Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

2

Hi, I have decided to test probiotics. I bought four different kinds of probiotics. I took two caplets/glass vials of each and dissolved them in a small plastic dish with milk. I left them sit overnight.

Milk was supposed to go sour, but it did not. In all four cases.

What am I doing wrong if anything?
Can all four be dead?
Should I leave them out longer - for 24 hours maybe?

UPDATE on my experiment: two of them changed their consistency after 30 hours. One looks like really thick buttermilk and another one looks like thin buttermilk, but other two are just milk.

edited Sep 3 at 6:44

asked Sep 2 at 4:55

VB
11.9k●1●7●41

	Most probiotics come dead from the factory. Do some home-made goat kefir instead. It works, and it has trillions of different bacteria/yeasts, not a few billion (most of them dead) as in pills. – Eugenia Sep 2 at 5:38
	Thank you. I needed someone to tell me this. – VB Sep 2 at 6:17

Mscott · Answer 1 · 2012-09-02 08:03:53Z UTC

Back in microbiology lab we used something called a litmus milk test to help identify bacteria, pretty much the same thing but with a pH indicator. If the probiotics you were using had mostly lactobaccilus (aka "milk bacterium") they should turn the milk sour (other probiotics may not thought). But we were cautioned that this test is prone to false negatives.

It's common to keep the test running longer, several days. Of course this opens up the possibility of contamination or residual milk bacteria skewing the results. You can set up control milk with no probiotics to help with this problem.

I personally wouldn't feel good about the results you got, but it's far from a damning test in my opinion. I'd try letting them go for 24 hours, perhaps more. Do you have any pH strips? Those can help you measure the acidity without the subjective measurement of tasting it.

Jamie · Answer 2 · 2012-09-02 05:06:27Z UTC

1

Try putting some sucrose or glucose in their too maybe? And I have heard bacteria like warm & dark, so maybe put them in the hot water cupboard?

Also you could use water, which would cloud more obviously I think, rather than milk souring...

all just ideas, I am no expert on bacteria...

answered Sep 2 at 5:06

Jamie
5,907●1●3●17

Thanks! I am no expert either but I kind of think they are dead cultures. I will buy some sugar and add to them, just to see. I thought milk was supposed to have sugar in it (lactose). – VB Sep 2 at 5:48

1

^ It does, altho diff bacteria eat different kinds of sugar and such. But then again, youd think at least one of the strains in a pill would eat lactose, as lactose is used often in SIBO challenge tests. – Jamie Sep 2 at 6:27

Becca · Answer 3 · 2012-09-02 06:37:12Z UTC

1

Yeah most are dead or at lower srength than stated. Just go for the fermented foods and drinks. More useful in their natural state.

answered Sep 2 at 6:37

Becca
153●1●6

I can't do fermented foods... :( I get addicted and keep eating them like crazy. I am yet to try the drinks. – VB Sep 2 at 18:06

Red One · Answer 4 · 2012-09-04 00:24:40Z UTC

1

Which brands did you use? Which ones resulted in the change in consistency?

answered Sep 4 at 0:24

Red One
11●1

	I used 1. Primadophilus bifidus by Nature's Way 2. and 3. Eastern European brands - Slovenian and some other 4. Armenian. The best brand was Armenian made locally (and the cheapest). The worst results - Slovenian brand and Nature's Way. – VB Sep 4 at 6:24
	Thanks for responding. Looks like I won't be trying out Nature's Way Pb anytime soon. I'm going to give this a go on my probiotics – Red One Sep 9 at 22:54

Hack my probiotics experiment

4 Answers