Probiotics and Prebiotics 101

[Guest guest]

>>>I'm actually in the middle of doing some scientific consulting

work for the #1 manufacturing firm in the probiotics industry and much of

what they are doing is beginning to rub off on me. <<<

Dear Will,

So glad you're sharing what has rubbed off on you! I started taking

probiotics after reading about them here on this site and credit them with

curing my

GERD (in combo with ginger). I have also noticed a huge improvement in the IBS

symptoms.

I went to see my first holistic MD today and it was a refreshing and

wonderful experience....not the 10 minute, wam-bam-thank-you-mam scenario you

usually

get in a doctor's office. Yes, it was costly ($250 for consult - tests are

extra). I'm not sure what will be covered by insurance yet, but he gave me a

full

hour of his time in a compassionate, healing environment and was very

thorough. He was impressed with the fact that I was eating properly, liver

flushing

and detoxing, credit for which I gave completely to this group of wise folk.

))

Having now experienced this, firsthand, I would highly recommend visiting a

holistic doctor to anyone who wants to take a more integrative approach in

examining the whole picture of their current health status. Yours and 's

previous mentions of this went a long way towards raising my own awareness of

this

alternative healthcare option....thank you!

Peace, n

[Guest guest]

Mike, I like what you are saying about what you've discovered about the

health benefits of eating yogurt, especially a top-notch brand like 's, but

I think we have to back up a bit. It's my feeling that you are confusing the

causation of your GB symptoms especially with regard to the impact of dietary

cholesterol vs. dietary fat intake. I'm not doubting the veracity of your GB and

liver symptoms, just your rationale as to causation.

Teasing this complex topic apart, here are the bullet points as I see them:

~In general, a healthy person should not eat any manufactured food

designated " light " or " reduced-fat " . These are all denatured, and un-natural

products. Most have synthetic and toxic components as well as oxidation

damage. If it doesn't exist in nature, don't eat it.

~The kind of low fat yogurt you are eating does not have any substitute

vegetable fats in it, it's just had the good butterfat skimmed off prior to

fermentation. Bummer. Someone else is getting your Vitamin A, Vitamin D,

essential fatty acids, good cholesterol, and nutrient factors. (NB, this is

organic real milk of which I speak, NOT commercial milk, which is not good

for you at all and should be boycotted--see RealMilk.com).

~ Ancel Keys, the father of the flawed " lipid hypothesis " theory which

erroneously linked dietary intake of cholesterol and dietary saturated fats with

elevation of blood lipids is dead now. He died in 2004 at 99 but it may take

many more decades to undo the damage to nutritional thinking that his

cooked-books research bequeathed to our parent's generation as well as our

own.

~You owe it to yourself to read Uffe Ravnskov's classic book " The

Cholesterol Myths " to get to the bottom of it all. It takes him 298 pages to lay

out the scientific facts but once you read through it, you will be much more

clear about where blood and bile cholesterol comes from and what it really

does.

~Alas, and unfortunately, people in the acute stages of recovering from

gallstone illness cannot eat a healthy quantity of good fat during the

cleansing, dissolving and flushing period (the stage you are now in). To do so

causes pain and attacks that you can't afford. You are also deprived of an

adequate intake of the very dietary fats that will ultimately cure your bile and

cholesterol flowage problems. Dietary fat intake must ramp up slowly

accompanied by the 100 other things you need to do first and forever.

~At this point I have discovered NO scientific literature or studies directly

linking intake of probiotic organisms with cure or prevention of gallstones or

cholecystitis.

~However, it we all waited for " scientific proof " to arrive before we change

anything in our diet or lifestyle, we would all die several times over waiting!

~As a bona fide laboratory scientist I can tell you what a fat load of crap 99%

of the " scientific research " is as well!! It's almost all outcome-based (market

funded and driven) and you can prove or disprove anything you want

depending upon how you design the experiment. The only experiments that

get funded are ones for EXOTIC, EXPENSIVE treatments, NOT natural cheap

common shaggy-dog cures (like probiotics).

~There is much empirical evidence and much anecdotal evidence that

working with bacterial population dynamics has powerful effects upon many

digestive diseases. We believe now that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

are almost certainly linked with humans getting infected by the e's

disease bacteria (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis of cattle and birds).

Gastric ulcer disease is driven by an infection with Heliobacter pylori bacteria

and there are many more digestive diseases which have infectious

connections. Ten years ago these bacterial links were unknown! What

digestive disease will be next?

~So, in conclusion, my point about probiotics is this: WHY WAIT? They are

non-toxic, they make B vitamins, make enzymes like crazy, help you absorb

minerals and nutrients, make natural antibiotics, stop food allergies, boost the

immune system, make anti-carcinogens, seek and destroy scores of

pathogens, destroy candida yeast, they are inexpensive, easy-to-take and

easily available at your nearest health food store. Tempus fugit and then you

are dead.

Dr Goodbugs in Minneapolis

[Guest guest]

In the March 2005 issue of " Alternative Medicine " , it is reported that coconut

oil has gotten a " bum rap " . According to the article, coconut oil has a neutral

effect on levels of cholesterol in the body, but palm oil does drive up bad

cholesterol levels.

Mike wrote:

...But sometimes low fat has some coconut oil, palm oil or veggie oil. Any of

these will increase the production of cholesterol.

[Guest guest]

n, would you be willing to share with us the name of this doctor and where

he is located? He sounds great.

M.

I went to see my first holistic MD today and it was a refreshing and

wonderful experience....not the 10 minute, wam-bam-thank-you-mam scenario you

usually

get in a doctor's office. Yes, it was costly ($250 for consult - tests are

extra). I'm not sure what will be covered by insurance yet, but he gave me a

full

hour of his time in a compassionate, healing environment and was very

thorough. He was impressed with the fact that I was eating properly, liver

flushing

and detoxing, credit for which I gave completely to this group of wise folk.

))

Peace, n

[Guest guest]

Coconut oil is actually a " good " fat. There are several references to

it on Cure Zone.

[Guest guest]

Will

I have just joined this listserv and note the following posts that you have

made and I have a couple of questions:

1. can't a person get all the probiotics they need from eating fermented

foods with every meal? isn't the lactic acid produced when fermenting foods

the same as pro-biotics?

2. pro biotics actually seem expensive when you consider how many you have

to take - which ones are the cheap ones?

thanks for your comments

ne

-----Original Message-----

From: Will Winter [mailto:holistic@...]

Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 7:52 PM

gallstones

Subject: Re: Probiotics and Prebiotics 101

~So, in conclusion, my point about probiotics is this: WHY WAIT? They

are

non-toxic, they make B vitamins, make enzymes like crazy, help you absorb

minerals and nutrients, make natural antibiotics, stop food allergies,

boost the

immune system, make anti-carcinogens, seek and destroy scores of

pathogens, destroy candida yeast, they are inexpensive, easy-to-take and

easily available at your nearest health food store. Tempus fugit and then

you

are dead.

Dr Goodbugs in Minneapolis