15 replies to this topic

[bocadillodelomo]

So, is it just me or do probiotics cause constipation and major gas in anyone here?
I might be taking the wrong kinds but even ones that worked in the past are constipating. When i get off of them, i have regularity once a day. I took one dose of florastor last night and i was filled up with such gas bloating and then constipated in the morning. I dont know if this is a "die off" effect that people talk about or just indicates something's not right.

[OneScrewLoose]

So, is it just me or do probiotics cause constipation and major gas in anyone here?
I might be taking the wrong kinds but even ones that worked in the past are constipating. When i get off of them, i have regularity once a day. I took one dose of florastor last night and i was filled up with such gas bloating and then constipated in the morning. I dont know if this is a "die off" effect that people talk about or just indicates something's not right.

Forget that die-off BS. Some supplements/drugs just don't work well with certain people. Probiotics and you don't seem to get along. If you want to aid digestion, I would take a look into digestive enzymes.

Edited by OneScrewLoose, 06 February 2010 - 11:48 PM.

[david ellis]

So, is it just me or do probiotics cause constipation and major gas in anyone here?
I might be taking the wrong kinds but even ones that worked in the past are constipating. When i get off of them, i have regularity once a day. I took one dose of florastor last night and i was filled up with such gas bloating and then constipated in the morning. I dont know if this is a "die off" effect that people talk about or just indicates something's not right.

Forget that die-off BS. Some supplements/drugs just don't work well with certain people. Probiotics and you don't seem to get along. If you want to aid digestion, I would take a look into digestive enzymes.

I take gr-8 dopholus from NOW. Good for me, because I had 4 urinary tract infections in the last 5 months. Take the sulfa's, kill the bugs, seed the new bugs, starting over. That has been my life lately. Digestion and intestinal comfort remains the same, pretty good. OneScrewLoose is right, if it hurts don't do it, until you figure out why you have trouble.

[aaron_e]

So, is it just me or do probiotics cause constipation and major gas in anyone here?
I might be taking the wrong kinds but even ones that worked in the past are constipating. When i get off of them, i have regularity once a day. I took one dose of florastor last night and i was filled up with such gas bloating and then constipated in the morning. I dont know if this is a "die off" effect that people talk about or just indicates something's not right.

perhaps the capsules contain something else that might be disagreeing with you? perhaps dairy? soy?

[4eva]

I think people can have problems with probiotics if they have a yeast overgrowth. The yeast outnumber the good bacteria and feed on them.

And plenty of people think probiotics will somehow magically kill off the yeast that have been proliferating in their colon for sometime.

I don't know if you might have a bacterial imbalance (generic way of saying a yeast overgrowth). It might be why you were taking the probiotics.

[hallucinogen]

I always had same problems with probiotics, and i'm all raw vegan, and i really doubt i got any yeast problems, it's quite impossible,

it's pretty fucked up though, gas - bloating - and constipation, at least the first few times i take, i tried the one from webber naturels,
i'm not sure if i should try giving it a week or so,
because IT IS true that you gotta give your digestion system at least some time for new bacteria to adjust,
also, our digestive tract has a different pH all the way throughout it, that's partly how different bacteria colonies live in different areas of it,
and if more then 1 bacteria colony lands on 1 place, they usually fight it out, and the superior colony wins and colonizes that area,

this is the weird thing about taking multiple bacteria strands in 1 capsule, because THEY ALL HAVE TO GO THROUGH the digestive tract from the very beginning till the very end... now use your imagination...

so by the time some bacteria that was supposed to live in the farthest end of tract actually gets there, there might not even be any sufficient number of it alive to take hold and populate that area...

probiotics might be AMAZiNG indeed, but they are indeed the trickiest ones to take,

let's at least decide which are the best foods to take them with, so every bacteria actually reaches its destination safe and sound ...

please NO DAiRY though, dairy is one of the worst things you could be eating in the first place,
same with most nuts btw . *(yes even soaked almonds without outer skin overnight in lemon water with phytase, for a day or 2, should be eaten well in moderation )

FOR YOUR HEALTH !

