Probiotics... do I need them?

[rawererin]

I've heard them mentioned here before,
how do you know if you need them?
Are there any side effects (nausea, vomiting, diarhea)?
Do any of you guys take them?

Some feed back would be mucho apreciado. <--- sorry I'm taking 2 Spanish classes right now lol!

[juliebove]

No side effects that I know of. I used to take them all the time but I quit. Why? When I learned of my dairy allergy, I became concerned that the ones I was taking might have dairy in them. I couldn't tell for sure.

Since I stopped taking them, I haven't noticed a difference one way or the other as far as my digestion is concerned. I am having far less yeast infections which is odd because the infections were one reason I started taking them. Of course I suppose there is the possibility that the infections were related to the food allergies. I just don't know.

[chilove]

Nope, you don't need them at all. The beneficial flora in our guts LOVE raw fruits and veggies. The "bad" bacteria LOVE processed, cooked food. If we eat our natural diet of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds we provide the beneficial flora with what they need to flourish and discourage the "bad" bacteria from getting out of control.

I took them for many years on the advice of naturapaths and never noticed much effect other than a very pronounced lightening of my wallet! :-) My IBS and digestive issues were completely cured by going raw.

RAW IS AWESOME! NATURAL IS WHERE IT"S AT!!!

Blessings!

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Vivafree2]

I do take them occasionally - one jar/package every few months. I actually see the difference, but i am fairly new to raw so maybe my gut needs more adjustments.

[irinam]

I am doing it all.

Raw to create the favorable environment for "good guys" in my gut

Probiotics - pills AND natural (saurkraut and kombucha, no kefir because I am diary free)

Enzymes - pills AND natural (pineapple and papaya) AND raw foods

Why? I am fighting candida and dealing with other issues, so I need to re-establish healthy flora in my gut. Candida is not that easy to get rid off and i am sending heavy altillery it's way :p

I still am to remove one last amalgam filling in my mouth, it is still doing it's bad thing (affecting the balance in my system), so I am trying to counter-fight it

Plus - I wish all the foods (even raw and organic) were as full of nutrients and benefits as they were before the era of artificial agriculture and genetic engineering, but alas, they are not.

So I supplement. With vitamins too. Is it the best way? No, not at all. But the best I can do in this current environment that I live in, where even the simple soil I have to buy and it already has chemicals in it (or is "sterilized" one way or another). So even IF I were (and I try to) grow my own food, I am still not getting all the nutrients that humans "should" be getting

[EZ rider]

Nope, you don't need them at all. The beneficial flora in our guts LOVE raw fruits and veggies. The "bad" bacteria LOVE processed, cooked food. If we eat our natural diet of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds we provide the beneficial flora with what they need to flourish and discourage the "bad" bacteria from getting out of control.I agree, a vegan raw diet supports the "friendly" gut flora and a cooked diet, especially one containing meat, supports the "unfriendly" gut flora. I think probiotics can be useful at first to kick start the friendly flora in a body that has few of the good guys in there. When a colony of good guys is present the raw foods will support them and promote their proliferation.

[Smoothie]

Hi,

Vitamins and supplements are just compact bombs that your system doesn't really break down. For most people, they are a complete waste of money and only make your wallet lighter and the manufactures richer. They're a freud much like the meat & dairy industry who says you can build a healthy body by drinking milk.

Think of it this way........would our creator make a flaw in his plan....NO. IF you eat food in its raw and natural state, you will be fine. He would never make our beautiful bodies so that we had to depend on a bottle of manufactured vitamnins that we buy in a store. I understand about depleted soil etc., so eat organic. You still won't break these supplements completely down in your system no matter what concerns we have in 2008.

Please, save your money..........If you would actually look through your own waste you'd find most of these compact bombs came out in the same shape they went in...undigested. Vitamins and supplemenst are NOT natural no matter how they are made. Nature didn't made them; some company did who's reason for making them was MONEY!...;)

[irinam]

I understand about depleted soil etc., so eat organic.

