alflorex

[Rumours]

Hi everyone quick question: is there a difference between Alflorex chewable and Alflorex capsules? Which would you recommend only Holland & Barrett are doing a good deal on chewable at the moment - half price - many thanks

[xjrs]

I've only ever used the capsules. The chewables contain saccharin, which has some controversy around it, so I would avoid them for that reason, but that's just my preference.

healthline.com/nutrition/sa...

many experts feel observational studies are not sufficient to rule out that there’s no risk and still recommend that people avoid saccharin.

A recent study found that using saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame may disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut

[Superzob]

Precision Biotics changed the Alflorex formulation last year and added calcium as a prebiotic, which I don’t get on with. The chewable tablets don’t have the calcium prebiotic, so I changed over; hadn’t noticed any difference from the original, but IBS-D rather bad at present, so perhaps they’re not so effective (aside from the artificial sweetener, which xjrs refers to and could exacerbate diarrhoeaj?

[xjrs in reply to Superzob]

I wasn't happy about them adding calcium either. I contacted Precision Biotics and said that people are buying probiotics. If they need extra calcium in their diet for instance if they can't eat dairy, then they can supplement with calcium separately themselves. Plus the type of calcium is carbonate which not very absorbable and is more likely to cause gastrointestinal issues (constipation, flatulence, and bloating) than any other form of calcium. Considering people are taking the probiotic for their gastro issues, it didn't make any sense. They came back with a load of justification for them doing it, including the amount is very small and shouldn't cause an issue. I wish manufacturers would leave perfectly good products alone. I do sometimes wonder if it is marketing departments coming up with these ideas to be able to re-launch the product. Annoying.

[MatthewU in reply to xjrs]

If the Calcium content is so small and shouldn't make a difference you have to question why bother, inulin would have been a better idea to support the probiotics

[xjrs in reply to MatthewU]

Indeed, although since inulin is high in FODMAPs, it might cause some IBS sufferers some trouble.

[Superzob in reply to xjrs]

I’m with you - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

[Rumours in reply to Superzob]

thanks everyone for your advice

[Superzob in reply to xjrs]

Great news. Just heard from Precision Biotics that they are going to reintroduce the original Alflorex - watch this space!

[xjrs in reply to Superzob]

Brilliant news! Thanks for finding out.

[Superzob in reply to xjrs]

It's back! Just got an email notification. Will be ordering when the chewable versions have run out