Thoughts on This Probiotic?

I question any probiotic that doesn't need long term refrigeration (ok if out at room temp for winter shipping etc.). I would look for one that has at least 100 billion FCU.

I think it has some good Bifidobacterium strains but needs other strains of Lactobacillus.

VSL3 is great no doubt, but one size doesn't fit all with probiotics. My personal preferences (supported by literature) are probiotics that contain the strains L. acidophilus, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus, L. johnsonii, S. boulardi, in addition to the Bifidobacterium strains that are in VSL3. The strains I mention (other than the Bifido) have greater effect in the small intestine where they can affect nutrient absorption and cause lysis of undesirable bacteria. They not only give us a more desirable flora but they physically contribute to the decrease in undesirable flora.

Hey, I agree with previous posts that refrigerated probiotics are superior, because the bacteria may die without refrigeration.

The verdict is still out on many of the strains found in common probiotics. Bifido and acidopholis have the most research backing them so I still to these for now.

Also, enteric coated is preferable to other capsules because they do not release in the upper quardrent of the stomach. Bacteria are a lot more useful in the large colon then the small intestine, which is supposed to be more sterile.

Best of luck

For those of you taking VSL#3, how much do you take per day? I'm wondering if I'm taking enough.

I take mine at bedtime so antibiotics don't kill it off. My LL recommended a probiotic with at least 50 B units.

I have not seen one probiotic that has everything we need and I don't think we can get everything we need from supplementation. Ortho Biotic from Ortho Molecular is a good combination for Lyme patients. Swanson ' s L. Reuteri is a good mixture to rotate in. Neither of these are refrigerated but that did not discourage me from using them. They have short expiration dates as would be expected. I often use Florajen3 because I can buy it here at the store. It is refrigerated. I preach on eating so much because you can get 20 times as many bacteria from eating raw food and a much greater bacterial diversity. Brominated foods don't count as their bacterial levels are very low. Meat, like other acids, decreases the levels of many of these beneficial bacteria. We need the methionine in meat so reducing it to once or twice a week is beneficial IMO.

I have had best results from taking my probiotics two hours after EACH antibiotic dose (as recommended by my LLMD). And I rotate the type of probiotic to try to include the most strains of organisms as well as eating fermented foods.

This method has worked well, considering that I do not follow a strict Lyme diet.

I like Ultimate Flora from Renew Life. I own a vitamin store so I get feedback from customers and find it's one of the better ones. I also like to see independent testing and labdoor.com has rated it #1 amongst the ones they've tested. The 50 billion one actually tested out at 83 bil. They may be more expensive than VSL#3 (just guessing) but I'd rather pay more knowing I'm taking a high quality product than just assuming. I'm not putting down VSL3 in any way but would like to see testing before saying for sure it's a high quality product.

I got my college girl one that didn't need to be refrigerated. I have no idea if it's helping since she doesn't have any chronic illness, but I don't think she has been sick for a good stretch since starting it. She graduates this spring, so that will cut out some of the stress and if she finds a job here, she can live with us and I'll feed her better and have her take some better probiotics...if she's home enough to eat! I just hope she doesn't get exposed to nasty stuff from her job.