See, just because something is labeled "organic" does not mean it was grown on a naturally rich soil. Or was grown from non-genetically engineered seed. It often simply means it was not sprayed with pesticides.

I agree with you that our body does not digest all the supplements (actually washes out majority of it), but unless we lived in a more or less natural environment (which most of us don't), we just don't get all the nutrients we should.

I am not originally from USA. I spent a lot of time in my Grandma's village where we as kids rummaged in the gardens and the orchards. I remember the TASTE of those fruits and vegetables. No offence, but the taste of the fruits and vegetables I buy here (that are labeled ORGANIC) are nowhere close.

You are absolutely right that the Creator would not put a flaw in his plan. We, the people are constantly doing that.

[brydee]

Chilove thats brilliant to hear!!:eek:

I had 3 operations on my intestine 4 years ago and since then iv had alot of problems they've lead to my agrophobia and panic disorder i have now,the doctors could never decide whether i had IBS or not, but i had stomach acid leaking into my body so it must of done some damage im also missing a piece of intestine. id love to chat to you about how bad you was before how much better you've got etc?

[greenday]

Certainly a lot of wisdom here about fruits and veggies being the solution. But I also think it's a very personal and individual choice if you feel your gut needs a little boost. Follow your intuition, my friend. :)

[nfracer]

I am doing it all.

Raw to create the favorable environment for "good guys" in my gut

Probiotics - pills AND natural (saurkraut and kombucha, no kefir because I am diary free)

Enzymes - pills AND natural (pineapple and papaya) AND raw foods

Why? I am fighting candida and dealing with other issues, so I need to re-establish healthy flora in my gut. Candida is not that easy to get rid off and i am sending heavy altillery it's way :p

I still am to remove one last amalgam filling in my mouth, it is still doing it's bad thing (affecting the balance in my system), so I am trying to counter-fight it

Plus - I wish all the foods (even raw and organic) were as full of nutrients and benefits as they were before the era of artificial agriculture and genetic engineering, but alas, they are not.

So I supplement. With vitamins too. Is it the best way? No, not at all. But the best I can do in this current environment that I live in, where even the simple soil I have to buy and it already has chemicals in it (or is "sterilized" one way or another). So even IF I were (and I try to) grow my own food, I am still not getting all the nutrients that humans "should" be getting

I totally agree with your statements...but of course supplementing is ultimately a personal choice!

[Smoothie]

Sorry...........I wasn't trying to sound harsh. I agree, the soil is deleted. You are right about that.

I'm just concerned that people think the answer to any health problem is found in a pill.

We have so may misconceptions about food in this county that it is SCARY! That's how most of us got here; looking for a better answer than what mainsteam medicine and food makers what us to believe about food and the need for protein and how manufactured food is as good for us as whole food. The list of lies and mistruths go one an on.

People on this site are more enlightened or they wouldn't be here so trust your own instints.

It was just my two cents...:D

[irinam]

Sorry...........I wasn't trying to sound harsh. I agree, the soil is deleted. You are right about that.

I'm just concerned that people think the answer to any health problem is found in a pill.

We have so may misconceptions about food in this county that it is SCARY! That's how most of us got here; looking for a better answer than what mainsteam medicine and food makers what us to believe about food and the need for protein and how manufactured food is as good for us as whole food. The list of lies and mistruths go one an on.

People on this site are more enlightened or they wouldn't be here so trust your own instints.

It was just my two cents...:D

Nah, you were not harsh :) Pill is definitely not an answer.

[Raspberry4]

irinam - My dad used to have a garden every summer with tomatoes and cucumbers and I remember the full-bodied taste and aroma of the home grown tomatoes. I NEVER find them anymore. Such a delicious memory; such a shame now. I wish our children could taste what we tasted growing up.

