Natural Health: Probiotics

Q. My naturopath has given me prebiotics called FOS to take as well as probiotics to grow the good bacteria in my gut.

The FOS tastes sweeter than sugar and it seems to give me a lot of gas and bloating. Is this what is supposed to happen? I am taking these supplements to help with digestion, but it is having the opposite effect.

A. The term prebiotics was first coined almost 20 years ago, defined as “a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon that can improve the host health”.

In theory, prebiotics are a fantastic “fertiliser” for the beneficial bacteria in our gut. Since digestive function is considered by natural health practitioners to be at the root of about 75% of all health issues, it is understandable your naturopath is doing everything to nurture your gut flora.

Prebiotics boost levels of certain lactobacillus species of bacteria, but studies have also shown that FOS (fructo-oligosaccharide) encourages the growth of klebsiella, a bacterium linked with intestinal permeability issues and ankylosing spondylitis.

I was wowed by the idea of FOS when it first became popular 12 years ago, but since then there has been a notable lack of further study as to how it affects the growth of the yeasts and other microbes commonly found in the GI tracts of most humans.

We know that microbes are particularly adaptable and hardy when it comes to surviving in a range of conditions and with almost any food source (including industrial solvents). A number of different types of yeast thrive on FOS so this is worth considering if yeast infections are an issue.

The reason why the FOS supplement may be creating issues with gas and bloating is because it is cannot be digested by humans; instead it is transported to the large intestine where it acts as a food source for the microbes and promotes fermentation. FOS is swiftly fermented since it is a refined and concentrated source of soluble fibre, whereas cellulose is a naturally occurring insoluble fibre that is slowly fermented by the microbes found in our colons.

Oligosaccharides are sugars that are found in a number of plant sources, such as bananas, leeks, asparagus, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, chicory root, yacon, agave, wheat, oats, and soybeans. Including more of these foods in your diet may help feed the beneficial bacteria along with providing a source of slow-fermenting insoluble fibre.

Q. Two months ago my wife suffered from a stroke, which has affected her speech and mobility. Apparently the cause was a blood clot in her brain. Is there anything that can help to prevent this happening again?

A. There is one supplement which has been shown to work well with stroke sufferers, and that is breviscapini (erigeron breviscapus), also known as lifeflower. It has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to address cerebrovascular disorders. The name lifeflower comes from the apparent second chance at life following a cerebrovascular complication.

Breviscapini works by increasing blood flow in the cerebral region as well as increasing the permeability of the blood brain barrier resulting in vital nutrients, oxygen and glucose feeding the brain cells. It also helps to improve blood flow into the heart tissue and around the arteries supplying blood to and from the heart, helping those who have issues with high blood pressure, which is another factor leading to stroke.

Lifeflower is rapidly absorbed by the human body, with a bioavailability of around 85%. Over 10m clinical cases in China involving patients between 30 and 85 years have proven breviscapini to be highly effective in cerebrovascular disorders, including cerebral embolism and blood brain barrier diseases. An impressive 82% of clinical cases reported improvement in their state of cerebrovascular diseases.

Farlong’s Erigeron Breviscapus costs £34.50 for 30 x 200mg capsules from Victoria Health (www.victoriahealth.com; [phone]). The recommended dose in this case is one capsule per day.