Hi everyone,
I just wanted to see if what I'm experiencing is familiar to anyone?
Until about a year ago, I had never experienced any kind of digestive health problems. Then I started taking those probiotic yogurt drinks once a day, just because I had heard about the health benefits. After a couple of weeks, I started getting horrific heartburn, all hours of the day. It took me a couple of weeks to realise that it might be the yogurt drinks, so I stopped taking them... and the heartburn went away. It took a few months to disappear completely (I was worried for a while that I had permanently weakened the valve and that I was stuck with it but eventually it did go away 100%).
I am now trying out the Paleo diet for a moth or two, to give my system a little clear out and one thing they recommend to take is probiotics, because of the lack of dairy intake. I figured I would try taking them in a tablet form this time and see if the heartburn returned. That was 2 weeks ago. This morning I have woken up to heartburn! Boo hoo.
What I want to know is this:
1. Are they actually good for us, or is it a fad/government money maker?
2. Is it likely to settle down after a while, if I continue to take them long-term (i.e. is it just the adjustment period?), or am I risking permanent damage?
Any opinions are welcomed!
AIUI probiotics are only necessary if you have a bowel problem eg IBS.
Paleo to give your system a clear out seems a pointless reason to do it. If you want to clear out your system, then eat lots of fibre with some linseeds.
Thanks!
I decided to try Paleo because I have chronic eczema and wonder if it's diet-related (as I imagine most things are), so just eating meat, poultry, fish, fruit, veg, nuts/seeds, spices/herbs for a few weeks to see if there's an improvement.
Never had any digestive problems but I seem to read/hear everywhere that everyone should take a probiotic for good health but I have my suspicions on that. It seems that my stomach does too 🙂
How would it be a government money- maker?
TBH the value of pro-biotics is unclear. But I have never heard of them causing heartburn but in my experience they are generally harmless. However based on what you have said they WRE a trigger for you and you should avoid them. Sadly once you have heartburn it tends to be there for good and you just have to work out what your triggers are and avoid them.
While I am not a fan of processed food I perosnally think the paleo diet is based on rather dodgy reasoning. We have been eating a NON paleo diet for centuries.....and if it was harmful we would have found out by now. Plus we have almost certainly evolved since paleolithic times.
Palaeolithic people had varied diets, depending on where they lived. Although there was less in the way of starchy carbohydrates (probably) there would have been less protein than most people following the Paleo diet seem to consume.
Thanks for all your responses!
I do agree to a certain extent with the Paleo argument and I don't intend to keep it up long-term. The trouble is, I'm just so sick of this chronic eczema and I don't know what the cause is (as demonstrated by the probiotic reaction, my body is weird!) but 3 well-known causes are dairy, sugar and stress. So I'm doing the most logical thing to me, which is cutting out all processed crap and then re-introducing the more processed foods slowly, keeping a food diary. Tashanie, I thought the same thing re our evolution but then I found this web page and I was surprised:
Crowan, I don't think I'm in too much danger of consuming too much protein, I was a vegetarian for years and meat & fish still grosses me out but it's just a temporary measure to see how my skin reacts. I'm still eating meat minimally, though.
As for the government money-maker, this could open up a whole new can of worms on the debate front but my opinion is that governments like to keep people sick, it makes more money for them. They know from their own research (and surely common sense) that all of the nasties pumped into our food, cosmetics, clothes etc. are harmful and can likely cause disease and cancers. They also know that a lot of their prescribed 'medications' cause illness of other sorts. There's also of course the debate that Governments are hiding the cure for cancer because keeping people sick generates so much revenue for them.
Again, this is all a matter of opinion before anyone shoots me down in flames but I'm just highlighting where my suspicions come from - I don't trust the Government at all. I also figure that the body is more than capable of fixing itself, given the correct natural food and environmental conditions... Not bacteria in a pill.
Shelley you are assuming the information on the website is correct.....There needs to be some objective evidence before I would be convinced
Fair play. But in my case I figured it's worth just giving it a go for a few weeks to see if things improve. And if they don't then I get to eat pasta and bread again 😀
3 well-known causes are dairy, sugar and stress. So I'm doing the most logical thing to me, which is cutting out all processed crap
Surely, the most logical thing is to cut out dairy, sugar and stress. 😀
Surely, the most logical thing is to cut out dairy, sugar and stress. 😀
Dairy and sugar tend to be highly processed. Also, highly processed foods usually contain sugar and often milk powders.
Cutting out stress is a whole other ball-game!
But cutting out "processed foods" would be overkill. Not that it's not a bad idea anyway. But then you have to determine what is processed foods - some are obvious, others are borderline.
But cutting out "processed foods" would be overkill. Not that it's not a bad idea anyway. But then you have to determine what is processed foods - some are obvious, others are borderline.
And it's nearly impossible to do.
Exactly. 😉
Yes Darren, you're right! But stress reduction is, as Crowan says, not as easy as cutting out the other stuff!
I agree, it's very difficult to know exactly what you're eating without spending hours upon hours reading ingredients on things and then, in the case of meat, fish, eggs etc. finding out what foods the animals themselves were raised on... who's got the time??
Then of course there's the organic debate and if you decide to go down that route you have to pay 4 times as much for it, which is just daylight robbery - shouldn't good, clean, unpolluted food be the basic standard for everyone?
As far as 'processed' goes, I figure that any ingredient I can't pronounce probably shouldn't be in there and the more there are the worse it is!
I suppose in an ideal world we would still all live in little self-sufficient villages with farms to feed everyone and we could afford to have someone stay at home tending the organic vegetable patch and cooking all our meals from scratch, no need for additives, preservatives, bulking ingredients and other nasties. I suppose it really boils down to the same principal as most things in life, "if you want a job doing properly, do it yourself"! But again... Who has the time for that?? Sigh.
Stress reduction is where therapist like me come in :-D!!!!!!
Additives are not always bad ....or unnatural. Don;t forget Vitamin C has an E number attached to it as 'ascorbic acid' And some of the very good for you essential fatty acids are stated as chemical names.
But if you cook as much stuff from fresh as you can, thats a good start. I agree with the ridiculous price of organic food.....but sadly thats probably a realistic price. I believe on the whole we do not pay an economic price for our food :-(.
SOME processing is good of course.......the dangers of raw milk are well known.....
Yeah, exactly.
Stress is a separate issue and whilst not something that you can do like, for instance, cutting out Big Macs, there are many solutions to reducing stress.
Yes, I suppose it's just all a case of knowing your stuff (well noted on the Vitamin C!) and doing the best you can. There's always going to be people a lot less healthy than you - for example, my boyfriend buys the cheapest version of everything, even down to value meat pies (I dread to think what's in them). If it were up to him, he would live off those, instant noodles, CC's/Doritos and beer (which would cost him around 10% of what I spend on groceries). Yet somehow, he has a lot less health problems than me... Go figure?! Not fair! But then again, his stress levels are considerably lower than mine too. Could be that. Or maybe I just have rubbish genes! 😀
Yes, I suppose it's just all a case of knowing your stuff (well noted on the Vitamin C!) and doing the best you can. There's always going to be people a lot less healthy than you - for example, my boyfriend buys the cheapest version of everything, even down to value meat pies (I dread to think what's in them). If it were up to him, he would live off those, instant noodles, CC's/Doritos and beer (which would cost him around 10% of what I spend on groceries). Yet somehow, he has a lot less health problems than me... Go figure?! Not fair! But then again, his stress levels are considerably lower than mine too. Could be that. Or maybe I just have rubbish genes! 😀
Or maybe whatever is causing your health problems isn't down to food.
So what's your take on absorbic acid that is added to probiotics - is this good or bad and why dont they say Vitamin C? I've been holding back on buying probioitcs because of absorbic acid added or the other one which I hate maltodextrin - as I avoid additives as much as I can - what does absorbic acid do and what does maltodextrin do to you
Ascorbic acid is a 'form' of vitamin C and is used as a food antioxidant. Maltodextrin is a polysaccaride, derived from corn starch in the US or wheat in Europe - so may upset people with gluten intolerance. As an additive in a probiotic, I imagine they are very, very, small percentages of the whole, and unlikely to cause problems. You may be better off just making a good quality home-made full fat yoghurt and eating some every day with berries. Most healthfood shops should be able to supply a 'starter'.
Yes I avoid gluten but think I'd be OK with Vitamin C
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to see if what I'm experiencing is familiar to anyone?
