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Syl,
Its incredibly useful to have someone here with your expertise. You are answering questions I have had for ages. I hope you don't mind me asking a couple more?
I have had a reply from Ethical nutrients' parent company Metagenics to my question 'why they don't have a product with Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 in?' This excerpt from their reply says they do:
"we call it Bifidobacterium lactis (BI-07) For instance, it is in our Ultra Flora Restore product. It has undoubtedly been used for IBS support, however due to our research here at Metagenics and through outside research reviews, it has been determined that the strain that we use in our IBS Support Product (Lactobacillus plantarum) is more specific for IBS".
They then quote the research you mentioned: European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 13(10):1143-1147, October 2001.
Niedzielin, Krzysztof a; Kordecki, Hubert a; Birkenfeld, Boz ena b
Do you know if this is the same bifidobacterium? What do you think of the mix in Ultra Flora Restore? I can't find any quantities listed. https://www.metagenics.com.au/shop/index.cfm?fuseaction=item&id=331 I notice it has Lactobacillus acidophilus (NCFM strain) in it and I have no idea if it is useful. They recommend this product for 'detoxing'.
I'm going to send them the link to the large study you mentioned on the efficacy of Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 and see what they say.
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IBS D
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It is different
#327431 - 03/29/08 05:45 AM
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Syl
Reged: 03/13/05
Posts: 5499
Loc: SK, CANADA
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Bifidobacterium is a genus of gram-negative bacteria that has many species. The list on the bottom right-hand side of the web page gives a list of species of bacteria in this genus. Bifidobacterium bacteria makes up the largest percentage of bacteria in the colon.
Bifidobacteria lactis is a different species of bifidobacterium than Bifidobacteria infantis. I have not seen any research using this species of bifidobacterium in IBS management.
I am not surprised that the company claims "outside research reviews, it has been determined that the strain that we use in our IBS Support Product (Lactobacillus plantarum) is more specific for IBS" because this is the product they are selling. In fact the study they cited was done on a very small group and like VSL#3 the efficacy is limited for IBS. Having said that at least there is some evidence of some efficacy for IBS management 
The Flora Restore product contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis and colostrum (a from of milk). Neither bacteria has been shown to be useful in the management of IBS. Acidophilus has been shown to be effective in the treatment of some types of diarrhea.
Metagenics probably knows about Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 but even if they wanted to use it they would have difficulties because it is the proprietary property of Proctor and Gamble, the company that makes Align. They would have to use another strain of infantis or licence the use of 35624 from Proctor and Gamble. 
As I mentioned in a previous posting why not try the Natren Bifidobacteria infantis NLS? The amount of dairy in a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon is minuscule.
Good luck
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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Florastor is for predominent IBS-D Its the same as Saccharomyces Boulardii. Its non colonizing.
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Claudie
#327489 - 03/30/08 01:11 PM
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Jordy
Reged: 08/12/06
Posts: 2095
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You sounded like you were happy with IBS support. Why are you wanting to change probiotics?
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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Syl, I'm still a little confused, sorry  why the Life Start over the Align? Also, can you let us know how you do when you start it? This DA I'm taking is pretty worthless and I need to try something new.....
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Life Start contains Bifidobacterium infantis NLS and Align contains Bifidobacterium infantis 35624. These are two different strains of the same bacteria. Only Align has undergone clinical testing to establish efficacy and dosage.
Align cost about $1.10 per doses and it does not have to be kept cool. A 1.25 oz bottle of Life Start used for infants costs about $20 and it must be kept cool. It contains about 70 doses (1/4 teaspoon = 1/2 gram = 1 billion CFUs). The cost per dose is about $0.28. It is also available in a 4.5 oz bottle for about $32 giving a cost per dose of about $0.13.
It will be a while before I try it. I have a number of important things I have to get out of the way before I am going to risk destablizing myself Eventually I will give it a try now that I know it is locally available.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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Diet changes like that can sometimes seem to improve symptoms but in the long run things will backfire. This info is from my GI doc who said sometimes diets like south beach and atkins can be temporarily seemingly helpful but this doesn't last. He hates the probiotic yogurts as much as I do too.
There is a diet book/food writer that did an article in Bon Appetit. She claimed her digestive issues went completely away on an all natural diet of whole milk, butter, bacon, lard etc. But it is foolish to believe in that kind of story. It is much more likely that dairy and fats are harmful for IBS. I know what they do to my system. Bloating can be a very, very, very mysterious thing.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Thanks so much Syl We are grateful to have you here on the boards!!!!
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If we were talking about fad diets I might agree with you and your GI doctor. However we are talking about clinical trials of probiotics like the one done on Align by Prof Peter Whorwell director of the South Manchester Functional Bowel Service in the UK. He is the GI doc who developed the gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS in 1984. He was the first to claim insoluble fiber can be problematic for IBSers and his group examined the role of food intolerances in IBS. I believe some of his findings, particularly the role of IF and SF and hypnotherapy, have informed Heather about her approach to managing IBS. He is a GI doctor with credentials - I expect even your GI doc knows about his work.
It is important to keep IBS triggers in perspective. A minuscule amount of dairy in a probiotic is quite unlikely to cause problems for most IBS suffers. If the researchers in Manchester, who are fully aware of the problems of IBS and diary, were worried about the small amount of casein in Align they would not have used it in the clinical trials.
However, if you feel small amounts of dairy derived products are a problem for you then by all means avoid them 
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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I was referring to the fact that whole milk and yogurt were used for a test phase. Switching a diet can oftentimes work for a short time. I wasn't disputing the findings and I believe I made that clear. I will be firm on this because it is coming from a very experienced GI doctor. A switch in diet (i.e. food!) might lead to temporary good results but they don't last if you are eating a diet (food) not IBS safe. Whether I eat dairy in very small amounts is not your business or the point here. I am determined to uphold Heather's plan on this forum. We do not need to tell new people finding out that they should avoid dairy that it might be just fine for them. Do you see how confusing that would be? We need to be very careful to make sure that we don't give out advice on things we can handle but probably no one else will!!! For instance I am very good with IF but do you see me telling people that raw salad is probably just fine for them?, why not try it? NO! If you don't agree with Heather's information than don't give advice here. It does no good whatsoever and I am really getting upset.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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