Question on Saccharomyces boulardii lyo

[wonderwoman]

It has been suggested that I take Florastor ( Saccharomyces boulardii lyo ) Per Wikipedia it is classified as a probiotic and has been shown to maintain and restore the natural flora in the large and small intestine;

1 Medical uses
1.1 Acute diarrhea
1.2 Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection
1.3 Irritable bowel syndrome
1.4 Inflammatory bowel disease
1.5 Travelers' diarrhea
1.6 Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
1.7 HIV/AIDS-associated diarrhea
2 Mechanisms of action
2.1 Antitoxin effects
2.2 Antimicrobial effects
2.3 Trophic effects on enterocytes
2.4 Anti-inflammatory effects
2.5 Increased levels of disaccharidases
2.6 Increased immune response

Because of the word yeast, I was concerned about taking it. I did an archive search here on Saccharomyces and found discussion on Saccharomyces boulardii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The S. cerevisiae is a yeast used in baking and brewing while the S. boulardii is a probiotic. I take it that anyone sensitive to yeast should avoid the the S. cerevisiae but the S. boulardii would be OK. Is that correct?

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_cerevisiae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_boulardii

see May 1, 2007 by Joanna
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... charomyces

[tex]

Charlotte,

I believe that's basically correct. Remember, though, that it will put your immune system on alert, (2.6 Increased immune response), but that's probably true of virtually all probiotics. I suspect that may be why some of us have problems with probiotics - our immune system is already active, (because of the MC), and an additional "stimulus" can either have the effect of distracting the immune system, (and thereby attenuating the MC reaction), or triggering a new reaction, against the probiotic.

You should be able to tell whether it is helping or hindering, within a few days. Usually, an adverse reaction will be very prompt, (within a few hours after taking the first dose), but I suppose that reaction times may vary, for some of us.

Tex