Until about a year ago, I had never experienced any kind of digestive health problems. Then I started taking those probiotic yogurt drinks once a day, just because I had heard about the health benefits. After a couple of weeks, I started getting horrific heartburn, all hours of the day. It took me a couple of weeks to realise that it might be the yogurt drinks, so I stopped taking them... and the heartburn went away. It took a few months to disappear completely (I was worried for a while that I had permanently weakened the valve and that I was stuck with it but eventually it did go away 100%).
I am now trying out the Paleo diet for a moth or two, to give my system a little clear out and one thing they recommend to take is probiotics, because of the lack of dairy intake. I figured I would try taking them in a tablet form this time and see if the heartburn returned. That was 2 weeks ago. This morning I have woken up to heartburn! Boo hoo.
What I want to know is this:
1. Are they actually good for us, or is it a fad/government money maker?
2. Is it likely to settle down after a while, if I continue to take them long-term (i.e. is it just the adjustment period?), or am I risking permanent damage?Any opinions are welcomed!
Hi!
You sound like you might be suffering from a histamine intolerance. I had a histamine intolerance myself, and used to get heartburn, migraines and acid reflux from certain foods that were considered "okay" on the paleo diet. Namely, fermented foods and dairy products.
Here's an article that could help explain more. It's on yogurts and probiotics. (not affiliated in any way!) 🙂
I have been having similar problems since I started taking probiotics, although I have chronic GI issues, and have a very small list of foods I can actually eat without becoming extremely bloated, gassy and cramping up.
I thought I would give probiotics a try and see if they helped. For the first 3-4 days I noticed that the chronic fungal rash I have lived with for years was becoming very bad, I did some research and found out that this could be the probiotics trying to get rid of all the bad bacteria and to stick with it, this have me hope as no meds or creams have ever been able to fully get rid of the rash. It is now mostly clears but I am now experiencing severe heart burn that does not stop!! And the bloating and water retention is worse than ever!!
Yes, I suppose it's just all a case of knowing your stuff (well noted on the Vitamin C!) and doing the best you can. There's always going to be people a lot less healthy than you - for example, my boyfriend buys the cheapest version of everything, even down to value meat pies (I dread to think what's in them). If it were up to him, he would live off those, instant noodles, CC's/Doritos and beer (which would cost him around 10% of what I spend on groceries). Yet somehow, he has a lot less health problems than me... Go figure?! Not fair! But then again, his stress levels are considerably lower than mine too. Could be that. Or maybe I just have rubbish genes! 😀
Or not so good gut bacteria. Pre biotics can correct that. There is a lot of information about pre-biotics and maintaining your microbiome out there on the web.... But I think you have hit the nail on the head with your comment about stress. Find ways to deal with that and you may well find you eliminate a lot of your health problems.
So what's your take on absorbic acid that is added to probiotics - is this good or bad and why dont they say Vitamin C? I've been holding back on buying probioitcs because of absorbic acid added or the other one which I hate maltodextrin - as I avoid additives as much as I can - what does absorbic acid do and what does maltodextrin do to you
Ascorbic acid is an anti-oxidant and thats why it is added to most food stuffs....which is why its not stated as Vitamin C. Its not there as a vitamin. Maltodextrin is a sweetener....easily digested and absorbed as glucose which is the bodies natural carbohydrate. So it is easily metabolised by the body.
Don't assume every chemical name means it is harmful. H2O is a very very common chemical in our foods as is NaCl, or KCl.......and without water sodium and potassium we would all be dead. BUT in excess water sodium and especially potassium can kill.
Based on what I have been reading recently probiotics are less beneficial than pre-biotics.....foods that feed and nurture your gut bacteria. Leeks onions garlic jerusalem artichokes..........google it and you will find lots of information and there is real science behind it.
In June I am going to a medical conference called 'Food the forgotten medicine'. And they have made it clear any posters of submissions are to be about food.....not food supplements (which probitoics are). Probiotics do have a place if you need antibiotics tho. If I ever needed antibiotics I would now automatically take a probiotic.
I had a mild/ to miderate case of colitis well technically I still do, but I haven't had any symptoms for a long time , with all diets the mould is there for you but you have to add and remove what works for you, paleo is great for weight loss but I have never found it sustainable, due to the amazing of fitness I do it just doesn't provide me with fuel, get in touch I can help with some diet issues. As for the probiotics the best way I have found to take them is a good quality, do strain blended in a smoothie
There is a lot of information about pre-biotics and maintaining your microbiome out there on the web.... But I think you have hit the nail on the head with your comment about stress.