Elizabeth Yarnell, Author, Innovator, Naturopath, Speaker
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Tag: probiotics

Are Probiotics Helpful for Kids?

In a word: Yes.

Goodbelly nondairy probiotic fruit drink.
One of my preferred methods of delivering probiotics is Good Belly probiotic juice drink, and Parents Magazine concurs.

Yes, yes, yes.

Probiotics can help with many, many issues for kids as well as adults, and should be de rigueur for everyone after completing a round of antibiotics, for starters.

Probiotics, in case you don’t know, are the “good” bacteria that live in our guts and help us digest our food. Each person, indeed, each mammal, is host to a unique colony of micro-bacteria that begins to develop in the womb and continues to populate throughout your life as you live and eat. Each person’s microbial biome is a unique as a fingerprint.

Antibiotics can wipe out entire colonies of good bacteria along with the bad, and the good bugs must be replenished through ingestion. Sickness, fever, viral infections, acidosis (when the body is too acidic), food poisoning, parasites, and other issues can also cause a deficiency of good bacteria in the gut, leading to incomplete digestion.

Incomplete or inefficient digestion can play a role in everything from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease to eczema, fatigue, constipation, or headaches in children and adults. Studies have shown that probiotics can help by improving digestion.

At least 80% of our health status is directly related to the health of our digestive tract. Probiotics and plant-based digestive enzymes can help get yours back on track. An Enzyme Urinalysis is a scientific analysis of your urine to see what is happening –or not happening– in your digestive system.

Antibiotic Exposure in Infancy Linked to Food Allergies

A new study shows that children who were given antibiotics in babyhood are almost twice as likely to grow into kids with food allergies. The authors, from South Carolina College of Pharmacy in Columbia, theorize that the early disruption of normal flora and fauna in the digestive tract by antibiotics lead to a loss of oral tolerance levels and development of allergies as the child grows.antibiotics in babies linked to food allergies

I can’t say I was shocked to see this information, though it’s always good to see clinical results in a scientific study like this to convince people.

When we take antibiotics, the drugs kill all the bacteria in our body – the good along with the bad. Good bacteria assist us in normal digestive processes and are necessary for complete digestion and assimilation of nutrients into our bodies. We can replenish good bacteria by taking probiotics, but they are limited and unfortunately cannot precisely recreate the complex biome that should be inside our guts.

In Chinese medicine, it is taught that the digestive system in children is not fully developed until they reach six years of age. The Chinese realize that it takes time to build up the bacteria and other life forms in our guts that help keep us healthy.

The study noticed that many of the study participants where given multiple rounds of antibiotics as babies to treat infected eczema. Eczema can usually be controlled with dietary changes in either the breast-feeding mother or the type of infant formula. Babies battling eczema should be tested for food allergies and food sensitivities before they get to a point of multiple infections and repeated rounds of antibiotics that set them up for more food allergies and sensitivities.

The reason I was not surprised to see the results of this study is that I believe a pre-natal course of inter venous antibiotics administered during the ninth month of my pregnancy to address an infection of listeria resulted in my baby’s 41 food and chemical sensitivities. I know it was a necessary action because listeria likes to take up residence in the placenta and cause stillbirth, but none of my medical caregivers ever mentioned how it might affect my baby’s life once he was born. The entire focus was on getting him born alive, and as a result of the infection and treatment he suffered terribly in constant pain and discomfort for the first six years of his life.

If your baby is suffering, it may be due to what he is eating. There are things we can do to help ease his pain and heal his body even if he is still breastfeeding. Feel free to contact me for a free consultation about what can be done.

Natural Remedy for Diarrhea

One of my naturopathic clients complained of a sudden bout of diarrhea that was making her very uncomfortable. When these kinds of occasional bouts of intestinal distress arise, I reach for the healing powers of coconut water and probiotics to help the gut calm down.

coconut water as diarrhea remedyTropical islanders have long known coconut water to be helpful in clearing a bit of dysentery from the occasional spoiled food or a food- or water-borne bacteria that your body wants to expel quickly and forcefully. Diarrhea is one way the body evacuates irritants, so it is important not to artificially stop the flow. Staying hydrated, keeping electrolytes balanced, and eating foods that are easy to digest will keep you more comfortable while your body does what it needs to do to keep you healthy.

