I want to start taking probiotics again, but which?

I'm in remission for my UC but I am thinking about supplementing with probiotics again. I know the VSL-3 are supposed to be the best, but I was wondering if there was something out there that is just as good without the high price. Suggestions?

What are you taking for meds while in remission? Guardian is right, you have to take what's best for you but if you don't already know what that is then you kind of have to go the trial and error route. Don't overlook the fact that VSL is actually the cheapest when you are talking about dividing the price by the number of CFU's and it is the logical place to start since there are a lot of studies with it and UC. You can get the capsules which have 112.5 billion CFU's per capsule and goes for about $60 for 60 capsules. That's what I use. You could just take one per day, which would only be about $30 per month, probably cheaper than any other probiotic that would give you 112.5 CFU's every day for one month.

ya, same question : what are your current and past meds ?

also, what was the probiotic you used before/why did you quit ?

why are you wanting to start them again ?

who's gonna be in the super bowl this coming season ?

Post Edited (soystud) : 8/19/2014 10:37:58 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Katie -

I've been iffy on the idea of taking probiotics as of late... my reasoning for this is that yogurt and fermented foods seem to be keeping me well enough. I do okay on the both, though the high count probiotic cfus were very therapeutic to me after some misguided antibiotic courses (which I feel yogurt wouldn't be enough for).

I really do believe, as gary alluded to, that probiotics are hit or miss. They are also heavily unregulated supplements. Since you are in remission, it is up to you on whether you want to test the waters or not, since probiotics could end up making things worse. I would feel okay with just yogurt and fermented foods, though that is just for my case.

Best.

Since you have taken VSL before that wouldn't be a bad one to take. There are several studies connected with it regarding UC. You can take one capsule per day for around $30 per month. You might spend that per month on yogurt anyway and there can be a lot of bad ingredients in most brands of yogurts.

I make yogurt at home from VSL#3.It is actually a bargain when used as a yogurt starter and a very good one. It is pretty sour though. I also make two room temperate yogurts also. The evidence that yogurt helps your digestion and health probably exceeds the evidence for probiotic pills. A packet of VSL#3 will make a gallon of yogurt. A gallon of yogurt per week is a lot of food and a lot of probiotic bacteria. That is $3 for the vsl#3 starter plus what ever a gallon of milk costs. You need two large pots that nest to use as a double boiler, a small cooler and a medical heat pad, and some canning jars and lids. Room temperature yogurt requires starter, which you use over and over, and some canning jars. I make Viili and Caspian Sea. It is very easy to make. Kefir has a buttload of bacteria and worked well for me but I found making it to be persnickity.

If you want to buy yogurt, Mountain High plain and Dannon Premium plain both use nothing but milk (and pectin in the low fat/skim milk varieties) and the probiotic bacteria in both is very similar to VSL#3. There are many organic and natural yogurts that have no additives.

Making yogurt is extremely easy, I would highly advise it. The worst part is boiling the milk. Anyways, I've been using GI ProStart with stellar results. Quite tart/sour when plain.