While fellowshipping with my family and friends this Easter Sunday, Rufus had another of his vomiting spells after drinking his baby formula. 

This is not the first time that Rufus has blessed the church pew with his spit up….but at least he did it after church service.  After what seemed like minutes…when Rufus finally finished spitting up the last of his stomach contents, my mother-in-law suggested that I try giving him 2% milk enriched with lactobacillus acidophilus.  Now I had already experimented with over three different types of baby formulas to no avail over the last couple of months and I was ready to try anything. 

So on the drive back home I stopped by the grocery store and picked up two containers of milk with L. acidophilus and you wouldn’t believe Rufus’ response!  No vomiting, no excess gas…..no problem!  So I’ll store all those containers of baby formula in the back of the pantry some where….I’ll stick with the 2% milk with lactobacillus acidophilus.

This is not the first time I’ve heard someone suggest using a probiotic and I frequently prescribe it for my patients who are taking antibiotics and have a history of mild diarrhea associated with antibiotic use.  I’ve even been told by another physician that eating yogurt enriched with active cultures (or “friendly” bacteria) can help restore the natural balance of normally occuring bacteria in the vagina…especially in women who are prone to developing frequent vaginal yeast infections. 

Lactobacillus acidophilus is referred to as “friendly” bacteria because it is a natural inhabitant of the gastrointestinal and vaginal tract and helps prevent other “bad” bacteria from proliferating and overgrowing which can lead to disease.  In the intestine, this “friendly” bacteria  produces lactase, an enzyme that normally breaks down the sugar (lactose) found in milk into smaller, more simple sugars that are easily absorbed by your intestine.  When you’re lactose intolerant, you do not produce the enzyme lactase and therefore you can’t digest lactose, leading to excessive amounts of milk sugar that remains in your intestine which results in bloating, gas and diarrhea. 

You may have even noticed the increase in TV commercials about new yogurts formulated with active cultures to prevent constipation and even improve your body’s natural immune response.  While I was in the grocery store looking for the new milk I passed by the yogurt section and saw at least three different kinds of new yogurts for bowel regularity, enhancement of your immune system and ease of digestion.  So I’m not alone in my quest for the best dairy product available for my family.

When I told my husband that we’d found a new milk that Rufus can tolerate, he was surprised when I told him it was the 2% milk with lactobacillus acidophilus.  When he was a baby he also had trouble tolerating commercial baby formulas and his mother started him on the same milk that Rufus now drinks 31 years later.  So we’ve come full circle. 

Hopefully, you’ll also benefit for the sage advice given to me by my mother-in-law.

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at 6:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.