The Straight Poop About Probiotics
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Information about probiotics is everywhere. While they are for sure beneficial to your health, it’s important to know how probiotics benefit your health, and also what the best probiotics are.
Gut health is crucial to overall health – and fermented foods and probiotics are apparently two things that are very useful for improving gut health. I’ve had issues with fermented foods in the past, so I have focused mainly on probiotics when it comes to improving the digestive health of my family.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading about the benefits of probiotics recently while trying to boost the good bacteria count in my intestines.
And what I’ve been learning is fascinating.
Today I’m going to share some of what I’ve been learning plus more about my personal experience.
The “straight poop” you might say.
Again, this post is a “lengthy one,” but as you’ll see, I have a lot I want to share with you.
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10 Gut Facts and Benefits of Probiotics
1. You have 400-500 different species of bacteria in your gut, weighing approximately 3 pounds. (Source)
2. 85% of your immune system is gut microbes. (Source)
3. Good bacteria is passed through generations. As the baby passes through the birth canal, he receives beneficial bacteria from his mother. That’s why it’s important for moms to keep up their levels of probiotics, and why C-section babies are bacteria compromised from birth. (Source)
4. Probiotics have been proven to have a beneficial effect on the immune system (Source)
5. Good bacteria are supposed to comprise 85 percent of the bacteria in the gut.
6. In 2011, US sales of probiotics were over $770 million. I contributed a fair bit to that total! (Keep reading for more details.) (Source)
7. Probiotics have been shown to be effective in treating:
– Lactose Maldigestion
– Traveler’s Diarrhea
– Acute Diarrhea
– Anti-biotic induced diarrhea
– Allergies
– C-Diff (source)
– Dental Caries (source)
– Respiratory Infections
– IBS
8. Probiotics might result in healthy weight loss. (Source)
9. Probiotics might have a role in slowing the development of cancer. (Source)
10. Probiotics might have a beneficial effect on emotional health. (Source)
No wonder that the word “probiotics” comes from the word for “life.” Truly, our lives may depend on a healthy population of good gut flora.
Do All Probiotics Work?
A reader asked me a while ago what probiotic I recommend.
In a nutshell, my family and I have taken many probiotics over the years.
Some seemed to work.
And some didn’t.
For me, “working” means a clear change in digestive health, evidenced by either rumbling in the stomach and flatulence (gas)(showing that the good bacteria are attacking the bad guys), improved bowel habits (regular bowel movements with improved consistency–sorry to be graphic folks, but when you’re talking about gut health, things get a little “messy.”)
What Brand Has the Best Probiotics?
Following are most of the probiotics that we have tried and the results. I hope to continue to add to this list and possibly do a new post as well.
1. PB-8
Didn’t see much change one way or another.
2. NOW brand
(Most recently we tried their Probiotic-10, but previously I think we tried another variety. Sorry, but I don’t remember the name.)
I don’t remember any particularly positive changes from this one.
3. UAS DDS
This one came highly recommended to me. I don’t recall noticing many changes from it.
4. Primadophilus Bifidus
I noticed this one affecting the stools of my kids, particularly of my youngest, but I didn’t notice anything personally.
5. Dr. Ohira’s Professional
I only took a few samples of this brand. I had pretty clear “gurgling” in my stomach as a result but it was really pricey (about $60 per month with no option for a discount.)
Later, I used this brand again and had the same symptoms. Clearly, things are moving and shaking. I highly recommend this as a good option.
However, note that the capsules have carrageenan. Some say it causes inflammation, while others say that there isn’t enough cause for concern. I tend to think that it’s better to avoid this according to the precautionary principle–avoid unless you know it’s safe. But it’s up to you.
6. Hyperbiotics
Hyperbiotics was started following the owner’s horrible bout with a parasite. Her knowledge about probiotics is solid and her products are great.
I felt like we had some good effects with this product.
7. Smidge
We’ve also tried GutPro. It’s a probiotic unlike many others in that it’s super concentrated. It’s not cheap, but it lasts a REALLY REALLY long time.
