2/12/16: chemical vs. natural ways to health, organic vs. artifical

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Jess from South Africa suggested a thread on natural ways toward health (homeopathic, herbs, organic) to compare to chemical and artificial health-care. Great idea !!

After suffering with months of flu-shot reaction, after the flu-shot on Dec. 19 (FLUVIRIN at Sam's club) ... I researched on why so many people have bad-reaction to flu shot. Here's an excerpt from CDC on how flu-shot are made:

" recombinant technology. manufacturers isolate a certain protein from a naturally occurring ("wild type") recommended vaccine virus (the HA protein, which induces an immune response in people). These proteins are then combined with portions of another virus that grows well in insect cells. This “recombinant” vaccine virus is then mixed with insect cells and allowed to replicate. The flu HA protein is then harvested from these cells and purified. The purified protein is packaged.

Cell-Based Flu Vaccines

This production process also begins with egg-grown vaccine viruses per FDA regulations. Manufacturers mix the vaccine viruses with cultured mammalian cells (instead of incubating them in eggs) and leave them to replicate for a few days."

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/how-fluvaccine-made.htm

All these messing up with nature also messed up one's immune system: lots of people besides me reported nose-bleeding, blocked ears (leading to vertigo), suppressed immune (leading to pneumonia). People also got new allergies AFTER flu-shot. My sister, internal medicine doctor, told me that flu-shot suppress the immune system for weeks afterwards, so people are more susceptible to getting sick AFTER the flu-shot.

Facts on flu-shot from about Health:

http://coldflu.about.com/od/fluvaccinequestions/f/illafterflushot.htm

"The flu shot does not protect against:

The common cold
Pneumonia (although it may protect you from pneumonia that is a complication of the flu)
Bronchitis
Stomach flu
Another "flu-like illness"

The flu shot does provide protection against the specific strain of the flu that researchers believe will be causing illnesses that season for most people. Every year, the flu virus mutates and changes; therefore, new vaccines have to be made and administered each season.

Featured Answer

Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)

8 years ago

Straw: This is a very useful thread, thanks for starting. I have always believed that nature's way is the best way and chemicals should be avoided as much as possible. This has been my reason for not taking any allopethic medicine unless I get very sick. Like in past two years, I remember taking allopathic medicine only twice, that too for an upset stomach which was getting bad. Since the last eight days, I have symptoms of flu but I have increased my intake of ginger/cinnamon tea and also started using Joshanda which is a locally made herbal medicine for flu / cold. It is generally made from Cordia latifolia, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Malva sylvestris, Althaea officinalis, Viola odorata, Onosma bracteatum, Zizyphus vulgaris.

May like to see following links. It's makes a pleasant drink.

http://www.hamdard.com.pk/joshina

http://shop.khanapakana.com/qarshi-johar-joshanda-herbal-tea-5-47-oz-155-grams/

I am so far doing ok. There is some coughing and some sore throat. These herbs make the sputum thin and throw it out instead of thickening it and keeping it inside the body.

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Comments (65)

jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/yin-organs4.htm

The liver plays an important role in traditional Chinese physiology. Since it is in charge of the smooth flow of qithroughout the body, any disruption in its functions usually affects another organ.

Stagnation of the flow of liver qi frequently disrupts emotional flow, producing feelings of frustration or anger. Conversely, these same emotions can lead to a dysfunction in the liver, resulting in an endless loop of cause and effect.

Associated with the storage of blood, the liver is also the primary organ involved in a woman's menstrual cycle. When the liver is out of balance, the following symptoms can occur: emotional problems, rib pain or fullness, dizziness,headache, cramping, tendon problems, menstrual problems, jaundice, weak or blurry vision, and digestive disorders.
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jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
https://holosapiens.com/component/content/article?id=82:stagnated-liver&catid=94:traditional-chinese-medicine

This is a lovely site

I also remember that part of treating the liver was to eliminate all gluten from his diet. He was in severe pain and after one month all his pains were gone.
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess: Great info .. I'm going to check on herbs good for the liver. The liver is so vital for our health, from determining our blood composition to removing toxins.

Khalid: Thank you for taking pictures of herbal products for cold, listing ingredients. The 2nd link you gave provided ingredients for the 1st pic. The 2nd pic, I look up WebMD: "Black mulberry is used as a laxative and to treat runny nose (rhinitis). Black mulberry fruit contains pectin, which might act as a laxative to help stool pass through the bowels."

*** From Straw: Our friend used to complain loudly when his girlfriend gave him chocolates for Valentine's Day. He said, he always catch a cold with her chocolates !! Chocolate causes constipation, and one can't eliminate waste & toxins. Same here, my gal friend loves chocolate, and she always gave me chocolate for Christmas. Every Christmas I came down with horrible cold, and I had to ask her STOP GIVING ME CHOCOLATE.

My cold records: From 2006 to 2013 .. zero colds for 7 years (I took lots of magnesium to sleep better & to balance our high-calcium water, magnesium is a laxative). 2014: our entire family caught a cold, from the stress of my kid's 1st year in gifted-program. 2015: zero cold until the blasted flu-shot in Dec. 19, 2015.

For the entire year of 2015 I took magnesium daily, and brewer's yeast (a laxative) weekly .. I didn't even catch my kid's cold in Nov. 2015. Brewer's yeast (high in B vitamins & selenium & chrominum) is clinically proven to shorten duration of colds, due to its laxative properties, see link below:

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Good link below from medicine.net on what food cause constipation (zero-fiber, caffeine, dairy, red meat, chocolate, banana) and foods that help (whole grains, beans, kiwi, prune, pears).

constipation foods to avoid & foods that help
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
'But it was not until 1928 that penicillin, the first true antibiotic, was discovered by Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London.'

How about this thought - before this date, 1928, there were quite a few million people on Earth, having survived that long - WITHOUT ANY ANT-BIOTICS, WITHOUT MODERN MEDICINE... I wonder how they did that, seeing that the doctors and experts proclaim herbs and homeopathy and all things natural are just placebo's? (even though many of these herbs are used in modern medicine/tablets? - one example: willow- and aspirin? )

The liver feeds the rest of the body. if the liver is unhealthy, nothing gets food. Then the eyes the stomach the bones, the brain - the whole body - starts deteriorating....

Dandelion is a great herb for the liver and the moment you start using this herb, no more constipation. and great weight loss, naturally. The herbs tastes like bitter hell itself when used as tea, that's why it's easier to take this in pill form...Goji berries (wolf berries) are also great for the liver and therefore also for the stomach.

