Are you sure probiotics are good for you?

Because whenever I get sick the doctor gives me antibotics and I feel better

By "feel better"--what do you mean? If you mean that you feel better digestively, it may be because you have some nasty bacteria that have overwhelmed your gut and you need the antibiotics to knock them off. There are different mixes of "good" bacteria for the gut--experiment to find the one that is right for you. One that most everyone seems to like is called "Bio-K".

Interestingly, researchers have discovered that obese folk have different "critters" in their gut than normal weight folk (not that that pertains to your issue but is an interesting tidbit of information).

if u are having problems pooping, probiotics are the best thing u can take to realign your system. I take them every couple of months when I have problems.

@the diarrhea poster: slowing down peristalsis is a terrible idea. You have the problem because whatever's causing the issue, your body wants it gone. fast. slowing down the system will just get you sicker.

@kemosabe: I hear fecal transplants work wonders too.

Antibiotics should be used VERY sparingly. Most bacteria is good for us, and antibiotics generally kill everything. When my husband got terrible food poisoning, the ER gave him Cipro and some other AB and his system got so messed up. I put him on a yogurt regimen and he got better. Please note, when I say yogurt, I mean the real thing with real bacteria, not Yoplait BS.

Antibiotics should be used VERY sparingly. Most bacteria is good for us, and antibiotics generally kill everything. When my husband got terrible food poisoning, the ER gave him Cipro and some other AB and his system got so messed up. I put him on a yogurt regimen and he got better. Please note, when I say yogurt, I mean the real thing with real bacteria, not Yoplait BS.

Yeah, the sweetened and flavored stuff is not as good for you as the plain yogurt because the sugar kills off the good bacteria (something to think about when indulging one's "sweet tooth").

Probiotics are great if you have the money to burn or plan to eat the food sources consistently for the rest of your life. Otherwise just eat moldy bread and kill em all.

@kemosabe: I hear fecal transplants work wonders too.

I'm a pharmacist and read an article recently that some drug company is making a more publicly accepted version of this in capsule form - they're calling it RePOOPulate. No joke, that's seriously the name.

OK, so antibiotics are just that. ANTI-biotics. They kill *all* the bacteria in your system in an effort to rid your system of whatever is ailing it. Kind of like a carpet bomb, antibiotics are totally indiscriminate.

When you were a wee baby (hopefully) you were breastfed - passing essential bacteria (among many other things of course) from your mother to you so that it might colonize in your colon (latin is funny, huh?). Of course there are many other ways that bacteria enter your system including through breathing and eating. So along the way we all developed what is called "gut flora" meaning the balance of beneficial and not-so-beneficial bacteria. This balance help in digestion and assimilation of food particles in the small and large intestines.

I repeat: antibiotics kill EVERYTHING bacteria. If you want to help restore your gut flora taking probiotics is a good way to do that.

ETA: One of the goodies lactobacillus acidophilus

OK, so antibiotics are just that. ANTI-biotics. They kill *all* the bacteria in your system in an effort to rid your system of whatever is ailing it. Kind of like a carpet bomb, antibiotics are totally indiscriminate.

When you were a wee baby (hopefully) you were breastfed - passing essential bacteria (among many other things of course) from your mother to you so that it might colonize in your colon (latin is funny, huh?). Of course there are many other ways that bacteria enter your system including through breathing and eating. So along the way we all developed what is called "gut flora" meaning the balance of beneficial and not-so-beneficial bacteria. This balance help in digestion and assimilation of food particles in the small and large instestines.

I repeat: antibiotics kill EVERYTHING bacteria. If you want to help restore your gut flora taking probiotics is a good way to do that.

They actually don't. Antibiotics are broken up into classes based on what types of bacteria then are effective against. Amoxicilan, for example, is a beta lactam and interferes with peptotidiglycan which is only in gram + bacteria cell walls. A gram - enteric bacteria, like what's in your intestines, is not affected by it.

I think you are confusing antibiotics and probiotics...not the same thing