I used be lethargic, couldn't get myself to do anything but be on the sofa. I would get horrible migraine headaches if drinking alcohol or even alcohol free beer or eat certain foods. I self-diagnosed histamine intolerance through trial and error.
I tried multiple pro-biotic combinations. An easy one I tried in the beginning was simply some Danone Actimel the family had in the fridge anyway. I can attest to the fact that it contains live bacteria (a strain that makes lots of histamines) that do make it to the gut because it gave me the horrible migraine headache as would Sauerkraut actually. Researched what strains don't create lots of histamine. I landed on Garden of Life - Primal Defense Ultra. What I think made the difference is that it contains Bacillus subtilis. I say that because I tried two or three others that had largely the same makeup of strains but none had that particular bacterium. It's a soil based bacterium which you might get from eating your own cabbage you grew in the garden as well. Almost everything else just has various different strains of lactobacilli.
Taking 3 capsules a day I felt like crap for 2 weeks (no headaches, just feeling sick, like a bad cold) and then things got better. I am able to drink alcohol again (I'll get a hangover headache like anyone would if I drink too much but it's not longer a day long migraine from just sipping 10ml) and eat anything I want to in any quantity. I still take one in the morning and one in the evening and I put one into the Sauerkraut I make.
YMMV as always, not a doctor, try at your own risk, not affiliated etc :)
Reducing intestinal permeability is a highly desirable effect.
It’s possible to find some studies showing correlations, but it’s harder to find successful replications of those studies.
Some probiotics have been shown to temporarily alter gut flora, but it usually reverts after the probiotic is stopped. Dietary and activity changes are generally good at improving the biome.
It doesn’t help that one of the commercial guy biome measuring companies basically turned out to be fraudulent a few years ago. Even some of the public efforts to measure correlations are suspect or bunk because they relied on these services.
Personally as someone with IBS, I have tried many probiotics over the years and have mixed results - most of them were useless but for some time I found one or 2 that worked but I couldnt say for sure if they worked due to other factors (for e.g generally healthier food, lifestyle, mindset etc). You would have to try it out for weeks to see their effect (according to studies that say it work).
The doctors I spoke to though gave me strong probiotics (>100 billion CFU, for e.g something like [2]). I found anything that had 1 or 10 billion CFU to be pretty much useless.
I think you should work on your diet before taking probiotics. I dont think I am lactose intolerant, milk gives me bad bloating but yogurt doesnt. Yogurt worked for me over the course of weeks, kefir and sauerkrat gave me mega-bloating.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45434753 [2] https://www.amazon.com/Visbiome-Potency-Probiotic-Shipped-Sh...
Everyone is different but personally, I'm able to tolerate everything except Fructans (one of several types of FODMAPS). So no garlic, onion or wheat for me.
https://www.monashfodmap.com/ibs-central/i-have-ibs/starting...
But I have several family members on it right now, and they all report feeling WAY better. And this is after years of dealing with IBS type problems too.
Honestly the scientist(s) who developed the low FODMAP diet needs to be awarded a Nobel prize.
Then the next day, almost always in the morning is when the problems will start. Perhaps the bacteria had time to ferment the food overnight.
So when I have symptoms, I always look at what I ate the previous day.
So it definitely gives positive results, but it’s also very difficult to follow.
Personally I use this app when eating anything I'm not sure about, it has a database of foods and their fodmap content: https://www.monashfodmap.com/ibs-central/i-have-ibs/get-the-...
In studies Low-fodmap is typically only recommended for ~6 weeks. I now try to eat any kind food though, I eat everything in smaller quantities and this also helps.
I personally found that a combination of diet, stress, sleep control are the most effective for managing IBS symptoms. Any one of those can flare up the symptoms at any time and managing all of them is key
It means regular exercise, 6 hours of cardio a week, eating healthy, meditating, spending time in the sun, etc. etc. (And anti-depressants/therapy, which play an important role too.)
Of course, it's too much to tell someone struggling to do all those things, but if you can work towards that, I strongly recommend it. I've had to declare war on my depression and ADHD because I can't afford to have it in my life anymore.
At some point perhaps the science will catch up and explain precisely how these things help, but until then, I feel like you have to take the ancient approach of observing people who have things figured out and emulating them. (And I say this as someone who is very much pro-science.)
There's so much variety between people, one formulation for one person might work well for one person but have negative effects on another even if they have a supportive diet and lifestyle. People might simply have to trial multiple formulas that have the right mix of strains before they find one that works for them.
Prebiotic foods seem to have more consistent results on gut health, according to some studies.
(not medical/health advice disclaimer)
https://www.livestrong.com/article/413921-does-sauerkraut-ha...
Or don't, I'm not denying quick such er salads can taste great, just that if what you want is a fermented or pickled product, that takes time. (And much longer if at all in the fridge - that's their purpose!)
A 'proper' recipe for sauerkraut for example will tell you something on the order of weeks at minimum, and it's done when you like the taste. Kimchi I think is typically fermented for longer, more like months or over a year (not including any transferred to the next batch).
Rinsed pickle jars work great, a head of Napa cabbage usually fills about 2+1/2 ~ 3 jars. If you're not into high spicy, dial back the red pepper by about half, for your first try. If you don't like funky, skip the fish sauce or any seafood component, I always do this so that the flavor won't clash with some dishes, you can always add fish sauce to a dish but you can't remove it.
I ferment it for about 3 days at about 65 ~ 68 degrees(f), then into the fridge. It keeps indefinitely but is best within a few months.
Do not bring it into work, just as you would not microwave fish at work. The aroma is very much not to everyone's preference, even when made without seafood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaoA7SKN0g0 https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
good base to build from, it didn't use to be so spammy tho
The only effective probiotics I've found are very expensive, costing around $120/mo.
But how do you know if they're effective?
That's always been my question.
What is the effect one should notice?
More anecdotally I do feel generally better even when my GI symptoms aren't present: more energy, better mood, more restful sleep.
Lots of accessible information can be found at https://nutritionfacts.org.
From the maker but I heard about it on a podcast and was convinced.
Well that's the theory anyway...