Public health authorities are advising frequent hand washing and social distancing, especially in the absence of confirmatory testing for COVID-19. I don’t have any wisdom to add to these practices. Vaccines are in the works, as are anti-viral drugs—nothing to add here, either.
But let me reiterate what we do in the Wheat Belly and Undoctored lifestyles. In general, we do not treat diseases; we correct the factors that allow disease to emerge in the first place—a big difference.
Take rheumatoid arthritis, for example. In conventional healthcare, the joint pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis are suppressed with anti-inflammatory agents to reduce the white blood cell infiltration of the joint, tumor necrosis factor-blocking agents to block inflammation, opiates to block the sensation of pain. In the Wheat Belly/Undoctored approach, we eliminate the gliadin protein that initiated autoimmunity in the intestine, we correct vitamin D deficiency that permits autoimmune phenomena to emerge, correct omega-3 fatty acid deficiency that allows prostaglandin-mediated inflammation to occur, address disrupted bowel flora that helps reduce inflammation. We also reduce visceral fat that amplifies inflammation.
With the coronavirus, we are not going to “treat” the viral illness, but we can amplify or optimize your immune system response to provide increased protection to many viruses.
Those of you already following the Wheat Belly lifestyle have therefore removed wheat, grains, and sugars. This alone helps reduce frequency of viral illnesses because airway inflammation is reduced, thereby reducing susceptibility to airborne pathogens. Removing the amylopectin A of grains and removing other sugar sources spares you the drop in immune response that accompanies high blood sugars. Restoring vitamin D to achieve a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level substantially boosts your immune response, especially that mediated via T-lymphocytes that protect you from viral infections. (It may be too early, but can you discern the start of a latitudinal gradient in COVID-19 epidemiology on this distribution map? The development of a latitudinal gradient—less at the equator, more heading north and south away from the equator—can suggest a vitamin D deficiency connection. Of course, population density confounds any potential association, but stay tuned and we’ll see if latitude can trump population density.) Those of us who have been following the Wheat Belly/Undoctored lifestyles therefore rarely have any viral illnesses, even while everyone around us is coughing, sneezing, and suffering fevers and runny noses.
But there is more you can do to further boost the immune response. They are unconventional—but then, what isn’t unconventional in the Wheat Belly and Undoctored world?—but potentially huge boosters of the human immune response. These strategies include:
Reverse the metabolic endotoxemia of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO
People think of SIBO as a process confined to the small intestine. And that is true if we are looking only at bacteria. The proliferation of unhealthy bacterial species that characterizes SIBO is accompanied by death of bacteria that, in turn, release components of their cell walls such as lipopolysaccharide, LPS. Due to the increased intestinal permeability of SIBO, large quantities of LPS gain entry into the bloodstream, a process labeled “metabolic endotoxemia, “exporting” inflammation body-wide. This explains why SIBO can manifest as rosacea, psoriasis, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia, and neurodegenerative disorders of the brain, i.e., health conditions outside of the intestinal tract. But the metabolic endotoxemia of SIBO also increases susceptibility to viral illnesses, a phenomenon shared with autoimmune diseases and other inflammatory diseases. While there are many, many reasons to identify, then manage, your SIBO, the pandemic of coronavirus is yet another reason to take steps to eradicate this additional vulnerability. See the many Wheat Belly Blog posts about SIBO and metabolic endotoxemia. If you believe you have this condition, join our discussions in the Undoctored Inner Circle on how to manage it, even if your doctor has no idea what it is. We show you how to incorporate the AIRE device, what herbal antibiotic regimens have proven efficacy, how to stack the odds in favor of remission and prevention of recurrence.
Supplement with the probiotic Lactobacillus casei subspecies Shirota
Lactobacillus casei is a well-studied microorganism since its discovery in 1930. Since then, it has been commercialized as a probiotic drink called Yakult that, while originating in Japan, has been widely distributed in the U.S. since 2019.
This strain of L. casei has been shown to:
- Reduce wintertime respiratory illnesses by over 50% and abbreviate duration of infections by 50%.
- Increase responsiveness of pneumonia when added to conventional antibiotics.
- Reduce duration of fever by 50% during norovirus infection among elderly residents of a retirement center.
- Enhance immune system function including increased protection provided by natural killer cells that play an important role in cells that become infected with viruses and increasing anti-inflammatory IL-10. (Interestingly, our favorite strains of the bacteria, L. reuteri, also boost IL-10, the interleukin responsible for many of this species’/strains’ benefits.)
These are potent effects. This strain of L. casei is commercially available in the U.S. as the Yakult brand of probiotic beverage, available through selected retailers, only having been introduced on a national basis in this country since 2019. (Here is a store locator.) As with most commercially-prepared beverages, the manufacturer of Yakult does stupid things like use non-fat dairy and add sugar and maltodextrin, so I would not recommend consuming Yakult off the shelf. I would instead suggest getting hold of some of the product, then making yogurt (or other fermented food) yourself. And we, of course, do not subscribe to typical yogurt-making rules and instead 1) ferment for extended periods of 24 or more hours and 2) ferment in the presence of prebiotic fibers to increase bacterial counts and richness of the end-product. Each 80 ml (2.7 ounce) bottle (5 servings) contains 6.5 billion CFUs of L. casei; a tablespoon or so provides more than enough to get you started. Ideal fermenting temperature is in the 95-109 degrees F range.
Reverse age-related thymic involution
Lactobacillus reuteri reverses age-related atrophy of the thymus in experimental models. The thymus (sitting just in front of the heart in the anterior mediastinum) is the seat of much of the immune response, especially that involving T-lymphocytes. Starting at age 18, the thymus begins to atrophy such that, by age 70, it is a tiny fragment of its former self, a phenomenon accompanied by increased susceptibility to infections like flu, pneumococcal pneumonia, and sepsis. Even though this phenomenon has not yet been formally corroborated in humans, nearly every other observation made in mice with L. reuteri (or exogenous oxytocin) has held true in humans in formal clinical trials: preservation of bone density, accelerated healing, increased oxytocin, reduction of appetite, weight loss, etc. It is therefore likely that reversal of thymic involution and thereby restoration of youthful immune potential occurs, also. The collection of benefits of consuming the super-duper high amplified bacterial counts of L. reuteri add up to a substantial age-reversing effect, all in the form of a thick, rich, and delicious “yogurt.”
I also predict that, as with all the strategies in the Wheat Belly and Undoctored programs, a synergy among combined efforts will emerge, the effect I call the “2 + 2 = 11” effect: the total will be greater than the sum of the parts.
As previous poster requested, some of us are slow learners :) so you could you please post
the exact instructions for making the Yakult yogurt, and could the half&half be substituted with full fat coconut milk? Thank you!
Cindy wrote: «…could you please post the exact instructions for making the Yakult yogurt…»
It’s the same as for the L.reuteri yogurt, except it omits the Biogaia® Gastrus® (or saved prior yogurt/whey) starter, and uses Yakult® instead (at 1 tbsp./qt.) Here are a bunch of articles about the L.r. yogurt details on the Undoctored Blog.
I won’t attempt to summarize here, because you’ve added a complication…
re: «…could the half&half be substituted with full fat coconut milk?»
The program has an alternative L.r. recipe using that, but it’s tricky (and I’ve not tried it myself), and I’m not sure the recipe on the Undoctored subscription site has been given wider publication. Coconut milk (straight CM with nothing added) has insufficient carbohydrate substrate to feed the bacteria, so other elements have to be added in the recipe.
I’m not aware that anyone has tried that recipe with L.casei.S, and some further adjustments might be needed.
But before we even go there, we need to explore why the H&H is being avoided. Avoidance may well be needed in some cases, but is often unnecessary for this food.
If lactose is the concern, it’s gone in a 36-hour ferment. It’s a favored chow of these bacteria.
If whey is the concern, it’s easy to separate off in batches started with straight Yakult.
If casein beta A1 is the concern, use A2 bovine, or any sheep or goat milk (including reconstituted from powder {full fat}). Even for generic North American dairy, the A1 can be further denatured by re-pasteurization and/or fermenting for more than 36 hours.
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Goat Milk? Sheep Milk? I can get those and I like those. So I could substitute Goat Milk or Sheep Milk for the Half & Half?
Jennie wrote: «Goat Milk? Sheep Milk? I can get those and I like those. So I could substitute Goat Milk or Sheep Milk for the Half & Half?»
I have made the reuteri yogurt using Mt.Capra powdered WHOLE (not the non-fat) goat milk, reconstituted to about H&H density. I’ve also made it using milk from our own goats back when they were in milk (pasteurized, of course).
I would expect goat/sheep to work as well for the L.casei.Shirota yogurt. When buying a non-dairy milk, esp. powdered, make sure they have added nothing to it.
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Thank You! This is great news for me. I was able to get Meyerburg but I’ll look into your brand – I did check their site – it doesn’t say – what is the ratio to create “half & half” consistency. How did you formulate the Half & Half consistency? THANK YOU!
JENNIE wrote: « I was able to get Meyerburg but I’ll look into your brand…»
Meyenberg? That brand, alas, is why I said “make sure they have added nothing to it”. Based on label views on Amazon, that product is likely to at least contain troubling folic acid and needless vitamin D. About 40% of the population needs to avoid that fake folate, and I have no idea what it and/or the D₃ might do to the ferment.
re: «How did you formulate the Half & Half consistency?»
It’s been some time, but what I think I did, roughly, was to figure out how many scoops would make the volume of milk to be used, and then add half again as many scoops. Keep in mind that you can get a pretty decent yogurt from milk. Our goats didn’t make cream, and the straight pasteurized goat milk batches I made, from fresh and from frozen, were fine.
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One final comment on the 2nd batch of L. Casei Shirota yogurt. It doesn’t have that Yakult taste of the first batch. This 2nd batch made from the “muffin” of the 1st batch is a little tart and I prefer its flavor to the 1st batch.
OK please forgive me. Some of you have been kind enough to respond but I’m a late learner. I have the Luvele Yogurt Maker. I’m supposed to get a bottle of the Yakult.
Then I add 1 Tablespoon of the Yakult to the 32 ounces of Organic Half & Half.
Then I add the Organic Unmodified Potato Starch.
Then I proceed to pour it into the Yogurt Maker and set it for 36 hours on the lower setting just as I would for L-Reuteri?
Please anyone with the much appreciated patience and compassion – please tell me if this is all correct or if I’m missing something.
THANK YOU to anyone and everyone that responds. STAY SAFE ALL!
Patty wrote: «I have the Luvele Yogurt Maker.»
What temp does it run at, and if you can adjust it, can you set it to 100°F?
re: «I’m supposed to get a bottle of the Yakult.»
While you’re waiting, as needed, run a test dummy batch with water to verify temperature range held. Use tap water pre-warmed to 100°F.
re: «Then I add 1 Tablespoon of the Yakult to the 32 ounces of Organic Half & Half.»
I would use 2 tbsp. for 32 oz. H&H, and I would add it as the last step, and after pre-warming the H&H+PS to 100.
re: «Then I add the Organic Unmodified Potato Starch.»
I don’t use PS anymore, as I find it tends to clump and settle. I prefer inulin, but you may not have any on hand, so use the PS.
re: «Then I proceed to pour it into the Yogurt Maker and set it for 36 hours on the lower setting just as I would for L-Reuteri?»
If you’ve already been making L.r. yogurt with the same setup, it’s the same process, just substituting L.casei.S. for L.r..
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THANK YOU! Yes. 100 Degrees. It’s the Yogurt Maker Dr. Davis recommended. Your reply was exactly what I needed to feel confident giving this a try. I’ll do what you said and I might be able to get the Inulin locally! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Blessings, Health and Harmony to You and Your Family!
Bob et al, I made a 2nd batch of L. Casei Shirota using a thawed “muffin” from the 1st batch as starter. This time I did use 2 Tbs. of inulin in my usual 1 quart of organic H&H. Let it go for 31 hours and hoped that this 2nd batch using ferment from the 1st batch would be thicker with no whey separated out. Nope. Looks like the first batch (see my posts above on March 22). I’ll have to put it in a strainer again. So if you are hoping it will ferment like the Gastrus, I don’t think this will be the case.
Richard, thanks for the alert. I probably won’t be making batch#2 for another 10 days or so.
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I have been making the L Reuteri for months now, so I figured I’d try the Yakult yogurt over the weekend. I used 1 tbsp of inulin per pint of half and half, so a total of 5 tbsp since I was using 2.5 quarts of half and half. I only added 2 tbsp of Yakult, which may not have been enought in hindsight.
I kept it at 100 deg F in my Sous Vide machine and I checked it after 24 hours. I had a total of 4 containers and 3 of the 4 did not look right. Basically, they had dry curds at the top with yellow liquid at the bottom. The 4th container looked fine, but still very liquidy. I decided to let them go for another 12 hours. Unfortunately, the 3 containers still looked the same. I decided to throw them out since they seemed separated. Not sure what happened there. The good news is that the 4th container now looked like yogurt! I tried it and it tasted OK. Not as good as the L Reuteri, but I suppose I’m spoiled. I decided to make another batch of the Yakult since I’m hoping that it will improve over batches like the L Reuteri. It will be done Tuesday morning.