Just a teensy bit on a teensy spoon and that’s all you need!
I have tried sooo many probiotics over the years, and with many of them, I feel NOTHING. But with GutPro? Gurgle gurgle gurgle…..something is happening for sure!
8. Miessence
Miessence’s InLiven and Fast Tract. Following is information on both of these whole food probiotics. More on our experience with this brand follows this list.
You can see we’ve tried a lot. I’m guessing we’ve easily spent thousands of dollars on probiotics over the years, many of which did nothing or little to nothing for our health.
Miessence Probiotics – Our Experience
The story behind why I even tried InLiven is a funny one.
I was taking the NOW brand that I mentioned above (but wasn’t noticing any real positive benefits), and I was also taking 1 teaspoon of Strata Flora in the afternoon (you can find Strata Flora on Amazon too, but always better to support a small company in my opinion). Strata Flora is an amazing blend (and it really “makes you poop”), but it isn’t just a probiotic, so I was always feeling I should be supplementing with something with more of a “punch.”
Regardless, the makers of Strata Flora were having trouble financially and were possibly going out of business.
So in order to keep myself “regular” I felt I really needed to go on the hunt for a new probiotic.
At the time, I read a post at Kitchen Stewardship (Katie’s a good friend of mine) about probiotics, and as I perused the comments, I stumbled upon one by Lacey Swartz (she’ll be in on the probiotic teleseminar this Thursday night) that was really intriguing.
She said,
I started using InLiven two years ago and definitely noticed some major health improvements – namely, no more yeast infections (used to struggle with them chronically), was negative on the strep test with my 4th baby (had been positive with the first 3), and overall just fewer bouts of illness.
And then she mentioned the opportunity to get 20% off or even to earn products for free, and stated that the company was “no-hype” and “no pressure.”
No pressure? Now I was really was interested.
I decided to poke around her site and found it was a company I’d known about for a long time: Miessence.
I’d been getting emails mentioning Miessence’s cosmetics for a while, but I never thought twice about it because I didn’t use many cosmetics and wasn’t convinced I needed “safe or organic stuff” on my face. (Now I know better.)
But now that I found out that they had probiotics as well.
Now we’re talking!
I spent hours poking around their site, reading about their mission statement for organic standards and sustainability, and I was hooked.
I contacted Lacey and asked a ton of questions (literally, a ton–you know how “investigative” I can be) and even got to run some questions by the owner of the company.
Anyway, I finally signed up as a rep and started using the InLiven in July of 2012.
You can read about my struggles with InLiven and all my wondering whether I could handle fermented foods in Why I Don’t Have Fermented Foods on My Blog.
But now, I am taking Miessence’s even stronger fermented probiotic drink and am tolerating it fine.
I even decided to put my whole family on InLiven to see how they would do.
Really, I would have loved to put my whole family on Miessence’s probiotics right from the start, but I buy my probiotics in bulk so we had some bottles to use up. Plus, I wanted to make sure it was really worth it before I put them all on something that cost more than we were already spending.
Here are the results:
Husband’s Results
Recently I noticed my husband had a lot of, let’s say, digestive issues. Lots of time in the bathroom and that kind of thing.
I asked him to try the InLiven and the very next day the lengthy bathroom visits stopped and he said he clearly and quickly noticed improved digestion.
UPDATE: (later in the date on 5/28.) In the interest of saving money, I asked my husband to go back to his other probiotic yesterday and today so we could use up what we had. Well, let’s just say that there was a lot more time in the bathroom both yesterday and today. Hmmmm….
Oldest Son’s Results
I started my oldest on 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon of InLiven.
He told me that he felt better emotionally since starting the InLiven.
I think it really might be helping because we have had a real overload of stress in our family over the past month (way beyond the norm), and although he is struggling, he’s weathering it better than I think he normally would have.
Youngest Son’s Results
My youngest has been having a horrid time with allergies this spring.
So bad that we almost went to Urgent Care once.
He’s had swollen eyes, sneezing, runny nose and even hives.
