I'm Back, with Probiotics!

You guys, I needed a break.

I got on the vaccine bandwagon and it drained my soul for a while. That's why I was absent for so long.

I've said what I had to say. Now it's time to move on and explore other aspects of health and healing.

Today, I want to go back to good ol' probiotics. The good bugs. Personally, I have benefited from taking VSL#3 and Garden of Life products. I wanted to know who else would see improvements from taking these microbial supplements and if there's data to support that. Lo and behold, as I was sifting through the resources from an organization called Integrative Medicine for the Underserved, I found the upcoming guide.

Gut Indications	Evidence	Species
Kids
Preterm infant‐ NEC	B	L. acidophilus, B. infantis, B bifidum NCD01453,L reuteri (55 million)
Childhood diarrhea ‐ prevention	B	Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus GG, combo (L. helveticus and S.thermophilus), L casei and L acidophilus, L sporogenes (bacillus coagulans)
Infant ‐ prevent diarrhea	B	B. bifidum, S. thermophilus; E coli 083:K234:H31,
Childhood diarrhea ‐ treatment	A	Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus GG, Lactobacillus Reuteri SD2112,
Constipation in Children	C	L. casei rhamnosus Lcr35
Adults
Travelers' diarrhea prevention	B	L. acidophilus, B. bifidum,L. bulgaricus and S.thermophilus; Lactobacillus GG
Prevention antibiotic-assoc iated diarrhea	A	Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus GG, (combo Lactobacillus casei DN114 G01, L. bulgaricus, snf Saccharomyces thermophilus)
Prevention C diff	B/C	Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus GG
Prevention recurrent C diff	B/C	Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus GG, bacteriotherapy
Adult diarrhea ‐ treatment	C	S. faecium, Enterococcus SF 68; S boulardii in amebic dysentery
Constipation	C	Bifidobacterium lactis DN‐173 010, E. coli Nissle 1917, the supplement VSL#3 and Lactobacillus casei Shirota
H. pylori infection	C	L. acidophilus LB*, L. casei DN‐114 001*, (L. acidophilus La5, B. lactis Bb12, L bulgaricus and S. thermophilus)* L. johnsonni La1, Lactobacillus GG, L. casei subsp. casei DG
IBD
Crohn's	C	E. coli Nissle, S. boulardii
UC ‐ induce remission	B	E. coli Nissle, VSL #3,( B. breve Yakult, B. bifidumYakult, L. acidophilus less effective)
UC ‐ Maintenance	A	E. coli Nissle, VSL #3, also B breve/B bifidum/L acidophilus Yakult
Pouchitis ‐ prevent and maintain remission	A	VSL#3, L. acidophilus La‐5 and Bifidobacterium lactisBb12
Pouchitis ‐ induce remission	C	VSL#3
IBS
IBS	B	Bifidobacterium infantis B5624, VSL #3
IBS	C	Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus plantarum 299; +/‐ L. rhamnosus GG, L. rhamnosus LC705, B.breve Bb99 and Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. Shermani JS
Radiation enteritis	C	VSL#3, L acidophilus, L rhamnosus
Extra‐intestinal Indications
Allergy to milk	C	Lactobacillus GG
Atopic eczema Prevention	B	Lactobacillus rhamnosus LPR and Bifidobacterium longum BL999 OR 0.17, L paracasei ST11 and B longum BL999 OR 0.16, Escherichia coli
Atopic eczema Tx	A	L rhamnosus GG ATCC 53103, Bifidobacterium lactis; L. rhamnosus 19070‐2and L. reuteri DSM122460
Allergies (asthma, rhinitis, urticaria etc)	C	L. acidophilus P‐18806,L. delbruekii P‐18805 andS. thermophilus P‐18807; L. paracasei ‐33; +/‐ L. acidophilus L‐92; B. longum BB3536
Colic	C	Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938
Infant, at birth for general prevention	C	E. coli‐decrease recurrent infections over next 10y!
Prevention respiratory infection children	C	Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 w/prebiotic
Prevention respiratory infection adults	B	L. casei DN‐114 00, L. reuteri protectis ATCC55730, L. fermentum CECT 5716, L. fermentum VRI‐003; Lactobacillus gasseri PA 16/8, Bifidobacterium longum SP 07/3, B. bifidumMF 20/5
Halitosis	C	L reuteri, Streptococcus salivarius WB21 in chewing gum
Vaginosis and vaginitis	B	L. acidophilus, L rhamnosus GR‐1, L. reuteri RC14
Prevent Preterm Birth?	C	Lactobacillus reuteri RC‐14 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR‐1
Decrease pre‐eclampsia	C	L. acidophilus LA‐5, B. lactis Bb12, and L. rhamnosus GG
Hepatic Encephalopathy
Chronic Liver disease ‐ NAFLD	C	Lactobacillus acidophilus , bifidus , rhamnosus , plantarum , salivarius , bulgaricus , lactis , casei , breve ) associated with prebiotics (FOS) and vitamins
Rheumatoid Arthritis	C	Bacillus coagulans (formerly Lactobacillus sporogenes)
Recurrent UTI	C	L. rhamnosus GR‐1; L. reuteri RC‐14

I wish these came with article references, but they don't. I'll also admit to being surprised by the listing of E.coli as a therapeutic agent and had to look up what this Nissle strain is all about here. What I read did NOT convince me to use this strain, in fact it looks potentially dangerous! 

You'll note that the information is marked by alphabetical grades. These are defined as shown below.

(Source)

My goal this year is to become more fluent in being able to name these organisms, recommend them, and have the data to back all that up. That information will go under the probiotics label on the right. The more we learn about how the human microbiome affects health and disease, the more I see that this knowledge is crucial to providing comprehensive care that can provide both short and long-term benefits.