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Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:39 pm
by kiwani
Excerpts:


"Probiotics are normal viable bacteria residing in the intestinal tract which promote normal bowel health. Probiotics are given orally and are usually indicated for use in intestinal disorders in which specific factors can disrupt the normal bacterial population, making the pet more susceptible to disease. Specific factors which can disrupt the normal flora of the bowel include surgery, medications (including steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,) antibiotics (especially when used long-term,) shipping, birthing, weaning, illness, and dietary factors (poor quality diet, oxidative damage, stress.)


Improving the nutritional status of the intestinal tract may reduce bacterial movement across the bowel mucosa (lining,) intestinal permeability and systemic endotoxemia. Additionally, probiotics may supply nutrients to the pet, help in digestion, and allow for better conversion of food into nutrients.


There are several different probiotic products available which can contain any combination of the following organisms: Lactobacillus (L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. thermophilus, L. reuteri,) Acidophilus, Bacillus (specifically a patented strain called Bacillus CIP 5832 in one patented product,) Streptococcus S. bulgaricus, Enterococcus (E. faecium) Bifidobacterium,B. bifidus, and Saccharomyces (S. boulardii, which is actually a beneficial yeast not a bacterium.)


The intestinal tract, especially the large intestine (colon) is home to millions of bacteria, most of which are harmless and in fact beneficial to the pet. The intestinal bacteria are essential to digestion and the synthesis of vitamin K and many of the
B vitamins.


As mentioned, your pet's intestinal tract contains with billions of bacteria and yeasts. Some of these internal inhabitants are more helpful than others. Acidophilus and related probiotic bacteria not only help the digestive tract function, they also reduce the presence of less healthful organisms by competing with them for the limited space available. Diarrhea flushes the healthy bacteria out of the body; treatment with antibiotics worsen this situation. Probiotics are indicated to allow normal bacteria to repopulate the intestinal tract.

There are several proposed mechanisms by which probiotics can protect your pet from harmful bowel bacteria: probiotics produce inhibitory chemicals that reduce the numbers of harmful bacteria and possibly toxin production by these harmful bacteria; probiotics may block the adhesion of harmful bacteria to intestinal cells; probiotics may compete for nutrients needed for growth and reproduction by harmful bacteria; probiotics may degrade toxin receptors located on intestinal cells, preventing toxin absorption and damage by toxins produced by harmful intestinal bacteria.


Cultured dairy products such as yogurt and kefir are good sources of acidophilus and other probiotic bacteria. However, many yogurt products do not contain any living organisms or only contain small numbers of organisms. Some dogs will eat these foods, and others won't. Also, if the pet has any lactose intolerance, he may not tolerate yogurt well and may experience diarrhea (although this is rare.) Most doctors recommend supplements to provide the highest doses of probiotics and avoid any lactose intolerance.


Dosages of acidophilus and other probiotics are expressed not in grams or milligrams, but in billions of organisms. A typical daily dose in people should supply about 3 to 5 billion live organisms. One popular pet supplement provides 500 million viable cells to be given per 50 pounds of body weight. The suggested dosage range of probiotics for pets is approximately 20-500 million microorganisms. Because probiotics are not drugs but a living organisms, the precise dosage is not so important. They should be taken regularly to reinforce the beneficial bacterial colonies in the intestinal tract, especially in dogs under regular stress, which may gradually push out harmful bacteria and yeasts growing there.


The downside of using a living organism is that probiotics may die on the shelf. The container label should guarantee living Acidophilus (or Bulgaricus, and so on) at the time of purchase, not just at the time of manufacture.


There are no known safety problems with the use of Acidophilus or other probiotics. Occasionally, some people notice a temporary increase in digestive gas (the same could occur in pets, although I have not seen this.)


While conventional medications may be useful in specific instances of diarrhea, the use of complementary therapies including plant enzymes, probiotics, and the amino acid glutamine is beneficial to dogs which develop diarrhea.

http://www.petcarenaturally.com/handouts/glutamine.pdf

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 1:21 pm
by jacqui
kiwani,
do you think its OK to give a 30lb puppy 1 cuturelle capusle daily?thank you for this info! :P

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:39 am
by kiwani
You might offer a smaller portion of the capsule to begin, if you're concerned.

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:02 pm
by Layla
I've been giving Alf one per day & he's 20 pounds (little lump that he is!) No adverse effects that I can see Jacqui.

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:34 pm
by kiwani
TTT

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:21 pm
by kiwani
TTT

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:11 am
by kiwani
TTT

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:53 am
by ciaobella
bumpity bump bump.

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 5:25 am
by kiwani
ttt

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:25 am
by Coco Chow
Does it mean that I shouldn't buy Coco human probiotics?

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:34 pm
by Layla
I use human grade probiotics Elodie. I don't give them the liquid human type that you pictures though! I give powdered capsules from the fridge section of healthfood stores :D

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 9:01 am
by Coco Chow
It's just that I'm really not familiar with healthfood stores... :oops: I could eat pasta everyday, I'm not the kind to pop healthy pills for lunch, so finding the right ones for my puppy is a challenge.
I thought the liquid probiotic I pictured might be ok, but I just saw the price at the supermarket today, $4 for a 6 day treatment, so $20 for the month, I'm not sure my BF will agree. :roll:
I'm gonna have to lie and pretend it's for me!

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 1:36 pm
by Layla
:lol: I go in more healthfood stores for the dogs than myself! I do share their omega 3's on the basis it may help my hair if it helps their coats.... :wink:

You get a lot of things in Actimel etc that I wouldn't feed (sugar etc) I like these & they are far nicer price wise =D=

http://store.thecatalog.com/2905.html

Re: Excerpts: Probiotics

Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:03 am
by Laura
Layla how many of those capsules you posted in the link do you give yours each day?