Probiotics

[kkcarlton]

Hi All,

I found out several months ago that I am gluten intolerant. IN addition, I have been casein, lactose, egg, and soy intolerant for a while. I also have multiple other food sensitivities to the point that I don't know what to eat anymore. I have guy dysbiosis detected by a stool test - I knew without the test but when I saw it I was amazed at how bad things really are.

Anyway, I am looking for a good probiotic. Many people like Primal Defense and although they claim it's gluten free, I found some posts dating back to 2006 indicating that people reacted to it (two ingredients are wheat grass and oat grass). In addition, the bacteria are cultured in dairy and although the end product is supposedly dairy free, in the past I have reacted to probiotics that are cultured in dairy.

So what I am looking for is a good probitiotic that is entirely dairy, wheat, soy, and gluten free. Meaning I want a product where none of those items where used at any time of producing the probiotic. I read that Natren is good as well as Genestra but wanted to see if anybody here has personal experience with them.

And last but not least - is there hope? I am ok avoiding gluten and even dairy, but I react to so many things that eating has become a chore and something I actually dread.

Thanks,

Kristina

[Sweetfudge]

I have talked w/ my GI and a lot of people who have said Align is a good one. It does have soy and dairy in it, which was a concern for me, as I've been avoiding both foods for awhile now. But my doctor said that because it's such an insignificant amount, that it shouldn't bother me. I've been on it for 4 days now, and other than the reported bloating/minor gas, I haven't felt bad. Don't know if this helps, since you're wanting something that avoids soy and dairy, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

Maybe you could try it for a few weeks and see how it does with your body. I got 4 weeks worth from my GI for free.

Anyway, good luck either way hope you can find something!

[AliB]

So many people don't get better after dropping gluten that it is pretty obvious something else is going on.

My personal belief is that rogue bacteria due to gut dysbiosis inflames the gut causing damage and leaky gut, which then triggers intolerances. This disrupts the digestion to the point that we can no longer digest certain foods, particularly carbohydrates. The undigested carbs, instead of feeding us, actually feeds and encourages the growth of the rogue bacteria creating a vicious cycle.

Quite a few of us are benefiting from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet as it removes from the diet the long-chain carbohydrates that usually contribute to the problem, thus allowing the gut time to heal.

Have a look at the Specific Carb thread on this section where you will see the success we are having. We know what it is like to not know where to turn for help - we've all been there! It is such a relief to know that there is something you can do to get yourself better and all it takes is a change of diet.

Unfortunately the gluten-free diet often actually makes things worse as gluten-free foods typically are considerably higher in carbs, so whilst there often seems to be an initial improvement, eventually things actually seem to get worse.

You shouldn't find the transition to the diet to difficult if you do decided to give it a go, as it looks as if your restricted diet is already heading in that direction.

The diet does restrict us to the basic food chain with no complex carbs, no sugar, no starches, and definitely nothing processed or antagonistic to the gut. Although the food choice is limited to meat, fish, poultry, veg, fruit, a little honey, nut flours and probiotic yogurt, it is amazing the amount of different recipes that can be conjured up out of those hundreds of different foods.

The diet encourages no dairy, well, at least until some healing has taken place and then only certain types, but it does encourage from the start plenty of home-made 24 hour cultured yogurt. The long fermentation means that not only is the concentration of bacteria higher, but also that most, if not all the lactose is digested by the bacteria into beneficial lactic acid and also the casein is pre-digested into a more digestible form, so rendering it very beneficial.

A survey has been done recently showing that probiotics have a very beneficial effect on gluten-intolerance - it was posted in the Specific Carb thread and you are welcome to come and have a nose and ask any questions on there and if you wish to give the diet a try we are happy to give you all the support you need.

Regards, Ali.

[kkcarlton]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies and suggestions...I appreciate the feedback. I took a glance at the SCD and it looks like I am already doing that. I live on protein, veggies, and fat - nothing canned or packaged. Very occasionally I have half of a sour apple and that's about it. Nuts make me go nuts to the point that I can't stop, I have high blood sugar and candida issues so I avoid fruits, I am intolerant to eggs which is very disappointing, and I don't think grains are healthy period whether they have gluten or not. And I cannot tolerate any dairy from cows, sheep, or goats. I can eat small amounts of butter if I take a lactase enzyme and a glutenease with it.

Despite eating this way I have gained weight due to hormonal imbalance and can't seem to get it off. Since I have pretty bad gut dysbiosis I suspect it's part of the reason my body can't heal and I keep reacting to so many foods. Therefore I feel it's time to get back on a probiotic. I started reacting to the one I was taking last year and then couldn't find one that I did not react to. So for a while I did not take any plus I took antibiotics twice last year. It took me a while to figure out I was reacting to the probiotics cultured in dairy. I know they say all the dairy is "eaten up" in the growth process, but some people are so sensitive they still react and I seem to be one of them.

I read that Natren Healthy Trinity is good and it got GREAT reviews on (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) but it's very expensive. Unfortunately my symptoms to taking probiotics are abdominal distention and fluid retention, much like I get to many foods, and much like I get from hormonal imbalance. I am working with a compounding pharmacist to regulate my hormones with bioidentical hormone cream and kind of need to know when the symptoms are from hormones or something else. If I take a probiotic every day that makes me swell up like that I will have no idea what the hormones are doing. And since I have had a hysterectomy and only have one ovary, I don't menstruate anymore and don't have a reference point.

There is also some conflicting information I have been getting regarding reactions to food. One theory is that it's a food intolerance of course and one must avoid that food for 3 to 4 months then slowly re-introduce it. These delayed allergies can be tested with an ELISA food allergy test. I used to get them for several years and then had an eye opening experience. A reputable lab ran the test, I got my results, and a week later they had to rerun the test. Within one week there was a noticeable difference in results. The first week I was reacting to beef at level 4 and the next week I had no reaction to it (according to the test). Or I was low the first week and high the second week on some foods. Since then I have read that this is common and the tests are very inaccurate so now I just go by symptoms which is hard and frustrating unless you eat only one food 3 days in a row before switching to another food.

Another theory is that soy, gluten/wheat, dairy, and eggs are the only TRUE intolerances. If you avoid those your body will heal even if you continue to eat the other healthy foods that you may have a noticeable reaction to.

Then there's the whole adrenal fatigue connection. If you have adrenal fatigue, which I have, your cortisol output is too low and your body will react to foods. Once the adrenals are healed the food intolerances will go away and it's ok to keep eating the foods you are reacting to.

And last but not least I have read that a reaction to a healthy, unadulterated food (that would exclude dairy, soy, grains, and legumes) is a healing reaction, not an allergic reaction and you NEED to keep eating it so your body can heal. Eventually the reaction to it will go away.

Needless to say I don't know what to believe anymore and I am afraid to do something wrong because I don't want to make things worse.

Feedback is appreciated. I know I am frustrated and ready to be healthy. Judging by the people and posts in this forum I am not the only on.

~K

[spunky]

In Asian cultures they ferment veggies right and left... In Japan they pickle all sorts of veggies in rice bran, in Korea they make kimchi, there's all sorts of other ways they do that.

You can make sauerkraut or even deli pickles just in salt water; you can ferment just about any veggie you want in salt water...I even know of a guy from Russia who keeps bottles of brine all around with nothing but garlic cloves fermenting in there.

Get some recipes for pickles (the kind that don't require vinegar, just salt water brine), sauerkraut, kimchi, etc., and you can grow your own probiotics without any diary, soy, etc.

I use the book by the guy they call Sandokraut... it's called Wild Fermentation...he shows you the cheap/easy ways to do these ferments without any special equipment or ingredients.

[kkcarlton]

Thanks - I ended up ordering Healthy Trinity by Natren. The probiotics in it are cultured on garbanzo beans - no dairy, soy, or gluten used anywhere in the process. It got great reviews. We'll see how it goes.

[GlutenWrangler]

Natren Healthy Trinity are by far the best probiotics I have ever used. Good choice!

[kkcarlton]

Natren Healthy Trinity are by far the best probiotics I have ever used. Good choice!

Hi GlutenWrangler (great name) - thank you for the reply. That makes me feel better about the fact that I got them because they certainly are not cheap. Where do you buy yours? Also, do you or did you have food intolerances and if so, did you see improvements when using Healthy Trinity?

thanks ~ Kristina

[Guest Jsn7821]

Here I am staring down the label of some Probiotics that I just got this evening. "Cultures grown on a milk-based media". I'm a bit hesitant to try them, but out of everything I could find locally they seemed the best (at the time).

I would like to hear your feedback from the Healthy Trinity, Kristina. You sound about as sensitive to stuff as I am. I've never done probiotics before. I'm on the edge about trying goat yogurt instead - my sister swears by the stuff, but I have been staying away from all dairy.