Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A big, successful trial of probiotics

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 70 posts

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#61

Post by emilp89 »

option_greek wrote: post #18
uncle_d wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strain is in milk kefir, no? Easy to cultivate at home. See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38800977 Water kefir is also available :)

Anecdotal: I recently started taking Milk Kefir and it has been a life changer. I never thought I had any problems till they were resolved by Kefir. Seen great improvements in energy levels and anxiety. It even fixed the minor IBS I had.

Factory produced Kefir has very few probiotics. They were removed intentionally. So maybe just placebo.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#62

Post by Havoc »

manmal wrote: post #32
Havoc wrote: post #29

My issue isn't on the faith in probiotics side...the problem is which ones do I buy. It's near impossible to know you're getting the good stuff so to speak.

It really depends on what you need. I would be careful around soil based species, and avoid D-lactic acid producers (which eliminates a whole lot of probiotics), but apart from that you can just get what you need. E.g. if you have a problem with histamine intolerance you could go for strains that eat/reduce histamine. If you want better mood, you could try L Plantarum 299v or Bifidobacterium Longum or L casei shirota…

My point was rather that how do I know the bacteria aren't 100% dead?

Thanks for the details on strains though. :)

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#63

Post by option_greek »

e40 wrote: post #30
option_greek wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal: I recently started taking Milk Kefir and it has been a life changer. I never thought I had any problems till they were resolved by Kefir. Seen great improvements in energy levels and anxiety. It even fixed the minor IBS I had.

Can you please give some details on how you take it?

I bought the grains locally and use them to ferment milk for 24 hours (I live near equator so you might have to adjust for your climate). I strain the kefir - seperate out the grains - add some milk and store in the refrigerator for a week (so basically I make it once a week). I store the seperated kefir again in the refrigerator. I take one cup after lunch and one before sleeping (without any additives or even sugar).

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#64

Post by option_greek »

emilp89 wrote: post #61
option_greek wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal: I recently started taking Milk Kefir and it has been a life changer. I never thought I had any problems till they were resolved by Kefir. Seen great improvements in energy levels and anxiety. It even fixed the minor IBS I had.

Factory produced Kefir has very few probiotics. They were removed intentionally. So maybe just placebo.

I actually make it at home as Kefir isn't sold in my country :). I couldn't yet take a call on whether its a placebo or not. My partner says its placebo effect too but I don't think so.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#65

Post by heurist »

manmal wrote: post #32
Havoc wrote: post #29

My issue isn't on the faith in probiotics side...the problem is which ones do I buy. It's near impossible to know you're getting the good stuff so to speak.

It really depends on what you need. I would be careful around soil based species, and avoid D-lactic acid producers (which eliminates a whole lot of probiotics), but apart from that you can just get what you need. E.g. if you have a problem with histamine intolerance you could go for strains that eat/reduce histamine. If you want better mood, you could try L Plantarum 299v or Bifidobacterium Longum or L casei shirota…

Could you suggest some reliable sources of information on finding/comparing probiotics?

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#66

Post by btilly »

emilp89 wrote: post #60
btilly wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US generally has clean water. The third world, and India in particular, frequently do not. That said, the other immune boosts are interesting here. And what would be doubly interesting is to figure out probiotics that prevent allergies. We've known for years that a child who is exposed to real illnesses in a dirty environment may die from that, but won't generally go on to develop asthma. In the developed world w…

Hygiene hypothesis hasn't been proven yet.

It may not be conclusively proven, but there is strong supporting evidence. See, for example, http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(15)01193-8/abst....

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#67

Post by spondywarrior »

hanklazard wrote: post #25
rubidium wrote: post #3

Here's the nature article (paywall): http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/natu... "The special mixture included a probiotic called Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC-202195 combined with fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), an oral synbiotic preparation developed by Dr. Panigrahi." (from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-08-probiotics-sepsis-inf... ) Decrease in other infections (respiratory and nasal) is par…

Pediatric MD PhD. These are exciting results. Sepsis among neonates is a major concern, even in the developed world. Babies new to the world have very weak immune systems, particularly with regard to antibody response which is initially almost entirely composed of waning amounts of transplacental IgA. This paper points out the the developing world has even higher rates of infant mortality from bacterial sepsis. So th…

Throwaway here. Since the research shows a relation between gut/microbiome imbalance and some auto-immune diseases, do you think probiotics are parts of the future medical response to such diseases ? (yes, I have one). I know this paper (http://sci-hub.io/10.1097/MCG.0b013e3181662455) but don't know how research built on it since.

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#68

Post by blurbleblurble »

bitwize wrote: post #52
blurbleblurble wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my opinion, the word antibiotic is even more problematic. In a recent survey, 13% of practitioners admitted to having used sedatives or antibiotics as placebos: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023195216.h... To me, antibiotics are an example of dangerous superstition rearing its nasty head right there smack in the middle an institution that prides itself as rational and superior. I think pre-med a…

Or maybe just have Jeff Goldblum tell them that they're so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think about whether they should. And that life finds a way.

Yeah they should be required to watch Jurassic Park (the original ONLY though the new one is garbage propaganda)

Re: A big, successful trial of probiotics

#70

Post by amai »

Havoc wrote: post #29

My issue isn't on the faith in probiotics side...the problem is which ones do I buy. It's near impossible to know you're getting the good stuff so to speak.

I can recommend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_reuteri . Try these ones: https://www.biogaia.com/
Post reply on HN