[northernstars]

at the grocery store a few years ago! There were several people, mostly middle aged, standing around a bin of tomatoes! Everybody was commenting about the fresh smell! We all enjoyed it, too! Everybody was remembering living elsewhere and the smells. I know that for me the only time I remembered that smell was from my childhood in Michigan. Getting to smell ripe tomatoes is a rarity in Alaska. I get that pleasure once in a while in my greenhouse when the tomatoes are ripening, but it was the first time I had ever smelled them in a store and have not noticed it again since!

In a couple weeks I plan on ordering some tomato seeds and a few others and then start some seeds to grow in the greenhouse and in my small outdoors garden this summer. I hope this summer will be a bit warmer than it usual.

[veganman]

I find Vitamineral Green to be a nice probiotic and enzyme-rich green food.

[Stina]

but I worked at a health food store for several years and would get top-of-the line products as a promotion for doing educational seminars. So I got to experiment with probiotics. I used them from Renew Life that I have a lot of respect for and used one by them that was a powerfully high doseage of probiotics. I experimented by eating very lightly and very healthy for like three days and taking six to eight pills of these probiotics a day. Nothing! No change in anything: bulk or texture or color of stool or anything, impact on appetite or bloated stomach. Nothing to indicate an impact from these pricey supplements and I kept up this experiment for several months because, ironically, I really expected them to work, so so much for the placebo affect.
Same goes for supplements in general. Except liver detox kits would throw me for a loop.

So what I do know from my own experience is that boy oh boy do I truly feel a huge impact from my raw vegan diet, much more so than my macrobiotic diet or my raw animals food (raw cheese, sushi) diet.
Which also makes me think it would pay to perfect fermenting food, which I've had disasterous results with so far.........
So, I'm saving money and not buying supplements. Just my experience to share with you.

[EZ rider]

I experimented by eating very lightly and very healthy for like three days and taking six to eight pills of these probiotics a day. Nothing! No change in anything: bulk or texture or color of stool or anything, impact on appetite or bloated stomach. Nothing to indicate an impact from these pricey supplements and I kept up this experiment for several months because, ironically, I really expected them to work, so so much for the placebo affect.I see the gut flora as being a % balance situation with a % of friendly bacteria and a % of unfriendly bacteria. As I stated in my earlier post:
I agree, a vegan raw diet supports the "friendly" gut flora and a cooked diet, especially one containing meat, supports the "unfriendly" gut flora. I think probiotics can be useful at first to kick start the friendly flora in a body that has few of the good guys in there. When a colony of good guys is present the raw foods will support them and promote their proliferation.I see it this way: When the % of friendly bacteria is low is when you need the probiotic supplement. If your % of friendly bacteria is already good as a % of the gut then you wouldn't notice much difference. Sort of like a glass of water for example. If you add a few drops of coloring to the glass of water it will color the water and show up quite quickly to look at it. But if the glass has already got a bunch of the color in it then if you add a few drops of coloring to the glass then you won't be able to discern any visual difference in the appearance of the liquid. Why is that ? Because the glass already had plenty of color in it when you put in a few more drops of coloring. -- Maybe, your gut flora balance already had plenty of friendly bacteria in there and when you added a few more you couldn't see any difference. I maintain that the only time a person needs to supplement with probiotics is when their % balance is not right for a healthy gut. When their friendly gut flora % is low and their unfriendly gut bacteria % is high then you experience the resultant problems from that. A person who already has a good % balance is wasting their money to do probiotic supplementation but a person who's gut flora balance is bad couldn't find a better place to put their money. It depends on if your gut already has a good % balance or not. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

[Smoothie]

Nah, you were not harsh :) Pill is definitely not an answer.

Thanks for the nice comeback............I can get a little carried away sometimes. Just ask my hubby....:eek:

I remember growing up in Indiana and going to Mr Bush's Summer Produce Stand.......Man, nothing smelled better. The tomatoes were huge, amazing and smelled like nothing I buy in the store today.

Oh, the price of progress....:o