probiotics -- why do some believe more is better

[smartyjones]

i was wondering about changing probiotics and it seems the more i look to research, the more i find.

 

my son has been on 8 billion , which i had thought was pretty good until reading some of the doses on here.

 

what about particular species and cultures? i believe he's what he's been taking (dr recommended) is generally thought to be good for balancing for immune health -- i can't remember the name but it's the exact same as pharmax, which he took previously.

 

any help?

Edited November 21, 2010 by smartyjones

[Stephanie2]

My boys each take 750 billion/day. www.customprobiotics.com, "D-Lactate Free Formula", it does not contain any dairy or strep. The more you can populate the gut with good bacteria, the less of a chance for yeast and bad bacteria to move in (especially with our chronic antibiotic kids)

[LNN]

In our house, it's about striking a balance. My DS is on a combo of abx for lyme, plus one supplement (alpha lipoic acid) for brain fog plus vitamins. So there are a large number of pills going down his throat every day already. For his own sanity, we're only doing enough probiotics to keep stolls a normal consistency and ward off diarrhea. On a normal day, he takes one Theralac which has 5 strains, 2 prebiotics and 30 billion/capsule. Our LLMD recommended it. It seems to do the trick. If he happens to have more than one day of loose stools, we'll add a culturelle (1o billion) or a PB8 (8 billion) for a day or two until things return to normal. But for the most part, he only takes the one Theralac pill.

 

I think you have to consider what else your child is taking and what your outcome looks like (literally). If all seems normal and behaviors/health seem balanced, then maybe your 8 billion/day is fine. I don't think there's any magic number or minimum requirement. You find the level that works for your child and balance it with all the other meds or supplements you're asking your child to swallow. That's our approach anyway.