In my last post, we found that low Bifidobacteria was common across many illness/syndromes deemed to be in the autoimmune family. We also found that Lactobacillus increases as Bifidobacteria increases – in other words they are complementary and cross supporting, with the key observation that Lactobacillus increases inflammation while Bifidobacteria decreases it. This may account for the poor/non success of Lactobacillus probiotics for CFS.

A good list of probiotics available is at CandidaDiet showing various combinations and their alleged content. Alleged? That’s the sad news.

Strains are rarely listed and Contents may not be as advertised!

“A new study by scientists at the University of California has found that contents of many bifidobacteria probiotic products differ from the ingredients listed….16 products.. only one matched the ingredient list .. Some products also contained non-label species” [Source 2015] –OUCH!

Studies

Criteria: Studies with only Bifidobacteria probiotics. (There is a probiotic, BIO-THREE, which does not have Bifidobacteria but it does cause an increase according to PubMed [2007] – I have made inquiries with the manufacturer on retail availability in the US)

Apart of VSL-3, there are almost no clinical trials against various conditions. The Japanese Probiotic company, Yakult, appears to be a dominant player in this area.

So, we know that low levels are associated with many conditions, we know that what is labelled on the bottle may not be what is in the bottle, almost no-one give strains, there are few clinical studies…  Welcome to the art of probiotics. 😦

I have assembled a table of species and commercial products below for at least some guidance.  In general, I would not advocate anything containing L. Acidophilus.

Rules of thumb:

• Select the one with the most B. Species at a reasonable cost (i.e. Monthly Cost/Species)
• Change probiotics when you finished a bottle.
• Try getting different species each time you change

— Key words from above chart/image

NOW Foods Acidophilus/bifidus ProBiota Bifido Life Extension Bifido GI Balance Align Natren Bifido Factor Dairy Free Flora Baby Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Factor 4 Nestle Beba ProNature Made Digestive Probiotics Advance Dual Support Active Balance High Potency Probiotic Bayer TruBiotics CVS Digestive Probiotics Pearls Elite Florajen 3 Kyo-Dophilus Good FloraLife Start 2 Nature Made Triple Probiotic Nature’s Way Primadophilus Intensive Philips Colon Health Probioplus DDS Five Strain

• Bifidobacterium animalis
• Bifidobacterium bifidum
• Bifidobacterium breve
• Bifidobacterium infantis
• Bifidobacterium lactis
• Bifidobacterium longum

“Probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum 299v increases iron absorption from an iron-supplemented fruit drink” [2015]  This STRAIN is available from Jarrow and is sold on Amazon.

“Eating a bowl of porridge oats a day could alter gut microbial functions, according to Scandinavian researchers who have tipped the ingredient as a possible prebiotic.”[2015]

“People with better control of blood sugar after eating barley kernel bread also have a different balance of microbes in the gut, a new study in Cell Metabolism reveals..Metagenomic analysis showed that the gut microbiota of responders was enriched in Prevotella copri and had increased potential to ferment complex polysaccharides after BKB” [2015]

“Low counts of a bacterial species generally have been discounted in importance, but slight shifts in the ratios of abundant microbe populations have been thought to have roles in obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease.”[2015]

“Supplements containing Lactobacillus gasseri KS-13, Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1, andBifidobacterium longum MM2 may shift the microbiota of elderly adults to those of healthier and younger people, says a new study”[2015]

“Diagram showing how various species gut bacteria matches other species:” [Source]

“Intestinal worms manipulate their host’s immune system to ensure their survival, in part by changing the metabolism of the host’s gut microbiome. The worms, called helminths, infect around 2 billion people around the world, and are able to block harmful inflammatory responses in humans and mice.” [2015]

“Bifidobacteria are common and frequently dominant members of the gut microbiota of many animals, including mammals and insects. Carbohydrates are considered key carbon sources for the gut microbiota, imposing strong selective pressure on the complex microbial consortium of the gut. Despite its importance, the genetic traits that facilitate carbohydrate utilization by gut microbiota members are still poorly characterized. Here, genome analyses of 47 representative Bifidobacterium (sub)species revealed the genes predicted to be required for the degradation and internalization of a wide range of carbohydrates, outnumbering those found in many other gut microbiota members.” [2015] NOTE: Bifidobacteria are often very low with CFS — which implies carbothydrates are not handle, possibly leading to gluten and other issues with starch.

“Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856 in irritable bowel syndrome: improvement in abdominal pain and bloating in those with predominant constipation”[2015]

Update: 2018 Summary on L Reuteri.

L. Reuteri is very low in all Chronic Fatigue patients.  L. Reuteri is one of very few bacteria that produces B12 (which is almost always low in CFSers). Until a few years ago, BioGaia AB in Sweden, was the dominant providers. Today there are more varieties and thus more strains.

Today, there are more sources (ordered by my opinion). If you know of others (no more than 3 probiotics in a mixture), please email or comment.

A reader asked the question about Tulsi and fertility because he was a younger person and once CFS is in remission, wants to have a family. Most CFSers are post family-additions, so this post is focused on the younger ones only. This also appears to apply to Chinese hibiscus.

The PubMed article that raised his concerns was: “Effect of tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum Linn.) on sperm count and reproductive hormones in male albino rabbits”[2010] which states: “present study clearly show that tulsi treatment (2 g/day) brings about a reduction in sperm count [on rabbits]” and later “This contraceptive effect was comparable to female contraceptive pills, and was reversible.” on the mechanism that they suspect was occurring.

“The Ocimum sanctum L. has also been suggested to possess antifertility,” [2005] [2010] and then we found a clear study: