# UK viewers - Food Hospital - PROBIOTICS



## Friday (Dec 9, 2008)

HiDid anyone see the programme Food Hospital this week? There was a girl on it who had IBS-D (and hair falling out which they were trying to treat at the same time. They recommended probiotics and after a few weeks of her taking them she said her bloating had improved but no mention of whether it had helped the diarrhoea. Has anyone found probiotics good? I tried them a few years ago and they made no difference. But is there a special sort to take? I missed the name of those that they recomended on the tv programme. No doctor or dietician has ever recommended probiotics to me for IBS-D, how about you?


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## Mr 100 (Aug 1, 2011)

Friday, thanks for the post. Just watched the programme and made some notes, here's a link.http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-food-hospital/4od#3253545The girl, Reanna, had alopecia areata and ibs-d. The Dr said that stress was a common factor in both disorders. They suggested a month trial of probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis 35624. It seemed to have some benefit.I also suffer from aa and ibs-d so this sparked some interest. I have only used saccharomyces boulardii [active ingredient in florastor and bowelcalm]. This definately helps me when d becomes severe. I have not tried Bif. inf. 35624. I will add it to my list of possibles. My aa is not a problem at the mo as I am currently enjoying regrowth!link to other info here,http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/55022-bifidobacterium-infantis-35624/page__st__20


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## tishtosh (Nov 9, 2011)

Hello,Yes, I was told about this programme and the probiotic too and I am contemplating trying it myself. The product is Align daily probiotic supplement and contains the Bifidobacterium Infantis mentioned above. Align is only available in the U.S as far as I know, but it can be brought on the internet.


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## Friday (Dec 9, 2008)

[Thanks for your help with this. So we can't buy an equivalent to Align in the UK it seems. Seems odd if it's been shown to work and they mentioned it on uk tv, you would have thought it would be available to us in the UK. Shame. As you say we can buy it from the US though.


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## Elephant (Jul 22, 2009)

Friday said:


> [Thanks for your help with this. So we can't buy an equivalent to Align in the UK it seems. Seems odd if it's been shown to work and they mentioned it on uk tv, you would have thought it would be available to us in the UK. Shame. As you say we can buy it from the US though.


I've had a look at the ingredients of Align and it's this (taken from their website)


> Align Supplement FactsProbiotic strain: Bifantis (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624), 1 x 109 colony-forming units (1 billion) (4 mg), microcrystalline cellulose (for even dispersal of cultures), hypromellose (vegetarian capsule shell), sugar, magnesium stearate (for even dispersal of cultures), milk protein†, titanium dioxide, sodium citrate dihydrate, propyl gallate (antioxidant stabilizer), FD&C blue #1, riboflavin (colorant)Like many dietary supplements (but unlike some foods sold as probiotics), Align contains only 1 calorie per capsule.


I can't see it's any different than taking the Biocare Bifidobacterium Infantis supplement, except you don't get all the other additives. I'm buying some today and here's the ingredients of the supplement (in powder form):


> Biocare Ingredients1 gram (apporx a quarter tsp) provides: Fructooligosaccharides 973.8mg, Bifidobacterium infantis 26.3mg, (Providing 4 Billion viable cells if stored correctly).Vacuum sealed for stability. Prepared in a base of natural Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) which acts as a protective Pre-biotic.


At least this can be easily obtained in this country.


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## NHow (Mar 10, 2003)

I tried Align for almost a year (got it in the US). Sadly, it didn't help.


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## Mr 100 (Aug 1, 2011)

The Food Hospital was on channel4 in the UK again last night, they featured laura with ibs-d plus other symptoms. They advised a trial of the the low fodmaps diet, from which the client derived a good benefit. It was claimed that 75% of ibs sufferers can benefit from this diet. Laura was sent to a specialist unit at Guys hospital in London."FODMAPs (Fermentable, Oligo-saccharides, Di-saccharides, Mono-saccharides And Polyols) are fermentable carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed by the small intestine. These are found in some cereals such as wheat as well as some fruits and vegetables.They can cause gut problems such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome in certain people and it is these individuals who would particularly benefit from a low FODMAP diet."http://foodhospital.channel4.com/cases/case-file-laura-2/I use the low fodmaps diet and it has reduced my symptoms.


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## catarific (Oct 6, 2010)

Align did not work for me either. But I did try the Phillips Colon Health Probiotics and it has worked well for me. Found relief instantaneously. But IBS is individualized and what may work for some may not for others - same as what foods you can tolerate.


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## sprigzie (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm defo going to give this FODMAP diet a try after my holiday in feb!


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## Mr 100 (Aug 1, 2011)

hi sprigzie, why wait until february? Print out 'common responses' guide from the fodmap pages and start a gradual implementation of the diet. I found this approach very practical, and as the benefits accrued, I increased adherence and carried out more research.Making my own white spelt flour bread in a bread machine, [using the low gluten setting] and exchanging other foods in my existing diet for fodmap equivalents, [where possible] has been key to making this an easy change.good luck.


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## sprigzie (Oct 26, 2011)

Because I don't want to chuck out all the food I already have, and will struggle to implement it on holiday, (a cruise) so going to wait until after then so I can give it 100% instead of doing it half heartily


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## cw_2009 (Apr 10, 2005)

You might be able to watch it on http://channel4.com/4od


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