probiotics-how long?

How long should one take probiotic supplements for the bacteria to effectively fill up the intestines? If you stop taking it, will they go away, or will they continue to reproduce inside of you and do their job? Im asking because someone told me that you need to be on the supplements for at least 6 months for it to do anything, but I dont know where they were getting this information.

I'd recommend a minimum of a month but it depends on the number of capsules you take a day, the dosage of each and which strains you are taking.

Why do you need probiotics? What did you take to remove all of your good bacteria?

djwhirlpool said:

Why do you need probiotics? What did you take to remove all of your good bacteria?

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Much of what is commonly accepted today, like antibiotics, high meat intake or acidifying meals (meat, table salt, processed foods, sugar etc), alcohol, stress, drugs, toxins in meat/veggies/fish/tapwater are bad for good bacteria. Sad, but true.

A month with quality supplements sounds good, then switch to high quality, organic yogourt/kefir that contains active strains of 3+ bacterias everyday. Then after 3-6 months, do another cycle.

With this regime it will be difficult for you to get sick, and your skin, digestion and liver functions will improve.

Cholesterol, blood pressure, nutriments absorption (enzymes, minerals) and general inflamative reactions (skins, sore muscles, joints, digestion, headaches..) will improve.

I take them because I have acne (just one of my many symptoms of candida overgrowth). I believe I have had candida overgrowth due to many factors..being on large amounts of drug (both prescription and illegal). I was on BC pills for a couple years (BC are known to lead to candida in some people). Also I heavily consumed alcohol for awhile and consume it in moderation now.

All the candida factors aside, taking probiotics has proven(in at least one study I read, sorry I dont have a link or anything I read this in a magazine) to increase immunity.

jubai said:

Much of what is commonly accepted today, like antibiotics, high meat intake or acidifying meals (meat, table salt, processed foods, sugar etc), alcohol, stress, drugs, toxins in meat/veggies/fish/tapwater are bad for good bacteria. Sad, but true.

A month with quality supplements sounds good, then switch to high quality, organic yogourt/kefir that contains active strains of 3+ bacterias everyday. Then after 3-6 months, do another cycle.

With this regime it will be difficult for you to get sick, and your skin, digestion and liver functions will improve.

Cholesterol, blood pressure, nutriments absorption (enzymes, minerals) and general inflamative reactions (skins, sore muscles, joints, digestion, headaches..) will improve.

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Sounds like a bunch of hippy crap to me. Show me a medical journal that agrees with what you just said.

From what I've read about candida, it can be pretty serious to the point where you might need to be hospitalized and given IV antibiotics.

Have you seen your doctor about this?

I dont have a doctor. No insurance. I dont go to doctors unless Im GOING to die of something and I know they can do something about it. I dont enjoy paying 80 bucks minimum for an office visit where they dont listen to my concerns and usually do nothing to help.
PLease, if I went to a doctor about this (any western medicine) they would tell me Im full of it basically. Western medicine doesnt seem to believe in things like candida unless its like, growing on the outside of your body. Antibiotics would only make candida worse, btw..one of the most common causes of a candida overgrowth is taking antibiotics. Because it kills the good bacteria which keep it in check..
I started taking them in the begining mostly because I heard they help with immunity and with skin and Ill do ANYTHING to try and get rid of my acne for good.
I tend to follow holistic/alternative medicine a lot more than anything Id read in a medical journal..just because western medicine hasnt helped me with many problems I suffered with for years such as depression, psoriasis, tmj, etc. While alternative medicine has.

Here is one article I found..kinda short but yeah
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/2/444S
and here is the curezone page about candida, for more of an alternative viewpoint
http://curezone.com/dis/1.asp?C0=75

How do you know you have candida overgrowth? Do you have chronic yeast infections or other infections in your mouth or moist areas on your body?

I guess since I work in the medical field and I am usually skeptical of people that self-diagnose. Candida is a real bacteria and I'm sure there are tests to see if you have it or not, so I doubt a doctor would tell you that you're full of crap. I understand that you don't have insurance, so it's not possible for you to go to a doctor and have a bunch of tests run and then have prescriptions filled.

