Specialized brands of probiotics for brain health as well as colon health

Just had an interesting chat with a psychiatrist - she suggested probiotic that has Lactobacillus planetarium and bifidobacterium infants. I am posting this here as I know some of you have more advanced knowledge of probiotics than I do....I looked up VSL #3, it has both in there (plus other strains).
Apparently these two specifically are to help with the "mind" part of Ulcerative Colitis of gut/brain problems in general...she suggested probiotics for my gut (which am still exploring different ones....really clueless which one best), and in addition, what I said above...for my head stuff (depression and anxiety).

Any insights?

Thank you for the tip on VSL although I am aware it needs to be cold, or they are essentially dead. I've been avoiding taking them...I guess just busy, taking my regular probiotics....but they do have the strains this article talks about. I will attempt to find a link for this article, sometime in the upcoming busy week. The name of it is Psychoneurolgastroenterology:The abdominal brain, the micro biome, and psychiatry. The psychiatrist called it the biggest newest thing happening in this field.

Just one line "It is of great relevance to psychiatry that 90% of the body's serotonin and 50% of dopamine are found in the GI brain"

I have read a lot of similar things in the GAPS diet book.

Perhaps I could have posted this over in the depression thread. However, as I originally said, I've noticed in my short time here that a few people are quite knowledgable about the differences in probiotics - perhaps its a simple as different strains - but apparently different strains have not only a huge impact on our gut, but also on our brain health. I'd like to know more about BOTH....if anyone just happens to know specific probiotics they feel helps the gut, as well as probiotics that have predominately those two strains I mentioned in my 1st post....I'd be truly grateful. In the meantime I think I may check out the vsl....but gosh I sure cannot afford that right now.

eeekseel, "Also if you order VSL#3 make sure it's still cold when it arrives. If it gets too hot the advanced strains are dead and you might as well take a standard probiotic. When I ordered mine it was so hot the cold pack was warm and the bottle was expanded from the heat so it was totally useless."


My local CVS pharmacy carries VSL#3. It was a bit more expensive than I could find online but it may be worth it to know that it has been kept at the proper temperature

tiredofallthispoop said...
eeekseel, "Also if you order VSL#3 make sure it's still cold when it arrives. If it gets too hot the advanced strains are dead and you might as well take a standard probiotic. When I ordered mine it was so hot the cold pack was warm and the bottle was expanded from the heat so it was totally useless."


My local CVS pharmacy carries VSL#3. It was a bit more expensive than I could find online but it may be worth it to know that it has been kept at the proper temperature

Yes, as I responded to eekseel I am aware the VSL 3 needs to be cold, but thank you for taking the time to remind me! Yes, I once bought it at Safeway (my pharmacy...I don't recall, it was around $110), another time I bought at the Dollar Drug Store....they were very savvy about the coldness, they sell a lot of it. Have a great day.

eekseel said...
Taking advanced probiotics is not going to hurt but if people are having to spend a fortune on temporary relief only to stress out over bills, how much is that helping this whole "gut/brain" thing? There are tons of ways to get probiotics in diet and even grow your own. Kefir, yogurt, kombucha, kimchi, fermented vegetables, all very very easy to make, for starters ...

Yep, same consensus I've made myself......

The thing is that nobody can offer a definitive answer on whether any specific probiotics will work for MY system......or yours, Nourse......or eeksleels. We have to try them and see.

My perspective on this is that I wanted to try several varieties before the VSL3 (due to it's exorbitant cost) don't get me wrong, if it provided appreciable relief to me----I'd make it work. But so far probiotics haven't "cured me".

I have noticed some very distinct changes since adding the "Advanced Gut Health" brand though, and I am only taking the 15 million count ones. Most notable, I have hunger pangs again !!! It has been a very long time since my stomach has actually 'growled'.

Secondly, my chronic sinusitis has completely stopped. My nose would run immediately upon eating or drinking ANYTHING and this has been going on 2 years or more. It would run the very second I began drinking my morning coffee (which I drink black).

I should also note that I added Primadolphilus Reuteri several weeks after the 'Advanced Gut Health'. I usually alternate between the two and only take one type per day. The AGH was designed to survive stomach acid, so I take that with meals. If I take PR, I take it apart from meals.

Right now, as I sip my coffee......I need no Kleenex and I haven't for weeks now. I used to have to carry a Kleenex around with me 24/7. This is a profound change, in my opinion.

I haven't had mucus in my stool in over 3 weeks. I have seen blood a few times though, but it has been minor amounts. Now, I am also taking (and have been for months) melamine both oral and rectal. So this could very well be a team effort......and I am drinking ginger tea daily.

I just started making my own homemade kefir. So now I won't be able to assign any accolades to any probiotic in particular, because I am going to switch over to it exclusively.....not only because of cost, but also because it is said to be far more active bacterially speaking than other probiotics due to freshness and never experiencing any heat or stress.

30 different strains are known to grow in water kefir. I have also ordered milk kefir grains and will be making both types soon. I find them delicious , too. I am also going to make my own yogurts and cultured veggies and consume plenty of resistant starch (to feed my new friends).

As far as probiotics not being popular......I think it's just the uncertainty. And so many have tried them and not seen appreciable results so they just drive on by. Too many unknowns. I think people get tired of experiments that fail maybe?

I am still new......I am not tired of trying yet. I don't quit easily either.....I am going to keep on looking for the winning combo.

I am having a scope with my new doctor tomorrow (previous two were with the guy I didn't like much) so this will tell me a lot. I really like her and feel confident about her thoughts.....and a second opinion will calm my mind.

When it comes to probiotics, people get stuck on the idea that they have to consume them, but they forget about the environment in which they live. If they have a good environment to live in they will continue multiply and thrive, just like any other organism.

People with UC have a more hostile gut environment than others, so probiotics have a harder time colonizing. This is why some of us take more aggressive probiotics to keep our guts heavily populated. But again, this doesn't address the underlying issue. Our immune systems attack the cells which manage the substrate in which they live. So as you take probiotics you need to take something to build up the gut lining or they won't stick around long. By taking prebiotics and fermented foods not only are you getting probiotics but you're also consuming the substrate, fermentable fiber, in which they live. So if you're going to consume VSL3 you're better off adding fermented foods into your diet.

We can't forget that probiotics is a billion dollar business. We've evolved over hundreds of thousands of years without needing to take probiotics since they literally come out of thin air. The body is an incredible machine and finds ways to regulate these systems and get what it needs out of the environment which is why I have a hard time believing we "need" these pills as much as people keep saying we do.

@eekseel

Really great points. Precisely why I am harvesting my own bacterias here with kefir, yogurts and fermented foods. And also adding potato starch, green bananas and oat bran in to offer extra food.

@iPoop, I am in insufferable optimist and can't give up. Of course, the fact that I had an entire 8 year remission from this disease (med free, no less) is tough to forget....