probiotics...... Kefir

[efly]

One way of getting good bacteria into the gut is make your own "KEFIR''.....the grains last forever.....Have a look at http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html . You can make Kefir from coconut milk for those sensitive to dairy.
cheers
efly

[niaholt]

Probiotics are crucial for many to recover from CFS. However I believe it is important to know what kind your gut needs. Having done the test with Metametrix I now take 2 forms, one to colonize the gut and destroy a lot of bad guys and the other herbal for parasites and salmonella . I was doing Kefir some yrs back and got very bad gut problems....wrong ratio maybe for my gut. The Metametrix test discovered the following ratio in my test:

"There should be a balance of a ratio of ‘good’ to ‘bad’ bacteria in the intestine, of 9 : 1; you have a ratio of good: bad of 1:1.5 – you have 21.9 cfu/gram of harmful bacteria and therefore you should have approximately 200 cfu/gram of beneficial bacteria – you have just 15.3 ! "

I had been taking probiotics and yet here is the awful truth. I posted these results to show you may not even think you have dysbiosis as you have no symptoms yet here is the result of gut infections. They alter the neurotransmitters as they are made in the gut. My transmitters are thru the roof, including adrenaline, making me hyper. Also we know the immune cells are made in the gut. Healthy gut healthy body.

I just think so many of us are so over loaded with toxins it is indeed very hard for the parasympathic to get a balance. Taking the load off our bodies where we can along with Gupta is the way forward.

[niaholt]

I am posting this from another forum I have just read about the gut and and the need for probiotics in CFS.
I think the study was in Canada where half of a group of 35 CFS people were given chocolate and half yogurt. The yoghurt group had the much better feeling of well being.......it affected the 2nd brain in the gut

Intestinal Flora and Your Brain

A. Venketeshwer Rao, MSc, PhD, the study author and professor emeritus of nutritional science at University of Toronto, says that there has been skepticism in the medical world about the role intestinal flora plays in the system of gut-brain communication (the enteric nervous system, often called "the second brain"). He said that this study provides evidence that through their metabolism in the gut, probiotic bacteria can boost levels of the mood-elevating chemicals tryptophan (an amino acid) and serotonin (a neurotransmitter). He added that the regions of the brain affected by CFS also house anxiety and depression. "These parts of the brain seem to respond to changes in the microflora, and most of our behavior patterns are controlled by these areas," he says.

Dr. Rao says there still is much to learn about the role of gut flora. But many, if not most people, could improve their health by taking probiotics. The study used a probiotic drink, but Dr. Rao says that probiotic supplements may be even more effective, depending on what types and how many of the live microbes they contain. He advises looking for a product that contains Lactobacillus Shirota and Bifidobacteria, with 100 to 120 billion live probiotic bacteria.

[Chronicfatiguetreatments]

i feel much better when i take probiotics. I took antibiotics for acne for about 8 years and i always felt like that was part of what caused me to get sick. I take a brand called healthy trinity, and it too expensive. But it does help alot.
It helps mostly with my concetration problems.