[hallucinogen]

===============================================
Ivan's Newsletter
February 1, 2007 -- Issue 022
===============================================

This issue includes...

* Which Supplements Failed The Independent Tests
In This Important Group

===============================================
Which Supplements Failed The Independent Tests
In This Important Group
===============================================






If you live in the 21st century, and
you eat the foods and take the medications of
the present day, you MUST HAVE PROBIOTICS
INCUDED IN YOUR DIET!

I can't emphasize strong enough the importance
of this issue! Read on..

In this issue of my newsletter I am going to
share with you the results of independent lab
tests of a dozen popular probiotic supplements.

Before that, however, I'm going to briefly
mention what probiotics do for you and what are
the benefits of their use.

Probiotics are the friendly bacteria, responsible
for maintaining the balance between harmful and
good microorganisms in the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract.

The number of friendly bacteria suffers substantially
when the body is exposed to antibiotic treatment
and/or stress. It such cases it is of utmost
importance that we restore the microbacterial
balance in the intestines as soon as possible.

The two most common ways to achieve a successful
population of the gut with probiotic bacteria
are: through fermented foods like yogurt, and/or
through the use of a probiotic supplement.

Here is a short list of some of the benefits
probiotics provide for the human (and not only
for that matter) body:

* Harmful bacteria growth prevention

* Managing lactose intolerance

* Help the IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
symptoms subside

* Lower Cholesterol levels

* Infection prevention

* Immune function boosting

* Colon cancer protection, etc.

A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENTS:

* In order for a probiotic supplement to
deliver results, the number of live bacteria
should be no less than 1,000,000 (1 billion)

* The number of live bacteria at the time
of manufacture is not what you should look
for. If a product was not handled properly
until it got in your hands the number of
actual live strains may be a lot lower

* Some of the strains can pass the stomach
intact while others can't survive the stomach
acids. Those include L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus,
Leuconostoc and Lactococcus. If you see any of
those listed on the label, make sure the tablets
are enteric coated.

* You should definitely take a good probiotic
supplement if you are undergoing or you are
about to undergo an antibiotic treatment.
Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in the
GI tract. As a subsequence the harmful bacteria
starts to thrive in this new environment.

Make sure, however, that you are taking
the probiotic and the antibiotics at least
several hours apart. This way you may avoid
the possibility, in which the good bacteria
is killed by the antibiotic.

* Only buy probiotic supplements before
their expiration date. The chances are more
strains will still be active.

* Buy a mixture of probiotic strains and not
a single strain in a product. These offer a lot
wider spectrum of benefits.

* Protect your probiotic supplement from heat,
direct sun light and moisture. These may
waken the live cultures and cause them to die
prematurely.

* Also once opened keep the supplement in the
refrigerator.

-----------------------
WHAT THE TESTS REVEALED
-----------------------



1. Probiotic supplements that failed with the
reason "less then 1 billion live strains found
in a single dose"

* DDS® Acidophilus with FO
* Advocare Probiotic RestoreS
* Rite Aid Acidophilus
* Nature's Secret Ultimate Probiotic

Another probiotic supplement (Flora Source)
claimed 30 billion live organisms but it
actually contained 1 billion.

2. The winners:

* Webber Naturals Acidophilus with Bifidus,
Non Dairy
* Nutravite Acidophilus Plus, Heat Resistant
* Nature's Way Primadophilus Optima
* Kal Acidophilus ProBiotic-5
* Kyo-Dophilus
* Jarrow Formulas Enhanced Probiotic System,
Jarro-Dophilus EPS
* Nature's Sunshine Bifidophilus Flora Force

Most of these contain anywhere between 2 - 8
billion active organisms.

There was one that contained 35 billion from
14 different strains, and all of them were alive
at the time of testing!!! Isn't that something?!

I should mention here that this independent
lab goes out and buys from the market the
supplements it puts through testing, regardless
of whether they were to do their own testing or
a manufacturer hired them to perform independent
tests of a product.

