Common mistakes made when trying to rebuild the immune system by re-establishing good bacteria are:
- Do not take enough probiotics
- Stop taking the probiotics too soon
- Use inferior probiotics with only a few species of good bacteria or that are destroyed in the stomach and large intestine from stomach acids and digestive enzymes.
- Are not effectively restoring the intestinal mucosal layer. The good bacteria cannot effectively adhere to and colonize on the intestinal lining without the presence of a healthy mucosal layer. [see my article blog post, The Hidden Problems from Mercury Toxicity: Leaky Gut and Mast Cell Histamine Release]
Many think that a few hundred billion good bacteria daily is an ample amount. That is just a drop in the bucket! A healthy intestinal tract contains 100 trillion of 1000 species of good bacteria. Some gut expert medical researchers state that consuming 2000-3600 billion daily is needed to effectively re-colonize a strong, healthy immunity.
Equally important is the quality of probiotics you take. It can be helpful to sometimes alternate different brands so that you get in many varying strains (species) of good bacteria. I have listed the following brands which I recommend to my mercury toxic clients. I see a marked, positive difference with my clients who take these formulas versus other formulas.
Bravo Gc-MAF Living Probiotic – This probiotic is a bit inconvenient as you need to culture it yourself. But, once you get familiar with preparing it, it is simple.
Sigma Tau VSL#3 probiotics – contains 8 strains of live freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria and are not damaged by stomach acids. Each cap contains 112 billion lyophilized lactic acid bacteria. It also comes in a higher strength of 450 billion count sachets, a loose powder.
Sigma Tau VSL #3 900 is the same formulation but are 900 billion count sachets, which requires a prescription from a physician. Health insurance sometimes covers this if your doctor’s office calls your health insurance company to confirm that you need them for your condition.
Symprove Probiotics – a dairy-free, water-based multi-strain probiotic that contains 4 unique strains of live activated bacteria. In 2014, University College London, carried out an independent study on 8 leading products containing good bacteria. The study subjected the products to three tests to assess if the bacteria arrived in a live state, survived stomach acid transit and thrived in the target area of the gut. Symprove probiotics passed all three tests.
Elixa Probiotic – Each dose delivers half a trillion of “colony forming units”! CFU’s are able to effectively form and colonize in the intestinal lining.
Prescript Assist – A synbiotic formulation. Contains 29 different species of good bacteria which bypass stomach acids. Also contains prebiotics.
Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Complete Powder: Each ¼ tsp contains 100+ billion of 12 different CFU’s. Also contains inulin derived from chicory root as prebiotics.
Garden of Life Doctor Formulated Probiotics Once Daily Ultra 90 Billion (caps). Contains 15 different strains of good bacteria and 420 mg of the prebiotics potato resistant starch and acacia.
Garden of Life Primal Defense. Contains 18 species of soil micro-organisms.
Garden of Life Raw Probiotics Colon Care 50 Billion (caps). Contains 33 different species of good bacteria.
Innate Response Flora 50-14 Clinical Strength Vegcaps. Each cap contains 50 billion of 14 beneficial strains of bacteria.
Mega Flora Plus. 50 billion caps. Contains 14 different species of good bacteria.
Garden of Life Raw Code Probiotics 50 billion caps – Contains 33 different species of good bacteria.
Garden of Life Primal Defense Probiotics – Contains 18 different species of soil micro-organisms.
Dr. Mercola Probiotics. Contains 9 species of good bacteria.
Saccharomyces boulardii probiotics. An additional perk to take these anytime for 4-8 weeks during your program to quickly remove bad bugs colonized on intestinal tract. Saccharomyces boulardii is a healthy large sized yeast, not a good bacteria. It stays on the intestinal tract only for about 3-4 weeks and then falls off and exits through the stool.
This healthy yeast ‘crowds out’ bad bacteria, candida, fungi and parasites colonized on intestinal lining, falling off and exiting in the stool. This is also an ideal probiotic to take during and after antibiotic use, as antibiotics do not kill this healthy yeast as they do kill other probiotics. Taking Saccharomyces boulardii for 4-8 weeks every few months (in addition to your other probiotics) until fully recovered is substantially advantageous. Since Saccharomyces boulardii does not kill bad bugs, there is no bad bug die-off.
Three excellent brands:
- Pure Encapsulations Saccharomyces Boulardii Vcaps
- Klaire Labs Saccaharomyces Boulardii Vegcaps
- Douglas Labs SBC Saccaharomyces Boulardii
Saccaharomyces boulardii is excellent to take during and after a round of antibiotics. Being a healthy yeast and not a bacterial strain, it is genetically resistant to all antibiotics and continues to live during antibiotic use. Saccharomyces boulardii also promotes the production of digestive enzymes in the small intestine.
Prebiotics (fructooligosaccharides/FOS) – Prebiotics are food for good bacteria (probiotics) and greatly helps the good bacteria to multiply and colonize more rapidly. Prebiotics do not feed bad bacteria and other microbes. I see a marked improvement with clients who take prebiotics compared to those who do not.
A few excellent brands:
- Allergy Research Group – chicory root.
- Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Organic Prebiotic Fiber. Contains organic orange peel, baobab fruit, apple, cranberry. They also have citrus flavored.
- Klaire Labs Biotagen Prebiotic Supplement (powder). Derived from chicory, beta glucan and larch arabinogalactan (from larch tree).
- Body Ecology EcoBloom – chicory extract powder.
Mercury Detox Specialist, Connie Fox HHP, CNC, AADP www.MercuryMadness.info
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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease, illness or health condition. It is recommended to discuss health and nutrition related matters with your physician.