Probiotic yoghurts yeah or nay?

[App1]

Any reason I couldn’t include these in my diet for hypo thyroid ? I used to eat them regularly and avoided constipation. Your thoughts and reasons welcome.

[Pearlteapot]

Depends if you are cutting out dairy and are dairy intolerant!

I have been pondering the same question and have decided the probiotic qualities of yoghourt or keffir outweigh the negatives of dairy (I'm not intolerant of it anyway). However, I am going to compromise and make my own keffir probably with goat or sheep milk rather than cow depending what is in the shop.

[App1 in reply to Pearlteapot]

I’m ok with dairy though do restrict myself, so thanks, I’ll look at those alternatives. Many thanks. I did have a yoghurt maker in the 1970s which is probably still at the back of a cupboard. I do like kefir so will have a browse through options in shops.

[Localhero]

I don’t eat dairy as a rule but I do use kefir made from goat’s milk. It’s pricey, but it lasts a long time and is the best form of food-form digestive support I’ve found.

chucklinggoat.co.uk

[App1 in reply to Localhero]

Yeah I think it will be the kefir. Will let you all know how I fair with it in a bit.

[Pearlteapot in reply to Localhero]

Interesting link. Did you try the fish collagen? Presumably it’s the same principle as drinking meat broth to heal the gut.

[Localhero in reply to Pearlteapot]

No, I haven’t tried the fish collagen. I’m currently using a bovine one, which I like, but might try the fish one at some point.

[Imaaan]

Probiotics helped me tremendously after antibiotics wreaked havoc on my gut biome. I became intolerant to foods I was able to eat all my life including cow dairy. I switched over to goat kefir and its been amazing for my digestive health. I also take a tablespoon or two of cabbage and beet sauerkraut as well at lunch

[App1 in reply to Imaaan]

That sounds promising as my tum tum needs a bit of t.l.c. after 10 weeks on antibiotics. I might have to work myself up to the sauerkraut mind you!

[Imaaan in reply to App1]

My system went haywire after my antibiotics so try a quarter cup or even less to see how you get on with it.

[1kasug2 in reply to App1]

A few years ago I asked my brother if he had had sauerkraut and he replied “Yes, and so have you”. Well I was gobsmacked as I’ve never been to Germany but it turns out that because my Dad grew his own red cabbages and always pickled loads of it, I’d had a form of sauerkraut. I love it so now I buy it.

[janeroar in reply to Imaaan]

Tim’s Dairy do the best kefir I’ve tasted. Normally I find it too sour. This is lovely

Tim’s dairy kefir

[Imaaan in reply to janeroar]

Thanks for the recommendation. I live in Canada and have grown to love the milk kefir that I buy. Wish I had the confidence to make my own.

Pasteurized whole goat milk, probiotic kefir microorganisms, bacterial cultures

[Star13]

I went on a keto diet and included live Greek yogurt. I can be a bit lactose intolerant but my gut loved it and both me and my partner lost over a stone each. I could not tolerate kefir so at least I found something I was able to tolerate. I found I can now eat other things that my SIBO was causing issues with.

[Pearlteapot]

You can buy the keffir ´organism’. I can’t think of a better word for it, the keffir monster? Add your milk of choice and ferment your own. It’s much cheaper and you get to choose how fermented/sour you like it. The organism you buy will be tiny and disappointing looking but it will soon grow and grow and you’ll be giving it away to all your friends.

[Thyroid17 in reply to Pearlteapot]

Agreed, I bought organic kefir grains online and ended up offering them to everyone as the culture grew.

[jade_s in reply to Thyroid17]

Same here. Home grown kefir has saved my gut when yogurt did nothing!

I've been experimenting with putting it in yogurt rather than milk.

So many grains! I started putting the extras in the compost 🤷‍♀️😂

[cat_alli]

I make my own goat milk kefir - I'm allergic to cow dairy but not goat or sheep dairy. Apparently kefir bought in the shops is not as good as home made, as its older & is also sweetened. You need to purchase the kefir grains which have been grown in the milk you're going to use, so I purchase goat milk kefir grains from Happy Kombucha online. I ferment the milk for one day with the grains, then strain the grains out & use to start the next cupful. With the one day old liquid I then add Prebio Plus (also available from Happy Kombucha, expensive but lasts ages) & ferment for a further day. This ensures the kefir is thick & creamy. I then make it into a smoothy with turmeric, spirulina, ground flax seed, avocado, pear & spinach. This is what I have for breakfast every day. I'm hypo, have had years of antibiotic treatments, & am allergic to gluten, cow dairy & eggs. I don't know any reason why having kefir would not benefit you.

