Probiotics

[lowraind]

My husband has IBS (or so we are assuming, since the doctors can't find anything else) and I have been doing the research. I have found probiotics mentioned often and would like information on which work best for you.

TIA,

lowraind

[JessFM]

Greek yogurt is good for gut health

[Ummlulu]

Hi,

I use organic natural yogurt and kefir.

Also naturally fermented sauerkraut and what you call pickles in the US. Not the sort in vinegar they must be naturally fermented.

[Trinity7]

My dietician recommended Alflorex

[xjrs]

I have tried many probiotics over the years and Alflorex worked best for me. It has been scientifically studied for IBS.

[Moggiedee in reply to xjrs]

Hi I had seen that you often recommend Alflorex on here so I bought some & have just started taking it ( a week ago). How long before I will (hopefully) feel some effects & do you take it permanently? It is a bit costly but a small price to pay if it gives good results. Thank you

[xjrs in reply to Moggiedee]

Yes. I do. How each person responds will be different, though. I was in terrible pain with IBS-C particularly at night. I took Linaclotide which is also meant to help with pain for IBS-C, but after 10 weeks this reduced my pain by 50%-60%. By just over a week of taking Alflorex my pain reduced to zero and only comes back if I am challenging with foods I am still intolerant to, but I can eat so much more now. As I said everyone is different. They normally recommend a 3 month trial of Alforex. Precision Biotics, the makers of it also have a support team you can contact if you need any advice about it. I continue to take it daily since I also think it helps with my BMs.

Probiotics will hopefully help you have a broader diet including fibre. This feeds the microbiome and makes it more diverse. Greater bacterial diversity in the long run helps to keep bad bugs away. In theory, it may be possible to be on a course of probiotics and, if you are able to eat as many healthy foods as possible, eventually to come off the probiotics since you are feeding your own good gut bacteria. Whether a person is able to do this in reality will vary from person to person. Also a person's response to a particular probiotic will be very personal. Since Alflorex has been scientifically studied for IBS it is certainly worth a punt.

[Moggiedee in reply to xjrs]

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely carry on taking them for 3 months & see if I can eat a more varied diet & if my IBS -C is more manageable.

[Mutleyforever]

I like Symprove,tho it is expensive, you need to order it with them to get a good deal and it needs to be stored in a fridge and taken 10 mins before food.

[Phil865]

Saccharomyces Boulardi, which is in Kombucha tea. It is a yeast that kills other yeasts. A yeastie beastie of sorts.