Wellness

[focksie]

On 2/22/2014 AspenGrove said:

On 2/22/2014 focksie said:On 2/21/2014 focksie said:

I also take Culturelle, but it's news to me if it contains myriad cultures. As far as I know, it only contains Lactobacillus GG, which you can read on the box. Is there a different formulation of Culturelle that contains more than Lactobacillus GG?

focksie, so sorry .. I made a typo. I meant to say that the gastroenterologist told me that Lactobacillus GG (the only culture in Culturelle - you are right) is standardized and in the best amounts in Culturelle. Further, she said that this specific culture (officially, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus CG) is the ONLY one that's been proven, in double bind clinical studies, to survive stomach acid. Other mixes of probiotics, she says, can't do what they claim because they die the second they hit stomach acid. Culturelle survives/remains long enough to do it's job. She told me other stuff too, but ... no need for me to ramble. I wanted to apologize for my prior typo!

Oh, no need to apologize Aspen! That's exactly why I chose Culturelle - because of its ability to survive stomach acid and get to the gut where it can colonize. It's also high up there, if not the best probiotic for dealing with C.difficile, which is what I'm primarily interested in.

[Lacey1]

http://probiotic.org/Kefir.htm

Some more info on Kefir, for anyone interested.

[RedTop]

I just take acidophilus; less than $6 a bottle at Wal-Mart.

[Little Way]

Hi there - Probiotics are formulated differently. Some have different strains. The Culturelle brand, and Align are good ones. Start there. If they don't seem to be working, then experiment with other brands. I know it is soooo expensive, but I must put in a plug for the one that I use: VSL#3.

[ahoymate]

Just eat yogurt! Look for brands that say 'live and active cultures' on the label. Fage Greek yogurt is one suggestion.

[Shelbelle]

On 2/21/2014 lacey1 said:

On 2/21/2014 VaBelle35 said:

I want to try Kefir but I hear it is stinky. I'm not sure I can do it. I have a hard enough time cooking with buttermiolk ;o)

I have also been reading about prebiotics. I need to get on board with that one.

Plain milk kefir is similar to drinking buttermilk. It can be flavored easily enough. Water kefir is much easier to drink.

My DH buys Strawberry Kefir at Trader Joe's.

[sunshine45]

align has a free sample available if you are interested in trying it out. i use acidophilus and ultra strength advanced probiotic 10......i also eat homemade yogurt daily.

[sunshine45]

here is the align free sample offer:

http://signup.aligngi.com/?utm_source=msvg&utm_medium=display&sub=301498&vid=02_120411837_e24288ce-c...

[Big Sister]

This was a helpful posting and I thank you all for your input.

I think I will begin with Fage Greek yogurt and go from there. I do love yogurt but haven't tried Fage. I am also going to look at the Culturelle tabs.

[Lacey1]

On 2/22/2014 Shelbelle said:

On 2/21/2014 lacey1 said:

On 2/21/2014 VaBelle35 said:

I want to try Kefir but I hear it is stinky. I'm not sure I can do it. I have a hard enough time cooking with buttermiolk ;o)

I have also been reading about prebiotics. I need to get on board with that one.

Plain milk kefir is similar to drinking buttermilk. It can be flavored easily enough. Water kefir is much easier to drink.

My DH buys Strawberry Kefir at Trader Joe's.

I will be the first to admit that plain, milk kefir is an acquired taste, at best. The pink and blue bottles that they sell are $$, and they contain a LOT of sugar/preservatives, etc. If you make it at home, once it's established it will only cost you the price of the milk. You can flavor it, cook and bake with it. You can actually use it as sourdough in bread and pancake recipes. There is a water variety for people that don't do dairy. If anyone is interested in DIY probiotics-check out the 'Cultures for Health' website. They sell all sorts of yogurt cultures, cheese making supplies, sourdough starters, kefir. They are very knowledgeable and have an active forum. If you sigh up for the email newsletter you will get access to some excellent eBooks. I have bought several kefir grains and sourdough starters from them. Great customer service. Each month they discount one of their products. Even if kefir is not of interest to you, you may enjoy the website.