Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsD
I'll take this opportunity to suggest KEFIR....
A friend on NT suggested this for me last September, and it changed my LIFE and comfort levels. Kefir has 12 probiotic organisms in it. And by day 3 using 4oz daily, my troubles stopped.
Daily quality of life has improved, since then.
This is the brand I use:
http://www.lifeway.net/
I mix a flavored one with unflavored low fat 1/2 and 1/2 due to sugar content concerns, and since then I have put hubby on it too. I use it as a snack before bedtime, or as a dessert after dinner. Kefir is very good, and the fruit flavored ones are just like a smoothie. The unflavored one is a bit sour, but one gets used to it (I have to watch my sugar intake). You can use the unflavored one to make whatever creative adjustments you prefer! (make your own fresh fruit smoothies).
It is not expensive and is very very helpful to reestablish normal flora after a lifetime of antibiotics and/or GI viral/bacterial assaults. |
Thank you for bringing up this important topic that is often overlooked. Gut issues that go on untreated for months and years inevitably result in nutritional deficiencies that can lead to a number of health issues including degenerative diseases. Many people accept chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating, GERD, etc. as part of life and wait too long before addressing it.
My mom who has had PD for 4-5 years had chronic digestive issues for many years before that including constipation, bloating, and GERD. She was also put on proton pump inhibitors for the GERD for a long time. They didn't solve her GERD, but they did contribute to her B12 deficiency, which made everything worse.
Just recently she had an organic acids (metabolic analysis profile) test run that revealed that she had intestinal dysbiosis which calls for heavy probiotics, and some degree of protein malabsorption requiring supplementing with digestive enzymes. Because of these test results we just submitted a very sophisticated stool test that measures the levels of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria as well as yeast/fungal overgrowth and parasites based on DNA sampling in the stool. The report is very specific so you can target the treatment instead of taking a shotgun/guessing approach in the intervention.