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Best Probiotic

GreenMachineX

Senior Member
Messages
362
Because of the nature of probiotics, it seems like more then anything else, brand quality, storage, etc are much more important then any other supplement. Of course, it all mattters with any supplement, but my vitamin C will still be equally effective left out of the refrigerator for 6 months whereas probiotics may not be. Does anyone have a good quality probiotic they use? I’m looking for one to treat Candida/yeast overgrowth. Thanks in advance.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
The most recent research I've encountered about probiotics is that they generally don't do much for people (aside from making profit for those selling them). They can have beneficial effects in specific circumstances, but not what the marketers claim. For cases where they do help, I expect that price and convenience (not refrigerated), and effectiveness are mutually incompatible.
 
Messages
53
The most recent research I've encountered about probiotics is that they generally don't do much for people (aside from making profit for those selling them). They can have beneficial effects in specific circumstances, but not what the marketers claim. For cases where they do help, I expect that price and convenience (not refrigerated), and effectiveness are mutually incompatible.

That recent "research", if we are referring to the same release, was kind of laughable. They made no differentiation between strains, and it is strange to suggest the piles of research done showing clinical benefit are all lies. It is a little silly to cast off a whole segment of therapy like that.

Grocery store probiotics ("now with 18 strains!") are probably pointless for people seeking specific positive health outcomes, because many strains are antagonistic in nature and effect. Some strains will increase things some people already have an excess of. But many people, including myself and many on this very forum, have tried and gotten good results with specific strains.

For me, Miyari 588, lactospore, bifantis, florastor, bacillus natto, have all seemed to help to varying degrees. I get zero noticeable good effect, maybe even some negative, from common lactis strains found in most products. In the ones I take, some are cheaper and help more, some are overpriced and have less noticeable effect, but I still take them because it is like pieces of puzzle for me. The branded patented ones are horrifically overpriced and underdosed, this I recognize, and it would be nice to figure out if using them as fermentation starters actually gets a similar positive benefit.

Prebiotics from diet and supplement are just as important and effective in their own ways, too. Resistant starches, GOS, FOS/inulin and now HMO (human milk oligosaccharide) all shown to increase beneficial gut bacteria, depending on microbiome parameters.

To call probiotics as a whole ineffective is as inane as calling all vitamin and mineral supplements ineffective. Something I would expect to see posted on Reddit, not here, tbh.

There are some specific probiotic formulations I have my doubts about, like a popular soil based spore forming blend, but that is more manufacturer/company shady practices and lack of solid research, than a dispersion of an entire type of product. There is a UK based company whose name escapes me, and they put out specific single strain and even multiple substrains of each for specific issues. Even bacteria of the same genus can have different therapeutic uses. You can see this with the various different patents and brands of the same named probiotic, but different subtype, you just have to research and try them to see if they are helpful to you.

If you want to educate yourself, look at the actual research papers and learn to interpret them meaningfully, as relying on media releases to sum up papers for you is a fast track to the sheep pen. I am still a little shocked that that media release I am referring to was taken so seriously by so many, if you are in fact basing your assertion on that specific release. There is still questionable research put out, so it is on every individual to vet their sources and do their own experiments. It is not always so simple and black and white as good or bad for these things, but many folks really do think that way, especially when it comes to "alternative" therapies. Whenever I hear anyone trashing the use of the term "toxins" or the whole of functional medicine or naturopaths in favour of allopathic care totally, I know I am not dealing with a fully rational educated and experienced person. We can all pick and choose what suits our health goals and preferred outcomes from a variety of disciplines and therapy types, rather than saying an entire segment is worthless.

Btw, there are plenty of effective probiotics which by nature are temperature hardy. There is research showing a certain branded strain of bacillus coagulans is still quite effective after being nearly boiled and held at scalding temperatures for hours, and it has been shown to increase bifido strains in the colon, which in turn have been shown to produce positive health outcome promoting conditions for a variety of conditions as well as otherwise healthy people. And major reputable companies only claim what the research allows them to claim. If you have doubts about the veracity of the claims, vet the actual studies yourself.
 
