Yakult anyone??

[anmonk]

hello guys,
To make things clear i would like to confirm few things,
--Firstly, when i say yakult i am mean any probiotic fermented milk product.
--Secondly, the reason i am mentioning yakult because i am currently drinking this product. i am from India and this is the most easily available product here.
--Thirdly, I am not endorsing any product, i would like to know if anyone is finding these products helpful.

I started taking yakult from past one week. Though i could not find drastic improvements, i have observed that my stomach is more calm meaning i have less cramps. I read a few articles on the internet about yakult, but i did not find anything useful. Mostly, i found people writing negative comments of yakult and supporting other brands or people just praising yakult and criticizing the others. Basically, there is big advertising campaign going on taking the advantage of health concern shown by the public. I am a Biotechnology graduate and i know the importance of good microbes on our health. All i want to know is, do these products help people in the real world. As each of us are prioritizing our health, i guess you guys will share your experiences without falling for the hype created by such advertisements.

Thank you for sharing your inputs. Cheers!!

 

[Eridon2002]

Hi Anmonk, We don't have Yakult in the US(at least I have never seen it. However, I have fermented my own Kefir before. The stuff you buy in the stores only has a few strains of bacteria and might not even be alive to colonize your GI tract. Homemade Kefir has about 50 different strains of bacteria and yeast. I bought the Kefir "grains" online which is the bacterial and yeast culture used to inoculate and ferment the milk. I would use pasture raised whole milk for fermenting-add the Kefir grains and leave on countertop at room temp for 12-24hours. The bacteria and yeast in the culture multiply feeding off the lactose in the milk. I noticed that I did well with the kefir and during that time I had some "rockstar poops"-basically normal BM's. At first, I started out slowly with the Kefir as to not overwhelm my gut, but by the end I was making smoothies using about a 8oz of Kefir a day. I stopped because I recently had surgery but I will be starting up again making the Kefir again. I also take probiotics and eat lots of yogurt.

 

[anmonk]

thank you for sharing Eridon2002...
i too eat lot of yogurt but haven't tried kefir yet.i'll surely try it. Sorry to hear about your surgery. I too had my hemicolectomy 6 months ago. I was on temporary ileostomy and had it reversed on December 2015. That was my fourth surgery ever since i was diagnosed in 2012, I am 24 years old. I have finally understood the importance of my health and i have been successful lately in following a good lifestyle. I see i excerice and get atleast 8 hours of sleep daily and i don't smoke or drink. My symptoms and c-reactive protein levels are decreasing and i am on humira (excemptia, the brand available in India) i am looking for complete remission in the next 5 years. Can you share what surgery did you undergo? how you are managing your disease and what diet are you following? I guess its always good to here success stories of people and learn and improvise on them. I always felt its a great idea to restart life after surgery cause you get another chance to reset your body. I hope you don't mind sharing.

 

[ronroush7]

Welcome. I don't know how to do the link but we to have a Crohns Indian Support Group. Maybe you would find help there.

 

[Eridon2002]

I had 22cm of my splenic flexure and descending colon removed Feb 16. I have a temporary ileostomy that I'll get reversed in a couple months. Right now I feel great and am scared about the reversal that my symptoms will return. Diet has helped me a lot. I stay away from preservatives, additives, food coloring, etc and try to eat "clean". But unfortunately some of the healthy foods like broccoli and beans are too much fiber for me to handle. I'm hoping to gradually increase fiber and promote the growth of those bacterial in my gut that break down fiber. Hopefully one day I can eat broccoli and beans again I would recommend keeping a food diary to see what affects you since it is very different person to person. I agree that exercise and getting enough sleep is critical. Also managing stress and anxiety. I plan on trying yoga and breathing techniques to see if this will help with stress. I'm currently not on any medication but will be going on azathioprine after my second surgery. I will see how I respond to that medication. I am someone who already catches every cold/flu out there so I'm worried about being on an immune suppressor.

 

[anmonk]

Yes breathing techniques are a great way to keep yourself calm. I do meditation and pranayama which is a form of breathing technique practiced in yoga. After the reversal surgery i had problems with water absorption hence more frequent stools. But, eventually in a span of 2 to 3 months the frequency of stool has decreased from 18x a day to 4-5x which is a great improvement for me. I don't think you should be scared of anything just be courageous which you already are and if something has to hit you, it will, PERIOD. There is no use of being cynical about the future. Since, i have being through the same situation as you, i know that things will be great with you too.

 

[Charlotte.]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26469356

They did a trial with shirota bacteria for IBS. Results: No improvement.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19740306

Another study for IBD showed that it could down regulate IL-6, an inflammatory marker.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15932502

This study result shows a benefit as well.


Looks as if it is worth a try! I could not find any information about dosage in these trials, so maybe the recommended daily amount of the Yakult drinks would not be large enough to meet the study conditions, both have been studies performed with mice.
Let us know if and when you start seeing a difference. I would suppose that you would require at least 6 weeks to see any improvement.

I myself tried Saccharomyces boulardii and also e. coli nissle but could not see any difference (did not take it long enough; I stopped when I experienced side effects). E. coli nissle is used as maintenance therapy for UC if mesalazine is not tolerated, so bacteria can definitely have a huge impact.