On Probiotics

So, the medical world: "conventional" and "alternative" alike is all abuzz about Probiotics... and the idea of replenishing intenstinal flora to combat the assaults on our systems of the mix of yeast, sugar, and refined flours resulting in what is an overgrowth of candida (everyone's favorite YEAST infections) and a lack of friendly bacteria for most people.

Scary, I know. ;) Oh the horror.

Both my primary care MD, naturopaths, and my acupuncturists recommend probiotics but the fact of the matter is that they can be painful for us whose systems are out of whack (and also, the way they are cultured among them are different and people, depending on sensitivities and allergies, will have different reactions to different strains.) There are herxheimer reactions (worsening of symptoms occurring when positive changes are happening), as well as just having general side affects. Looks like probiotics produce side effects for me.

Having a healthy balance of flora in the gut can help with these conditions: (and yet, for most, is not the silver bullet answer)

-allergies (of all kinds)

-fatigue

-IBS

-leaky gut and nutrient absorbtion

So I don't know if the discomfort I'm in is because of some good vs. evil bacteria/fungi in the gut or if probiotics are a no-no for me.

It's gonna be a while until I try taking one again.