Quote Originally Posted by marta View Post
I think this is very interesting. I've been a probiotic fan for a long time, however not in the form of pills or supplements. I've only popped probiotic supplements when I've been in Mexico and have felt something Montezuma like coming on.

The way I ingest probiotics is the natural way. I love love love kefir. Plain, unsweetened, yummy, yogurty kefir. It gives me some good calcium (as I'm not a fan of milk) and that way I don't take calcium supplements, it is a natural way to get probiotics and not ones that are manufactured in a factory (or however they make the probiotic pills/supplements), it's credited as one of the factors of the above average longevity of the numerous centurions in the Ural mountains. Another form of natural probiotic consumption is in sprouts. I eat lots of sprouts (radish, sunflower, kale, and more) and the probiotic on them is in the little fuzz that you see between the stem and the new sprout... apparently it's a great way to get your probiotics because it manages to survive through the passage of the entire digestive system, and the most important absorption for health happens to be 'near the end of the line' if you know what I mean. Kefir can't get that far down, nor can pills.

I noticed in the articles that what they're mostly talking about is probiotic supplements, not natural probiotics.
I believe in everything in moderation and probiotics are no exception. I try not to take many pills (of any form) unless they're keep me alive, like Imuran, xarelto, dapsone, etc., but I do believe that the reason probiotics are such a hot commodity and so many manufacturers are trying to get in on the profiteering side of probiotics, is because there is truth to the fact that they are good for us. The trick is to ingest them as mother nature created them (like eating fruit vs drinking fruit juice) and then you're not overdoing it, you're not depending on whoever put the formula together to have done it right, and you're not betting your health on the idea that where they were manufactured was a clean place where mistakes never happen.

That's my two cents and wrong or right, I'm gonna keep eating my probiotics the way nature created them, because they haven't hurt me this far, and I love the taste of the foods they come in.

Hope this post doesn't upset anyone (as I often do, ha ha) and that it throws a different perspective on the idea of probiotics.

Peace y'all.
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How can anyone be upset from what you write, marta ? I love reading your comments. Thank you so much for the input. The articles above talk about probiotics in pills etc. Of course natural probiotics are perfectly ok.