Probiotics Thank you so much Janie for the info.  Can you recommend any that I should start my son off on? Might sound like a stupid question and I feel like I should know the answer, but what are probiotics and what are they used for? I know there must be different kinds for different symptoms.  Do you need to be GFCF to use them? Probiotics are the good bacteria that our digestive systems need to function correctly.  Just about anything can deplete our bodies' supply of these healthy bacteria (antibiotics, not eating right, having any kind of illness, etc.), so I really believe that everyone should be taking them.  They also help bring your natural intestinal flora into balance - probiotics can help with yeast and bacterial overgrowths, for example.  There are many different strains of these healthy bacteria - some are targeted at specific symptoms, but mostly you just want to be sure to take one that has a lot of different strains in it, at least 10-12. You don't have to be on any special diet to use probiotics, but they're not going to do a lot of good if you're eating something that doesn't agree with your body, especially if there are unrecognized food allergies/sensitivities or if there's a lot of sugar in your diet.  Overall, though, you're not going to hurt yourself (or your child!) taking a probiotic.  The worst that is likely to happen is a die-off period if you do have a yeast/bacterial overgrowth that the probiotic helps with. Klaire Labs has great probiotics, also Kirkman's and Custom. YOu can get Culturelle at the health food store, too.We use both Klaire's Ther-Biotic complete and Culturelle.  Theri-biotic has mutiple strains, so that's a good one to start with.  Just remember to start at a low dose.  You may see some yeast die-off, so if you start low and build it up, the reaction won't be so bad.
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