Gut Flora/ Is it Important?

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

B

Blonde Angel

Stalwart
Messages
583
Reaction score
3
Points
88
Who uses probiotics?
Just thought I would get the neurones going:pfft:


Why? or Why not? What is the exact relevance to good mental health? Diabetes?

The following lifestyle and dietary factors that can disrupt the balance of the good bacteria include:
*Antibiotics
*Medications.. including over the counter stuff
*Diet predominant in processed foods
*Overeating and poor dietary habits
*Illness
*Food poisoning
*Stress
*Food additives and preservatives
*Smoking and excess alcohol
*Drugs
*Household antibacterial washes and cleaning products (something I am aware as I do get some dermatitis)
*Exposure to toxic substances.

Do we exactly know what we are ingesting and how do we advocate the interactions and understand its implications?

Why.. or why not do you need to know what you eating and drinking??
 
I tried making my own...I made such cock up I was very ill when I stopped having ad dabs about it I going buy it
 
I use probiotics and have also been learning the wonders of fermented foods (natural probiotics).
 
I find a large glass of freshly juiced sauerkraut for breakfast is invigorating!
 
I do not currently use probiotics. I have used in the past somewhat. I tried drinking liquid probiotics in the form of yogurt (kefir). I found that it helped somewhat but I was not regular in the sense that I did not drink the keffir regularly enough to find it useful. I have recently ordered some probiotics in the form of pills which I should be able to take more regularly as I find pills to be more convenient. The probiotic that I ordered was from Piping Rock (http://www.pipingrock.com/acidophilus-probiotics/probiotic-10-strains-4-billion-wfos-4951). It seems like it should be helpful in getting me to a better place nutritionally. If not, I'll try something different.
 
you make own kefir they like crystals get somebody give you some and they reproduce for ever my friend had them on the go for 50yrs...youtube will show you how to do it..and heavens sake follow it to the letter I did not nearly died
 
So, should we need to consider the importance of probiotics in a specific and general perspective??
Research undertaken in the last ten years has shown that probiotics play an important role in weight gain and obesity. How probiotics improve weight loss, reduce diabetes risk.

What about the head stuff? gut flora and mental health? How do we use methods of improving ones mental health naturally?
How doe we improve ones gut flora?
The diet that includes good bacteria include the yoghurt, sauerkraut, kefir and other fermented foods.

The above are questions I have been thinking about in my quest to help my child.
How do we improve the mood naturally???
.Inflammation
.Oxidation
.Stress
Consider their physiological processes.

How does a multi targeted approach that involves the lifestyle, nutritional, biological and psychological factors connect?
Understand, there is growing interest of mental health stuff from researchers with how mental health affects the gut and brain.

There is far fewer sides effects using probiotics, prebiotics, healthy foods to combat mental health symptoms.. than using anti anxiety , antidepressant medications?? Lets also understand there is some ugly side effects like tolerance to consider.

I am no longer travelling the road of anti anxiety meds for my girl, I was tempted once when things were crappy .. but I vow never to give her this. What you ingest has good or bad consequences, I have read the pro and cons and have made an informed decision.

Just some questions in my head today.
 
seagull
you keep fighting, if you don't cope with making your own just buy some probiotics. Do what works for you.
 
I use kefir since I am lactose intolerant. I have made my own in the past. It is not too hard to make. The kefir I use is 99% lactose free. I think, BlondeAngel, that you had mentioned that you have found lactose-free yogurt where you live. I would like to find some. I have not found any where I live.

I use beans (limited amounts) because they are relatively high in protein, high in potassium (many of them). I use pineapple as well, which is good for digestion (bromelain). I use pineapple juice to break down fish meat (it is proteolytic) and to take away the fishy taste. I just read that bromelain is also a natural anticoagulant as well. Pineapple is one of my my primary sources of vitamin c. Pineapple is also slightly alkali which helps to maintain the proper slightly alkali normal pH of the stomach.
 
Last edited:
Hi Michael
I am not sure if you live away from a city, I have found it no issue as I live near a Capital city in Australia. If you have exhausted the googling in the region you live for lactose free yoghurt.. then its no drama as you are already using kefir.

I also have some lactose intolerance, so its been a lifestyle choice to me to seek out lactose free yoghurts and cheeses too not just for my girl.
I am amazed how the health of our digestive system plays an important role when it involves the health of our body. The stomach is amazing.
 
Blonde Angel said:
I am amazed how the health of our digestive system plays an important role when it involves the health of our body. The stomach is amazing.
Click to expand...

Ditto. I would add amazing(ly) complex. I can't seem to get the mix right, and I have been trying for 15 years.

I simply miss yogurt. It was such a regular for me for me since my childhood.
 
I'm trying fermenting poi the traditional Hawaiian way. It comes out with a taste and texture very like yoghurt.

Most poi that tourists are exposed to on vacation in Hawaii is just fresh ground up taro root which doesn't taste bad, it's just incredibly boring.

The older generation of Hawaiians like their poi really sour the way it was served in their childhood before there was refrigeration. They can't understand "these youngsters nowadays" who can't be bothered to let their poi ferment.
 
I will say after recently being on a course of a broad spectrum antibiotics (first azithromycin, then Cipro, which kills pretty much everything, good bacteria and bad), I haven't been feeling great for the past month. Nighttime myoclonics going on almost every night along with other stuff--no idea if it's because of the Cipro or the lack of gut balance, but my bet is gut balance. Without those good bacteria, you aren't absorbing nutrients well or synthesizing the B vitamins from food. Even with probiotics, it can take a very long time to re-establish the right balance. Anyone who takes antibiotics should definitely take probiotics!
 
MichaelJO7 said:
Ditto. I would add amazing(ly) complex. I can't seem to get the mix right, and I have been trying for 15 years.



Hi Michael
I agree that's the challenge for most people to get that balance right. The stomach is complex and I'm in awe yet frustrated at the same time.
Keep searching, keep a record\diary of what you do and keep reviewing stuff.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Lindsayschu2
Yeah, the problem with antibiotics is that it kills the the good and bad bugs and it works indiscriminately.
I use antibiotics as a last last resort for my girl eg if she's got a really bad winter bug and she is not shaking is it off after a week. Its a catch 22 because I do not want increased seizure activity despite the use of probiotics and selected nutrients.

Yes, its about finding that balance... not easy :(
 
I may be making progress. I lived out of a motel room for three weeks, and did not have access to my normal diet. The fridge was too small and there were no cooking facilities. etc. I changed my diet out of necessity for the duration while I was in the motel. I am settling into another temporary place, and getting back to my normal diet, and my digestion is doing somewhat better. I know when my stomach is better, it makes a significant difference in how I feel. I can cook again.
 
I also think playing in the dirt is good--gardening, digging up rocks, whatever. Soil based organisms are the other kind of probiotic we used to get a lot of naturally that we don't as much anymore. I get a lot of them rock and fossil hunting, but there are of course supplements now--some controversy about them, but people were eating tons of dirt back in our more 'earthy' days by eating foods fresh out of the garden. Lacto-based probiotics are good but only part of the spectrum we naturally maintain in the healthy gut. No one with a badly out of balanced gut or a compromised immune system should take SBOs though until a better balance is achieved.
 
Yeah.
I do think further research is required to help understand the potential benefits of probiotics. Its still promising that probiotic supplementation, along with eating a healthy nutritious diet are NATURAL and SAFE ways to improve the health of our body.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom