Probiotics
SwissHausfrau
Posts: 83 Member
Will probiotics help with digestion problems and IBS. Can anyone offer up any personal advice?
I was hospitalised with diverticulitis twice in the last 4 years and since the first bout I have suffered with IBS. My gastroenterologist said if I have another bout they really think colon resection is the answer.
I did a detailed food/symptom diary for over a year and after illuminating and re introducing all the 'usual suspects' I have discovered that my IBS is triggered by fibre in raw veggies. If I eat a leafy salad I'm ok, but throw some carrots on it and I have a big problem, broccoli and a dip and I'm in agony for several hours and the whole room can hear my tummy.
My gastroenterologist said to just stay away from them, but I also have oral allergy syndrome and can't eat stone/tree fruits... so my diet is quite limited in terms of 'fresh' ingredients.
I'd like to be able to eat more salads - esp when travelling and eating out.
A friend suggested probiotics to help with the digestion of fibre or maybe home made sauerkraut.
Since there are so many people with a lot more knowledge than me on here I thought I'd throw the question out there. Any thoughts ?
I was hospitalised with diverticulitis twice in the last 4 years and since the first bout I have suffered with IBS. My gastroenterologist said if I have another bout they really think colon resection is the answer.
I did a detailed food/symptom diary for over a year and after illuminating and re introducing all the 'usual suspects' I have discovered that my IBS is triggered by fibre in raw veggies. If I eat a leafy salad I'm ok, but throw some carrots on it and I have a big problem, broccoli and a dip and I'm in agony for several hours and the whole room can hear my tummy.
My gastroenterologist said to just stay away from them, but I also have oral allergy syndrome and can't eat stone/tree fruits... so my diet is quite limited in terms of 'fresh' ingredients.
I'd like to be able to eat more salads - esp when travelling and eating out.
A friend suggested probiotics to help with the digestion of fibre or maybe home made sauerkraut.
Since there are so many people with a lot more knowledge than me on here I thought I'd throw the question out there. Any thoughts ?
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Replies
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What do you consider "fresh ingredients." They are not a requirement to good health.
Eat the foods that are 98% -100% safe for you.
For example, stay away from raw carrots.
Can you eat cooked carrots and a few other cooked veggies?
Can you eat, pasta, rice, breads and cereals, cooked fruits, cooked vegetables, chicken, certain
cuts of beef and pork? How about fish and eggs?
Homemade pickles and yogurt might help the way sauerkraut could.
Call the doc's office to ask about the probiotics.
=-=-=
My doc (GP) put me on probiotics but not for the same issue you describe.
Good luck to you.
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What do you consider "fresh ingredients." They are not a requirement to good health.
Eat the foods that are 98% -100% safe for you.
For example, stay away from raw carrots.
Can you eat cooked carrots and a few other cooked veggies?
Can you eat, pasta, rice, breads and cereals, cooked fruits, cooked vegetables, chicken, certain
cuts of beef and pork? How about fish and eggs?
Homemade pickles and yogurt might help the way sauerkraut could.
Call the doc's office to ask about the probiotics.
=-=-=
My doc (GP) put me on probiotics but not for the same issue you describe.
Good luck to you.
I guess in my head I can always hear my mother saying to always have a piece of fresh fruit in my bag as a snack and to start a meal with a big portion of salad.... and I do miss having a salad with peppers, onions, grated carrots etc etc.... so when I think about 'fresh ingredients' I'm thinking along those lines.... I've only been dealing with this all for 5 years or so... so trying to remove 42 years of 'programming' is hard
I do feel like people think I'm being difficult when we go to dinner parties saying - 'oh I can't eat that salad'..... people look at me like I am nuts
thankfully most close friends understand and don't make an issue.
I can eat cooked veggies, and do eat a lot of roasted carrot and peppers, the same with the tree/stone fruits as the protein in those changes after cooking and so the allergic reaction doesn't happen.
All the other things are fine, meat, rice and pasta. Fish is REALLY expensive here as its usually imported so that is a treat I save for trips abroad. Also, fruit and veg in the supermarkets is very seasonal. I don't have the huge selection I had when we lived in the UK or the USA.
It was my doctor who first suggested sauerkraut (I live in Switzerland) as the range of vitamins and supplements available here is not great. Even my GP suggested I buy my vit D supplements from the USA since the ones available in Switzerland 'weren't worth the effort of taking'
I'll add some yoghurt to my diet, and might give the sauerkraut a go....0 -
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.3 -
I don't suffer from IBS personally but have a good friend who does. The probiotics didn't have much effect on her IBS (unfortunately), but I think it's certainly worth a try, since each person is unique. My thought is that it can't hurt. Logically, I would think that cooking veggies would help too, as it may help food pass more smoothly though your system. Good luck with your issue - I know that's not fun!0
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Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
At least where I live, you can buy "live" pickles.2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
At least where I live, you can buy "live" pickles.
I've never seen any, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places... I'll ask around.0 -
Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
thanks I'll look into kefir. I've hear about its existence but don't know anything about it.... I'm off to google it.0 -
SwissHausfrau wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
At least where I live, you can buy "live" pickles.
I've never seen any, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places... I'll ask around.
Not sure of your location, but I'm in the midwest US and I have seen them in Whole Foods, they're chilled with things like the tofu and fresh noodles.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Not sure of your location, but I'm in the midwest US and I have seen them in Whole Foods, they're chilled with things like the tofu and fresh noodles.
I live in Switzerland. There is a lot that is not readily available here that I used to take for granted. On the other hand there is a lot that is available that others struggle to find. Raw milk for example can be bought at most farmers own small shops. I just take along my own bottle.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »SwissHausfrau wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
At least where I live, you can buy "live" pickles.
I've never seen any, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places... I'll ask around.
Not sure of your location, but I'm in the midwest US and I have seen them in Whole Foods, they're chilled with things like the tofu and fresh noodles.
My Kroger store carries Bubba pickles which are "live" and the taste really, really good.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »SwissHausfrau wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
At least where I live, you can buy "live" pickles.
I've never seen any, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places... I'll ask around.
Not sure of your location, but I'm in the midwest US and I have seen them in Whole Foods, they're chilled with things like the tofu and fresh noodles.
My Kroger store carries Bubba pickles which are "live" and the taste really, really good.
I've had that brand, they are delicious!0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
My Kroger store carries Bubba pickles which are "live" and the taste really, really good.[/quote]
I've had that brand, they are delicious![/quote]
You have no idea how lucky you are having such a wide choice readily available..... I miss the USA and UK supermarkets.0 -
probiotics helped my irregularity but I have no idea what it will do for IBS. It's expensive but perhaps run it past your doc before trying it, I can't imagine it harming you but you never know. I have a friend with diverticulitis and I know it's a horrible painful disease. Hoping you find some help.0
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cheryldumais wrote: »probiotics helped my irregularity but I have no idea what it will do for IBS. It's expensive but perhaps run it past your doc before trying it, I can't imagine it harming you but you never know. I have a friend with diverticulitis and I know it's a horrible painful disease. Hoping you find some help.
thats what I have an issue with. They are expensive and most say they need to be a certain temperature. Any I buy will need to be shipped from somewhere and so it could just be a big money wasting exercise.....0 -
SwissHausfrau wrote: »
You have no idea how lucky you are having such a wide choice readily available..... I miss the USA and UK supermarkets.
Between travelling myself and having a wide variety of friends and acquaintances around the world, I do have a sense of how fortunate I am. I do appreciate the abundance of food choices, but I do try to always ask about location before I begin making recommendations to people. Good luck finding products that are available in your area!
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SwissHausfrau wrote: »Rosemary7391 wrote: »
At a guess, because the store bought pickles are treated in such a way as to kill off any bacteria, useful or not?
OP, kefir is another probiotic thats easy to make at home - it's a bit thinner than yoghurt. You could try that, but I don't know if it'll help with your specific problem. I think it's tasty and cheap enough to try anyway - once you have kefir grains it costs as much as milk does in your area.
thanks I'll look into kefir. I've hear about its existence but don't know anything about it.... I'm off to google it.
https://www.yemoos.com/pages/milk-kefir-step-by-step-guide is a guide to it I rather like (they sell it too, but I didn't buy mine there - got some grains from eBay, probably not recommended but I'm still here!).
Addressing your later post - my milk kefir does just fine on my kitchen countertop. In Scotland. We have massive fluctuations in temperature. I throw it in the fridge if I go away for a few days. I've also frozen the grains and revived them. They're remarkably hard to kill! The balance changes slightly with temperature, but as long as it doesn't smell like sour milk you're probably good if you're at all worried, just throw that batch out, rinse the grains and make a new one. You'll need to do that a few times when you first get it. It's entirely self sustaining as well, so it only costs a few quid (mostly postage) to find out if you like it, and if you do you're sorted. In fact you might find someone willing to just post you some - I certainly would if customs weren't an issue! 1 -
SwissHausfrau wrote: »
. . . . . .I guess in my head I can always hear my mother saying to always have a piece of fresh fruit in my bag as a snack and to start a meal with a big portion of salad.... and I do miss having a salad with peppers, onions, grated carrots etc etc.... so when I think about 'fresh ingredients' I'm thinking along those lines.... I've only been dealing with this all for 5 years or so... so trying to remove 42 years of 'programming' is hard
I do feel like people think I'm being difficult when we go to dinner parties saying - 'oh I can't eat that salad'..... people look at me like I am nuts thankfully most close friends understand and don't make an issue.
. . . . . .
You can move on from those years of programming.
Your health is more important than than peoples' weirdness at a dinner party.
Good to hear that your friends do not make an issue. It's nice to be around supportive people.
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If you're interested in pickles or sauerkraut or other vegetables with probiotics, they're very easy and inexpensive to make. Just search for lacto-fermented vegetable recipes. Every time I think about buying some for $8, I end up buying the $1 cabbage and making my own instead. Weston A. Price Foundation and assorted real food bloggers have tons of info and online recipes, or try wildfermentation.com
I have a friend with diverticulosis. She says she feels better with the probiotics and the grapefruit seed extract she's taking, but she's not sure if it is in her head or she actually feels better. She's super against anything woo woo like taking supplements. She's doctors and pharmaceuticals all the way, but the pain finally forced her to try some other things.1 -
I have used probiotics for other reasons, but they did not seem to help the digestibility of certain raw foods. If a soup is available instead of a salad, that's what I am going for because cooking really does help the digestibility of a lot of things for me. Many restaurants where I live will let you substitute a second side in place of a salad, so I go for cooked options.
For social situations, in some cases it might be helpful to just pull the host aside for a second and say something like "if you see me not eating something, it's because I have some food sensitivities, not that I do not like it". (If it's something where it's likely to be obvious that you are not eating). If you can just discreetly pick around the raw carrots/broccoli/etc you might still be able to eat enough lettuce in the salad to be socially under the radar.
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Because instead of using vinegar they are fermented using salt:
http://sparklekitchen.com/2015/07/how-to-pickle-for-probiotics/
Exactly this. Homemade or store bought, pickles may be made in various ways, and preserved in various ways. For probiotics, you want fermented pickles that still have live cultures, i.e., have not been pasteurized or heat canned or anything like that. Commercially, usually they're sold refrigerated, and the label should say something about fermentation/live cultures.
Most pickles are made with vinegar or salt brine, and heat canned to be shelf stable.
There are lots of foods that have probotics, besides fermented pickles or sauerkraut (same label cautions apply). Examples include raw/unpasteurized vinegar, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, miso . . . .
Science on probiotics' benefits is still pretty young.1
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