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yourt with live cultures worked wonders for my colitis...

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Posted 9/1/2009 3:24 AM (GMT -5)
Really glad to hear that this yogurt thing is helping you but I really wonder, there are so many lists on 'food to avoid during UC' and most of them include milk and milk products. I am so confused. But I agree with you, I am also sick and tired of forking out cash on these super expensive supplements. There are so many in the market that you don't know quality of them. Plus, there are no strong evidence about their quality. Its certainly good though if this low cost yogurt is helping. I will also give a try.
Thanks for sharing.
Posted 9/1/2009 5:44 AM (GMT -5)
Hi,
Just wanted to say........Welcome
Posted 9/1/2009 6:16 AM (GMT -5)
i'm glad you're feeling better, uc.  if yogurt works for you, then go for it!!  everyone's different, so we're all going to respond to things differently!  :)  i eat yogurt regularly and take a probiotic daily (b/c it's convenient)...and i really believe it helps me, among other things.  and it's certainly possible to eat 16 oz. of yogurt a day and still find balance, so i wouldn't worry about that.  as for quincy's negative, unsupportive comment...i'm not sure why everyone finds the need to defend her.  i was horrified also by what she said and think it would be in your best interest to ignore her.  i thought the purpose of this forum was to show compassion to people you have something in common with...and share possible solutions.  ...not wait around for people to flare again.
Posted 9/1/2009 6:22 AM (GMT -5)
I agree that it is best for people to honestly share what may be working, free of fear of putdowns or attacks. For god's sake, this condition has a lot of us feeling fragile enough as it is!
Posted 9/1/2009 7:06 AM (GMT -5)
Combine the yogurt with the bananas and you have an awesome recipe for wellness :) Bananas are a great constipator and the yogurt (as you know) have some great healing qualities as well. However, you may be excited about this now but there may come a time in the future where you are going to get sick and tired of eating yogurt! LOL I tried the macaroon diet - where you eat two macaroons a day (coconut and the juice is good for Uc) and I got so tired of eating them that now I am hestitant to eat any! But when the time comes and you get tired of eating yogurt, keep in mind that not all probiotics are created equal and it's a trial and error thing. Sometimes you have to try different brands and strains before you find the one that works for you.
Posted 9/1/2009 7:17 AM (GMT -5)
I have found yogurt to be helpful, too. I have never had any issues with dairy products, either in a flare or in remission, over these 23 years. I've eaten yogurt every day for.... about 3 years? And now I make my own. I don't bother to do anything to sweeten it anymore - my sweet tooth seems to be diminishing. I also drink kefir.
Posted 9/1/2009 7:29 AM (GMT -5)
I have actually come to prefer the unsweetened yoghurt (preferably the organic whole milk kind). You eat something long enough and you develop a taste for it.

Another little trick I sometimes use is to add a probiotic to the mixture (one of the expensive refrigerated ones). Add some fruit, walnuts and honey or maple syrup (if you feel the need for some sweetness) and you have got yourself some healthful joy.
Posted 9/1/2009 9:29 AM (GMT -5)

mindstyle said...
Really glad to hear that this yogurt thing is helping you but I really wonder, there are so many lists on 'food to avoid during UC' and most of them include milk and milk products. I am so confused. But I agree with you, I am also sick and tired of forking out cash on these super expensive supplements. There are so many in the market that you don't know quality of them. Plus, there are no strong evidence about their quality. Its certainly good though if this low cost yogurt is helping. I will also give a try.
Thanks for sharing.

hey, mindstyle. i hope it helps you. i am not lactose intolerant at all, so i'm lucky in that regard. i still get to eat cheese! i have found that the foods that are bad for my uc are red meat, and alcohol. i love beer, but don't get to drink any. bummer.

supposedly yogurt is easier for a lactose intolerant person to digest than milk or other dairy products, but if you aren't lactose intolerant, i wouldn't worry one bit.

please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or anything, i would love to help. it sure was a task eating a bunch of yogurt at first, but now i just make a meal out of it once a day with the bananas/fruit and i actually enjoy eating it.
Posted 9/1/2009 2:36 PM (GMT -5)
Yeah the milk thing really depends on the person. It doesn't bother me at all =)

ucisnotforme, I LOOVE cheese. Colby =D I agree with the red meat and alcohol thing. Red meat's usually alright but I find it harder to digest (but I love steak)... as for the alcohol, I wasn't too bad at first but now after just one drink I see blood. So no more of that for a while.
Posted 9/1/2009 3:18 PM (GMT -5)
ucisnotforme - thanks for sharing, and hope it keeps getting better. Yogurt's one of those natural therapies that's recommended for UC by a lot of Eastern doctors. In fact, in some places they even recommend an enema using yogurt. Do whatever works for you, and if that means eating half a container of yogurt then it's not that big a deal -- I've eaten worse combinations of foods to try and find a solution to UC.

