Probiotics for what ails you

Here's some probiotics information that I lifted directly from my website.

Sorry for the rerun but I think this information is extremely valuable.

My personal opinion is that probiotics are vital to our health. I am not a doctor so you will need to do some research on your own and determine whether or not probiotics will help you. Below are some links to reputable journal abstracts so you can make up your mind on your own.

PREVENTING AND TREATING THE SIDE EFFECTS OF ANTIBIOTICS this article is written specifically for children but it's got some great information that could be applied to adults as well.

This is a minuscule sampling of the abstracts available! I collected this information in one hour!

To search more abstracts: PubMed or Medscape

If you feel probiotics will work for you and your doctor tells you they will not, I encourage you to do the following:

• Find the relevant journal article
• Print out 2 copies. Be sure to include citations so your doctor can see that this is a journal abstract he/she should read
• Highlight the relevant information on your copy and the doctor's copy. The relevant information are usually the title and conclusion
• Give the doctor his/her copy at your appointment
• Give the doctor a chance to skim the abstract
• Ask the doctor why the research is invalid if he/she disagrees with you
• Ask the doctor what the harm would be in trying probiotics

MEDLINE COLLECTION OF VARIOUS JOURNAL ABSTRACTS

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF PROBIOTICS ON NUMEROUS AND VARIED CONDITIONS

• MEDLINE Abstracts: Probiotic Therapy - This article is on Medscape. You might need to register. It's free, worth it and they don't send you any emails.

ANTIBIOTICS AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE OF YEAST OVERGROWTH

• Intestinal candidiasis. A clinical report and comments about this opportunistic pathology. Mycopathologia. 2002;156(1):9-11.

COLDS, IMMUNITY & PROBIOTICS

• Effect of a dietary supplement containing probiotic bacteria plus vitamins and minerals on common cold infections and cellular immune parameters. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Jul;43(7):318-26.
• Effect of Lactobacillus gasseri PA 16/8, Bifidobacterium longum SP 07/3, B. bifidum MF 20/5 on common cold episodes: a double blind, randomized, controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2005 Aug;24(4):481-91. Epub 2005 Apr 21.

DIARRHEA & PROBIOTICS

• Meta-analysis of probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea and the treatment of Clostridium difficile disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Apr;101(4):812-22.
• Probiotics for pediatric antibiotic-associated diarrhea: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. CMAJ. 2006 Aug 15;175(4):377-83.
• Treatment and prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2000 Dec;16(4):521-6.
• A probiotic mixture alleviates symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients: a controlled 6-month intervention. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Sep 1;22(5):387-94.
• Clinical studies on alleviating the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2006;15(4):576-80.
• Probiotics: from myth to reality. Demonstration of functionality in animal models of disease and in human clinical trials. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1999 Jul-Nov;76(1-4):279-92.
• Probiotics Curb Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea. Reuters Health Information

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ANTIBIOTICS

• Impairment of innate immune killing mechanisms by bacteriostatic antibiotics. FASEB J. 2007 Jan 10; [Epub ahead of print]
• Merck Manual: Antibiotics Side effects/Allergies, Antibiotic Resistance
• Antibiotic Side Effects - This article is on Medscape. You might need to register. It's free, worth it and they don't send you any emails.

H. pylori & PROBIOTICS

• Probiotic supplementation improves tolerance to Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy--a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized pilot study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 May 15;21(10):1263-72

IBS & PROBIOTICS

• Role of gut microflora and probiotic effects in the irritable bowel syndrome. Acta Biomed. 2006 Aug;77(2):85-9.
• A probiotic mixture alleviates symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients: a controlled 6-month intervention. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Sep 1;22(5):387-94
• Bacteria and irritable bowel syndrome: the evidence for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2006 Aug;8(4):305-11
• Bacterial overgrowth as a cause of irritable bowel syndrome. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2006 Nov;22(6):669-73.

THRUSH & PROBIOTICS

• Probiotics reduce the prevalence of oral candida in the elderly--a randomized controlled trial. J Dent Res. 2007 Feb;86(2):125-30.

UROGENITAL INFECTIONS & PROBIOTIC

• Urogenital infections in women: can probiotics help? Postgrad Med J. 2003 Aug;79(934):428-32.
• Probiotics for urogenital health. Nutr Clin Care. 2002 Jan-Feb;5(1):3-8.
• Oral probiotics can resolve urogenital infections. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2001 Feb;30(1):49-52.
• Oral use of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14 significantly alters vaginal flora: randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 64 healthy women. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2003 Mar 20;35(2):131-4.

VAGINAL INFECTIONS & PROBIOTICS

• Probiotics for prevention of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis: a review. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2006 Aug;58(2):266-72. Epub 2006 Jun 21. Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16790461&ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum