Okay y'all, tell me what you know about probiotics...

[Julie in CA]

I'm taking a huge antibiotic to clear a recalcitrant sinus infection. I know I should be concerned about probiotics, but when I go to read about them, every article sounds like an advertisement for a product. Is yogurt enough, or do I need a supplement? If so, which of the gazillion supplements is the right one?

[Nakia]

I think for a short term thing, yogurt is enough, as long as it has live cultures. My girls had strep throat in the fall, and I had them eat a cup or two a day (not a problem because they love yogurt). But when my oldest was about 4, she had bladder reflux and had to take antibiotics for about 3-4 months. I got some chewable acidophillus (sp?). I'm sure others here will be more knowledgeable about what you need. Hope you feel better!!

[swainsonshawk]

My little boy has a milk allergy that causes dirrahea when he accidentally eats milk. I give him probiotics to recover. His come in a powder form and I put it into his food. For an adult, I would recommend Pearls. They are supposed to dissolve at the right place in your gut so that you get the most benefit. It's what I take when I am recovering from antibiotic usage.

[Mallorie]

Since you said "huge antibiotic", I would probably go with more than just yogurt.

 

I buy florajen from my chiropractor, and if I didn't get those, I would go to a health food store and buy them. Look for the ones that are kept cool/refridgerated to preserve live cultures.

[juelle]

I use MegaFlora, and I buy it from Vitacost. It seems from my experience that different bodies need different probiotics. My mother takes one that makes me feel awful.:tongue_smilie: I hope you can find something that works for you.

 

I concur with the pp about finding one with at least 5 strains of flora and that stays refrigerated. Obviously mine isn't cold while shipping, but I do keep it in the fridge after opening.

[sbgrace]

It depends on the strain in the yogurt and rather it an actually survive the digestion process. Many can't. If you're using one with clinical study type evidence that it colonizes the digestive track you're likely ok. Activia I think has that but I hate the "junk" in it. Some probiotics won't survive the digestion process either so you're right to wonder what to use. Look for ones that have proven effectiveness in studies especially against stuff like c. diff. A few have clinical trial and medical journal evidence. Anyway, yes you can use yogurt if you pick the correct one so look at studies.

 

I find it's easier to just get a proven probiotic and take that. Culturelle is widely available in CVS and the like and has lots of evidence published in medical journals that it is going to survive the digestion process to do what it needs to do. It's a great one for antibiotics because it's strong enough to fight the really nasty stuff like c. diff you can pick up on antibiotics.

 

Whether yogurt or probiotics you can't take them with the antibiotic because the antibitiotic will kill them just like it kills the good bacteria already living inside you. You need to re-dose at least three hours after every single antibiotic dose. I dose three hours after and then half way between doses as well just in case digestion is slow.

 

Florastor is the only probiotic that antibiotics can't kill and it, too, has tons of clinical trial evidence. It's great because it survives the antibiotics but it's not usually available at least around here. I have to get it online.

[ScoutTN]

Yogurt is not enough. Ditto on the what works one one person doesn't for another. I just peppered the store people (Whole Foods) with questions, then read labels, then read some on the web and from books.

 

I was looking for my kids, though, so I don't have any specific brands to rec. Sorry! I do think they help keep us well in general, in addition to counteracting ab's.