It is such a simple and non-toxic intervention.

Heidihill

http://presse-inserm.fr/en/chemotherapy-when-our-intestinal-bacteria-provide-reinforcement/10217/

I ate a ton of gram+ cottage cheese during chemo. These days I just go for yoghurt and cheese. 

Momine

Heidi, how interesting.

barsco1963

Hi - I have just started taking a probiotic (capsule). My chiropractor suggested foods with probiotics but I thought that a capsule might bring results faster. The reason for the probiotic (aside from general well being) is that I experience nausea and stomach issues on a daily basis. However on the bottle it says "do not use if you are experiencing nausea".

As I am very naïve about probiotics, I have a couple of questions.

1. Should I be able to see/feel any results right away or does it take a while?

2. Should I continue them due to the statement regarding nausea on the bottle?

Very confused and would appreciate any insight that anyone can pass along.

Thx

Rdrunner

im pretty sure from foods versus supplement is better . i dont know re nausea, i know i get it from certain brands of multivitimin. Have you tried kefir ? its an excellent source. Fortinos has it in health food section and they also have the really expensive refrigeration stuff bio pro or something like that. I havent tried it. For me i didnt really notice a difference but i have always eaten yogurt with probiotic on a daily basis and always upped the amount when on antibotics.

dlb823

I've used Nature's Life Acidophilus, a refrigerated liquid, for several years, but after a horrible IBS-type flare a few weeks ago (probably due to stress) that left my insides really messed up, I decided I wanted to try something with more than its "9 strains of Probiotics." So I bought something called Flora Udo's Choice Super 8 Hi-Potency Probiotic -- refrigerated capsules that supposedly have "42 billion cells" -- and promptly had got horrible chest pains that felt like some sort of infection. So I'm happily back on the Nature's Life Acidophilus, which has always worked great for me. Deanna

barsco1963

Rdrunner - have not tried the kefir but will have a look for it. I now do try to get probiotics from food vs capsule. Just thought the capsule would help me out till I get better at it.

farmerlucy

Deanna - YIKES!