Is Theralac too strong for you?

THERALAC® -- FINDING THE PERFECT DOSE PROGRAM

After five years on the world market Theralac® has proven itself to be one of the most effective probiotics. Protected by two U.S. patents and another patent pending Theralac delivers five human-strain probiotics at 20 billion CFU through the acidic stomach into the intestinal tract alive. Once in the intestinal tract Theralac’s two unique prebiotics stimulate colonization by the probiotics. The most common response to taking Theralac is restoration of normal elimination: Comfortable, low stress bowel movements with well formed stools and less odor (see http://www.theralac.com/).

The standard dose program for most adults is one capsule daily for two weeks (this is the intensive period) followed by two capsules weekly thereafter (this is the maintenance period). Thousands of people have found this program to be very effective and economical – one bottle of 30 capsules (600 billion CFU) lasts 10 weeks. Some people, however, say they must stay on one capsule daily beyond two weeks to stay regular, like 30 days or more, and then are able to switch to one capsule every other day as their maintenance program. Still others report that taking two capsules at one time twice weekly works best for them. Remember this: Every individual has a unique microflora within their intestinal tract, some gastroenterologists believe it can be as discerning as a fingerprint. It should not be surprising that finding the perfect probiotic dose program may take a bit of trial and error. The best advice is to stay on one capsule daily until you experience improvement and then begin backing off to a lesser dose if you want to, staying on one Theralac capsule daily has many benefits beyond regularity (see http://www.theralac.com/ for more information on this).

Some people report that Theralac is too strong for them since they experience loose stools and gas initially (usually for 2-3 days) while others say it constipates them at first. Most of these reactions are versions of what doctors call the Herxheimer reaction: When a high potency probiotic like Theralac are taken for the first time it may cause rapid die off of undesirable microorganisms such as Candida which the body needs time to eliminate; during the lag between die off and elimination toxins from the dead Candida cells cause adverse intestinal reactions. Usually Herxheimer symptoms clear up in several days and the intestinal tract gets back to a healthy balance with probiotics in control. Drinking 6-8 glasses of water daily and limiting sugar helps the cleansing process.

With a few individuals either loose stools or harder constipated stools continue and they become disappointed with the product. This is unfortunate because these people need Theralac the most! Both of these situations can be corrected by finding the perfect dose program.

First let’s consider the situation where Theralac appears to be too strong and produces loose stools: Here less is more, a good starting program is one capsule every other day for two weeks followed by one capsule weekly thereafter. For very sensitive individuals, taking Theralac with food will offset some of its strength as will opening the capsule and folding its contents into applesauce or yogurt prior to consumption (This is the way young children take Theralac). Once the body adjusts to Theralac and the beneficial probiotic microflora it creates, the benefits can be remarkable with improved regularity, less fatigue and more energy leading the way. Remember, probiotic products that are not protected from stomach acid rarely cause any reactions since they are essentially dead by the time they enter the intestinal tract (99% -99.99% of unprotected probiotics are killed after 60 minutes in pH 1.6 stomach acid!).

When constipation continues while taking Theralac the usual cause is a colonic condition that does not respond to probiotics due to excess waste matter blocking intestinal surfaces. Probiotic colonization becomes difficult in such a situation. Here some patients report that taking very high doses of Theralac (4-8 capsules daily) for 5-10 days helps restore regularity (drink lots of water when taking high doses). For others taking Theralac with a new prebiotic product called TruFiber™ makes a total difference. TruFiber has been specifically formulated to stimulate probiotics and is clinically proven to improve regularity. Two capsules of Theralac plus two servings of TruFiber daily have helped many chronically constipated people regain regularity (see http://www.trufiber,com/).

BOOST YOUR I.P.C. WITH PROBIOTICS AND GET HEALTHY

Your I.P.C. is your internal probiotic culture which is the sum of all probiotic colonization events occurring in your intestinal tract. The more probiotic colonization you have inside you the better since it competitively inhibits infections that result when your intestinal flora is deficient in probiotics.

Probiotics are, of course, those beneficial Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria that are the stronger cousins of yogurt bacteria. They are the intestinal tract’s police force that keep intestinal flora in a positive balance. It’s easy to get your flora out-of-balance in today’s world of stress, food preservatives, junk food, prescription meds, and other alien forces.

Colonization events are the where and how probiotics work to keep your intestinal tract healthy and keep you REGULAR and ENERGETIC! Probiotics colonize many different niches in your intestinal tract : Villi on the small intestine, crypts between the villi, mucous layers coating the villi, that dead end sack above the appendix called the cecum, the wall of the colon, and even yet undiscovered places. There can be as many as 100 trillion microooganisms, mostly bacteria, living in these niches and when many are the pathogenic kind you get sick, sometimes real sick. Probiotics can prevent this provided they colonize these niches first. And colonization means just that, it’s when bacteria adhere, multiply and develop into microbial colonies by utilizing nutrients in the food we eat.

When your intestinal tract is sick you are sick: Sick with IBS or IBD, Diverticulitis, Candida or C. diff. infection, Crohns disease, Ulcerative colitis, or one of the other subclinical intestinal maladies that often go undiagnosed. The best way to prevent intestinal problems is to be proactive and boost your I.P.C. – meaning you must insure that most of your intestinal niches get colonized with probiotics.

HOW DO YOU DO BOOST YOUR I.P.C.?

You need to take a multi-strain, high potency, acid-proof probiotic that contains specific prebiotics. Now that’s a mouth full so let’s examine each of these requirements.

1. Multi-strain: It’s important to have at least two Lactobacillus and two Bifidobacterium strains in the probiotic you take. Lactobacilli colonize the small intestine while Bifidobacteria do best in the colon. Having both types assures that the entire intestinal tract gets covered.
2. High Potency: It’s important to get at least 10 billion CFU (colony forming units) per dose in the probiotic you take. More is better and 20 billion CFU is a particularly effective dose.
3. Acid-Proof: It’s critical that probiotics survive passage through the acidic stomach and make it into the intestinal tract alive, enteric coatings don’t work but patented delivery technology utilizing natural protectants like sodium alginate does! High potency means nothing without stomach acid protection – up to 99.99% of unprotected probiotics are killed after 60 minutes in stomach acid.
4. Specific Prebiotics: Prebiotics are either long chain carbohydates that only probiotics utilize or special nutrients and growth regulators that give probiotics a selective advantage; LactoStim® and Lactoferrin are good examples of these last two.

So here’s the bottom line: To best enhance your I.P.C. you need to take a multi-strain, high potency, acid-proof probiotic that contains specific prebiotics.

That sounds familiar. Anybody know a good one? We know the best of the best: THERALAC*. Visit www.theralac.com.

*Theralac® contains five clinically tested probiotic strains of human origin and is guaranteed at 20 billion cfu per capsule through expiration. Theralac’s acid-proof delivery technology utilizes sodium alginate and is protected by U.S. patents 7,122,370 and 7,229,818. Theralac’s prebiotic technology utilizes LactoStim® and Lactoferrin (patent pending). Theralac is Made in the USA. Visit http://www.theralac.com/.