I started him on 1/2 teaspoon of InLiven and within a few days, I noticed his symptoms lessening. I track the pollen count daily, so I know that there have been really high counts in our area since starting it. But he hasn’t had really severe symptoms since he started taking InLiven. Still bad on some days, but not quite as bad.
My Results
I already wrote about my “intense gurgling” and itching ears, constipation, loose stools, and the like (see Why I Don’t Have Fermented Foods on My Blog and Probiotics Experiment Update), so I already knew that the InLiven and Fast Tract were working.
I continued upping my dose of Fast Tract (2 tablespoons is the recommended daily dose) to my current dose of 8.5 Tablespoons per day, spread out in 3 doses throughout the day.
My digestion seems to be stabilizing, but I am still getting some die off reactions. Some ear and rectal itching, mainly, but also fatigue. I am sleeping heavily, waking up about 5-6 hours after I go to sleep and then sleeping heavily for a total of 8 or more hours.
It appears the probiotics have a lot of the “bad guys” to fight off in my gut.
No surprise after all of the antibiotics I consumed as a kid, in addition to the sugar I ate willfully.
Oh, and the stress.
And environmental toxins. Gah. (Read Candida and The Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life for more “juicy details.”)
Anyway, I am thrilled that we found something that is really high quality to help with our family’s health.
And now, I get to share with all of you what I’ve learned, and more, in the Free Probiotics Teleseminar.
Even if you aren’t free then, please sign up to join us. You’ll get an email of the recording, plus you’ll be eligible to enter a giveaway for these powerful probiotics (there will be 2 winners).
**UPDATE: You can still get an email of the recording by signing up here.** Click here to read some of the more notable quotes from the teleseminar.
I am going to interview the maker of InLiven and Fast Tract, Czerral, and you will have time to have your own questions answered at the end of our time together. Just think–you’ll get to ask the expert yourself whatever you like.
What probiotic do YOU use?
Can you describe more about your ear itching, mine itches quite often and so does my nose??
Edie
Tell me what you want to know. It itches and the skin flakes. It is getting a lot better though.
Without probiotics I would be dead. Seriously. Probiotics & digestive enzymes have saved my life. I still have some issues, but without them…. I don’t know what would be going on in my stomach, but i KNOW it wouldn’t be good! lol
You mentioned that the Now probiotic “helped boost (your husband’s) iron levels” and I am curious to know what connection probiotics have with anemia or low iron? I am always low iron, sometimes turned away from being a blood donor for that reason.
Hi Stephanie. I was reading the Gut and Psychology book (affiliate link) and it talked about how bad bacteria can eat iron. So I put my husband on probiotics and it helped. I am now thinking he may have been taking a different probiotic so I am going to change the post. Thanks.
This has nothing to do with probiotics, but I feel the need to chime in. My sister had intense rectal itching and diarrhea. She saw several doctors to get some kind of help and diagnosis, but they were no help (told her she had hemorrhoids). Anyway, after a lot of web searching, she arrived at her own diagnosis: pinworms! So every time I see someone mention insane rectal itching, I can’t help but think of the months of agony that she endured, because it was off the doctor’s radar. Just a little side note to possibly help someone in that situation… 😉
Interesting that PB8 did nothing for you. That was the first one that I tried that ever did do anything for me that was obvious. We are all so individual in what probiotics we need/have an impact.
Hi Patty!
Interesting. Yes, we are all individuals. I assume it has something to do with gut condition, etc. I did try it for my whole family and didn’t see anything, however. One sad thing that it did is I gave it orally to my son, who was an infant at the time. He ended up with hives around his mouth and so I went on a big hunt w/ the company to see what could be doing it. For awhile they insisted that there was no milk in the product (my son had been diagnosed w/ dairy, egg, and peanut allergies at the time), but finally, after about 3 calls, they told me that it had been grown in milk.
I am not saying it has to be a bad product b/c of this, but I was really disappointed at the customer service. They also told me twice that they would refund my money and never did it. I guess all of that left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
Hi Adrienne,
Thank you so much for sharing this, it is very helpful and informative. i have one thing in mind, what is the Free Probiotics Teleseminar anyway?