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Timaca

Senior Member
Messages
792
Probiotics have helped my abdominal discomfort and heartburn issues. I take just a very small amount of three different probiotics. Align (I twist open the capsule and put the contents into a small container. One capsule will last me 5 to 7 days.) I take some Align daily and then a small amount of Solaray Powder Multidophilus (12 strains, 20 billion CFS) on Sunday, M, W, F; and then a small amount of Jarrow Formula Baby's Jarro-Dophilus on Tues, TH, Sat. I will be out of the Align soon, so I may not buy anymore and see how I do with the two probiotics.

I think probiotics are pretty individual....what works for one person may or may not work for another. You can tell that just by reading the reviews on Amazon or other sites.

Good luck!!
 
Messages
53
Probiotics have helped my abdominal discomfort and heartburn issues. I take just a very small amount of three different probiotics. Align (I twist open the capsule and put the contents into a small container. One capsule will last me 5 to 7 days.) I take some Align daily and then a small amount of Solaray Powder Multidophilus (12 strains, 20 billion CFS) on Sunday, M, W, F; and then a small amount of Jarrow Formula Baby's Jarro-Dophilus on Tues, TH, Sat. I will be out of the Align soon, so I may not buy anymore and see how I do with the two probiotics.

I think probiotics are pretty individual....what works for one person may or may not work for another. You can tell that just by reading the reviews on Amazon or other sites.

Good luck!!


You are lucky so little Align helps you, are you using the regular strength capsule? I would take 4 caps a day if I could afford it. It is only 2 billion cfu upon expiry iirc. There are some other providers of b. Infantis of different substrains, but since Align is specifically well researched, the manufacturer feels they can charge a premium. Same goes for s. boulardii from biocodex in florastor. There are definately other providers of the genus but not that specific patented and studied version.

Prebiotics are a way to get better bang for your buck out of probiotics. Feed your bacteria and they will go the extra mile for your health. I get way better results after implementing various types of fiber.
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
I take Seeking Health Probiota HistaminX... they're histamine free and d lactate free, which is important for me... Each capsule is 10 billion CFUs, so 1-2 per day is all I can take...

Ideally, I would buy a sequence of uBiome tests (I think they have packages of 6...) and experiment w prebiotics, dosages, different strains, duration of treatment... It really comes down to n=1 because there is a study for every opinion, in my opinion :)

good point above re the probiotic debate.. I would add that our microbiomes are so big that you have to really take a LOT to have any effect... so, that's something else to take into account in a test measure by uBiome.. I've read of ppl taking 200 to 300 billion CFU's per day! too much for me, but interesting, and I do think it's good to push the upper limit of tolerance, even if it's planned during a period when you aren't doing anything or don't have too many other symptoms at the same time..
 
Messages
7
For me, in my opinion. It used to be Prescript Assist when it was manufactured by Enviromedica until they discontinued it while another company tried to replicate it.

Hope Enviromedica brings that back.
 

GreenMachineX

Senior Member
Messages
362
Great stuff in this thread. Thanks. I went with this one for now from Swanson.
 

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Timaca

Senior Member
Messages
792
You are lucky so little Align helps you, are you using the regular strength capsule? I would take 4 caps a day if I could afford it. It is only 2 billion cfu upon expiry iirc. There are some other providers of b. Infantis of different substrains, but since Align is specifically well researched, the manufacturer feels they can charge a premium. Same goes for s. boulardii from biocodex in florastor. There are definately other providers of the genus but not that specific patented and studied version.

Prebiotics are a way to get better bang for your buck out of probiotics. Feed your bacteria and they will go the extra mile for your health. I get way better results after implementing various types of fiber.

Hi Hazeleyes99~ Yes, I take the regular strength capsule. And one capsule lasts me 5 to 7 days. I will be stopping it soon because I have just one capsule left. I will be interested to see if I notice not taking it.

I eat a whole food plant based diet so I get a lot of prebiotics in my diet. :)

Best,