Stopped dairy and started probiotics

[eight days a week]

I've suffered with IBS, acid reflux, and dry retching for years, all connected to my anxiety and stress.

Recently I cut out dairy because I read up on it and a lot of adults can't digest it properly so it's not great for the intestines for some. I'm going to ask the doctor for a test because I think I may be lactose-intolerant, but even if I'm not - wow! Resting from dairy along with taking a probiotic has cleared so much junk out my system! And I've had no irritable bowel, acid reflux or retching for a couple of weeks now

If probiotics upset your system start on small doses, preferably on days you're always close to a loo, and work up. If someone has these conditions there's probably something 'not quite right' about their digestive system imho, and probiotics giving a reaction is probably as good a sign as any - it's the shock to the system!

Unfortunately I was silly and learned the hard way lol. I didn't use anything like Actimel or Yakult. The reason is (I've spoken to a scientist about this) that your stomach treats these like food and digests them, so almost all the good bacteria you want don't make it as far as your gut. There is one probiotic that is different (I forget how) that gets through the stomach, but it's quite expensive, and has a quite strong yeast taste.

I don't know if other fermented vegetables are the same (they are meant to be a superfood) but I ate kimchi. It's Korea's national dish - very spicy fermented cabbage with chili and garlic. The stuff in the supermarkets is either pasteurised or uses vinegar to imitate the real thing (they can't seal proper fermented kimchi in glass jars or they'd explode!). Anyway, as well as being one of the world's healthiest foods it's absolutely full of probiotics that will make it to your intestines.

My mistake? I love this food so much I overdid it, eating over half a jar a day The first few days my stomach was going nuts, but I was craving more and more of it. I think my body was gasping for it even though it was too much at once. So I haven't had any for a few days and things are back to normal I may risk just a little today and see how I go.

Losing dairy was easy for me, I quite like the almond milk after the shock of that first time in a cup of tea. I have fruit not cereal for breakfast now and my body seems to like that. I thought I'd crave a pizza or ice cream but actually it's the opposite - I'd rather not right now. I'm sure I'll have some again in the future but it's not something that bothers me. I know cheese is addictive and some people rely very heavily on dairy so I'd say if you're like that try the probiotics first and then perhaps slowly reduce your dairy.

So for about two weeks now no IBS, no reflux, and no more dry retching after panic attacks

(Warning - toilet info incoming!) I couldn't believe the 'gunk' that came out of me in the first ten days It's settled down now but the thing is, and I don't know if it's the milk no longer coating my gut, more fruit and veggies, the after-effects of my probiotic binge, (or all three) but I am more regular now. Whereas before I swung between constipation and absolutely urgent and frequent trips to the loo, now I know when I need to go. I can wait a bit, but it's nice to go when you feel like it.

It's a separate topic really but I also have candida which I stupidly tried to tackle with a load of anti-fungals (kimchi is already anti-fungal) and anti-inflammtories at the same time, and it was just too much for my body. So I've stopped all that stuff while my digestion continues to heal/get used to its new condition.

Other things I'm doing:

- cocoa, cinnamon and healthy honey puddings - seem to balance my mood and are delicious!

- I've only tried it a few times because it's an anti-inflammatory too but ashwagandha (Indian medicine) seems to be amazing. I'll search the forum for that, and maybe start a thread.

- magnesium oil spray onto skin. Great for a good night's sleep! You actually absorb more through the skin than taking it internally, and it doesn't give you the runs like the tablets!

Hope that's all of interest to someone

[NoraB]

I've read that adding cinnamon to a nighttime drink helps you to stay asleep.

I have about three magnesium foot baths a week. SOOOO relaxing!

[eight days a week]

I've read that adding cinnamon to a nighttime drink helps you to stay asleep.

I have about three magnesium foot baths a week. SOOOO relaxing!

Ooh thank you, will add it to my nighttime cocoa

Yep, magnesium through the skin is amazing

[eight days a week]

I didn't really look into it before (I just went with my gut - put intended!) but there are some interesting results if you websearch dairy + anxiety.

I see there are some very interesting comments about ashwagandha in this forum section already, so won't make a new thread. I've only tried it a few times. It tastes absolutely foul. Even in ginger and lemon tea it was revolting, and taken in the morning it didn't seem to do much.

However the time I took it at night (just mixed with a small amount of water) it was absolutely amazing the next day. I woke up feeling like I did decades ago before my anxiety kicked in, completely calm. I've been avoiding it because it's also an anti-inflammatory (and stupid me overdid those a couple of weeks ago, with quite a drastic effect). But now I've been totally off most of those for a while I aim to try the ashwagandha again tonight.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I'm confused about the probiotic issue. There have been studies of supplementation with them and if only one thing actually passes the gut, how are any human beings able to replace their gut bacteria?

Thinking another way, how are companies able to sell these products if it is physically impossible for them to replace gut flora?

And why have people been using foods to do this for thousands of years? You mentioned kimchi and that's one of them but there are others like sauerkraut, kefir, etc.

What's the Ashwagandha like? I've read good things about mental health benefits of it. A useful site is examinesupplements as it also references clinical studies including how reliable they are.

It's got a bit of a difficult texture for drinking. I haven't tried mine yet but what I did is encapsulate it with one of my capsule machines. It's quite thick powder so it's not as easy as things like vitamin powders but it's doable. I've found buying a capsule machine and bags of powders & empty capsules works out cheaper than buying most encapsulated products.

With the dairy there is that cow milk protein issue. Some people can't tolerate one protein in it but are not lactose intolerant because they can the other one. It's a specific breed of cow for the more digestible one, Arla make bottles of it.

I came across something that might help or give you something to have a look into with dairy. Kefir use is being reported as able to allow lactose intolerant people to take lactose if they consume kefir first. The probiotics in kefir, like all probiotics I think, are known to consume the sugar so it may eat the lactose before you can digest it.

I've seen articles about that and people saying they have tried it successfully in discussions online so it might be worth a look?

I'm not sure if your kimchi would do the same because kefir is known to be very high in probiotics. But if you go the kefir route, are far cheaper (and car more potent) to ferment your own at home. I've got some links for the probiotics in milk and water kefir if you need them.

[Jull]

I remember someone said "Stress is one of the popular contributing factors to IBS". Yoga, meditation or simple breathing exercises can help to control stress:
- Sit or lie down comfortably
- Pay the attention to help the air go in and go out of your body
- Concentrate completely on your breathing when you are invaded by upsetting or anxiety thoughts. Practice the exercise daily. Try to calm yourself whenever you get tenses and anxious by deep breathing.
Fennel seeds can reduce the intestinal spasms as well as bloating, the two common symptoms of IBS and prevent the formation of mucus in your intestine that is believed to partly cause IBS. So you should drink fennel seed tea every day.
This article is really helpful for those who're suffering IBS: https://authorityremedies.com/home-r...owel-syndrome/