March 04, 2024

Probiotics for IBS

 All about probiotics, IBS, how probiotics can help IBS symptoms and a great probiotic to take for IBS!

Homemade yogurt

Today, we are going to chat about probiotics and IBS. People who suffer from IBS are often looking for relief and probiotics can be a beneficial tool for controlling IBS symptoms. Learn more about probiotics, IBS, what my favorite probiotic is and how probiotics can help IBS symptoms.

**Keep reading for a VSL#3 probiotic giveaway!


VSL#3

What is IBS?

IBS is the short name for Irritable Bowel Syndrome which is a common disorder that affects the GI tract including the stomach and intestines. There are varying severities of IBS including mild to more severe. Common symptoms of IBS include bloating, gas, diarrhea, cramping, stomach pain, and constipation. It is chronic condition that people have to manage throughout their lives. IBS can be controlled by managing what you eat, your lifestyle and stress. If you have more severe IBS, you may require medication.


What is digestive health?

Your digestive tract contains trillions of bacteria. Most bacteria are considered good bacteria—the kind that keep you healthy. But you also have bad bacteria. More bad bacteria can cause problems that lead to uncomfortable and even debilitating symptoms, as well as anxiety that comes from having to cope with those symptoms.

Your digestive health is linked to the overall health throughout your body so it’s important to keep it healthy. That’s why I love VSL#3® which is a probiotic. It’s so easy to incorporate into your daily routine. VSL#3® is an advanced probiotic option that provides multiple strains of bacteria needed to help restore the necessary amount of good bacteria in your digestive tract. 


VSL#3 Probiotics

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that are beneficial for your gut health. Probiotics can boost your immunity against infections. To make it simple in my home, we call it the "good bacteria". Probiotics can be very helpful during and after taking antibiotics. You can choose to take a probiotic supplement or get probiotics in foods in less concentrated forms. 


jars of homemade yogurt

What Foods have Probiotics?

  • Yogurt
  • Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi
  • Kombucha
  • Pickles
  • Miso soup

How do probiotics help IBS?

Our digestive tracts have trillions of bacteria- some good and some bad. People with IBS have more bad bacteria than good which can cause a lot of negative GI symptoms. Taking a probiotic can be beneficial to add more good bacteria to your digestive tract to help manage IBS symptoms. It can also help reduce the immune response caused by bad bacteria.


What probiotic is helpful for IBS?

VSL#3® is an advanced probiotic that has multiple strains of bacteria and more good bacteria which can help balance the bacteria in the GI tract. VSL#3® has 450-900 billion CFU while some over the counter brands of probiotics have 20 billion CFU or less. It uses 8 different strains of bacteria. It is a refrigerated product that helps keep the bacteria alive to increase its effectiveness. 

In March 2022, a survey of gastroenterologists was done and 93% said that their patients with IBS were satisfied with VSL#3. These symptoms improved when people with IBS took VSL#3: they had less bloating, overall symptom improvement, less pain and less diarrhea.


VSL#3 Smoothie

VSL#3 Probiotics

Aside from yogurt, my favorite way to get probiotics into my diet is VSL#3® in the powder form. It is so easy to add to smoothies and I love knowing that my family is getting their probiotics in for gut health.


I have been taking a probiotic for years for gut health and what I like about VSL#3® is that it is available in capsules and packets to fit whatever form and potency you prefer. Pro tip: you can also open the capsules and mix it into any cold, non-carbonated liquid or food. VSL#3® is special because it is a high-potency probiotic medical food to help improve gut health and for people with chronic digestive issues such as ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. 

VSL#3® is a specially formulated probiotic medical food that delivers multiple strains of beneficial live bacteria to create a better microbial balance which is so important for digestive health. Many other probiotics found on the shelf are single strain probiotics however, VSL#3® Capsules (112.5 billion CFU) have about 10 times more bacteria than the leading commercially sold OTC probiotic*and a diversity of 8 beneficial bacteria strains. It is kept in the fridge to maintain potency and uses 8 different strains of bacteria so that more good bacteria can survive the GI tract. No wonder it is the #1 recommended high-potency probiotic brand by gastroenterologists!

*Compared to Culturelle® and Align®


Where to Buy VSL#3®

You can buy VSL#3® at www.vsl3.com or in-store behind the pharmacy counter at major and independent pharmacies nationwide

Recipes using Probiotics

Peaches and Cream Smoothie Bowl

Tropical Smoothie Bowls

Homemade Yogurt Recipe


Giveaway

The giveaway will be for a box of VSL#3 to one winner!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by VSL#3. All opinions are my own.

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Comments

  1. Fredrick PaulyMarch 7, 2024 at 5:13 AM

    VSL#3® contains 8 complementary strains from 3 different genera.

    ReplyDelete

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