Probiotics and some great improvement

[Waverunner]

Just wanted to let you know that my food intolerances improved greatly after taking a probiotic which contains L. acidophilus, Lactococcus lactis, B. bifidum B lactis, Lactobacillus paracasei. I had huge intolerances and problems with other probiotics and I know that other people had adverse reactions to probiotics as well. There are some reasons why probiotics may cause adverse reactions:

1) The probiotic contains the wrong kind of bacteria (this is different from person to person of course)
2) The probiotic contains only dead bacteria and thereby causes an adverse immune response

I once had an probiotic which worked very well but stopped working after 2-3 months in the summer. My thought was that I got allergic to it. This thought was wrong. I still have the 1,5 year old package which expires in december and I also have a brand new package which I keep in the fridge. While the old one has no effect at all, I often even think that my food intolerances get worse on it, the new one has a great effect. I ate all the foods which always cause problems, I still feel that they are far from optimal for me but the adverse reactions are missing to 90%. Digestion improved, skin improved, mood improved etc. And this after the 3rd day :Retro smile: I wonder if this gets even better after some weeks or months but it's definitely nice. As a conclusion I think it's very important to take "fresh", high quality probiotics which contain high amounts of the right, living bacteria (sachet form seems to work best for me). The next time when someone has adverse reactions to probiotics I would look at the sort of bacteria and if they are still alive.

 

[kaffiend]

That's great to hear. I credit probiotics with easing a lot of my food intolerances. I was limited to plain meat and coconut oil for a while.

Water kefir was even more effective than any purchased (pill) probiotics I tried. It's not much more work than making breakfast and you know the bacteria are alive.

 

[Waverunner]

That's great to hear. I credit probiotics with easing a lot of my food intolerances. I was limited to plain meat and coconut oil for a while.

Water kefir was even more effective than any purchased (pill) probiotics I tried. It's not much more work than making breakfast and you know the bacteria are alive.

Thanks for the advice, kaffiend. It's so funny, my diet consisted of meat and coconut oil as well (at least to big parts). How often do you take the kefir? Do you have any advice on probiotics in general?

 

[RustyJ]

Hi Waverunner. Could you tell us the brand and place of purchase of your probiotic or at least PM me? Thanks in advance.

 

[Waverunner]

Hi Waverunner. Could you tell us the brand and place of purchase of your probiotic or at least PM me? Thanks in advance.

Sent you a PM but probiotics like VSL#3, Align, Renewlife etc. should help.

EDIT: One very important thing however is to have a mixed diet on which the bacteria can feed.

 

[Mr. Cat]

I have had great results from homegrown milk kefir. It was the main thing that turned my digestion around about 2 years ago. I strain out the yogurty mixture and throw it away, then eat a portion of the kefir grains themselves (they grow back overnight), as they have the most probiotics. Although I am somewhat lactose intolerant, the kefir grains don't bother me one bit. I tried several types of probiotics, but kefir beat them all hands down, and is much less expensive. The second-best for me was store bought Rejuvelac liquid (grown from wheat bacteria, but didn't affect my gluten intolerance), which I found you can make inexpensively on your own as well.

 

[maddietod]

Do you have a link about making rejuvelac?

 

[kaffiend]

Thanks for the advice, kaffiend. It's so funny, my diet consisted of meat and coconut oil as well (at least to big parts). How often do you take the kefir? Do you have any advice on probiotics in general?

I always have a new liter of coconut water fermenting for 48 hours. I drink several 4-6oz glasses per day so that gets me through a liter every two days. Water kefir grains are pretty versatile; they ferment most liquids with sugar.

 

[maddietod]

Are water vs milk kefir grains completely different strains? Or can milk kefir grains be persuaded to culture "water"?

 

[Adster]

I'd be interested to hear more details about the water kaffir, if possible.

Good news that you have found something helpful Waverunner

 

[globalpilot]

Very interesting approach (eating the grains).

If its not too invasive I was wondering if you could outline what digestive symptoms it resolved. Digestive symptoms can be so varied.

GP

I have had great results from homegrown milk kefir. It was the main thing that turned my digestion around about 2 years ago. I strain out the yogurty mixture and throw it away, then eat a portion of the kefir grains themselves (they grow back overnight), as they have the most probiotics. Although I am somewhat lactose intolerant, the kefir grains don't bother me one bit. I tried several types of probiotics, but kefir beat them all hands down, and is much less expensive. The second-best for me was store bought Rejuvelac liquid (grown from wheat bacteria, but didn't affect my gluten intolerance), which I found you can make inexpensively on your own as well.

 

[kaffiend]

Are water vs milk kefir grains completely different strains? Or can milk kefir grains be persuaded to culture "water"?

From what I've read, each strain is initially cultured distinctly as water kefir (which ferments sugar) or milk kefir (which ferments lactose).

I don't drink milk, so my only experience is with water kefir grains. The information available advises against persuading the grains to change the food source (sugar to lactose or vice versa).

Kefir grains seem somewhat "fragile" so things such as chlorinated water, metal utensils, hot water, and a few others will kill them. I've been using coconut water with some added sugar (1 tbs) and sea salt (1/8 tspn). Dissolve the sugar/salt in 1/2 cup of hot water, let it cool, and then add to the whole thing. I use a mason jar and clean it with white vinegar each batch.

The cultures for health website has more info and videos.