Thank you for your time reading my question and i hope to hear from you soon…keep safe!
Thanks a lot!
Did you click on it? You missed it but you can still get the recording.
Probiotics & Digestive Enzymes have SAVED MY LIFE!!!! And I have SEVERE stomach issues. They are not a CURE ALL but they help a LOT!
I used these for some time but got no results beware of the multi level marketing that makes people believe they work. Money for them Also there are many other beneficial probiotics the key is changing them up often
You mean you used Miessense products? I don’t think the MLM aspect makes me think they work at all. If anything, that would be a reason to think they don’t. There is no getting around the benefits I have seen (and I have heard from others as well.) I was planning on asking about whether or not it is important to change probiotics or not during the call so I hope you are joining us :).
I personally, by the way, think there is nothing wrong with MLMs if they are done right. Done wrong, both MLMs and brick and mortar business are both bad. It all depends on the company and the people involved. And the product, of course. Check out my essential oils series for evidence of problems.
It does help… Thank you for replying! :O)
Hi Adrienne!
I’ve been following along with your post no probiotics and I keep thinking that you have a problem with your gut that needs to be healed properly. Maybe you’ve read all about this but I’ve done a lot of research myself and can’t see that you will be able to heal your gut by drowning it in probiotics if it is already damaged. Here is what I’m talking about and I would recommend reading the entire article, Healthy Home Economist – Healh Your AutoImmune Disease Now.
Taking a Probiotic Alone Will Not Heal Your Enterocytes
I’ve had folks say to me that they don’t need to go on the GAPS diet as they take a probiotic on a daily basis and eat probiotic rich, whole foods.
Please be aware that changing to even a completely unprocessed, whole foods diet and taking a daily probiotic will not necessarily heal your gut!
This approach alone will not heal your enterocytes and heal/seal the gut wall from years of abuse by antibiotics, the pill, other drugs, and processed foods.
The reason is that the enterocytes reside on the gut wall and the balance of flora on the gut wall cannot be changed. A probiotic supplement is not able to re-colonize this area of the gut!
Dr. Campbell-McBride MD writes that probably the only time that in our entire lives where we can populate the gut wall with beneficial bacteria is at birth.
Therefore, the only way to heal the enterocytes and the gut wall is to take away the food of the pathogens (disaccharides and starches) so that they weaken and the beneficial flora consumed by a probiotic can take hold and re-establish dominance in the rest of the gut.
Then, when these foods are re-introduced at a later time, the enterocytes will be strong and able to digest and handle them properly. This simply will not ever happen unless a period of time to heal these important little cells occurs.
Also note that even after healing, the gut will require constant infusion of probiotics on a daily basis. You can either supplement your diet with probiotic rich foods like yogurt, kefir, homemade saurkraut, kombucha and others or you can continue taking a therapeutic strength probiotic such as Bio-kult, which is recommended by Dr. Campbell-McBride.
HI Mira. Thanks for your comment.
I have read that post and have read the GAPS book. I honestly am almost on the diet since I eat few starches and almost no grains (depends on the day) and few beans compared to where I used to be.
I am considering it for my son and for myself.
I will say that I have concerns about BioKult. The bacteria are all listed w/ #s after them which, if I remember correctly, indicates that they are man made and synthetic, which I am not keen on.
I have tried to find that info again today and couldn’t, but if I end up with that info I will come back and tell you.
I am also really concerned about how the fermentation is done to make it most healing to the gut and that is something that I will be touching on soon.
Please let me know if you have done any further looking into Bio-Kult. It has been highly recommended to me and I am interested in your opinions. Thanks!
I have not been able to get to the bottom of their strains. They appear to be GMO to me–otherwise how can you patent them? I would recommend the InLiven about it for sure. Let me now if I can help at all with money saving ideas.
According to Biokult, I got this email:
I can confirm that all our Bio-Kult probiotic range are non-GMO. We have full certification from all our suppliers for all ingredients.