[Lizzab]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/244....

[Lizzab]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[tattybogle in reply to Lizzab]

a very interesting read , thankyou Lizzab. Food for thought indeed.(To be fair i only understood about 1 word in every 5 ... dictionary definitely needed)

[Lizzab in reply to tattybogle]

I honestly think it's trial and error and very personal to you at a particular time. I know probiotics can cause significant unwanted issues for some and great benefit for others. PubMed is always worth reading, or indeed trying to read (I have the same problem as you by the way), for all health and drug issues.

I use a grated carrot salad daily with salt, vinegar, olive oil or coconut oil for regular bowel movements. Eat it an hour away from food. Grate the carrots longways and rinse off the carotene.

[tattybogle in reply to Lizzab]

i've always been a bit wary of the 'sales blurb' about probiotics for the things like sweetened yoghurt drinks etc that are heavily promoted on supermarket shelves.

I don't have any proper knowledge of what's going on, so i just stick to these general ideas:

The people with the widest variety in their gut microbiome, are the ones who eat the widest variety of foods and include the biggest variety of different veg etc .

I think a lot of the probiotics might not make it past the stomach into the gut , especially the sweetened yoghurt/ drinks. .. can't remember why... i learned it once but have forgotten now .

So.... i do like one variety of live natural yoghurt.. Yeo Valley ... so i buy a big pot and have a bit regularly.

I know Sourkraut has huge amounts of probiotics in... and it's cheep and has been around for hundreds of years so i'm pretty sure it's a good idea.... shame i don't like it much , occasionally i buy some, but it rarely get's finished ! ....

And instead i have a rule that i always eat a bit of homemade coleslaw in some form every day.. even of it's just a spoonful as i walk past the fridge .

If i've ever had to have antibiotics, i make sure to have plenty of live yoghurt and coleslaw for a few weeks afterwards as i assume antibiotics are the gut equivalent of a nuclear bomb.

I ignore anything that is trying to make me buy it because it's 'probiotic'

i do like some Kefir drinks .. but frankly i cant afford them and so far , i'm too lazy to make my own .

My 'gut ' tell me it's biome is a very complicated subject, which is very probably the root of all health, and also the root of many of our ailments ,

So i try to keep mine as diverse as possible, and if something that is not too 'over processed' or 'over marketed' makes me feel good shortly after i've eaten it ,then i have some regularly...and if it doesn't then i don't.

Totally agree .. what's 'good' or not is going to very personal to the individual gut at any particular time. ....so i tend to trust my gut to tell me what's a good idea or not ....just a couple of 'sugar free' boiled sweets that i foolishly accepted gave me rapid bloating / wind / explosive diorhoea... normally i don't have any digestive problems at all .

[Lizzab in reply to tattybogle]

I agree with most of that. Good comment.

Fage yogurt is free of lactic acid so I eat that and flavour it myself.

[mountainice]

I use the Biotifukl kefir, about five dessertspoons before I start my breakfast. Only tried it on recommendation from a friend for my (then) terrible stomach and bowels. It did not help with that, but I found out I was completely lactose intolerant. I still take kefir and hope it does me good in other ways.

[BadHare]

Try fermenting your own kefir from grains for better effect. Unlike shop bought yoghurt & kefir, it’s actually live & active. Shop bought stuff would explode on the supermarket shelves if they were live. It’s as easy as making a pot of tea. Add organic whole milk to the grains, leave to ferment in a covered but not sealed jar or jug, strain & repeat. It eats lactose first, so may be consumed by the slightly lactose intolerant if it’s well fermented. Not sure if it’s ok for those who are caseine intolerant.

Kefir grains are a symbiosis of lactobacillus, saccharomyces (yeasts) & healthy forms of streptococcus. They grow from microscopic particles to pieces that resemble small cauliflower florets. This is the only probiotic found to withstand our digestive system as it’s still alive in faeces (sorry to the squeamish).

There’s also water kefir but I don’t think this has the abundant range of probiotics as dairy.

Chris Kresser the functional meds practitioner has written some positive articles on his website. Yemois is also good for info. I’m on my phone so can’t post, sorry!

[eiddew]

Hello App1

There are plenty of healthy and delicious ways to avoid constipation. Fibre is key, and only plants have "natural" fibre.

Dr. B, an American gastroenterologist, just has his cookbook launched here in the UK.

amazon.co.uk/Fibre-Fuelled-...

His first book is on the "theory" side of how to optimise gut health, which is the basis of the bulk of our immune health.

amazon.co.uk/Fibre-Fuelled-...

He's a regular and popular podcast guests on many shows. You can easily find him.

Hope this helps.

take care & be well