Yakult & Acidophilus Capsules

[Alixw]

I'm trying out the probiotic things at the moment to try to ease bloating etc. I bought some Yakult yesterday and also ordered some Acidophilus capsules. I thought i'd try out the Yakult for a few days while I waited for the capsules to be delivered - but they are here already!!

What I was wondering is - is it ok to maybe have the yakult when I wake up, and then take a couple of tablets during the day? On the bottle it says you can take one tablet 2-4 times a day. I dont want to OD on bacteria though!! Also, is it ok to have more than one yakult a day? Is it more beneficial to drink more than one a day?

Thanks a lot for any help.

[nutgoneflake]

You can't really OD on bacteria!! But you don't need to go overboard - just the fact that you're having any extra will benefit. When your gut is functioning properly, the healthy bacteria that are there naturally will reproduce as they should. This keeps the levels appropriate naturally, too. A bit of a top-up here and there is always good, but you'll never actually be without!!
A healthy gut should contain something like two pounds of bacteria, and considering they're microscopic, that's a humongous amount. To answer your Q though, it's be OK to have more than one yakult a day, and even to have tablets alongside, but not necessarily more beneficial. Definitely more expensive though...!
Personally, I stick to a little live yogurt every day, and rely on the bacteria all reproducing like crazy lol. (Oh, and keep your tablets in the fridge too.)

:o)

[Alixw]

Great! Thanks for your answer! Why do the tablets need to be kept in the fridge?! I thought bacteria would work better if they were warmer?

[nutgoneflake]

I think - not totally sure though - that the bacteria will be slowly dying anyway, whatever you do, and that keeping them in the fridge slows it down. They have nothing to eat, poor little things, so they can't reproduce as you thought they might in the warm, they just keel over and die, one tiny microscopic dot at a time!!

It says on some labels that it's not necessary and I never could understand why, but it's no bad thing to do it anyway!

[Alixw]

OK, that makes sense! Thanks!!