I hope this has been helpful, if you do require any further information please do not hesitate to contact myself or our distributor in the US, INI
Contact: Rob rob@nutrivene.com
INTERNATIONAL NUTRITION, INC.
11655 Crossroads Circle, Suite T
Middle River, MD 21220 USA
800.899.3413 410.335.2802
Fax 866.902.1767 410.335.3811
http://www.Gapsdiet.com
http://www.Nutrivene.com
Kind regards
Natalie Lamb
Technical Advisor
Nutritional Therapist
NT Dip CNM, mBANT, BA Hons
Probiotics International Ltd.
Tel. +44 1460 243 230
Fax. +44 1460 249 543
e. nataliel@protexin.com
That’s helpful – thanks. I’m not sure what to think but I appreciate the information.
What does the InLiven taste like? I have a child that is very particular in what he eats and drinks. If I put this in water (which is the only thing he will drink) will it have a color, smell, or taste to it?
InLiven tastes like a fermented food powder. I typically just drop it in my mouth and swallow water after it. I have heard of people stirring it into foods like applesauce or yogurt, and others stirring it into whatever they drink. I would probably prefer to have stevia added to it but I don’t find unpleasant. If you are thinking of purchasing it for yourself, then you could try giving some to your child in different means to see how it will work.
My son completely surprised me. He loves the Miessence Deep Green powder. I put that also in a glass of filtered water with some stevia and he begs me for it every time I have it.
I hope that helps :).
Thanks for letting me know, Adrienne. I just used the 3 teaspoons as a dosage since the site said 1 teaspoon, 1 to 3 times a day. 🙂
From what I know, the 3 x per day is for folks who need real healing. So it all depends.
How much does a jar of InLiven last – taking maybe 3 teaspoons a day? I’m on a tight budget, but it sure sounds interesting.
The jar is intended to last for 30 days if you take a heaping teaspoon. Different people need different amounts, or choose to take less simply to save money. I know someone who had great results at a level teaspoon per day. Her husband did as well. I could feel a different taking just a level teaspoon. Are you thinking you would need 3 teaspoons for a specific reason?
OMG! These bacteria weigh 3 pounds? That explains it then! I’m exactly three pounds heavier since I started taking Probiotics! Thanks for the excuse! Hahaha!
Kidding aside, I take them and feel SO MUCH BETTER than I ever did! I’m gluten sensitive, have IBS-C and IBS-D and I haven’t had one episode of digestive issues since!
Thanks for the great article and all the research and time you took to compile all this information. Great job!
Robin
Too funny!
Adrienne is InLiven a podwer or liquid or capsules?.Do you take with food or empty stomach during the day.?
It’s a powder. I take it on an empty stomach but some take it with food.
What probiotics are you using Robin, if you don’t mind me asking?!
Kirkmans – Pro Bio Gold
Custom Probiotics – 11 Strain
Klaire’s – Therbiotic Complete
VSL#3
Those are my top ones
Is it safe to use Enliven while pregnant or breastfeeding? How young can you start giving it to your kids (my oldest is 2)?
I have heard nothing about issues taking probiotics when breastfeeding or pregnant. In fact, if you read Lacey’s comment in the post, she was commenting about how she used it when pregnant and ended up not getting Strep with subsequent pregnancies.
I have heard of folks giving InLiven to very young children. They just adjust the dosage by weight. I give my youngest, who weighs about 60 pounds, a 1/2 tsp per day.
Hey Adrienne, hey Khursten! Just thought I’d jump on here, since I happened to catch this comment/question.
