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Activia and Crohn's

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/24/2010 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
Just wondering if any of you have had any luck with Activia helping with the big D. My mom and dad insist that i use
it to try to regulate myself because my mom has had luck with it helping her although her D is caused by other problems.

Was hoping for some insight, I've been using it for about a week and still no luck.
Posted 3/24/2010 4:04 AM (GMT 0)
I tried it to keep me regular and I think it worked, but i didn't like the sugar, but I have narrowing rather than d i tend to get c.

Posted 3/24/2010 5:14 AM (GMT 0)
I ate a TON of Activia when I first started to get sick and didn't know what was wrong with me.  I ate it for at least 2 months for breakfast and snacks.  For me it didn't help and probably made my D worse.  Now I don't eat dairy and feel that that helps me. 
Posted 3/24/2010 11:06 AM (GMT 0)
If you can tolerate dairy it might help, you might think about taking it with a lactaid pill just to be on the safe side. If you find it isn't helping maybe looking into investing in a daily probiotic pill to take inside with the same benefits... there are a few threads in here discussing probiotic pills. I take one everyday and it helps!
Posted 3/24/2010 12:05 PM (GMT 0)
I like stonyfield farms organic yogurt. There is no added sugar which I like. All the sweet comes from the fruit they put in it. I used to love yoplait but frankly I felt all the sugar and high fructose corn syrup did away with any benfit I was getting from a probiotic.
Posted 3/24/2010 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
I just eat Dannon Light yogurt. Still has the bacteria in it we need and only has about 80 calories/not too much sugar. I'm not a fan of probiotics personally as the pills seemed to make me worse. I'd get really gassy and have stomach pains after taking them for a few days straight. I did try activia but saw no difference between that and regular yogurt; Thus, I just take regular yogurt for the taste as well as any "possible" assistance it may give me. (Just havent noticed a big change in my health due to yogurt as it's not an every-day thing for me)
Posted 3/24/2010 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
I have friends here at work who are not Crohnies and they have normal intestines etc. A few talk about how it gave them alot of gas and crampiness. I say just find a probiotic thats right for you. I think those who got really gassy may have tried one that might have had ingredients that don't agree with our Crohns or could possibly experienced some die off symptoms until the probiotic had a chance to evens things out. JMHO
Posted 3/24/2010 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
I am still working on finding what foods work for me and which don't. So far, I find what works one day may not necessarily help another day. That being said, I have found that Activia (specifically the apple, muesli, and nuts flavour) usually helps ease my symptoms and make me feel better. Vanilla on the other hand seems to cause D and cramps. I am not sure why. Just to confuse me I am sure.
Posted 3/24/2010 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
Activia made me very sloppy and gave me gas. Didn't like it.

I rather like the Stonyfield smoothies. They are in little drink containers, and Stonyfield does have live cultures.

The Yoplait active culture yogurt thingies have inulin, and inulin is a hotly debated subject at the moment. It's one of those manufactured "sugars" that doesn't get digested. It's supposed to encourage the growth of good bacteria, but the problem is that many believe it also encourages the growth of bad bacteria. Which makes sense, because why would it be choosy about what it makes grow based on "good" and "bad". I would recommend that people watch out for it in the foods and drinks they consume. Apparently they add it and call it "fiber". That's why you see clear cranberry juice advertised with "fiber". It's something of a ruse.
Posted 3/24/2010 10:04 PM (GMT 0)
Last time I was in the hospital, one of the doctors told me not to use Activia (too bad, cause I really liked it). She told me that is used more to make you go, and that yogurt is good, but to make sure the container said "LIVE ACTIVE cultures". Not all of them say LIVE. I have been buying Chobani or Fage.
Posted 3/24/2010 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter gets cramps and d from Activia
she has ibs...
lyn
Posted 3/24/2010 11:16 PM (GMT 0)
I love yogurt, and since it has the bacterial cultures in it most lactose is gone. That's what the bacteria eat. However, like many others that have posted in previous questions, I have found Activia not to be helpful. It is hard to tell, because as your body adjusts the bacteria in you system, there will be a lot of action. In my case Activia gave me more diarrhea and made my bum sore! It never got to the point where this regulated itself, despite the ads on TV!!

I look for yogurt that has no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, and that does not have artificial colours or flavours. I also look for active bacterial culture, which I think is the same as "live" as mentioned above. In Canada the Liberte brand is excellent.
Posted 3/24/2010 11:29 PM (GMT 0)

When I was in my first flare (but still undiagnosed), I tried some Activia, and all it did was make my diarrhea a lot worse.  So I went to their website, which says that the probiotic they use (Bifidus regularis) is proven to help with SLOW intestinal transit--that's not something most IBDers have a problem with!!!

Posted 3/25/2010 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the insight, I think I will try a probiotic and if i don't see results I'll try a few new yogurts with the Live Active Cultures.
It's nice to know where i can find good sound advice =) smilewinkgrin
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