First thing is to eliminate all food that will harm the liver. (Fast foods, fizzy drinks, whatever), then to add foods that will support and boost the liver (veggies and herbal teas)

Khalid, can you try to get hold of strong Vit. C in powder form? use 3000 mg per day for at least 3 days to kill your flu fast. Add fresh oregano and rosemary to your tea as well...I would love to get hold of the tea you mention, on it's own, preventing a bad flu already...

I will NEVER, EVER get a flu shot again in my life. EVER.

The Magnesium suggested by Straw is great for any aches and pains in my body. I spray the spray-version on my almost broken ankle or painful back (due to sitting too long behind computer for work) and the pain is gone right away. Taken internally I sleep well and wake up refreshed.
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jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/28/goji-berry-recipes_n_1923187.html

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/goji-berries
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jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
http://www.mariatrebenherbs.com/?pid=55&sid=60:DANDELION

seen by many as 'just a weed'.

'The whole plant has medicinal powers. the Dandelion has a beneficial effect on the liver.

Today I know that the fresh stems of the flower, five to six pieces, chewed daily bring swift relief in chronic inflammation of the liver (sharp pain felt in the region of the lower corner of the right shoulderblade).

As long as the plant is in flower, diabetics should eat up to 10 stems daily. The stems with the flowers are washed and only then is the flowerhead removed and the stems are slowly chewed. They taste somewhat bitter at first, but are crisp and juicy similar to a leaf of endive.
Sickly people who feel constantly tired and are without energy should take a 14-day course of treatment with the fresh sterns of Dandelion. The effect is surprising. But in many more troubles they are of value; in itchy and scaly rashes and eczema. The flow of gastric juices is improved and the stomach is cleaned of all waste matter. The fresh stems can help remove gallstones painlessly - they stimulate the liver and the gallbladder. Besides mineral salts, Dandelion contains active substances which are of value in metabolic disturbances.'

Please read the rest of the article in the site I posted :-)
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
THANK YOU, Jess, Great link on dandelions .. didn't know that helps with diabetes (my Mom has diabetes .. when she cut out sugar, her cholesterol went down). Checked on dandelions with University of Maryland Medical center, looks like I can't have it since I'm allergic to ragweed !!

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dandelion

"If you are allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigold, chamomile, yarrow, daisies, or iodine, you should avoid dandelion.

In some people, dandelion can cause increased stomach acid and heartburn. It may also irritate the skin.

People with kidney problems, gallbladder problems, or gallstones should consult their doctors before eating dandelion."
Alana8aSC
8 years ago
Jess great link on the dandelions, I loved it I'm seriously thinking of trying that!

My youngest is just very picky Straw. Thanks for your ideas..like I said she will try new things, but even if she likes it, she will only eat a few bites of it. If she see's anything she doesn't like you have to pick it out or she won't eat it. Which is better than what she used to be, she used to not eat it if she saw it, even if it was used for flavoring. She is a very plain eater, and she hardly eats gravy either. think plain. Plain rice, mash potatoes. She will eat a couple of bites out of a chicken leg, but only the leg and only fried-not grilled or baked. I work with her. She eats best when she helps cook and pick out the meal to :)
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I first got interested in chili peppers after Khalid posted recipes of roast beef with chili peppers & vinegar or lime juice. I found recipes to stop cough having lemon or lime juice and chili pepper.

Hot pepper helps me many ways: 1) can't clean my plate, too many hot-pepper flakes !! 2) eat 1/2 less than normal & become full faster 3) excite my taste buds, and feel more satisfied afterwards.

I was 134 lbs. last year before posting on health in Organic Rose. Got down to 127 lbs. before my flu-shot in Dec. 19 .. thanks to our exercise-pledge & brewer's yeast. Got down to 118 with flu-shot-reaction. Gained 1 lb., up to 119 lb. after I recovered. Total weight loss from last year: 15 lbs or 6.8 kg. just by changing what I eat & sleep more & cut out sugar.

I watched the Biggest Loser TV show last night. One person lost zero weight in her second week, despite week-long hard-gym exercises. The contestants are not fed enough, thus they sleep lousy, so they gain weight no matter how much they exercise. My easiest weight-loss is through sleeping more & RAW produce, rather than hours of exercise.

Salad-dressing recipe from Biggest Loser TV show: 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1⁄3 cup olive oil 1 -1 1⁄2 teaspoon honey & salt and pepper.

See excerpts from below British Study on hot pepper and weight-loss:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=911376

" A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has discovered that capsaicin, when added to breakfast foods or appetizers at lunch, causes people to eat less during meals and for hours afterwards. Aside from acting as an appetite suppressant, red pepper also seems to increase the number of calories burned, particularly after high-fat meals."

http://maggiesfamoushotsauce.com/hotsaucefactsinline.htm

" What Makes Cayenne Pepper Hot?• . Cayenne also has a large concentration of vitamins E and vitamin C.

Prevents Lung Cancer(2)• According to the book, “scientists at Loma Linda University in California have found a link between the consumption of hot peppers and the prevention of lung cancer in smokers.
1. Helps to Beat Nicotine Cravings• Among many other health benefits, cayenne pepper is said to bring down nicotine cravings.
2. “cayenne is a digestive aid. It stimulates the production of gastric juices, aids metabolism, and relieves gas.”
http://www.slideshare.net/2stopsmokingtips/how-cayenne-pepper-helps-quit-smoking
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Alana: sounds like my kid when she was young. She survived on "plain" food .. nothing spicy. She outgrew that after she turned 11. I can name all her foods in 5 tems: cheese pizza, pork & bokchoy soup, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, hamburger & fries.

The turkey a-la-king recipe was too creamy for my taste .. I and my kid hate that, but husband loves it. There's a very picky-eater friend of my kid who tried my baby-bok-choy & chicken breast stir-fry and really like that (only 4 ingredients: chicken, baby-bok-choy, and garlic & soy sauce).

Bok-choy (with dark-green leaves and white stem) is the mildest veggies. When I was a kid, all I wanted was bok-choy & pork & onion & chicken broth (only 4 ingredients) and rice. Same with my kid. I got sick with flu when I was a kid, and all I wanted was bok-choy soup !!

The best recipes are the simplest. When I was bed-ridden with flu-shot reaction, I kept dreaming about chicken & cabbage & onion soup.

Jess is right about that homeopathic medicine Oscillococcinum for cold .. made of goose liver & heart. In my native Vietnam, folks make this soup for those who are sick with colds: it's made out of chicken broth, chicken organs (heart, liver, etc.), and lots of ginger. A VN friend brought me that soup when I was bed-ridden on New Year's Eve. Here's from Wikipedia:

Oscillococcinum (or Oscillo[1][2]) is a homeopathic preparation marketed to relieve influenza-like symptoms. Oscillococcinum is used in more than 50 countries and has been in production for over 65 years.

The preparation is derived from duck liver and heart, diluted to 200C—a ratio of one part duck offal to 10400 parts water.[3
aztcqn
8 years ago
Thanks Jess and Straw for the info. Great research. So true if your body cannot eliminate waste you are in trouble. I agree. There is no reason anyone should get a vaccine for flu. The notion that forced mandatory vaccines of any kind are on the horizon in this country tells me that the official agenda is dirty.
There is no recourse for damages. The pharma companies are protected.
https://www.blissplan.com/health/vaccination-risks/

A clue is that even the CDC is associated with Big Pharma which seems to me a biased interest in "solutions" to any outbreaks of disease. http://www.cdcfoundation.org/what/partners#category-299

As for the great natural remedies, greatly interested in finding the remedies for my GI issues. I'm dealing with slow emptying, slow digestion for about 8 years.
Stress related residue that brought on a host of troubles, including gut infections and dysbiosis. I bought
some bitter herbs to try and I've heard of dandelions with similar benefits.
I'm going to be looking at these frilly yellow flowers in my yard a different way. I have a major ongoing battle with these interlopers in the garden, but, if they can help digestion............

Straw, I"m going to keep in mind the bok choy soup. I love soups. Have made pho base and it is one of my favorites. Currently, interested in making dashi base as well. I really like wanton soup and with veggies. I make soup bases and store them in the freezer for later use. Do you have a specific Vietnamese herbs to flavor the chicken broth base for the bok choy soup?
strawchicago z5 thanked aztcqn
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
I absolutely ADORE the way you (Alana and Straw) work together with your children like how she helps Alana prepare meals, how you -Straw - pack your daughter healthy hot food in a stunning thermo container. It is beautiful, so kind and sensitive...so much care given...

and again all these amazing recipes make me so hungry... :-)
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Glad to hear from you, Jess .. I wish I had known you earlier !! Your ginger tip is fabulous, I'm done with chewing gum for good. The dentist told me to cut out that bad habit .. I chew it while sleeping so ... that grinding wore down my teeth & messed up my bites.

I COULD NOT kick my bad habit until I find a replacement: hold a thin slice of ginger in my mouth while sleeping .. that prevents me from grinding my teeth & helps my dry mouth & more saliva flow & cleaner mouth.

Chewing gum was horrible: bad for my bite-alignment, all the artificial sugar (sorbitol, xylitol, aspartame) bred unhealthy bacteria which caused bloating, gas, and acidic stomach which made me hungry. Sugar in any form stimulates the appetite & mess up intestinal bacteria that signal fullness. That's why folks can't lose weight with diet soda having artificial sugar.

Decades ago my Mom & Dad didn't have sugar in Vietnam, they grew up plucking hot peppers in the garden, ate that as a snack. For taste-buds stimulation, hot peppers are much healthier than sugar, chewing gum, or smoking.

I like sampling fresh herbs in the garden in the summer. Dill is my favorite to eat fresh, really good with canned tuna & mayonnaise & red onion & black pepper. I made tuna-sandwich before using fresh cilantro & mayonnaise & celery & onion & black pepper and it's the best ever, the cilantro is the secret.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hi aztcqn: you are in California, 2 hours behind my Chicagoland, IL .. I didn't see your post until now. Thank you so much for those 2 links: why we should not accept mandatory flu-shots, and the second one lists all the pharmaceutical companies who fund the CDC. That's so true !!

With regard to " Do you have a specific Vietnamese herbs to flavor the chicken broth base for the bok choy soup?" We don't have herbs for simple soup like bok choy. I bought fresh bok-choy from Meijers Supermarket. As I went through the cashier, this American boy remarked that his Oriental friend's Mom makes the best bok-choy soup with pork !!

That has 4-ingredients: fry some onion in olive oil until golden, put pork in (tenderloin, pork-loin, or country-ribs) until lightly brown. Put 2 cups of water, add fresh bok-choy .. cook for 1/2 hour. Add canned chicken-broth before serving.

Google "bok choy" and you'll see it's the most nutritious & most healing veggies. I love wonton soup with fresh spinach & ground pork .. but that doesn't freeze as well as bok-choy soup.

Aztcqn: With regard to "greatly interested in finding the remedies for my GI issues. I'm dealing with slow emptying, slow digestion for about 8 years." Digestive issue comes after antibiotics. After my 1st pneumonia & antibotics (decades ago), I could not digest milk .. I tried many $$ refrigerated probiotics, they DID NOT HELP.

Then I got pregnant at 40 year old, the doc. ordered me to drink 3 glasses of milk. Yogurt didn't help, I took "Nature Made" Acidophilus tablet .. heat-stable-on-the-shelf. THAT WORKED !! I drank 3 glasses of cow-milk daily without bloating nor gas. My child was born lactose-intolerant like me ... I mixed that probiotic into her yogurt, and WOW !! that stopped all her digestive problems.

I find that the heat-stable probiotics work better than the refrigerated type. Our internal body temp. is warm, NOT cold like the refrigerator, and we need the probiotics that survive at warm temp.

Another yogurt which helps in FAST-EMPTYING is Activia, made by Dannon, it has the bacteria to make one regular. That yogurt is too sweet, so I mix Kefir (with 12 strains of bacteria) for my daughter.

I'm on Doxy-Cycline antibiotics right now for my current pneumonia. It kills off all the good bacteria that digest plant-fiber ... so I get the worst gas & stomachache if I eat Romaine lettuce with my dinner. So I have to eat zero-fiber food like French Bread & cheese, plus drink tons of lemon-juice to help with digestion.

I only have 2 1/2 days of antibiotics to take .. then I'll load up on the good bacteria: Kimchi, Miso, Kefir, Acidophilus tablet & probiotics ... really look forward to eating all the RAW veggies without bad gas.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The below link offers clinical assessment of which yogurt is hype, and which probiotics is beneficial, comparing Activia to Danactive, probiotics in cereal, Culturelle, Align, and Florastor:

http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/nah_probiotics.pdf

*** From Straw: Culturelle was worthless for my allergies. But the above link wrote well of Align probiotics "Two new studies suggest that the bacterium in Align might help people with IBS. In the larger one, researchers at the University of Manchester in England gave 173 women with IBS either the bacterium in Align or a placebo every day. After four weeks, the Align takers reported less abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and straining.1"

For probiotics supplement which contains Acidophilus gasseri, Dr. Oz Show recommends Phillips Colon health, with 580 positive customer reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Phillips-Colon-Health-Probiotic-Capsules/dp/B007RA0ZAQ/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=purgrecofextf-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=&creativeASIN=B007RA0ZAQ

Sam: did you take that one before? How did you like that? Below is a pic. of my daughter when she was 6 or 7, with the spring flowers behind. The bush with lavender flowers is Syrian lilac, and there're tulips & daffodils. It will be 50 F or 10 C within 5 days .. so spring is coming to our Chicagoland soon !!
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Double-check with the expert on probiotics from below link:

http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2014/11/25/do-probiotics-work/

Stefano Guandalini, MD, Section Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and Medical Director of the Celiac Disease Center at the University of Chicago. Here's what this doc. said:

"Prebiotics are basically the metabolic fuel for probiotics. You can do in both ways. If your diet is rich in things like onions, garlic, wheat, legumes and artichokes, then you ingest a lot of prebiotics already.

There is a product called Align, based on a specific Bifidobacterium, which is mostly for adults with IBS.

For infants and colicky babies there is some proof of effectiveness for a product called Biogaia, which has the bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri in it.

Then we have Culturelle with Lactobacillus GG, another one with a long record of scientific, well conducted studies, which has been found effective in treating diarrheal diseases.

Florastor, which contains a yeast [Saccharomyces boulardii] instead of bacteria, is also effective in treating and preventing antibiotic associated diarrhea. Children who get antibiotics often develop diarrhea, and in many cases that can be prevented by the use of Florastor.

Finally there is a preparation called VSL #3, which is a highly concentrated preparation of 8 different strains of probiotics. It seems to be effective for ulcerative colitis, both in adults and children, and it has been found effective in irritable bowel syndrome as well." Stefano Guandalini, MD, Section Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, University of Chicago.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Lactobacillus GG is useful for variety of diarrhea: Traveler's, antibiotics-usage, allergies, here's an excerpt from below link, which concludes The probiotics with the greatest number of proven benefits are Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and Saccharomyces boulardii.":

https://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/Supplement_2/S96.long

" Prevention and treatment of allergic reactions. The most extensive studies of the modification of allergic reactions have been reported for atopic eczema with Lactobacillus GG as the probiotic [27–31]. There has also been a study that reported the use of Bifidobacterium animalis Bb12 to reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis [30]. In one study, 159 pregnant women with a family history of atopic disease were given either Lactobacillus GG capsules or a placebo for 2–4 weeks before their expected delivery date [27]... There was a 50% reduction in the frequency of atopic eczema in the first 2 years of the children's lives for the group given Lactobacillus GG. "

" Acute diarrhea. There are at least 12 studies that have reported the use of probiotics to either treat or prevent acute diarrhea [6–17]. The probiotic used was Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (Lactobacillus GG) (ATCC 53103) [7–14]. Other probiotics that have shown positive results for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis include Lactobacillus reuteri and Saccharomyces boulardii [15–17]. "

"Traveler's diarrhea: Also studied were 245 travelers from New York who went to various developing countries for periods of 1–3 weeks [26]. The travelers were provided Lactobacillus GG or a placebo, and Lactobacillus GG afforded a protection rate of 47%. "

There have been several studies that showed that treatment with Lactobacillus GG prevents relapse of gastroenteritis after use of antibiotics. Clinical experience has shown a 60% relapse rate after therapy with metronidozole or vancomycin. Only 16% of patients who received Lactobacillus GG experienced a relapse, and, after a second course of Lactobacillus GG, there was a 94% overall cure rate [33, 34].

Prevention of dental caries. Children in a day care center who were given Lactobacillus GG for 7 months were examined for dental caries, and the children in the 3–4-year-old age group had significantly lower rates of dental caries and a reduced oral count of Streptococcus mutans compared with before the treatment [35].

Treatment and prevention of relapses of inflammatory bowel disease. One of the major potential applications of probiotics is for the treatment and prevention of relapses of Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. There have been reports of beneficial effects for inflammatory bowel disease that resulted from the administration of Lactobacillus salivarius [39], Escherichia coli strain Nissle [40], S. boulardii [41], and VSL#3 (VSL Pharmaceuticals), a mixture of probiotics [42]. There has been a report that VSL#3 reduced symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome [43].

https://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/Supplement_2/S96.long

** From Straw: VSL#3 is double-the price of Align ... I got a generic version of Saccharomyces boulardii , only $5 which contains the same yeast in Florastor. From eHow: " One company that manufactures this blend Lactobacillus GG is called Garden of Life, created by Jordan Ruban. Jordan Ruban is a world-famous health guru who overcame Crohn's disease."

Probiotics DOES WORK. When I was young, I had antibiotics for dental surgery ... resulting in female-yeast-infection .. yogurt didn't work, until I bought Jarrow Fem-dophillus, only $20, and that solved the problem for good !
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I talked to my mom in Florida and she use the Align successfully. It got rid of her abdomen pain. I like the Phillips colon health. I have tried a few different kinds. I liked the align one also.
everyday I have chamomile tea with ginger helps me with my sleep.
strawchicago z5 thanked User
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Sam: Thank you for your feedback. Agree with you that one needs Align (has only 1 strain), plus another probiotics with more strains like Phillips Colon (recommended by Dr. Oz). Phillips Colon probiotics is known to help with constipation, with Lactobacillus gasseri as its 1st ingredient, then Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum. I googled for that and found this science-abstract:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3295086/

" Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 proved effective in both suppressing H. pylori colonization of the stomach and reducing gastric mucosal inflammation (8). "

See below link, on how probiotics plus B-complex vitamins (folate) help with allergies: Amazon NOW probiotics By Kimberly Brandt on January 10, 2013

"I think this miraculously reduced my allergies by 90%. This is the first time I've tried using probiotics therapeutically. I'm also taking wobenzyme and a mushroom complex in an effort to improve my immune system. I recently found out that I have a genetic defect in my Methylation cycle, i.e., I can not convert Folic Acid to Folate. Your chronic allergies may be pointing to high homocysteine which in turn may point to MTHFR issues." Kimberly Brandt

*** From Straw: I took NOW probiotics with 10+ strains of bacteria in 2014, yes, it helped with my hay fever, but Brewer's Yeast (high in B-vitamins) and buckwheat honey & soy milk HELPED my hay fever more. The #1 complaints against probiotics is it makes one more constipated, esp. if it has Saccharomyces boulardii like Florastor.

This honest reviewer for #Best probiotics with 6,400+ positive reviews ... made me laugh: ByGood Timeson February 16, 2016

WORTHLESS!!!! It made me constipated. I don't know where it's getting all its 5 star reviews. But one thing is for sure. All the ones that gave it a 5 star received a free sample. Here's the deal. If you have popo issues and can't get a thing out unless your face turns purple from all the pushing you do, then this is what you need to do. It works a 100% every time. 1. Half a glass of water
2. A heap full table spoon of ground flax seed & A table spoon of chia seeds. Mix them in half a glass water and gulp it down right away, before breakfast on an empty stomach. " Good Times.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Consumer Lab does a good job of explaining why Align works so well, versus Culturelle flunked Mayo-clinic test .. worked for children but not for adults, due to not enough live bacteria in Culturelle.

http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=1848168

" "# Align claimed to contain 1 billion live bacteria when manufactured “and an effective level until as least the “best by” date. ConsumerLab.com testing revealed that only 530 million bacteria were viable. However, a clinical study of the bacteria (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624) in Align showed that it could reduce symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) at a dose of just 100 million. ConsumerLab.com found that the product exceeded this amount.

"# Culturelle claimed to provide 10 billion cells in a daily capsule through the “best used by” date; ConsumerLab.com found only 5.8 billion viable cells. Most clinical studies with Lactobacillus GG have used 10 to 20 billion viable cells per day. A dosing study (Saxelin 1991) using the bacteria in Culturelle (Lactobacillus GG) found that a daily dose of 1.5 billion cells was not able to colonize the gut, but a dose of 15 billion was."

The below link is worth reading, that's where consumer lab collects scientific data to categorize which probiotics is most effective. They are right about Jarrow-Fem-dophillus as most effective for female-vaginal yeast infection.

http://www.hodgechiropracticclinic.com/Nutrition/pdf_nut/probiotics.pdf

Some excerpts from Consumer Lab report PDF file above: "Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 (Align) was found to improve symptoms (e.g., bloating, straining, gas) of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in women, although it did not change the frequency of stools (Whorwell 2006).

An eight-strain combination of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium andStreptococcus (known as VSL#3) reduced abdominal bloating in patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS but had no effect on other symptoms such as abdominal pain, gas and urgency.

Bifidobacterium lactis (BB-12) is added to YoPlus yogurt and Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010 (trade named "Bifidus regularis") is in Dannon's Activia yogurt. Clinical trials on both probiotic strains have shown that they shorten the transit time of food in the bowel.

Vaginal bacterial infections - A combination of L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14 (as in Jarrow Formulas femdophilus) is proven effective (Reid 2003).
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
a lot of fantastic info thanks everyone...

My brother with severe stomach problems swears by Iberogast

However, in our corrupt little part of the world, the Bayer corporation has 'taken' this product over, but the more informed spesialists have imported the 'real' product from Switzerland, what a miracle...

Spring in Chicagoland soon, what wonderful news and what a pretty daughter and lovely spring flowers Straw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://beforeitsnews.com/survival/2015/04/10-weeds-that-heal-and-theyre-right-in-your-backyard-2568102.html

more 'weeds' that heal.

Please have a look at Maria Treben's book: Health Through God's pharmacy as well.
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
In Sam's thread: Legumes: poor man's protein, I posted recipes for mung-beans (more nutritious than yellow-split-peas). Yellow mung bean is high in protein & fiber, and low in calories ... my 90 year-old Mom with diabetes eat lots of that stuff. It's creamy & delicious like mashed-potato, but high-in-protein like meat. I posted 2 recipes for yellow-mung-bean: a sweet desert with coconut milk, and a main-dish recipe with pork in a bundle:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3490187/legumes-beans-poor-mans-protein?n=45
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
Jess: Just saw your link on weeds that heal .. great reference !! I ate purslane before ... blah when raw, perhaps better boiled? I asked my sister for some purslane seeds and that invaded my garden .. I spent hours killing purslane. But I like chickweeds, they are tender and NOT invasive.
aztcqn
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Straw, fantastic info on the probiotic link. Thank you! Your mom is 90!!! How awesome! My mom is 86 this year. I do what I can to keep her healthy and have kept her just just below the borderline of diabetes by controlling carb availability in the house for 8 years. Nutrition is always the key to getting back our health or keeping it.

Extreme as well as chronic stress/anxiety changes the flora as well as the amount of critters in the gut. I could feel the change pretty abruptly after my dad passed away. Several months after that emotional trauma my gut just stopped working. Never had problems digesting anything, never had transit issues at all up to that point. Stress damages so many systems it's incredible how far reaching unmitigated emotional pressure can be. Vast.

I'm so glad the interest in studying gut health is growing in the science community. These little inhabitants are truly important on so many levels as your link indicates. I've been aware of l. reuteri as a defense against h. pylori. and saccro b. against c. dificilis and other ingested pathogens. L. rhamnosus and b. infantis for constipation. The fact that many produce neurochemicals makes them a priority in keeping them happy and diverse to maintain our own health.

JessJ,
I bought Iberogast. It says it's manufactured in Germany from Stegerwald and distributed by Medical Futures Inc. Is this the same on your label?
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
aztcqn: God bless your dear mother at 86 .. how precious it is to have your Mom with you !! My 90-year-old Mom lives with my sister in Connecticut, but I talk to her on the phone frequently.

Everything you wrote about probiotics is true, THANK YOU, aztcqn, for refreshing my memory. I looked up Iberogast: " Iberogast is comprised of the following 9 ingredients: Iberis amara, Angelica, Chamomile, Caraway Fruit, St. Mary’s Thistle, Balm Leaves, Peppermint Leaves, Celandine, and Liquorice Root." for digestive ailments.

I received tons of bills from the doc.. My medical deductible is $2,000 ... so that blasted flu shot will cost me more than $2,000 medical bills. The public is SO deceived by CDC .. people don't spend time digging for truth, they just believe whatever sold to them via pharma-promotion and the news. At least I don't become paralyzed like those who got GBS from flu-shot, see below link for a heartbreaking account .. she got pneumonia like I did plus something far worse:

http://www.fhfn.org/mother-decides-to-get-a-flu-shot-what-happens-next-will-leave-you-speechless-and-never-get-a-shot-again/

I tried tons of probiotics before, most of them give me bad gas. But the ones with zero side-effects were Cardioviva (clinically proven to lower cholesterol), Nature-Made L. Acidophillus, and Culturelle (waste of money, the bacteria count wasn't high enough to benefit adults).

The one which I'm very grateful for is Jarrow-Fem-dophillus, clinically proven for female yeast infection, recommended by Prevention Magazine & Consumer lab.

Amazon has lots of faked reviews, like that unknown #1 probiotics with 6,400+ positive reviews (free samples), plus doesn't even list the names of the bacteria. I always look at the negative reviews which folks are pretty honest. Here's one that best said on probiotics, on Phillips colon health probiotics (made by Bayer):

0 out of 5 starsNot for normal healthy people.

