Do probiotics interfere with heart medication?
Question posted by Denver Barry on 17 Feb 2017
Last updated on 19 February 2017
Answers
Hi Denver,
Doc gave a really interesting response.
I recently had bowl surgery at Mayo.
I asked my surgeon how she felt about probiotics.
She told me to eating a healthy diet is what is important.
Now I'm not great at healthy diets. Lol
Do you or doc have suggestions as to a good brand?
I get overwhelmed looking at all the shelves claiming to be probiotics.
They are expensive but more importantly,
I want to choose a brand that really is a probiotic. What should I look for besides being organic?
Thanks
:-)
Hi Windchimes: I can recommend the one I take to you. It's called Flora Jen3. The capsules have to be kept refrigerated. It is sold at most pharmacies now. It is kept behind the counter. Several pharmacists have told me it is the best probiotic. One other probiotic recommended to me is Phillips Colon Health Probiotic. I prefer the Flora Jen3. The fact that it is kept refrigerated makes it a more reliable product for effectiveness, I've been told.
Wind chimes: Reading from the Flora Jen3 bottle: each capsule contains Lactobacillus acidophilus (over 7.5 billion), Bifidobacterium lactis (over 6.0 billion), and Bifidobacterium long (over 1.5 billion), which is 15 billion live cultures per capsule. As you can see, it contains two more forms of probiotic besides lactobacillus acidophilus, which is the probiotic found in live yogurt cultures.
Thanks G. Its exactly what I wanted because I can take 5 min of reading labels and end up walking away empty handed.
I'll check it out.
Thanks my friend.
:-)
Hi GMac, I did point out that my expensive plain natural yogurt at $2.50 AU for a pound and contained all that probiotic goodness, that is plane cheap as far as I am concerned. It contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. bifidus and L casei and I only eat it for the taste so it has to be full fat. I guess I have a healthy diet but only because it is far cheaper to eat well than not.
When looking for the pro biotics in pro biotic food, look for the Latin names of the products they claim to be pro biotic and use your unfaithful friend google to look them up. Be wary of products with any kind of herbal base and the storage temperatures. I'd be wary of a product that claims can be stored at up to 85 degrees. Sadly it is not a regulated market so you want to be fairly sure you are getting what you pay for.
Dear Denver, as a medical professional myself it can sometimes be difficult to rate and review and thus recommend those meds called supplements. Which are legit and which are simply "snake oil" to fraud the masses of people just looking for answers. Well, prebiotics and probiotics have been studied extensively in controlled settings and have shown to work in patients taking them. Probiotics restore normal flora in the GI tracts after such things as taking antibiotics. Some probiotics can interfere with certain heart medications BUT, the benefits of probiotics can actually aid the heart indirectly and directly by reducing the early stages of heart disease and helping to lower blood pressure. IMO, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks of taking probiotics in concert with certain cardiac meds. There are exceptions to be sure but the take home message is that this "snake oil" is actually quite helpful and with a good safety record. On the air of caution, of course and because I have never actually seen you as a patient, I would suggest that you check with your PCP and/or cardiologist about your intentions of starting probiotic therapy and if they see any normally unforeseen contradictions to what I've explained here. I hope this helps you Denver but you can always ask/comment to me again if something is confusing or just not clear. Peace to you. >> RAY...
Hey Doc, I do have a little question if you can spare the time but the other week a member here was asking about her pro-biotics (which were expensive) had maybe denatured in her car. The thing that surprised me she was taking Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus and I was thinking they are the two most common yoghurt strains and if they had added L. casei they would have my favourite plain yoghurt strains costing ~$2.00 a pound for the real premium products. I was wondering, shouldn't that be as good as the capsules which I presume are expensive?
Yes... Taking pre-pre-prepared supplements, in this case probiotics are no better for the GI system than is fresh yogurt cultures acidophilous; L casei immunitas and others. We live in a processed food environment which can make us think that mass-made "sterile" products are superior to their fresher; unprocessed alternatives. There are even people with chronically low or comprimised normal flora whom in the face of severe GI symptoms opt for a medical procedure called a fecal transplant, where a donor gives up a little stool sample which is then (after some processing) planted or seeded in the recipient's rectum.
Now if people will do AND pay for that in order to regain proper gut/colon bacteria, I figure they'll do/pay for anything! In the end though I always think back to my grandmother--who made just about anything from scratch--saying the best food and other products come from mother nature and NOT a can! Nature knows what it is doing and evolves faster to changes. It's not that I am against modern western medicine, it's more like I have grown and ponder things like "maybe the ancient medicine man knows some really smart stuff. So, eat your yogurt and save hundreds of dollars from going to BIGPharma. Thanks for your well thought question and take good care. >> RAY...
Omg! Ray...
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation on how things work with the gut.
I don't think I'd ever be desperate enough for that kind of transplant!
Incredible to think about!
I find the selection of yogurt, for the most part, is appealing to the palate and not for the health benefits. The fruit selection, the texture, the labeling. People take yogurt because they think it's good for them when it's actually a dessert.
If the "real yogurts" would actually label it with live cultures I think it would be a hit.
I remember Yoplait used to do it but I don't see it anymore.
I noticed since I had chemo 7 years ago,
my gut flora has changed.
I cannot take prednisone without developing thrush. It took a month of treatment even after getting knee injections with steroids.
I now have a GJ tube from complications from breast reconstruction!
I'm immediately going to change my diet (besides the tube feedings) after reading your excellent advice. It is exactly what my Mayo doc was trying to explain to me. I was overwhelmed with so much happening that I forgot.
You are very interesting and a great addition to the group.
:-)
Related topics
medication, heart, probiotic, probiotics
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