Karlos wrote:
After doing some reading into the whole idea of "gut microflora" I thought I'd see if this actimel stuff was any good.
After just one day I can confirm no improvement...
As one of those biology types...
The real theory is less that 'magic occurs' than that the probiotic friendlies will displace or outcompete what 'shouldn't be there,' avoiding candida and other such unpleasantries.
I have to wonder if all the "side effects" are due to these drinks and foods and such being
high in lactose -- the idea is that normally the cultures will consume it all and switch off, but when they want them to survive to get to you, don't they have to (or end up) keeping that or related sugars in solution?
Meanwhile, if you're lactose intolerant (not producing the enzyme to break the sugars down on your own), these seem to be the li'l buddies who'll be doing it instead --
aww, they're cute! -- so it's no wonder they
produce the symptoms... what before might've been, y'know, "ignored," is now getting metabolized (and the, uh, 'irritation' of that may ensure things keep moving, but it's not entirely prerequisite). The upshot is that the lactic acid produced does inhibit the baddies, and the goodies are supposed to produce B vitamins in the process of it all.
Or in other words, drinking the gloop once a week is probably more than enough insurance, it probably won't outright cure L.I. if you're genetically predisposed, and overdoing it probably invites more of a "party" than you necessarily need... though this depends on all the specifics of what kind of critter you (and your genes) would have you be, and "nutrition" isn't a completely solved science or we wouldn't have all these fads. (For instance, yeah, the B vitamins are great... how many do you *exactly* need for things to be optimal, who knows? Will the flora ever produce enough, or is the human animal better suited to use its opposable thumbs and create vitamin tablets? Etc, etc.)
If you want the, uh, "magic" you spoke of back there, insoluble fiber is more the thing, but if you ever eat a vegetable, you might be all right. (Science is all excited because fiber and cholesterol seem linked, but there's that question as to how well we understand cholesterol's role -- 'inflammation theory' and all that -- chances are it just encourages the production and concomitant removal of bile by, uh, presence -- and I get the feeling the supplemental guidelines are
somewhat intended for the sort of people who live off McDonalds and nothing else... more like the 'average human' of myth that crops up when surveying what people really do.)
Now if we can't figure out how to eat and excrete, is it much surprise that we haven't solved all the other problems? :-o