Yes, I started eating InLiven half way through my pregnancy with #4, back in the summer/fall of 2010, and was pleasantly shocked to find out in early December I was negative for GBS – having been positive with my first three babies… My OBs had always said it was just a “normal part of many women’s flora…” errr, now I know it can have potentially serious complications – doesn’t seem like the kind of “normal” I want in my system, thanks! 🙂 Have been eating it ever since, lowering or raising my daily serving depending on life circumstances and body’s needs – and of course, with the occasional, human, falling off the routine (due to simple busy life and negligence) for a stint and getting back on board. I’m now about 2 weeks out from Baby #5’s arrival and was thrilled to again find I’m GBS negative. 🙂 I know I could maybe be considered biased because I am now a rep for the company also, but I’m first and foremost their happy customer and honestly couldn’t sell something I don’t believe in enough to use myself – and as a customer, the simplest, main thing, I love about InLiven is that it’s just a wide variety of certified organic fermented foods in potent powdered form, with diverse probiotic strains, enzymes, and amino acids – all good stuff for our guts, with real nutritional benefits on top of the “bugs.” And it has worked. 🙂
Not sure I’ll be able to keep up with or make any other comments as I’m busy this week ‘womaning’ the back-end registration logistics for the teleseminar – and trying to prepare for the upcoming home birth! But happened to catch this question/comment and thought I’d chime in since I’ve experienced pregnancy/infancy/toddlerhood (and childhood) with InLiven.
Oh, as for giving it to infants and young kids, yes, barring tweaks to serving size etc adjustments for any specific health challenges (such as allergies etc), infants on up can benefit from probiotics – and all the more reason why I’m thankful to have found a potent real-food-only-sourced option. While breastfeeding, babies get the probiotic benefits from mama’s milk. Once they start drinking a little water here and there, I added maybe 1/8 serving of Fast Tract to it. And once starting on solids, I added maybe an 1/8 serving of InLiven to the foods (avocado or banana mash). Then, I just upped the serving size as they grew. Some adjustments here and there for various circumstantial reasons (more on days when they hadn’t had as nutritious meals for some reason, or at the start of a fever, or perhaps less on good days), but that’s the nutshell. 🙂
Hope to “see” you on the teleseminar. In spirit with Miessence’s genuine desire to educate and empower more broadly, with no hype and hard sell on their product options, Adrienne and I have intentionally planned the call to be helpful and beneficial to all who listen in, whether they are interested in InLiven and Fast Tract specifically or not. 🙂
Cheers! 🙂
So if I have loud gurgling in my intestine after consuming a meal is that a good thing or not? Mainly my worst symptoms I have are very bad rectal itching and also itchiness on my head. Plus the gurgling. It is driving me crazy. I have never taken a probiotic before as I am always leary to try new things due to an autoimmune disease. I use unsweetened plain yogurt with live cultures and try not to eat a lot of sugar.
Love these posts. Thank you for sharing.
I am not a dr for sure….but gurgling after a meal I would take as digestive problems. For me, when taking a probiotic that is good I think it’s the good bacteria killing the bad and “stirring things up”. So that’s a good thing. I had the rectal and hair itching as well. The hair was awful. From what I have heard the yogurt doesn’t have near enough bacteria for killing candida. Has your dr said not to take any probiotics? I am in contact with plenty of people that I could ask about your condition and probiotics if you would like to tell me what you have. I have heard of some concerns w/ probiotics and them but I also know of others who think they are key so it is confusing. Thanks for the kind words.
I have Crohn’s Disease. I have a visit with my gastroenterologist on Friday so I will ask him what he thinks. I have been in remission for 8 years so I am always hesitant to do something different. I would like your input too though. Thanks.
Please ask your doctor but I was just reminded of a friend of mine whose husband has Crohn’s. His symptoms cleared up on the InLiven. Please do come back and share what he says. Let him know it is all organic food that is fermented/predigested. And perhaps taking the ingredient list with you would be a good idea. Let me know if you can’t locate that.
I will take the list with me. Good idea. Thanks.
I just looked at the ingredients to one of the products and realized it is not gluten-free. Do you know if any of them are?
If you mean the probiotics, the Fast Tract is 100% GF. The InLiven is the one that starts out w/ some gluten but the foods are predigested. So the amounts that remain should be very small. Many people who are sensitive to gluten can tolerate it but again, that would depend on sensitivity and the individual person. I give it to my son, who is GF, but that’s my personal decision.
OK. Thanks.
I’m not exactly following Whole Approach, though I have incorporated some ideas from their plan. Since I am a vegetarian, it is difficult for me to get enough protein. I’m still on stage one meaning no beans or grains yet. I seem to be able to tolerate tofu, tempeh and plain organic yogurt. I also eat free-range organically raised eggs. And I allow myself one serving of low sugar fruit per day. I start each day off with hot lemon water and I’ve been adding drops of clove oil to that. I also try to juice at least one glass a day of vegetables. I do include carrots and seem to be ok with that too. I’ve ordered the zeolite so I can detox some more heavy metals, although I do still have amalgam fillings. I am in the process though of getting ready to have them removed. As for the clay, I started out taking 1 tsp per day in a glass of filtered water just as a general detox. One of the greatest benefits I have seen from that is that I had once tried switching to a non-aluminum deodorant, but I stunk and sweated heavily. After a year or so of taking the clay, I decided to try a natural deodorant again, this time I did not have the same issues. In fact I had even run out for a day or two and had very little odor or sweating.
In my opinion, the clove could be an issue. If you read my posts on oils, the owner of the company I recommend said to be very careful taking hot eos long term since they kill good bacteria as well. I can’t medically advice, but if I were you I would not do that and at least make sure you are taking a really good probiotics.
I am still on the fence abt the clay. My practitioner says that all the folks whom she has worked w/ who took it or worked w/ it had high levels of aluminum. I sure do, but other sources say it isn’t an issue so I am not sure what to think.
My sweating has gotten less since working on detox but I still have some odor issues.
Thanks, I will take that into consideration. I only had a .5 oz bottle of the clove oil and I’m almost out, so won’t order more. And I’ll dig around for more info on the clay before making a decision on that. I appreciate your advice! 🙂
I used the clove occasionally internally but it is great for other things. I use it orally sometimes and in a deodorant I hope to share soon. Take care.
Come share if you find more out about the clay. It’s very puzzling.
Thanks, I will do that. When I first started with the clay, I used Hope for Health. They have lots of info on it here: https://hopeforhealth.webs.com/greenclayinstructions.htm
But I will see what I can find out about the aluminum. And I do like the clove oil mixed with orange oil for cleaning around the house. I just put some drops in a bucket of water and clean with a rag, make the house smell nice 🙂
Yikes – I just this unapproved. Thanks for your help!
I found a really great site, Aboutclay.com, and this article explains that the chemical structure of aluminum in clay inhibits its absorbtion by the body: https://www.sonnes.com/pdfs/Aluminum%20Article.pdf
If you go to the Clay Info tab, there is a ton of information available.
I should clarify, so no one is worried about ever meeting me :), that I have never been told by anyone that I have an odor issue. I just didn’t need deodorant at all and now I should use one. 🙂
Hi Adrienne, that’s very interesting about the gurgling stomach. I’ve been battling Candida as well, mostly taking Pau D’Arco and PB8. Not much going on, but at least my itching is under control. However, for a short while I was also taking 1 tbs Psyllium husks fiber mixed with 1 tbs bentonite clay in 1 cup of filtered water (I also added 1 tsp vitamin C powder and a few drops of stevia) along with Capryl. Wow, did I ever get some stomach gurgling going on! I even had some pretty bad nausea one day at work, ended up leaving work to go home and detox with a coffee enema followed by a bath with 2 cups epsom salts and 1 cup baking soda. Felt better, but I decided to stop the Psyllium husk/bentonite routine. Maybe I should keep at it? I just thought the gurgling was not a good sign. Thanks for all the information, it’s very helpful.
I can’t say for you, but for me it seemed like the good guys were on the move meaning “die off”. I used detox supplements to help with the effects.
My practitioner isn’t keen on bentonite but I haven’t come down to a firm opinion. Are you doing Whole Approach?
Looking forward to learning more!
Even though I may not be able to join live, I’m looking forward to listening to the discussion. Our gut/bowel movements tell so much about our health!
