s. thermophilus in active culture yogurt - good or not?

[saidie10]

So confused about probiotics/active cultures, etc. I am trying my best to make sure that abx don't cause my DS any gastro or stomach issues. What do you guys use...what do you guys recommend? Is yogurt with active cultures a good thing to add to his diet? What is this s. thermophilus? If this is something related to strep in some way should they have anything with this in it or not? Also, what probiotic do you guys recommend and does he even need to be on one?

 

Thank you so much for any advice you can give!!!!

[kmom]

My kids take Culturelle--one capsule daily. Dr. T. told us no yogurt for PANDAS kids and only certain probiotics that he approves (ones that don't have strep in them) b/c PANDAS kids are too sensitive. He approved Culturelle(found in grocery store and pharmacy) and Florastar(pharmacy). He's had patients where he's treating w/ abx and ibu but the yogurt or probiotics has good strep in it to replenish good bacteria in gut but that strep is causing PANDAS issues. Dr. B told us at appt this week that Culturelle is just fine. We haven't had GI issues yet...fingers crossed!

[caring mom]

My kids take Culturelle--one capsule daily. Dr. T. told us no yogurt for PANDAS kids and only certain probiotics that he approves (ones that don't have strep in them) b/c PANDAS kids are too sensitive. He approved Culturelle(found in grocery store and pharmacy) and Florastar(pharmacy). He's had patients where he's treating w/ abx and ibu but the yogurt or probiotics has good strep in it to replenish good bacteria in gut but that strep is causing PANDAS issues. Dr. B told us at appt this week that Culturelle is just fine. We haven't had GI issues yet...fingers crossed!

 

KMom,

 

What about Kefir? I see that it doesn't contain s. thermophilus but has other probiotics in it (mine has s. diacetylactis and s. florentinus). Do you know if it's just s. thermophilus or anything with an S.? Do you do cheese?

 

Caring Mom

[saidie10]

This is such good information...thanks guys! Bye bye yogurt! Better safe than sorry!!!

[kmom]

Caring Mom,

 

Good question. Not sure. My DS hates the smell of yogurt w/ a passion. He seriously leaves the room if DH or I eat it. My DD doesn't despise it but doesn't like it which is strange since she was addicted to those Danimal drinkable yogurts thru toddlerhood. You could always post the question on Dr. T's interactive forum on his website. Go to http://www.site.neurokidsr.us/Practice.html and click on PANDAS Central. It has a lot of good info to read and if u post a question, he's usually good about replying.

Edited August 27, 2010 by kmom

[philamom]

My kids take Culturelle--one capsule daily. Dr. T. told us no yogurt for PANDAS kids and only certain probiotics that he approves (ones that don't have strep in them) b/c PANDAS kids are too sensitive. He approved Culturelle(found in grocery store and pharmacy) and Florastar(pharmacy). He's had patients where he's treating w/ abx and ibu but the yogurt or probiotics has good strep in it to replenish good bacteria in gut but that strep is causing PANDAS issues. Dr. B told us at appt this week that Culturelle is just fine. We haven't had GI issues yet...fingers crossed!

 

KMom,

 

What about Kefir? I see that it doesn't contain s. thermophilus but has other probiotics in it (mine has s. diacetylactis and s. florentinus). Do you know if it's just s. thermophilus or anything with an S.? Do you do cheese?

 

Caring Mom

I'm pretty sure all yogurt & kefir have S. thermophilus. It's what's added to milk to make the product. It's not always listed as an ingredient, but it's there. If you have concern, there is usually a toll free # or website you can contact to inquire.

[kmom]

Oooh, just checked Dr. T's forum and there is info from him. I'll cut/paste/post below! Hope this helps!

 

[i]Strep Thermophilus - some thoughts

 

I've been reading as much as I can lately about Strep Thermophilus (ST). This is a strep which is thought to be very benign. In fact, it's one of two bacteria used in the commercial production of yogurts and cheeses, including most of the ones favored by kids. Pretty much all dairy other than milk itself. Thermophilus survives the pasteurization process.

 

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Streptococcus_thermophilus

 

A few probiotics contain ST, but most do not (Florastor, Culturelle are examples of ST-free probiotics, for example)

I'm aware that ST is as similar to Group A streptococcus as humans are to jellyfish.

Nevertheless, I've been starting to get a few reports of children worsening on ST-containing probiotics and improving coming off them.

As cheese and yogurt eaters, most of us ingest lots of live ST and seem to be no worse from it; it's undoubtedly benign to most everyone. But I would be cautious in a child with PANDAS or suspected PANDAS.

If your child is a big yogurt and cheese eater you may want to see if there is some improvement of behavior with elimination of those from the diet. Milk and ice cream are OK (but maybe not frozen yogurt). Pizza is OK as well even though mozzarella cheese has ST as the high temperatures used to bake the pizza kill all bacteria. Just a thought - parents are always wondering about diet and behavior - for once here's a semi-rational reason to modify the diet.

 

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Edited August 27, 2010 by kmom

[MomWithOCDSon]

Most cheeses contain some s. therm. so unless you're dairy free, you're probably getting some s. therm. somewhere, somehow.

 

The thing about yogurt and kefir in general, though, is that these live cultures are predominantly acidolpholus, which antibiotics readily kill off, unfortunately. So if your kid is on high-dose abx or even prophylactic, even spacing out the kefir and yogurt from the abx may not adequately repopulate the gut with the flora it needs for good digestion.

 

Culturelle, meanwhile, is lactidolpholus, and FloraStor is sach b., both of which are unaffected by abx, so they are good choices for kids on abx. There's also bifodolpholus, typically found in some higher-end probiotic supplements that you can purchase in health food and vitamin stores. FloraStor can be pretty expensive (usually around $1/pill), but you can get 100% sach b. supplements in larger, less expensive quantities at places like the Vitamin Shoppe by reputable manufacturers like Jarrow and Nutrition Now.

[thereishope]

I just want to add that some PANDAS kids are completely fine eating yogurt. I don't want anyone who reads this statement to go into panic mode. If you are concerned, take it out of the diet for awhile and see if there is any difference in your child. As with everything, every child is different.

 

Dr. T. told us no yogurt for PANDAS kids and only certain probiotics that he approves (ones that don't have strep in them) b/c PANDAS kids are too sensitive.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Vickie