I am not a fan of supplements, and I wonder if they have actually been doing me harm.

Does everyone need a probiotic?

I take a multivitamin, calcium, magnesium, b-100 and probiotic.

Just curious what others take and does anyone just take a multi and call it a day?

Sometimes I feel like I live on supplements. Kind of annoying.

thoughts?

I do not believe that vitamin tablets are effective, they do not provide the symbiotic relationship found in natural food items. There is so much to choose from naturally.

RawPracticalist Wrote:
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> I do not believe that vitamin tablets are
> effective, they do not provide the symbiotic
> relationship found in natural food items. There is
> so much to choose from naturally.


I am letting go of vitamins. It is time.

probiotics are good but it depends. The type of food you eat attracks specific bacteria. You can bomb and try to change the bacteria with probiotics but if you eat the wrong type of foods (like meat-fish), then it is a lost game long term. You don't need probiotics But some foods or medicine can kill the flora. it is hard to come up with a Fixed answer.

Right.. duh! I should have thought of this before.. if I eat right, no reason for supplements.

a way to meausre flora activity is by the air they produce. But it could be tricky. For example a weak pancreas that does not alkalinize the stomach juices can cause extra fermentation. I see probiotics more like a tool, not either bad or good. Sometimes they are needed as life is not perfect. Some people prefer to usew them and not worry.

I am wondering if I overdid it on the probiotics.. maybe caused the candida???

No. Probiotics will help prevent candida.

From what I have read most of the protobiotic supplements are destroyed in the stomach acid. Enteric coated ones are supposed to be able to survive the acid to make it further through the digestive system.

In the past I have drunk kombucha tea to ensure a good bacteria balance.

probiotics will increase fermentation and bloating. But it is temporary. Only use probiotics once a day max. Frementation happens when there are digestive problems and extra food is passed to the bacteria or the path is too slow. Chewing more helps. garlic and onions decrease bacteria activity somehow but not much. A quick way to fix it is with colonics (colonics board), which would requiere probiotics afterwards to repopulate the colon with bacteria.

Good input Panchito, but, I will have to add that using probiotics ONLY once a day is not correct if one is in need of this type of therapy! Naturally we would get good bacteria into the mouth throughout the day but we do not. People with poor digestine and no foods containing good bacteria throughout the day will need it supplimented until better. For some one like this I would suggest three times a day to bowel tolorence, preferably Primal Defense by GOL. And, IMO garlic IS very good for bacteria! If a person eats enough organic garlic they will kill just about every bad living thing in their bodies lol. All kinds of worms also. These bad pathogens don't have thick skin like humans right, so they cannot tolerate all this acidic garlic juice in there skins. Nasty stuff but good for humans. And colonics are awesome for anyone with a sick body, enima's are cheaper AND very effective when perfected. With the added bonus of NOT having some stranger put a hose up your bum lol. that is just uncomfortable lol.

Panchito Wrote:
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> probiotics will increase fermentation and
> bloating. But it is temporary. Only use probiotics
> once a day max. Frementation happens when there
> are digestive problems and extra food is passed to
> the bacteria or the path is too slow. Chewing more
> helps. garlic and onions decrease bacteria
> activity somehow but not much. A quick way to fix
> it is with colonics (colonics board), which would
> requiere probiotics afterwards to repopulate the
> colon with bacteria.

Thank you. I keep forgetting to get the garlic! Will do tomorrow.


yay- so glad I dont have candida but want to make sure I keep it away. Maybe I was going through a detox or something.. I was going to the bathroom alot.

Here's an interesting article about the relationship of gut bacteria to health and weight loss: Are Happy Gut Bacteria Key to Weight Loss?

thanks for the article

Thanks for the article, Prana; just finished reading it and it was very, very interesting

Quote

From what I have read most of the protobiotic supplements are destroyed in the stomach acid. Enteric coated ones are supposed to be able to survive the acid to make it further through the digestive system.

Myth. The reason some people need probiotic supplements is because they've destroyed the good bacteria in their digestive tract because of tap water, horrible diets, antibiotics, many nonprescription drugs, etc, and they don't eat fermented foods to repopulate their digestive tract with good bacteria. Fermented foods aren't enteric coated; how then have humans been benefitting from their consumption for thousands of years? The "stomach acid destroys probiotics" argument is almost entirely a fraudulent marketing pitch.

Fermented foods have many benefits over probiotics too*, I see probiotics as unnecessary if you eat and drink enough fermented foods, which everyone should do. Making your own also costs almost nothing, whereas quality probiotic supplements are much more expensive.

* Massive amounts of enzymes, good quantities of vitamin c and b vitamins, highly absorbable minerals and other phytonutrients, to name a few. Taking a probiotic supplement is like taking a multivitamin (although nowhere near as bad) in that they are isolated supplements, whereas fermented foods are whole foods with the full spectrum of nutrients you need.

I dont even know anything about fermented foods.

I need to research this area.

michelemm Wrote:
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> I dont even know anything about fermented foods.
>
> I need to research this area.


They're yummy!

And best of all, you can make them all yourself fresh and not have to rely on "store bought". As I had mentioned earlier, I was big into making kombucha tea a few years ago - different flavors - great stuff.

I've been using probiotics for years and found them beneficial for candida & strengthening my immune system. Just make sure it's a good quality, non-dairy formula such as Garden Of Life Primal Defense Ultra.

I likely will always take supplements for extra insurance regardless of how good my diet is.

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