Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm supposed to be taking probiotics as part of my candida diet. Until I started the diet last month, I don't think I'd ever even heard of probiotic capsules, just yogurt really. Now that I'm in the market, I really have no idea what I'm looking for. I got a bottle of vegan capsules, but it was just what I was able to find on that particular day in that particular shop, so once I've taken these I'd like to move on to something better researched.

How do you decide which strains of bacteria are best? They all kind of sound the same to me, it's difficult to keep it all straight!

Why do some brands require refrigeration and others not?

Any good recommendations for vegan brands?

An infomercial I watched told me that I should avoid capsules with magnesium staerate or titanium dioxide. What's the deal with this? The capsules I bought do contain magnesium staerate. Should I be concerned, or is it the kind of thing you should really just be worried about ingesting in the long term?

Lastly, do you take probiotics, and what has that experience been like?

I take Soalray Multidophilus 12. The vitamin guys at my co-op recommended that one. For a while I was buying really expensive and not vegan Align ($30 a month!) because my gastroenterologist wanted me on THAT one in particular. I haven't noticed any difference between using Align and using Multidophilus 12 -- except that I just bought 100 of those for $15. The capsules are vegetarian and they're coated so they're supposed to protect the stuff from your stomach acid. They contain acidophilus and bifidum which are two of the biggies that are supposed to be good for immune function and digestion... and ten others good bacterias. I don't know what the capsules are made of -- I'd have to go look in the fridge.

I honestly don't know that it makes any difference in my digestion but I have noticed having fewer colds since I've been taking them regularly.

I take them daily, and they have cleared up my yeast problems, but only if I be sure to take them every day. I use the Nature's Bounty or something like that brand from Walgreens, which come in chew-able types, strawberry flavored and vegan. They do require refrigeration, as do most types I have seen. I did use the kind that weren't chew able of that brand and of a different brand, and for some reason they did not work at all. It says on the label how many bacteria or bacteria colonies are present in each pill, which is how you tell how strong they are. They mostly come in sizes of over one million, over one billion or over two billion. I have no idea how many are necessary. The ones I have recommend that you take three a day, spread out over the day, but I take them at once because I forget if I do not, and have no negative effects. Good luck, and go with refrigerated ones, because they seem to work better.