Durango Kid -- typically 10 billion CFUs is considered a therapeutic dose, but that also depends on the probiotics you're taking. VSL#3 recommends taking 4-8 packets of their probiotics for active UC and that comes to 1.8 trillion to 3.6 trillion a day.
Posted 9/1/2009 5:28 PM (GMT -5)
I've had some good luck before with kefir but I had to drink a lot of it. It has a lot of calories that I don't need, so I switched to VSL #3 capsules. Some people have trouble with milk products but if you don't, I'd try it. They say it is better than yogurt with a greater variety of bugs in it. They make a plain variety too.
Posted 9/1/2009 6:21 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks Rio! I'll look into the VSL#3...
Posted 9/2/2009 2:31 AM (GMT -5)
wow, that's awesome ucisnotforme!!!  i hope your success continues and you can get off of the 6mp!  i take probiotics, but i don't feel they are working that strongly.  do you get the yougert at any grocery store???

Posted 9/2/2009 3:40 PM (GMT -5)
yeah, straight from the grocery store. it has to be the plain kind, no sugar, fruit, etc. added. make sure it says live cultures on it as well. there might not be a good selection of this stuff, since people like the sugary stuff better, but i have found it at any grocery store i've looked at.
Posted 9/14/2009 8:15 PM (GMT -5)
two week update. the yogurt in combination with the meds i'm on is still working great. haven't been this healthy in, well, about 2 years or so. hopefully the trend continues, i just keep getting better and better. i am closing in on normal, although i really don't remember exactly what that is like. hopefully i can find out soon.
Posted 9/14/2009 8:20 PM (GMT -5)
That's great =)
Posted 9/14/2009 9:04 PM (GMT -5)

Mitzo said...
I agree that it is best for people to honestly share what may be working, free of fear of putdowns or attacks. For god's sake, this condition has a lot of us feeling fragile enough as it is!

Mitzo-I am having trouble with the quote box here, forgive me!!

 

Anyway, I couldn't agree more with what you posted here-wow.  I am a member of a number of message boards (this is the only UC related one) and I have to say, I gasped out loud reading this thread-and that is a RARE thing for me indeed.  I really wish there was less fear of spammers and trolls and more open support.  Like you said, the UC has a lot of us feeling pretty vunerable and isolated as it is.  IDK-my mom always told me that if I couldn't say anything nice, to keep my mouth shut. (not that I always do, lol, but I think it is a good motto to live by)

ucisnotforme, I am so glad you are finding some relief with yogurt.  ITA about the frustration of spending so much money trying to find a good probiotic or another supplement that will work.  And what works for one doesn't always work for another and so on and on.  It is just tiring and frustrating.  I also agree that going off meds is probably not a great idea-but just being able to lower the dose is awesome.  I know I was diagnosed with a mild case, went into remission, went off my meds (I had never been told it was a bad thing to do-bad GI doc to start off with), then when the flaring returned, it came back with a vengeance.  The same meds were no longer cutting it, and I was no longer dealing with a mild case.  After being hospitalized, I ended up with a different GI and in a trial for Humira and am now on that for the long term.  NOT what I wanted at all for my life, and I wish I had known how important it was to stay on those maintenance meds.  I wish you continued success and continued remission!!

Posted 9/15/2009 11:14 AM (GMT -5)

ucisnotforme said...

Is there a specific brand you eat, or what strains of bacteria are listed on your yogurt?
Posted 9/15/2009 12:24 PM (GMT -5)
Wow! I'm getting excellent results with probiotic pills. I took about 6 yesterday as a last ditch effort. I've been feeling awful and in the hospital for the past two weeks and I need to return to work today and I feel great, no more pain, no more blood, good energy level, pretty decent bm.

I think the key is large amounts of probiotics turn
Posted 9/15/2009 12:50 PM (GMT -5)
I'm a big fan of yogurt too, but I usually eat just a cup a day. The best yogurts with the most live cultures are usually found in the natural food section of your store. My very favorite is Cascade Fresh, but Brown Cow and Mountain High are also pretty good.

Posted 9/15/2009 7:15 PM (GMT -5)

UCinGV said...


Is there a specific brand you eat, or what strains of bacteria are listed on your yogurt?

i have tried food lion and kroger brand, i notice no difference between the two.
the container says;

"nonfat yogurt plain
contains active yogurt cultures including l.acidophilus and b. bifidus."


lonie- i will have to try those out. i'm sure at some point i will want a little variety.
Posted 9/15/2009 10:15 PM (GMT -5)
ucisnotforme,

Some people who post on each and every thread on this board are indeed out of line, and should be censored by the moderators, from time to time.

Chalk it up to the fact that some people find themselves to be 'experts' on anything ranging from gastroenterology to psychology, particularly when it comes to the concept of stress and also what may or may not be possible in the realm of medicine in the future, or evidently, the future of your personal colon. Maybe it has something to do with a certain "ulcerative colitis personality." I'm not sure.

But I'm glad if you've found something that works for you. I'm no Nostradamus, but do I think it's good to share experiences like yours, because if all we ever do is rely on our GIs and pharma companies, we will continue to bankroll the pharma companies and antiquated medical model, in the case of colazal to about $4000/year.

Not to mention the fact that any number of us with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, may in fact have different problems. Ulcerative colitis isn't a prednisone or asacol or colazal or remicade deficiency, and giving a set of symptoms a common name doesn't mean that science even understands anything that's going on. All this long-winded nonsense for me to tell you that none of us should believe we know what would work for somebody else.

More power to you, and welcome to the board.
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