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Does Yogurt really work?

I had to go on an antibiotic last week and now I am worried that it has killed off any "good" stuff in what is left of my guts. Does yogurt really help anyone with IBD? Are there any recommended brands? Any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.
 
Location
Missouri
Am wondering this same thing, Ryan. I have to start another round of them this weekend, so thinking about buying up the yogurt.
 
Personally, store-bought yogurts/kefirs/kombucha really aren't strong enough to notice anything in the short run--with the one exception being the Good Belly drinks or the Attune candy bars, both of which are pretty expensive to take daily.

I NEED to take good probiotics daily. Yogurt and kefir don't benefit me noticeably. I've been dependant on probiotics for 7 years. The first year of diagnosis I took the pentasa and imuran till I informed myself. Then I assessed my own unique situation and took it into my own hands which I DON'T RECOMMEND. Point being that my specific diet, exercise, enteric coated fish oil and good probiotics were all I took for 6 years. No meds until this past year when I voluntarily sought out LDN just in case. No, my disease didn't progress intestinally, but sacral ALA joint pain worsened this past year until I tweaked my Vit D3 levels and the LDN kicked in.

Anyhow, it probably depends on matching the right strain of probiotics to the specific part of the digestive tract that's damaged. If I were first starting out trying probiotics, I would go for the multistrain types from an online megaretailer: Primal Defense Ultra, or Jarrow EPS. From there, I would try single strains: S. Boulardii, L. Plantarum, B. Coagulans, L. Paracasei, L. Curvatus, L. Gasseri... My go-to is living streams probiotic, a L Paracasei/L Curvatus liquid probiotic. If I took the aforementioned multistrain brands, I needed 3 a day on an empty stomach. Since switching to this liquid, I take 2 drops 3x a day whenever. Find your own dose. Hell, maybe none them work for some people. All I know is I DEFINITELY need probiotics, not just yogurt/kefir.

I guess, if I had to settle for stuff in the store, I would go for the Kefir. Yogurt can't hurt and plain is probably best. The main purpose of this response is just to encourage you to exhaust these options until you find one that works noticably.
 
Does yogurt really help anyone with IBD?
short answer - some people,
long answer - most store bought yogurts are only fermented for a short time and then have milk powder added to thicken them, so there is a lot of lactose that can be more of a problem than the benefit from the good bacteria.
This is why only home made yogurt is SCD legal and it is a big part of the diet due to the benefit of the bacteria,
Having said that the SCD yogurt is the main reason that SCD doesn't help a lot of people - I only improved on SCD once i stopped the yogurt.

So - maybe it will be good for you and maybe it won't. It was bad for me but good for many others. You will have to experiment and it should be seen as only a part of your regime.

To quote Gstar from another thread
For those willing to try something different and make your own probiotic yogurt. Save tonnes of $$ and acquire knowledge in regards to WHAT genus of bacterium you are consuming and WHAT it is doing for you!! People will have dairy sensitivities at the beginning but this is normal. Over time, it will get better! :)

Knowledge base: Breaking the Vicious Cycle - Making Probiotic Yogurt
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/beginners_guide/yoghurt/yoghurt.htm

Understand only 3 strains are required. Heal your small bowel first so you can absorb food properly and then allow the SCD diet to take care of your large bowel to starve out the pathogens.

I purchase my 3 strains from Glengarry Cheesemaking Supplies in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The product I purchase is Abiasa - Yogurt Type IV.
http://glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/starterscultures.htm

I follow the SCD how to do method and utilize the Abiasa as my starter. End result - 750 billion counts / 250ml. Thousands of people follow this recipe with great success.
Streptococcus Thermophillus - lives in your mouth (1st part aiding in digestion) KEY

Lactobacillus Acidophilus - thrives in your small bowel (most important in upkeep of your villis) Villis are the tiny hairs which absorb the broken down food molecules.

Lactobacillus Bulgaricus - aids people who suffer lactose intolerance. The organisms break the milk sugars down for absorption. When taking the probiotics within milk based yogurt, this KEY.

Always store your bacteria in the freezer to help shelf life of the friendlies.

he might be right about the dairy, maybe i couldn't wait long enough
 
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Short answer - yogurt has lots of good nutrients, and can assist in antibiotic-driven diarrhea. That aside, it doesn't really do anything for long-term symptoms.
 
Location
Ontario
I eat a lot of greek yogurt, my body seems to tolerate it well. I buy brands that are somewhat local, like Liberte which is made in Quebec rather than brands that are super mass produced.
 

CrohnsChicago

Super Moderator
I can't vouch for anything else people mention on here, but "Fage" greek yogurt (fat free) seems to calm my guts a bit when I eat it. Plus it tastes more "clean" to me than other brands like "Chobani". NEVER go for brands like Dannon...I wouldn't even consider those actual yogurts considering the extra additive and preservative ingredients.

I think it varies from person to person because many here discuss how it helps but there are also those who discuss how their body cannot tolerate dairy of any kind.
 
I take a probiotic pill with my yogurt every morning. In addition to a tea in the AM and PM. I feel great. Well, i'm getting over a flare up so I don't feel so well right now. Usually, it is very helpful.
 

kiny

Well-known member
I don't take it, I do take probiotic, not sure. Just don't worry about your gut flora being "missing" one day, there isn't an antibiotic in the world that can "kill it" it always comes back. You can help it though, if you feel good on yoghurt or probiotics why not, I wouldn't start other kinds of dairy though. There are specific strains that disappear in people with crohn, they know which ones and are trying to make them, but it's a lot back and forth pulling between the food administrations and the biologists that suffer constant setbacks because governments don't want to acknowledge probiotics as beneficial and want it registered under medication instead of food, which complicates things a lot.

Someone already said it, bacteria take up specific places in your intestine, the lactobasilli are small intestine.
 
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