Re: Gut Flora?????

there are a great many factors that go into whether a particular strain will colonize the gut or not.

1. the health of the gut... there are four "coats" to the intestinal wall... and if one or more of them are damaged in any way, colonization is MUCH more difficult.

These "coats", include the mucosa which consists of an epithelium, lamina propria, muscularis mucosae, and in the small intestine, the microvilli.

Bottom line - damaged gut... no, or little colonization.

2. the food you eat and fluids you drink - if you eat processed foods, lots of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, etc., you are not supporting the recolonization efforts and while a probiotic may not be a complete waste of time and money, you will not be achieving maximum benefit.

Changing diet to support the microflora is absolutely essential... or colonization will not take place.

3. the medicines and OTCs you take... and whether you use or take alternatives like Colloidal Silver , iodine, use zappers, SCIO, and any other products designed to work as an Antibiotic and/or "kill"...

Some herbs and foods do a fairly good job of encouraging good flora while discouraging the bad... in other words altering the terrain of your intestinal environment.

4. excessive and/or regular use of "most" (there are probiotic retention enemas, etc.) enemas, colonics, liver flushes, and intestinal cleansing.

5. your lifestyle and chemical exposure - which could include occupational hazards... like exposure to pesticides, herbicides, etc.

6. the product you use, or fermented foods you eat - some products are primarily soil based organisms, others various probiotics... many strains in probiotics include strains found to have colonized in people... HOWEVER, the colinazation of these stains has only been found in anywhere from about 5 to 30% of the people tested.

The reason for this is due to where the people were, their diets, etc. There are more than a few articles on the extinction of beneficial microorganisms from us... that it is down to about 5 to 30% is rather disturbing... but then look at how ill we are as a global population.

This makes sense given our modern living conditions and the use of pharmaceuticals, Antibiotics , etc. which damage our intestinal "coats", and kill off the microflora, among other things.

While you may see "diminishing" populations of one strain or another in studies... keep in mind the above... was the intestinal tract healthy to begin with? Was diet explained? Was chemical/pharmaceutical use described? etc. If not, I would ask these questions before taking the study at face value.

All that said, we have adapted to ingesting fermented foods and SBO's (microflora) on a daily basis... and while most of them, especially the SBOs, seem to be transient for the most part, their beneficial effect on the way through is profound.

grz-

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