recommend a prebiotic/probiotic? 30 December 2014 at 4:52PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Health & Beauty MoneySaving 7 replies 1.4K views

KARO

I am looking to take a pre-(and/or pro-)biotic supplement to try and prevent fungal or yeast infections caused by antibiotic use, and was looking for possible recommendations?

The ones I have seen in the shops are quite pricey (about £12 for a pack) which is quite a lot of money to pay up front, but if it means avoiding the problems I usually get while taking antibiotics I don't mind paying it.

I have heard of acidopholus (?) supplements, and also pre/probiotic tablets. Has anybody used these and found them to be helpful, and where might be a good place to look for them?

Thanks in advance

A.Penny.Saved

Any probiotics which are usually bacteria, that you take with antibiotics will also be killed by the antibiotics. What you need is something which is not a bacteria and therefore will not be affected by the antibiotics. Saccharomyces Boulardii which is a yeast with many beneficial properties might be worth looking at. It has been researched for preventing antibiotic induced diarrhoea.

Many of these things can be cultured including Saccharomyces Boulardii. I did some in some milk and produced a set yoghurt. It's far cheaper done this way than buying expensive capsules, then you only need a small amount of capsules such as a trial. The same or similar can be done with bacteria after the antibiotics. Sauerkraut and other fermented foods might be beneficial.

If you have problems with Candida then they might be hiding inside a biofilm which prevents them from being destroyed.

Soluble fibre is a good food source for probiotic organisms. FOS is often recommended but it might not be helpful with Candida. I do seem to remember seeing something that questioned FOS use with Candida. However I could be mistaken and/or it's validity unreliable.

KARO

Thanks. I'm not sure what FOS is (?) but yes I always get problems with candida/yeast infections. I really don't like taking antibiotics for this reason!

I spotted a product in a health food shop recently which has some good reviews on amazon, and I decided to order a packet. It's called OptiBac and it's supposed to be specifically for those on antibiotics.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optibac-Probiotics-those-On-Antibiotics/dp/B0015X9GRY/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1420117090&sr=8-10&keywords=optibac

I have never taken anything like this before, aside from Yakult milk, which did nothing except make me very gassy!! :eek: But at £5 I thought I'd give it a go.

fluffypinksoda

I have been using H&B (not chewable) for years and they are ok. I then discovered kefir and it makes a massive difference. You just need to find someone with a culture to share it. It's a live drink with lots of friendly bacteria. You can get either water kefir or milk kefir. I hope that helps

jenniewb

I can't remember where I read it recently (and it's too late and I'm too tired right now to google for it!) but I heard that pre-biotics are not worth paying for because you can pick up the same effects from eating a healthy mix of vegetables.
Pro-biotics are what is worth paying for and you need to choose carefully because not all are equal.

I had stomach issues a few months ago and bought a pack from Holland and Barratt in April (pink boxed packet, not by H&B but sold by H&B and also sold by Boots) offered 10 billion probiotics per pill.
I saw a difference in these! I couldn't afford to buy more packets and have had my stomach issues return just recently and now am wondering if I should save up again! I can't tolerate dairy (makes my stomach issues infinitely worse) but these probiotics worked for me which many of them don't.

cherylsurrey

Optibac pro-biotics are fantastic, I didn't need to take them long term, just a 30 day course, I would really recommend them. They worked where the normal ones I got from the health food shop didn't, after I had to take antibiotics.

Katiehound

Question: would eating live natural yoghurt not work as well?
You can also get non dairy soya based "live" yoghurts- Alpro & Tesco's own Free from range. I think reducing sugar intake makes a big difference too.

summerspring

Katiehound wrote: »

Question: would eating live natural yoghurt not work as well?
You can also get non dairy soya based "live" yoghurts- Alpro & Tesco's own Free from range. I think reducing sugar intake makes a big difference too.

I would think the bacteria would not survive your stomach acid, which is why live yoghurts don't do much. Our local health store used to sell something called Probio 7, but I've never tried it.