The world of probiotics is incredibly confusing. My strategy has to always been to see which bacteria we're deficient in and try to find them in products. Here's a new study identifying to families where we're deficient. It also suggests that what we call IBD is indeed many different illnesses, as is my mantra.
I'm having a lot of trouble finding these strains in a OTC product... sigh.
Comparison of clone libraries reveals statistically significant differences between the microbiotas of CD and UC patients and those of non-IBD controls\. Significantly, our results indicate that a subset of CD and UC samples contained abnormal GI microbiotas, characterized by depletion of commensal bacteria, notably members of the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes\. Patient stratification by GI microbiota provides further evidence that CD represents a spectrum of disease states and suggests that treatment of some forms of IBD may be facilitated by redress of the detected microbiological imbalances.
In:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Aug 15
Molecular-phylogenetic characterization of microbial community imbalances in human inflammatory bowel diseases.
PMID: 17699621
Dx:
Left-sided UC, Jun 2005. Flex-sig only... clear for first 20cms, then inflamed through next 30cms.
Therapies:
Pharmaceutical: Pentasa 3G/day, hydrocort 1x every 7 days
Probiotics: Acidophilus Pearls, Primadophilus Bifidus
Naturals: Caprylic Acid, Methylated B-12, Vit ACDE, Zinc (w/copper), Selenium, Turmeric, Bromelain, Luteolin
Killer Foods: Soda, Fried Food (especially french fries!), Beer, Red Wine, Pepperoncinis