do you take probiotics?

MrsGiggles

If so what brand?  How long have you been taking them?  Have you experienced noticeable effects; why did you start?

Just curious about the hype.

feinicstine

I just eat yogurt with active cultures.  I don't see the point in taking a bunch of disembodied supplements.  I figure if my food can do it then I'll let it!

firsttimersluck

feinicstine:

I just eat yogurt with active cultures.  I don't see the point in taking a bunch of disembodied supplements.  I figure if my food can do it then I'll let it!

 

This... Besides the bod only uses a small percentage of any supplement taken, so why waste it when I could just have yogurt?  

statwaldy

I did before I got pregnant (no real reason to stop while being pregnant, I just didn't really want to load up on additional supplements other then prenatals) and I took the CVS brand. I definitely had noticeable effects immediately. Mainly this is my go to along w/ yogurt when things start getting (TMI alert) stinky.

dbonjion

MrsGiggles:

If so what brand?  How long have you been taking them?  Have you experienced noticeable effects; why did you start?

Just curious about the hype.

 

Yes- I have 2 servings daily. I do greek yogurt (plain, then add in fruit) and then I will have a second serving of either Yakult, another yogurt, or make a Kefir smoothie.

 I've been doing this for years now and I can honestly say that I notice a difference in BMs and I feel less bloated. I never really "started".. I just have always loved yogurt. But as I got older my internal organs started changing.. and I realized I needed to make probiotics a priority.  

Mrs Manners

Unless you are making homemade yogurt, your "active cultures" were a supplement added back into the yogurt after the pasturization process killed off what was already there.

I take Align for digestive and immune health. I would like to make my own yogurt and other fermented foods (kraut, etc) but haven't gotten around to it.

mr+ms

I've tried a few (culturelle, generic costco brand and evora plus which is aimed more at oral health). I can't say for sure if they had any impact. I haven't used any one kind beyond 3 months though.

A cup of Kefir, on the other hand, has a noticeable effect within 1-2 days. I'm guessing it's because of the bacterial diversity (a documented 11+ strains vs. 1 to 3 in yogurt and most supplements). I recently made my first batch of sauerkraut to add to the mix - yum! I'm looking forward to homemade pickles this summer when cucumbers are in season. Kombucha is another source of probiotics. There's probably something to ingesting a little bit of good quality dirt here and there but a safe source is hard to come by these days.

I think you have to experiment and see what works for you. I wouldn't label the raised awareness of probiotics as hype; the composition of the microbiome that inhabits our digestive tract has wide reaching effects on our overall health (including immune and mental health) and environmental inputs like our diet, stress levels, and the addition of other microbes can alter it for better or for worse. It seems like scientific research is just scraping the surface on this whole topic.

Photo5kCupcakes

I have yogurt daily and I take a probiotic. I have been taking them for many years - on and off for about 8 and then regularly for about 6 or so. It started at the recommedation of my gastro doctor. It helped with bloating and other issues I was having. I also took them in the beginning because I wasn't able to have any dairy items.

I have taken many brands, mostly generic. The ones I am taking now are Nature's Bounty and I'm not thrilled with them.

I do notice a decrease in bloating when I take probiotics.

derky17

No.  At least not specifically for the "probiotic" ingredients.  I do eat yogurt from time to time, but that's because I like it. 

The science is still very inconclusive as to how effective they really are.