SO, HERE IS MY PERSONAL WINNER:

Nature's Way Primadophilus Optima

As I already said Nature's Way Primadophilus
Optima contains 35 billion live cells from
14 different strains for maximum benefit no
matter what the specific needs of your GI.

Moreover, the caps are enteric coated to protect
the stomach acid sensitive organisms from
destruction.

And, what's best Nature's Way Primadophilus
Optima contains FOS (Fructo-Oligosacharides)
that serve as food for the probiotics in the GI
tract. FOS are also called prebiotics. These
two work synergistically.

[hallucinogen]

Best Pro-Biotic that really works and actually delivers, period,
try it out and report back please (;

-> http://www.iherb.com...Vcaps/4932?at=0

[niner]

So, is it just me or do probiotics cause constipation and major gas in anyone here?
I might be taking the wrong kinds but even ones that worked in the past are constipating. When i get off of them, i have regularity once a day. I took one dose of florastor last night and i was filled up with such gas bloating and then constipated in the morning. I dont know if this is a "die off" effect that people talk about or just indicates something's not right.

If your probiotic contains FructoOligoSaccharides (FOS), derived from inulin, that might be the cause of the bloating and gas. FOS serves as a food source for some beneficial bacteria, but also for some unfriendly bacteria that generate gas. If you already have some of the unfriendly bacteria in your gut, FOS or inulin may not be for you.

[Luminosity]

I took a variety of what were supposed to be high quality, expensive pro-biotics years ago. Some were kept in the refrigerator in the health food store. They didn't do anything for my digestion, or health, as I had hoped. It's possible that I didn't need them. They didn't do anything bad to me, either. A few years ago I bought some Dannon yogurt that was supposed to have special pro-biotics in it to help prevent the flu. That really helped my digestion, for some reason, but I haven't found it again.

Something in those supplements is definitely not agreeing with you and I would not take those particular ones anymore. Hallucinogen and Niner had some interesting insights for further investigation.

Edited by Luminosity, 06 September 2011 - 02:19 AM.

[August59]

I'm ditto on the adding enzymes

[tz2012]

So after scouring the forums for opinions on good probiotic brands, ive come up with jarrows, treelac, natures way, or kyo, but no talk on Dr. Ohhiras or Renew Life ultimate flora 50 bil. To me those two seem like really good brands, but any1 have studies comparing probiotic brands and effectiveness?

Also the Dr. ohhiras has the proffessional formula which is cultured for 5 years instead of 3 but has less active organisms, any opinion on that?

[Healthy Tony]

I'm not sure if this is related in any way, but I seem to be allergic to the bacteria in yogurt. If I have a small cup of any kind of yogurt I have intense stomach pain followed by 2 hours of violent diarrhea. Its rather unfortunate, because yogurt is/was one of my favorite foods, but it just goes to show that even something as healthy as yogurt can be an allergen.

[SocietyOfMind]

I had better luck with saccharomyces boulardii. I think it doesn't colonise the intestine permanently, but does kill off many bad bacterial strains, and helps some of the good ones establish colonies.

[nameless]

TheRockst4r -- sounds like a lactose intolerance issue. Can you drink milk with no problems?
I do not think most yogurts even have that much bacteria, to be honest. Some are better than others, but they probably have less than something like kefir.

For those who need a good probiotic, that is, if they have been taking antibiotics or have a digestive disorder, VSL is a good brand. It also comes in a prescription form, (DS), with 900 billion bacteria per satchet.

http://www.vsl3.com/

[Healthy Tony]

TheRockst4r -- sounds like a lactose intolerance issue. Can you drink milk with no problems?
I do not think most yogurts even have that much bacteria, to be honest. Some are better than others, but they probably have less than something like kefir.

For those who need a good probiotic, that is, if they have been taking antibiotics or have a digestive disorder, VSL is a good brand. It also comes in a prescription form, (DS), with 900 billion bacteria per satchet.

http://www.vsl3.com/

I uses to drink milk daily without issue, but now I only indulge about twice a week. I blame the bacteria because I have the same issue with soy yogurt which should have no lactose in it. Even a teaspoon of yogurt can cause some uncomfortable feelings unfortunately :/