Me too!
I just noticed that their gluten free probiotic has agave in it…sort of bothers me.
Because it’s agave or b/c of the sugar in it? I can assure you there is no sweet taste at all. .35 g sugar per serving.
Both. I guess if it works, it must not be a problem. But, I thought that equalled food for bad bacteria. :/
Well, there clearly is almost no sugar content left. As for the food for bad bacteria, the good guys have digested it in the making of the Fast Tract. It’s like making kombucha or water kefir. You give the good bacteria food to proliferate and then they grow to do good things. But you are left w/ just the good guys if you ferment it the proper amount of time. How’s that for a newbie in fermenting :)?
Okay, I can accept that. 🙂
I could ask why they chose Agave. I don’t know. Sucanat or organic cane juice would be the only other choices…or honey.
I didn’t realize that they are fermented/predigested. 🙂
Yes, they are. That’s how the whole conundrum started…with my taking it and getting apparent “reactions”, hence my thinking that–like before–I supposedly couldn’t tolerate them.
Adrienne:
I have just been diagnosed with SIBO, AND I also have fructose malabsorption syndrome :(. Do you know if this small amount of agave would NOT be recommended for me in taking their probiotic? I need to find a probiotic to take after my course of FLAGYL–ugh, which I do NOT want to take, but my insurance would not cover RIFAXIMIN :(. I also do not know if you would recommend taking the ENLIVIN probiotic superfood, as it has fruits/veg I imagine to feed the good bacteria in that product? I’m wary of it upsetting my gut because of the fructose intolerance. HELP!
Hi Annette :)! The agave is food for the good bacteria so there is almost nothing left after fermentation. I can assure you the Fast Tract is not sweet. I can pass on your question to Czerral but I would not think that the InLiven would bother you. It is predigested foods. I will ask though.
Hi Annette. Just got this back from Czerral, the maker of InLiven and Fast Tract. I hope this helps. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. I believe there is a coupon code for this month if you are thinking about ordering.
“InLiven does not contain fruits so should be no problem. The Agave in Fast Tract has been fermented and may not cause a problem however I always believe err on the side of caution. So start with InLiven and see how you go. May want to take it slow eating 1/2 teaspoon a day for 3 days and if all good then move to 3/4 teaspoon for 3 days and so on until eating 3 teaspoons a day.
I do not have the history but I assume this is the result of poor choices in dietary lifestyle and emotional stress. This also needs to be changed. Find a good living whole food diet that you like and use this along with InLiven.”
I’ve sent an email to headquarters asking why they chose agave.
Okay, thanks! 🙂
My other post you maynot need post at all and no need to answer it .I found the answer to the questions I asked you by going to their site.
Inliven has spirulina in it -Are you not concerned about the iodine in it since you also have thyroid issues if not hashomoto which is an autoimmune even all thyroid problem are casued by autoimmune and iodine isnot good for it?.
I would love to hear more about this. I was just talking with my practitioner about iodine and she said I should take some. So I am not concerned about it but I would be interested in your thoughts. My understanding is those with hypothyroidism or low iodine can take it. I have never had any thoughts that I had Hashimoto.
Have you had test of thyroid antibody ?.
No. I looked up Hashimotos. I don’t see myself fitting that profile. I am about to get thyroid hormone testing. I don’t know as much as I should about this so fill me in.
I had a patient whilst training in the university polyclinic who was diagnosed with Hashimotos. When I took her case history there was a lot of stress in her life, she worked in sales which in itself was highly stressful, and in addition to this in between sales she would drink up to 8 cups of coffee a day to help her get through them! One thing I learnt from researching her case was that ongoing stress can cause hormonal imbalances due to the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis being constantly unregulated. Leading to dysfunction in other areas such as Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis as the nutrients needed to regulate the thyroid are used up by the stress hormone. This then leads to a whole array of other dysfunctions including issues with metabolism, inflammation, reproductive issue, digestive issues, sleep disorders etc. Not sure if any of this relates to you as I just came across your site recently. Hope this helps…