Besides offering hydration and bio-absorbable electrolytes, coconut water contains other amino acids and nutrients that help to finish the expulsion and calm the gut. It’s like a special sauce that you’ll only get from the water inside a coconut. You used to have to visit a tropical local and whack off the top of the coconut with a machete in order to drink the sweet coconut water through a straw, but now you can find coconut water boxed or bottled in many grocery stores. I like the individual-serving-sized boxes because they are convenient to keep in the pantry for quick re-hydration after sweaty soccer games. For electrolyte replacement needs, coconut water beats the artificial colors and high sugar content of commercial sports drinks hands down.

Besides coconut water, I recommended that my client start on a probiotic and follow the B.R.A.T diet until she felt better.

The B.R.A.T. diet was designed of non-laxative solid foods to help recover from diarrhea, and it is a regimen my family has turned to many times during the periods of digestive distress due to colds or flu’s as well. B.R.A.T. stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. You can modify this as needed, such as gluten-free toast or brown rice, but do not add in apple juice, as it will only encourage the diarrhea to continue. I can always tell when the patient is recovering because they can’t stand to stay on the BRAT diet any longer!

While these tips may be helpful for easing the strain of chronic diarrhea, if your diarrhea is more than occasional it likely means something else is going on such as parasites and/or food sensitivities. Unfortunately, coconut water will not cure either of these conditions, but you are always welcome to contact me to look into other options for getting well.

Is there a link between antibiotic use and obesity?

According to an article in the New York Times, “Antibiotic abuse may also be contributing to the increasing incidence of obesity, as well as allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and gastroesophageal reflux.”

The article examine numerous studies from around the world that have been showing the long-term side effects that antibiotics have on our bodies. Ulcer patients treated with antibiotics for H. pylori, for example, tend to overeat afterward. “After a meal, levels of ghrelin, a hunger hormone secreted in the stomach, are supposed to fall. But in subjects without H. pylori, the amount of ghrelin in the bloodstream held steady, in essence telling the brain to keep eating.”

Other researchers out of Harvard and Washington University have found, “that the ratios of various bacteria in the guts of obese mice and obese humans were significantly different from those of lean controls, suggesting that altering the stomach’s microbial balance with antibiotics might put patients at risk for gaining weight.”

Beyond the obesity link, other effects of the overuse of antibiotics can be seen elsewhere in our health.

“An epidemiologist at New York University, Yu Chen, has found an inverse correlation between H. pylori infection and childhood-onset asthma, hay fever and skin allergies in 7,600 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Survey.”

In effect, the research is showing that we need a bacterial balance inside of us for our bodies to stay healthy and functioning. Every time we take a round of antibiotics, it’s a good idea to replenish the bugs inside your gut before their absence leads to lower oral tolerance levels, hypersensitivity reactions, and inflammatory conditions like those mentioned above. If the bugs aren’t there, complete digestion of your food, and subsequent assimilation of the nutrients, is hindered. Now we’re looking at a staging ground for GERD, IBS, and a host of other chronic ailments as well as auto-immune disorders.

How can you help yourself recover from antibiotic side effects like these? Take probiotics in between doses and do an intensive round right after you finish the course of medicine. One that I like to use after antibiotics is Primadophilus Intensive 10-Day Therapy.

One of my naturopathic clients had suffered from terrible constipation for a long time. She had also been treated with antibiotics for multiple infections over the years. I started her off with a round of Primadophilus Intensive and she continues her treatment by drinking Good Belly daily. (I told you I loved this stuff!) Here is what she says:

“Elizabeth Yarnell was the link that I was missing in my personal health care. After just a few weeks of her guidance and suggestions, I was regular for the first time – ever! It’s amazing how being regular can make such a difference in your face (my adult acne is almost gone), your energy level, and just your overall mood. Plus…having been diagnosed with MS since April 2006, the diet recommendations that Elizabeth made have made a tremendous different in my MS – eating the right foods and not eating the wrong foods can really make you feel a ton better. I would and have recommended Elizabeth to many of my friends and family and also gave her name to my neurologist who was thrilled to have a professional nutritionalist that she can recommend to her patients.”

