15 Comments

“Menses and Menopause Trivia Game” 😂

Expand full comment
author

I am sort of thinking I should...

Expand full comment
Jun 19·edited Jun 19

10/10 would fund this kickstarter!

Expand full comment
author

Ha!

Expand full comment

Reading this as I take my second dose of Seed VS-01 vaginal microbiome tablet. You are of course correct not enough research or $ to do the research. Ten plus years and millions of dollars is a long time to wait for the double blind placebo studies. I have been taking Seed oral microbiome DS-01 to investigate if it had an effect on my vaginal microbiome. I will not share my complete results as they are not scientifically validated. However, I can say that pH testing and many swabs have shown a change in my vaginal microbiota. More interesting are the very real validated ,by two medical institutions, changes in my allergic IgE responses. Now, could it be something else that has changed, yes, of course. Is this an incidental finding or an anomaly ? I am continuing to track, with the guidance of two board certified allergists and we are hoping to fund and conduct pre clinical trials. As a person who has had life threatening legume (which unfortunately are amazing sources of fiber and estrogens )allergies my entire life, I’m excited about the possibilities of the gut immune microbiota connection. Time and money will provide proof. In the meantime I’m going to continue to try and add more fiber, use heavy weights, do some HIIT, limit alcohol and red meat, and read your advice. I’m also looking outside the box and the mainstream to see if there is a possibility that probiotics developed by real scientists with years of bench science could alter the gut immune response.

Expand full comment

Another excellent and informative review. Thank you for emphasising the importance of basic scientific research.

It's obvious that the secret to better health that the wellness influencers/supplement pushers/integrative health practitioners don't want you to know about is....a diet high in fibre and regular physical activity! They won't tell you that because they can't make money from it😉

Expand full comment
author

Exactly

Expand full comment

Greatly appreciate this article! I can't help but notice in the alternative health and supplements world, the gut is "in". I can guarantee (as you mentioned), marketers have this study in hand and are already redesigning their probiotic bottle labels.

Expand full comment
author

Yup

Expand full comment

So, like almost all supplement studies, the only people who benefited from the probiotic supplement were those who were deficient to begin with. In this case the "deficiency" is called dysbiosis with a lack of healthy microbes. Yet the headline will be "our special probiotic formula supports bone health". I hope more research is done, as the microbiome and microbiota seem to have much more influence on all body systems than we thought.

Expand full comment

Thanks for emphasising the importance of diet. I always think of each mouthful as a health gift opportunity bringing joy too.

Expand full comment

As always, I appreciate your logical, evidence-based analysis of the facts. I've frequently heard to take a probiotic after an antibiotic, so the tidbit that it may actually cause a delay in the native colony returning was particularly helpful to read (and share).

Expand full comment

Thank you for this article - I really appreciate your thoughts on this subject (as usual, I love all of your articles!).

Expand full comment

Seed VS-01 took out a full page ad this weekend in the New York Times. They claim L. crispatus dominates the “optimal vaginal microbiome” and it is “most essential to vaginal stability, resilience and protection.” What say you, Dr Gunter?

Expand full comment
author

I say they haven't published clinical trials showing it does anything of value. While we believe crispatus is important, it is simplistic and unlikely to claim one probiotic can do it all. Does it reduce the recurrence of bacterial vaginosis? Does it reduce the transmission of STIs? Until they publish that data they are like every other product, unproven with bold claims. I await to see their published data.

Expand full comment