My primary goal is to reduce gram negative bacteria and lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG (brand name Culturelle) combined with an FOS (fructooligosaccharide) prebiotic has worked well for me.
Lactobacillus excrete lactic acid which gram negative bacteria apparently hate. The FOS prebiotic is dirt cheap and feeds bifidobacterium causing their population to explode on its own without adding a bifido probiotic.
Choosing a culture that will survive stomach acid is important. It doesn't help if your probiotic has 100 Billion active cell/cultures if none of them survive stomach acid to reach the colon and lactobacillus rhamnosus has a good track record of surviving stomach acid.
The FOS prebiotic gave me some gas when I first started taking it, but remarkably, it didn't stink! After a couple weeks on this the gas issue "passed" & I now get no side effects from either of these.
I've been on this combination therapy for several years now and have been very pleased with the results. My GI function hasn't been this good in years. I'm now very regular, farts don't stink and my overall health has greatly improved. Most notably, I had developed some dark puffy bags under my eyes that vanished shortly after starting this regime. I can also eat spicy food without getting explosive bowel issues the next morning. It's like my gut is now bullet proof.
My girlfriend had developed some irritable bowel issues and although she doesn't believe in supplements, I got her to try some of my FOS and Culturelle. She had gone on and off it several times and finally admitted, "WOW that stuff really works".
Edited by synesthesia, 26 February 2015 - 02:38 AM.