ByPaul A. Mccloudon January 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

I would only recommend this product for people with a specific need, like someone taking antibiotics. If you feel your digestive tract is functioning normally you don't need it. If you use this product and experience diarrhea your system doesn't need it.
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
Anything but ANYTHING touched by Bayer should be seen as very suspect. Since Bayer started 'controlling' Iberogast here they actually changed the ingredients! that's why doctors imported the real thing from (my brother might have not remembered that well) - probably from Germany - not Switzerland.

His colon specialist told him that if it wasn't for Iberogast, he would have been dead by now. Now they took out some of the main ingredients. Why I ask, why....

Read up on the Bayer family - everything about them is available on the internet.
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
8 years ago
This is a fantastic thread. Haven't got much to contribute but I am learning so many new things about which I had no idea before....

Straw: All my prayers for your mother. It's lovely to have parents. Both my parents have expired and I miss them so much.... specially my mother. I felt so lonely and deprived when she expired 4 years back. May God bless her and all others who have expired.
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess: Agree with you .. when I watched Rick Steves travel shows, Germany towns are on a "public display" for tourist attractions .. quite commercialized. But Switzerland towns still retain that country-environment, with small organic farms, and cheese made from raw milk which have higher probiotics.

Our food is so LOW in beneficial bacteria .. I gagged on yogurt, way too much sugar. People rarely eat Kimchi or sauerkraut, or RAW cheese. Our gut is abundant with bad bacteria from zero fibers (thus zero prebiotics), rotted meat, cooked milk, and sugar to ferment the bad guys.

The only time my gut was healthy was when I was pregnant. Doctor ordered me to drink 3 glasses of cow-milk .. I could not digest milk so I bombed my gut with Lactobacillus acidophilus 1 billion CFU per pill. (Nature Made brand). That wiped out the bad guys .. I was able to eat RAW veggies, wheat bran, and dairy with no gas nor bloating. With the good bacteria L. Acidophillus abundant in my gut, I COULD NOT gain weight ... was ordered by doc to gain weight .. I was 115 lbs. during my last month of pregnancy.

It takes a HUGE number of good bacteria to wipe-out the bad guys. Re-post info. from Consumer-Lab:

" "# Align claimed to contain 1 billion live bacteria when manufactured ... ConsumerLab.com testing revealed that only 530 million bacteria were viable. However, a clinical study of the bacteria (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624) in Align showed that it could reduce symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) at a dose of just 100 million. ConsumerLab.com found that the product exceeded this amount.

"# Culturelle claimed to provide 10 billion cells in a daily capsule through the “best used by” date; ConsumerLab.com found only 5.8 billion viable cells. Most clinical studies with Lactobacillus GG have used 10 to 20 billion viable cells per day. A dosing study (Saxelin 1991) using the bacteria in Culturelle (Lactobacillus GG) found that a daily dose of 1.5 billion cells was not able to colonize the gut, but a dose of 15 billion was."
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Yes, probiotics help to lose weight. There's another study from Japan besides the below: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/probiotics

" Researchers from Laval University in Quebec instructed 125 overweight men and women to follow a 12-week weight-loss diet, followed by a 12-week maintenance period. Half of the participants also swallowed probiotic pills every day, and the other half got placebo pills.

After the 12-week weight-loss period, the women who took the probiotic pills had lost 9.7 pounds, on average, while the women who took the placebos only lost 5.7 pounds. And then, after the 12-week maintenance period, the women who took the placebo pills maintained a stable weight—but the probiotics group continued to slim down, losing 1.8 more pounds, on average. By the study's end, the women in the probiotics group also had less of the intestinal bacteria related to obesity in their systems. Interestingly, the probiotics didn't have a significant effect on the men in the study.

Study authors believe that probiotics may help you slim down because they make your intestinal walls less permeable."

*** From Straw: Perhaps the men aren't big on "plant fiber" like women. To keep the good bacteria in one's gut, one needs to feed it with prebiotics.

Stefano Guandalini, MD, Section Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and Medical Director of the Celiac Disease Center at the University of Chicago. stated:

"Prebiotics are basically the metabolic fuel for probiotics. You can do in both ways. If your diet is rich in things like onions, garlic, wheat, legumes and artichokes, then you ingest a lot of prebiotics already." Guandalini, M.D.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
More info. about the 125 overweight group and probiotics, researched by Canadian professor Tremblay:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140128103537.htm

"According to Angelo Tremblay, probiotics may act by altering the permeability of the intestinal wall. By keeping certain inflammatory molecules from entering the bloodstream, they might help preventing the chain reaction that leads to glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

The Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain used in this study belongs to Nestlé, which uses it in certain yogurts it makes for the European market, but Professor Tremblay believes that the probiotics found in dairy products in North America could have a similar effect to the Nestlé strain.

*** from Straw, the Japanese scientists used a different probiotics for weight-loss. Below is from ABC news:

" A team of Japanese researchers split 210 overweight people into three groups. While everyone consumed a daily 7-ounce serving of fermented milk, two of the groups drank milk spiked with varying amounts of a probiotic called Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 which past research has tied to fat loss. After 12 weeks, people slugging the probiotic milk formulas dropped roughly 8 to 9 percent of their visceral fat."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/probiotics-lose-weight/story?id=19607875

*** From Straw: My kid is allergic to peanut-butter, and I developed a peanut-butter allergy mid-life, very excited to find the below info. from Wikipedia. Culturelle has L. Rhamnosus GG, but the amount isn't high enough, perhaps more pills per day?

"Peanut Allergy

Research is showing that L. rhamnosus as a probiotic could stop allergic reactions to peanuts in 80% of children.[8]

Diarrhea

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG has been shown beneficial in the prevention of rotavirus diarrhea in children. The prevention and treatment of various types of diarrhea has been shown both in children and in adults.[9][10][11][12]

Respiratory tract infections

L. rhamnosus GG can stop respiratory tract infections in children.[13][14]

Atopic dermatitis, eczema

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG also has shown potential in treatment and primary prevention of atopic dermatitis, but the results of intervention trials have been mixed.[15] A clinical trial with seven-year follow-up shows L. rhamnosus GG is useful in the prevention of atopic dermatitis in children at high risk of allergy.[16][17]
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
There are more than one type of good bacteria to help with weight loss. Here's a smaller study with different types of bacteria:

http://www.livescience.com/24917-probiotics-burn-fat.html

" Jones' team fed 28 overweight volunteers a daily serving of yogurt. Half the participants' yogurt was spiked with either the bacteria Lactobacillus fermentum or Lactobacillus amylovorus. To isolate the effect of the bacteria, the researchers provided all of the food participants ate during the course of the study.

After a month and a half, those who ate the L. fermentum probiotic supplements had lost 3 percent of their body fat and those eating L. amylovorus had 4 percent less fat than at the study's start. Most of that loss was belly fat, which may be tied to heart disease. (The researchers don't know why subjects predominantly lost abdominal fat.)"
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I didn't know that the famous Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG was isolated from a the intestinal tract of a healthy human. Other Lactobacillus Rhamnosus types are found in RAW cheese:

"Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains are naturally found in foods. For instance, a study on Parmigiano Reggiano cheese showed that it can have up to 10 million CFU of viable lactic acid bacteria per gram."

At the time of this writing, Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG is found in many products all over the world. For example, Aktifit® by Emmi Switzerland is a yogurt drink containing LGG.

In the USA, LGG is found in at least 4 mainstream supplement products, Culturelle, Solgar Advanced Multi-Billion Dophilus® Vegetable Capsules, Solgar Multi-Acidophilus Powder

See more at: http://www.powerofprobiotics.com/Lactobacillus-rhamnosus-GG.html#sthash.rRw5OLa7.dpuf

DONE WITH MY RESEARCH - After reading thousands of Amazon customer reviews on dozens of probiotics brand .. my conclusion: The brand with 6,400+ FAKED reviews isn't the best (free samples, don't even list the types of bacteria).

I would take clinically tested probiotics Align or Culturelle (L. rhamnosus GG) only if everything fails to solve the bloating & gas from antibotics.

But for weight-loss & gut-maintenance, the cheap ones at the stores are just as good. I tested $11 Nature-Made Acidophillus both on myself and my daughter: that worked great to digest dairy & RAW veggies & beans & wheat bran WITH ZERO GAS, BUT one has to take it regularly. It has been sold for decades, despite 22 reviews on Amazon. It's the number of bacteria (in the billion) that matter, rather than the brand name, or how many faked reviews.

Solgar is sold at grocery store for decades .. there's a few reviews that stated Solgar helped with acne, plus worked better than the $$$ brand-name. Here's Solgar for $15 with billions of l.acidophilus, b.lactis, l.paracasei and l.rhamnosus gag, beneficial microorganisms that naturally reside in the lower digestive tract:

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Multi-Billion-Dophilus-60-VegCap/dp/B00028M4I6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
thanks so much for this amazing info and research Straw...

I also believed that and you've made this very clear. I use Solgar myself...

Straw wrote: It's the number of bacteria (in the billion) that matter, rather than the brand name, or how many faked reviews.
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
and Khalid yes I agree... I still miss my mom everyday,and it's been more than 15 years since she's passed away...the tears never stop. One is so fortunate to have a mother that reaches a very ripe old age, and is still healthy, like Straw's mother...it is the greatest blessing for any child.
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jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
Fantastic recipe I hope you can open this site. my neighbor just gave me some brinjals today and that's what I having for dinner tonight.

http://littleferrarokitchen.com/2012/05/julia-childs-ratatouille/
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Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
8 years ago
Straw: Thanks for these comprehensive write ups. Great information
aztcqn
8 years ago
Fascinating outcomes of studies on bacteria and basically every aspect of our health.
This one is on mice, but, amazing results.

How Gut Bacteria Help Make Us Fat and Thin
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strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess: yummy recipe with great pics. THANK YOU. I made that before on the stove .. really love the soft-eggplant and the yellow summer squash,

Aztcqn: Great article in that link ... really worth reading, so interesting !! The probiotics that folks report less acne are Solgar Advanced Multi-Billion-dophillus, and the hyperbolics-15-strains. My kid has acne.

My sister traveled to South Korea .. the Koreans are BIG on kimchi, they even have separate refrigerator just to keep their pickled veggies. Sis remarked that Koreans have smooth & flawless skin.

I googled "best pickled cabbage" in Pinterest, and here's a most-liked recipe with 100+ votes. There's a trick to stop mold on top of pickled veggies: use a zip-loc bag fill with salt-water on top, before putting the cap on. That blocks out air which cause mold to grow. Pickled cabbage is yummy, I used to make that weekly when I was under 100 lb. yes, it kept me slim for years. Store-bought-sauerkraut is way-too-salty.

½ medium red cabbage head, finely diced & 1 medium beet root, peeled and grated & 2 inch ginger piece, peeled and grated & 1 tsp sea salt
1. Add all ingredients in a large bowl, and use your hands for scrunching the mixture for two or three minutes, until the vegetables juices start to collect into the bowl bottom.
2. Transfer the mixture into a clean glass jar and press well. If the juices don't cover the mixture, add more salted water (1 tsp sea salt for 1 cup of water).
3. Cover with a lid and let sit on room temperature for up to one week, until the taste becomes sour. Keep in the refrigerator.
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
thank you so much for this recipe Straw, I simply have to try and do this. I am sure it must be extremely healthy and it sounds delicious...your recipes always makes me so hungry :-))))
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
Jess: I made the above pickled-red-cabbage, it took me only 10 min. I used a big glass-jar, stuffed the cabbage in, then poured salted water (mixed with ginger). Then I used a tiny plastic bag, filled with 1/3 cup salt-water, twisted it closed, and put on top to prevent any air-gap, then close the lid. That bag PUSHES the cabbage down UNDER the water, so it won't grow mold on top.

The glass-jar needs to be on a plate, to catch the water oozing out from the fermentation process. This thread is long, let's move on to the new thread, dedicated to your Mom: "2/20/16: To your Mom, best products, life's tips, recipes, plants."

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3703104/2-20-16-to-your-mom-best-products-and-lifes-tips-and-plants-and-recipes?n=2
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
Thank you Straw! I will get this red cabbage asap... your recipes and food ideas always makes my stomach growl... :-))))

How is your health Straw, are you feeling better now?
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess

Your post with all the pictures of flowers was the best medicine and lifted me up like an angel in a time I was feeling down in the cold of winter here in the USA. I am sure you helped Straw through and get over the flu symptoms too.
strawchicago z5 thanked User
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess: Thank you for your kindness !! I'm doing much better with probiotics. The antibiotics killed all the bad bacteria, so I'm drinking Kefir & taking Culturelle & women's Hyperbiotics daily. Really like how probiotics impart cleanliness: body & clothes & undies stay clean & no odor & no need for deodorant. The right probiotics is the key for a fresh bathroom too, no need for air-freshener. L. Acidophillus takes the odor off from intestinal gas, be it beans or milk.

I'm giving probiotics to my kid to DECREASES her teenager's secretion of oily-glands, thus less pimples & body-odor. In her elementary school, the little kids don't get air-conditioner, but the oldest kid (5th-grade) got air in hot weather. The school's logic: big kids perspire & stink up more than little kids in hot weather !! She's in 7th grade now, and they cranked up the air for the entire middle-school in hot weather.
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
This is fantastic news Straw... I will definitely start using this regularly from now on... I have chronic sinus since I stayed in Cape Town, it started in 2002 and never went away since then, even after I moved. Maybe this could help me with that as well...

J&J To Pay $72m Over Talc-Linked Cancer Death

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/j-j-pay-72m-over-talc-linked-cancer-212319750.html?nhp=1

I found this, and wanted to see why baby powder could cause cancer and found this:

Talc is a mineral, produced by the mining of talc rocks and then
processed by crushing, drying and milling. Processing eliminates a
number of trace minerals from the talc, but does not separate minute
fibers which are very similar to asbestos.Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos. Talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the ovaries and lungs of
cancer victims. For the last 30 years, scientists have closely
scrutinized talc particles and found dangerous similarities to
asbestos. Responding to this evidence in 1973, the FDA drafted a resolution that
would limit the amount of asbestos-like fibers in cosmetic grade talc.
However, no ruling has ever been made and today, cosmetic grade talc
remains non-regulated by the federal government. This inaction ignores
a 1993 National Toxicology Program report which found that cosmetic grade
talc, without any asbestos-like fibers, caused tumors in animal
subjects.1 Clearly with or without asbestos-like fibers, cosmetic grade
talcum powder is a carcinogen.

http://www.prairielandherbs.com/talcisbad.htm

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/13/talc_tests_arent_doing_enough_to_detect_asbestos_partner/

http://www.asbestos.com/blog/2014/08/05/talcum-powder-cancer/

then I saw wonderful sites on how to make your own organic baby powder

http://wellnessmama.com/5062/natural-baby-care-recipes/

http://www.sproutinghealthyhabits.com/natural-baby-powder/

http://wellnessmama.com/5062/natural-baby-care-recipes/
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
Thank you so much for your kind words Samuel... there are no words to describe my gratitude towards you, Straw, Khalid, Shay_Fox for enjoying my roses with me.
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Jess: Really like the links you gave on making baby-powder recipe. THANK YOU. I have Calendula flowers in my garden (it's a perennial):

"1/2 cup arrowroot powder & 1 tsp chamomile or calendula flowers, powdered in the blender or food processor or a few drops of chamomile essential oil."

Chronic sinus can also be from allergies to cat-dander. When I first met my husband, he had 4 cats, I constantly sneezed from the cat's hair. He gave away 3, and kept only one cat. I washed his cat weekly, to decrease the dander, so I won't sneeze so much. Now we have zero cat, bad-allergy.

However, probiotics like L. Rhamnosus GG (in Culturelle and Solgar Advanced Multi-billion Dophilus) ... that strain of bacteria is proven to slash pneumonia in half, so it helps with membrane in sinus & lung.

I gave my 13-year-old daughter Culturelle, Hyperbotics, Solgar, plus Kefir for that past 5 days. I meant to decrease her oily secretions so she has less facial pimples .. and that ended up lessened underarm odor. She's allergic to chemical deodorant, so she uses Milk-of-Magnesia ... magnesium hydroxide has a drying effect, but doesn't last long.

Last night I sniffed her shirt before putting in laundry... Wow !! Barely noticable odor, same with my clothes, I can easily wear the same clothes & undies twice, since the probiotics suppress the bad-odor-causing bacteria.

That's the logic for daily consumption of Kefir and pickled veggies: less body odor. There's studies that show babies born through C-section has more allergies than babies born through birth-canal. Below excerpt is written by a microbiologist:

"For example, during pregnancy, the composition of bacteria in a woman’s vagina changes so that there is a higher concentration of Lactobacillus, a kind of bacteria that aids in the digestion of milk. While he or she might eventually get colonized, a baby born by cesarean section will miss out on immediately acquiring these beneficial bacteria.

Dutch researchers recently published a study in the journal Pediatrics showing that infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria that live in the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants.

Health problems that are more common in children born by C-section, such as obesity, asthma, allergies, type 1 diabetes, food allergies, eczema, and celiac disease. While there is still much we don’t know, alterations to the gut microbiome might connect these conditions to what some have dubbed the "cesarean epidemic" in our country and around the globe."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/06/02/babies-born-by-cesarean-section-may-not-gain-benefits-of-vaginal-microbiome.html
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
My child was born via C-section .. she had really bad eczema (skin allergy) as a baby, her crib was bloody from scratching. She had milk-allergy: diarrhea & stinky gas with cow-milk. When she was 3 year old, I put 1 billion CFU of L. Acidophillus in her food ... No more stinky gas, fresher bathroom, plus her eczema cleared up. Now she drinks kefir daily. High-sugar yogurt doesn't have enough bacteria to solve body odor, nor stinky elimination.

Here's L. Acidophillus used to get rid of my daughter's milk-allergy, plus skin-eczema, plus stinky gas .. sold for $10 at grocery store, Target, Walmart, etc..

http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Acidophilus-Probiotics-Count/dp/B007RC6SVY
strawchicago z5
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks to Jess's info. about sinus-infection, I checked on that and found below: "According to Susan Lynch, Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF, chronic sinus sufferers have less biodiversity in their noses than healthy individuals. The nasal cavities, like our intestines, need a variety of bacteria to maintain a healthy environment. If these bacteria are compromised by antibiotic use, antimicrobial nasal sprays or a weakened immune system, for example, the biodiversity is reduced.

Lynch, who was interviewed on NPR last Fall, studied the effects of inhaling probiotics into the nasal cavities. Her team studied mice induced with a sinus infection. After inhaling lactobacillus, a species of bacteria naturally found in our bodies and often used in oral probiotics, the mices sinuses returned to normal.

In addition, Lynch spoke of a study involving 300 children who had rhinorrhea and/or upper respiratory problems. After being given an oral lactobacillus or bifidobacterium (both ‘probiotics’), their symptoms were reduced."

http://www.sinussupport.com/probiotics-for-the-nose/
jessjennings0 zone 10b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
This is wonderful Straw! I saw this in the site you posted and I'm going to give this a try...

I have had a sinus infection for the last 4 years, nonstop! It was the result of taking too many antibiotics in my early twenties. Specifically horse-pill sized tabs of azithromycin, which killed all the good bacteria as well as the bad. I just recently tried inhaling a probiotic blend made by nature’s way labeled for children (http://goo.gl/Yi1TSN). The results were better than I ever dreamed. I put about the amount of one pill into a nasal spray bottle, filled it with DISTILLED water and shot about 6-10 pumps up into my nose EVERY night before bed for two weeks. I have not had any sinus problems since… No joke.
strawchicago z5 thanked jessjennings0 zone 10b

2/12/16: chemical vs. natural ways to health, organic vs. artifical

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