Digestive Aids? Prebiotics? Acido, etc?

[riskybizz007]

I know prebiotics and digestive aids are not all that talked about like they were before. There's tons of stuff out there like digestive enzymes, ginger root, papaya, acidophilus, etc etc.

I was wondering if anyone used these and if it helped them in any way? Or if you would recommend them.

 

[anthrax]

yes I use a good product and I recommend it

it is ..... yogurt

(read for the explanation)

HEALTH CORNER
By Julene Tripp Weaver

REASONS TO USE YOGURT

Yogurt is rich in potassium, calcium, protein and B vitamins, including B-12.
Research shows yogurt strengthens and stabilizes the immune system.
The lactobacillus in yogurt feeds the intestines, maximizes nutrients you can absorb into your body, insures the digestive system stays healthy, and stabilizes the immune system.

"Yogurt has strong medicinal properties, including the ability to stimulate the immune system and kill bad "bugs" or bacteria in the human gut. ...research at the University of California at Davis showed that eating live-culture yogurt was associated with higher-than-average levels of gamma interferon, a key component of the body's immune system."(1)

The secret to good yogurt is that it contains live cultures, there are four major strains of bacteria to look for: L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, and bifidobacteria. There are good brands of yogurt available check the label to make sure it specifies active cultures. It is always better to buy the yogurt plain and add in the fruit or jam just before eating it. Frozen yogurt is not the same product and will not yield the same health benefits; even if they specify live cultures they will have only a fraction of the beneficial bacteria of fresh yogurt and they will not enhance lactose tolerance. Lactose in milk is converted by Yogurt's bacteria into lactic acid which helps digest lactose or dairy products.
The lactic acid of yogurt is a perfect medium to maximize calcium absorption.
In yogurt the process of growth from milk into yogurt involves the conversion of lactose into lactic acid. Lactic acid helps digest lactose. In other words, yogurt provides the enzyme needed to digest milk products. Calcium, which is found in dairy products, needs to enter the body in an acid matrix or your body will not absorb it. So the lactic acid of yogurt is a perfect medium to maximize calcium absorption. Eight ounces of yogurt will equal 400 mg of calcium, 25% more calcium than you would get out of a glass of milk.

When someone is HIV positive and has a CD4 count under 200 their production of hydrochloric acid (HCL) slows down. HCL is normally produced by your stomach to help with the digestion of food. When you have less HCL and digestive enzymes digestion becomes incomplete, food moves too quickly along the digestive tract. Your body doesn't get enough calcium and other minerals. Difficulty sleeping and malabsorption are common end results. Yogurt is one of those foods that you can eat to enhance your HCL production thus improving your digestion, vitamin and mineral absorption, and your bodies general well being. Research shows women who eat 4 cups of yogurt/week have less vaginal and bladder infections.
Yogurt can be used as an effective douche.
Have you experienced the irritating vaginal itch, usually accompanied by a discharge? As women we can get yeast overgrowth in our vaginas. Living with HIV makes women even more vulnerable to these kinds of infections. Taking antibiotics has the unwanted effect of wiping out normal flora in our bodies. Antibiotics or antifungals (just another type of antibiotic) tips the balance of good and bad yeast. Candida will grow in abundance when other bacteria and yeasts are depleted. Candida is trying to solve the problem of the imbalance. It is vital to keep a healthy diet of a wide variety of foods that contain natural bacteria and yeasts.* Yogurt is just such a food. It can be used internally and externally, and it is a prime good yeast replacer for our vaginal and intestinal flora. If you've ever used the applicators to insert antifungals into your vagina save them -- they can be filled with yogurt instead!

A study at Long Island Jewish Medical Center showed that "women prone to vaginal yeast infections experienced a threefold decrease in infections when they ate a cup of Lactobacillus acidophilus yogurt daily for six months."(2) The women were so pleased with the improvement that they did not want to stop eating the yogurt when the study wanted them to stop!

I highly recommend making your own yogurt, it's easy and there are some advantages. "While some commercial yogurts are better than others, most do not allow the bacteria to multiply to the extent that you can when you make it at home. The longer you let your yogurt sit a room temperature before refrigerating, the stronger the bacteria cultures will become.... Most commercial yogurts, even those made without gum, gelatin or stabilizers, add milk solids to thicken the yogurt. This makes the yogurt a concentrated food which is more difficult to digest."(3)
(1) Bell, pg. 16
* Susun Weed Workshop, October 1993
(2) Bell, pg. 18
(3) Khalsa, pg. 46

References:
Bell, Brenda, "The hidden world of yogurt," View Magazine, May/June 1994, pg. 16 - 19.

