Probiotics and fermentation

After writing about probiotics and their possible benefits to migraineurs in the recent edition of HeadWay, I got a perceptive email from Joanne in the USA.  The question was, if probiotics are coming from fermented foods such as yogurt, and fermented foods are a migraine trigger, shouldn’t we actually be trying to avoid probiotics?

The answer is – not exactly.  But first, a quick review.

The goal of probiotics is to get good bacteria into your system.  These are microorganisms that your body already has, or should have.  But often the supply in your body can become depleted.  For more, check out the article in last month’s HeadWay.  Also helpful is the book Probiotics in Food Safety and Human Health.

Now, probiotics are often, but not always, in fermented products.  The one you’re most familiar with is yogurt.  Yogurt is a "use with caution" product for migraineurs.  Dr. Seymour Diamond, in his well known Low-Tyramine Headache Diet, recommends no more than 1/2 a cup a day (read more about tyramine here).

There are probiotic products, such as milk or juice, that are not fermented.

Then there are supplements containing probiotics.  The one I recommended in the newsletter is Nature’s Way Primadophilus Optima.  These are vegetarian capsules, which contain other ingredients like magnesium and vitamin C.  The goal of Primadophilus Optima is to get the maximum amount of probiotics into your system without the issues caused by fermented products, or the high sugar content of many probiotic products.  The capsules also contain a much richer variety of probiotics than yogurt does.

Probiotics have exploded on the market over the past few years.  It’s going to take a while for the research to catch up.  The science is actually quite complex – it’s not just a matter of swallowing something that will immediately give results.  Many products are a complete waste of money.

However, so far it’s looking like good probiotics will benefit you over time – the overall health benefits could be huge, because of the impact a healthy digestive system has on your whole body.  This is especially true for migraineurs.

So yes, eat fermented products with caution.  And do consider trying a supplement that can give you the benefits of the probiotics without the baggage of sugars and migraine triggers.