Can anyone recommend a good probiotic please.
I've been looking at what's available and not sure which to buy.
Symprove seems to throw doubt on any other brand arriving in the gut alive suggesting they might not survive stomach acid (and Symprove is very expensive). I've read that some require refrigeration, also that some don't.
I'm totally confused.
I take Healthspan MultiVitality Pro multivitamin, mineral and probiotic. It is good value and doesn't upset my stomach like many other vit supplements.
I'm sure I replied to your post but it seems to have got lost in cyber space!
I'm planning to get tests for vit B12, 3, folate, ferritin, etc., so for now I'm staying away from taking any multivits. Many thanks for the recommendation though.
Sounds sensible.
Which bacteria are you looking for? Live cultured goat yoghurt is good. But these dairy based probiotic bacteria do not permanently colonize the gut. They influence the situation. If you are looking for longterm, you'd need to feed constantly.
Japanese studies indicate that the probiotic bacteria and yeast from Kefir are gone from the GI tract a few days after the last 'dose' of kefir. Same would be the case with yoghurt.
Your best bet if you want to change the gut microbiome is to eat organic carrots and other vegetables that you don't clean too well. That way you'll get the 'soil based micro-organisms' which will stay around to colonize the gut. Although, if you don't feed them, they won't stick around either. You'd need to change your food sources to include relatively unwashed vegetation.
I don't have any particular bacteria in mind. In the past, when I've had to take a course of antibiotics (I have COPD and have had a few infections) then I've bought the only thing available locally - acidophilus, and a couple of times I've added a prebiotic as well. I now want to get a bit more organised and I'm thinking that acidophilus might not be the best all round probiotic.
Probably then go to the farmers' market and get the fresh picked vegetables. Eat them raw. Rinse but don't scrub. Soon you should be able to get radishes and all sorts of spring greens. The more variety, the better, even the weird ones. So long as they come from the ground and not hydroponics. By the end of the summer you should be able to 'repoopulate' nicely.
The probiotics that are available may or may not have in them what's on the label and all of them are not what live in the normal gut. They are just modifiers and temporary outcompeters.
There's a couple that will stick around like AOR Probiotic 3 and Mark Sisson has a new one out but it's pricey too. Both have raw potato starch as a base. Mark's is actually a really good combo. Thing is, you still have to eat well, lots of natural fibres in order to feed the microbes you want to keep. If you don't eat fibre foods, you starve the microbes. Sometimes that's a good thing depending on what's going on.
I've tried several brands but find the Probio7 work very well for me. I am doubtful as to how long they last in the gut because IBS type symptoms re-appear a few days after running out, but very impressed with how much better I feel whilst on them.
I have tried a few and Probiotic Max 5bnCFU with meals is helping my SIBO/gas issues. Most off the supermarket shelf don't seem to have an effect for me.
I suspect I have sibo. It just makes sense from my awful symptoms. The docs have said IBS for 12 years, but it is constant and relentless. I've just been on a 5 day course of amoxicillin and it's like a miracle, my symptoms have subsided. Have you officially been diagnosed with sibo.? And if so how do you treat it? I see a specialist on Thursday
No diagnosis from doctor, just makes most sense to me, doctor wasn't sure what SIBO was! - they did gave me Omeprazole though which calmed it down initially but isn't good long term to keep taking so came off as soon as possible. It all makes sense about keeping your gut bacteria happy and in the right place though (should have very little bacteria in small intestine) low t3 slows motility and allows the bacteria to stay where it shouldn't and produce gas.
This site is really good, lots of explanations, diets etc siboinfo.com/
Four months on Symprove made absolutely no difference tome when my Levo was changed from Goldshield Eltroxin to Mercury Pharma generic Lveothyroxine. Really feel that generic Levothyroxine is no good for me.
I drink kefir water daily. No idea if it does me good but, hey.
Biokult is OK. some people do better on a soil based one like prescript assist and anything containing s boulardii is good. Don't forget to check whether the one you choose needs to be refrigerated.
Thanks so much to everyone who replied and made recommendations. I've ordered something now and will see how it goes.
How did your long-ago Symprove trial go? It’s so expensive now but I know someone (two people) who rave about it, so I am looking for other views before trying out, if you can remember this far back.
I didn't buy it, couldn't justify the cost.
And it is even more expensive now.
One of the people I know who took it credits it with her fighting off thrush - that she had had for years, for once and for all. The other one credits it with him throwing off IBS symptoms, which had plagued his life for years.
It seems a shame to put something that is potentially so useful to so many out of their financial reach.
Symprove is amazing, I won't use anything else now. Don't need it all the time but if I have any gut/bowel probs it's the one for me! Hope you find something that suits you!
Probiotic suggestions 
Probiotic with Levothyroxine
Probiotics for bloatedness 
Probiotics with Hashimotos
Probiotics with Hashimoto's?