I'm happy that alternative medicines have worked to help with other problems, but those things are not approved by the FDA, so you don't really know what you're getting and sometimes certain herbal supplements can cause more harm than good.

example: Yesterday, we had a patient come in that was interested in one of our diabetic research studies and upon examination the nurse discovered this man had dangerously high blood pressure. High enough that he should have been in the hospital. This man and his wife do not have insurance, so they were using supplements and a more holistic approach because that's all they could afford. I can't remember which supplement he was taking, but one of the side effects was high blood pressure, which he did not know.

I'm not saying that what you're doing is bad, but it should be done in combination with a doctor, because you don't always know what you're doing to yourself. At least try to reseach medical journals or studies that have been done on what you're taking, so you have some idea. Maybe you already do and that's good.

djwhirlpool said:

Sounds like a bunch of hippy crap to me. Show me a medical journal that agrees with what you just said.

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You could try wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotics

Pubmed will give you 3 THOUSANDS articles on probiotics and their effects, you pick

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed



There is hippy crap, and then there is hippy crap, djwhirlpool.

You are right to be conscious and critical on "new-age" ideas, which I am too.

But the effects of the different probiotics strains have been scientificaly demonstrated for decades now, over and over again, and is an accepted fact daily told by doctors.

What's your diet like, Deja?

Good work Jubai.

My diet is a lot of veggies, some fruit. Veggie juice, fruit juice. Tons of water. I like brown rice. Lots of beans and some soy products for protien. I try not to eat too much of anything "white", the only white "bread" I eat is pizza dough sometimes. I eat white pasta maybe...once every three weeks. I rarely if ever eat anything sweet like candy, cookies, etc. Maybe once every three months or so Ill have a scoop of ice cream or a cookie. I dont drink often anymore..lately its been one night on average every week or two and I dont get real drunk. (I used to though).

jubai said:

You could try wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotics

Pubmed will give you 3 THOUSANDS articles on probiotics and their effects, you pick

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed



There is hippy crap, and then there is hippy crap, djwhirlpool.

You are right to be conscious and critical on "new-age" ideas, which I am too.

But the effects of the different probiotics strains have been scientificaly demonstrated for decades now, over and over again, and is an accepted fact daily told by doctors.

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I know that probiotics are real. I just never heard anything about all the things you said were bad for good bacteria. Some of them, yes. Others, I'm not so sure about.

Oh, and for future reference, Wikipedia isn't always. considered hard hitting information.


Deja, you never answered why you think you have an overgrowth of candida.

MynameisnotDeja said:

My diet is a lot of veggies, some fruit. Veggie juice, fruit juice. Tons of water. I like brown rice. Lots of beans and some soy products for protien. I try not to eat too much of anything "white", the only white "bread" I eat is pizza dough sometimes. I eat white pasta maybe...once every three weeks. I rarely if ever eat anything sweet like candy, cookies, etc. Maybe once every three months or so Ill have a scoop of ice cream or a cookie. I dont drink often anymore..lately its been one night on average every week or two and I dont get real drunk. (I used to though).

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Deja, if you're having trouble digesting, you might want to take a second look at the whole grains you consume. Brown rice is harder to digest than white rice, and lots of beans and soy are gas producing and "drying". These could cause problems, though it may seem you're eating really healthy at the outset. You have to combine them properly.

Brown rice and lots of whole wheat and grain foods are good for strong digestion. I personally used to eat loads of them, and salad etc. Unil I realized that I was having quite a tough time digesting, so I switched back to white rice. I don't think white rice should be a problem if you eat lots of fiber-- just keep it in check so it doesn't sludge up, mix it with good, well-chewed vegetable fiber.

I used to take probiotics regularly, but eventually found ways to naturally balance my drug-addled digestion by taking things like ginger, etc. Sometimes if your intestinal habitat isn't in such good shape either they'll die off in there anyway. I guess you have to "clear things out" first.

Alcohol feeds candida. If you have candida, you may wish to reduce your alcohol consumption. To effectively starve candida you may have to cut it out altogether for quite some time, along with some other foods.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=alcohol+candida&meta=

I dont know if I have trouble digesting or not...it doesnt seem like it. And Ximot I dont drink much alcohol anymore.