Khalsa, G. S. & Khalsa, P. S., Editors, FOODS for Health and Healing Remedies & Recipes Bases on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, Berkley, CA: KRI Publications/Spiritual Community, 1983.

Konlee, Mark, AIDS Control Diet Sixth Edition, West Allis, WI: Keep Hope Alive, 1994.

 

[anthrax]

In the average body there are 20 times more bacterial cells than human ones which amounts to about 1kg of body weight. The centre for bacterial activity is the lower intestine, a metre-long tube where more than 400 species of bacteria can live at a time. It is warm, hospitable and full of nutrients. There are very few in the stomach because the stomach acid kills them.

This stomach acid is neutralised by bicarbonate from the pancreas before it enters the intestine. The residents of the intestinal tract are in a constant state of flux as new bacteria are constantly being produced and old bacteria flushed out of the system.

In the past decade there has been a growing interest in cultivating friendly gut flora with the aid of probiotics. Probiotics are micro-organisms that are used therapeutically to control abnormal overgrowth of yeast, fungi and bacteria (intestinal flora) in the intestinal tract.

The idea that some types of fermented foods can boost health goes back hundreds of years. However the role of beneficial bacteria only began to be seriously researched at the start of the 20th century.

Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel Laureate microbiologist working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, noticed that Bulgarian peasants lived longer than average and associated this with a diet rich in soured milks. He believed their life was being prolonged by bacteria producing lactic acid and that many human diseases were caused by abnormal overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Live yoghurt

Live yoghurt contains various bacterial cultures the most important being Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidus. Live yoghurt is different from commercial yoghurt in that it is not heat-treated after the bacterial cultures are added. Most commercial yoghurts are heat-treated which kills the beneficial live cultures. Live yoghurts usually specify that they contain AB cultures.

 

[anthrax]

and the last one:

www.danone-institute.be/communication/pdf/mono05/9signi.PDF

 

[riskybizz007]

After studying and reading, then reading this I feel drained! ha! Well I knew Yogurt was beneficial, just not to that extent. My only problem is eating enough yogurt. I don't mind plain yogurt, I eat it w/ certain foods. Problem is eating enough of it. I know some people (dad included) who eat the stuff every day and make their own as well.

 

[anthrax]

in Europe, especially eastern Europe yogurts are eaten every day (sometimes twice a day)
Just use the low fat/fat free ones w/o sugar and fruits

 

[danielson]

i believe macrophage69aplopha clued everyone in about the benefits of ginger to protein absorbtion, it would be in the archives i assume, so search for the details

the only downside about probiotics is they have to be able to survive the trip through the acid in your stomach to even make it to the intestine

 

[moosecles]

i dont know how much the begining of this post will relate but the end will. About early/mid december i began using hydroxcut. I took small doses up untill the 3rd week or so, it kept giving me diareah from time to time. Then in about january i noticed a little blood on the toilet paper, then very few times at the end some in the toilet. I stopped using the product i went to a friend of the family's who uses alot of herbal remedies and such he was very close to getin a phd but because of money issues he couldnt. He told me it was because of the ephedrine and that i need to restore intestinal flora. So he recommende i pickup acidopholus tablets, as well as taking 1 yogurt upon waking up and 1 before bed. I got the pills and the yogurt came about a week later, i didnt take the pills though ( i know stupid) because there was no blood after i stopped takin the hydroxycut. I eat alot of fibre and whole grain foods then 1 week later i started cell-tech ( i know :|). Everything was fine with cell-tech and then i picked up protein (opti nutrition). When cell-tech ran out i got a diff brand of creatine, i resumed taking in the protein etc. i did take protein before i went to bed, i duno why but mostly post workout with creatine. The man also told me not to eat spicy foods, which i didnt but 2 days ago in a sub there were some hot peppers i didnt think much of it. Yesterday though earlier on in the day i saw a litttle tiny bit of light blood on the paper, as well as direaha, and later in the day diareha again at the end with a little blood in the toilet. So im thinking im gonna stop the creatine and protein for 2 weeks and actually take those acidophilus pills, maybe my intestines never really recovered. By the way im lactose intolerant... but i was told and read that opti nutritions 100% whey was relaly low in lactose. Anyone have any feedback or thoughts and what i can do ?

thank you