~ Deb Warren, Aurora, CO

Nourishing Remedies for Run Down Bodies

My friend has already had a rough winter. What started with a cough in September morphed into bronchitis and then into pneumonia. Even after multiple rounds of antibiotics, here it is almost Thanksgiving and she has puss-filled spots on her tonsils but tests negative for strep, feels worn out, run down, and far from healthy. Another visit to the doctor started her on anti-viral meds but they upset her stomach and gave her constipation.

I told her I thought she needed to nourish, support, and rebuild her body to feel healthy and strong again. She was on the edge of collapse, crying a lot, and generally feeling crappy. I’ve found that sometimes people need to get to the bottom before the wake up and start caring for themselves better. I confess to being there myself at times.

I understand: it’s easy to get depressed when you don’t feel good and haven’t for a long time. Personally, I’ve never found much value in those anti-viral meds, particularly if you don’t start them at the onset of an infection. I wanted to kickstart her off to reclaiming her health naturally, so I gave her the following recommendations:

As an antiviral, prepare and take immediately:
–Garlic tea. Peel and crush several cloves of garlic and place in a mug. Pour in 6-8 oz boiling water and let steep at lest 5 minutes. Squeeze in up to 1/2 fresh lemon juice. Add honey or agave until it tastes pleasing. I like to drink this before bed and let it marinate in my cells overnight. Repeat in the morning, if needed, and as frequently as necessary. I’ve never needed to take it more than 3 times.
To combat the existing viral infection and find some immediate relief from symptoms, I recommended the following protocol to follow several times daily:

–Gargle with warm salt water. Let it bathe and soak sore tonsils. Prepare it as hot as comfortable, but don’t burn yourself.

–Use SinusRinse or a netti pot to rinse your nose with warm salt water at least morning and night, and more if desired. Mix in a little baking soda to make it more comfortable, or just stick with the pre-mixed SinusRinse packets.
For her stuffy nose:

-Homeopathic Sinusin (formerly called Euphorbium) spray as needed to open nasal passages and reduce swelling (this stuff is like magic!). Use after a sinus cavity rinse.
–Homeopathic hepar sulphur. 4 pills under the tongue before bed and upon rising, if needed.
-Run a humidifier at night.

To nourish her body and rebuild after antibiotics, she should take the following daily:

– Probiotics. We like Good Belly non-dairy probiotic juice, but any probiotics from the refrig case should be fine for daily use. Because she has been on antibiotics, she should take this Primadophilus Intensive course to begin with and rebuild her system.

– Super green nutrients. You can find these as a powder supplement, or as “Supergreen” food or drink. It’s basically a combo of spiralina and other green algae and veggies. At our house, we mix some super greens into our Good Belly juice with breakfast every day, especially during this cold and flu season. Our favorite super green liquid is Body Balance, which you must order from an MLM distributor. Odwalla makes a nice Superfood drink, too.
My friend went to the health food store, loaded up, and started taking care of herself that very night. Here is the email she sent me the next morning:

“Just wanted to let you know that i just finished my garlic and lemon tea (and my husband had his), gargling salt water and doing my sinurinse. i can’t believe the difference of today vs. yesterday. thank you so much for all of your advice, it really is working!”

When I spoke to her later that day she emphasized not only that she felt healthier and stronger in less than 24 hours after starting this regimen, but that she felt empowered and optimistic about her health for the first time in months. She continued on to say that her throat, which had pained her for months, already felt better. In fact, she wasn’t sure it was hurting her at all anymore.

“I’ve been waiting around for the antibiotics and the antivirals to work and just getting more and more depressed that I wasn’t getting better. Now I feel like there is something I can do to positively impact my health!”

Excellent! That’s how I started down this path of natural health myself: I wanted to be proactive about my health and know what I could do to help myself have a better life with multiple sclerosis. Being empowered about your health can impact not only how you feel physically, but your mental state, energy level, and positive outlook. Personally, I find it extremely depressing when I feel helpless to effect change, and since my life and body mean the most to me, I choose to take actions that will help me along rather than put all of my faith in an often elusive pharmaceutical “cure.”

We should all take a personal responsibility for our own health, I believe. Power to the people!  🙂

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