Has anyone made the Yakult/L Casei Shirota yogurt successfully? Any ideas on what I may have done correctly and/or incorrectly?
Terrence Brill wrote: «I have been making the L Reuteri for months now, so I figured I’d try the Yakult yogurt over the weekend. I used 1 tbsp of inulin per pint of half and half, so a total of 5 tbsp since I was using 2.5 quarts of half and half. I only added 2 tbsp of Yakult, which may not have been enought in hindsight.»
That’s the amount of inulin I use, and I made my first batch of L.casei Shirota yogurt this weekend. I used my normal process of repasteurizing the H&H+inulin, with the whisk, all in the final pot, to ensure sterilization, re-cooled to 105°F before adding your same ratio of Yakult®, all fermented at 101°F±1. (This isn’t program canon — it’s just what I do.)
re: «I kept it at 100 deg F in my Sous Vide machine and I checked it after 24 hours. I had a total of 4 containers and 3 of the 4 did not look right. Basically, they had dry curds at the top with yellow liquid at the bottom. The 4th container looked fine, but still very liquidy. I decided to let them go for another 12 hours.»
Due to the relatively low starting CFUs, I was expecting my initial batch of LCS yogurt to be stratified, with a curdy layer, and excess whey, and that’s what I got. I am further expecting that subsequent batches, seeded with saved whey, if not with actual yogurt, will differ, as is the case for the LR yogurt.
I checked it at 12 hours, and did notice that the top layer was firm, and had fissures (which I never see in LR yogurt). I pulled a quart at 36 hours, and the rest at 48 hours. The 48 was a bit thicker, but both were firm on top, on a layer of easily-separate whey, containing easily strained off curds.
The product has a milder taste vs. the LR yogurt, and is now another ingredient added to my post-blending smoothie. No additional super powers noted yet, but then it’s only day 2.☺
The next batch will be more interesting. If using saved whey starter (cubed, frozen, bagged, slowly thawed) doesn’t result in the same uniformity I get with LR yogurt, I’ll try making a dedicated starter batch. For anyone not doing saved dedicated starter, I’d suggest saving a bit of whatever was successful from the initial batch to seed the next.
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Great article but it is so tragic and sad that so many lives could be saved, not only regarding the current virus but all conditions, if it were not for conventional medicine being against natural prevention strategies and finding the causes, and only for drugs to combat symptoms.
A general question about milk and yoghurt – considering that pasteurised milk is a legislative requirement and that heating milk in this way alters it so that it is unhealthy, can I use the milk I buy to make this healthy yoghurt, i.e. organic, biodynamic, non-homogenised “grass-fed all year round, but for balance some hay and a few handfuls of grains are fed on the paddocks to keep systems healthy as they cannot keep healthy only on green pasture”? The company says they pasteurise very gently so that harmful bacteria is destroyed without destroying the goodness in the products, i.e. 72.5 degC (162.5 degF) for 15 secs and then cool it down very quickly.
I also buy their yoghurt, which they say they pasteurise at 72 degC (161.6 degF) for 20 secs and then for the yoghurt, 80 degC (176 degF) for 6 mins. Am I also eating unhealthy yoghurt due to it being pasteurised first?
I have never made yoghurt before but would like to do so – it is just that I would like to use a thermos or similar but I guess this would not work, especially for 24 hour yoghurt. Leaving the oven light on or switching it on slightly every so often are things I have read about doing for this method. (I worry about having another electric appliance for safety reasons, not to mention that we went from having one of the least expensive to now having just about the most expensive electricity in the world where I am, thanks to subsidised renewables distorting the market and reducing base-load coal and gas power.)
(There is a brand of cold-pressed raw milk which can legally be sold because of a patented system but it is extremely expensive as milk, let alone using it for yoghurt, not organic as yet, due to a small amount of grains being fed during milking, and not in my closest supermarket.)
What I should have made clearer is that when I mentioned electrical appliances and safety, what I meant is having a yoghurt maker operating for 24 hours and so it being unattended at night. (Yes, I know there are plenty of other appliances operating at night but I am just looking to avoid any which can be avoided.)
Maria wrote: «…considering that pasteurised milk is a legislative requirement and that heating milk in this way alters it so that it is unhealthy…»
Raw milk is available in some places, and is certainly an option for people owning dairy animals. However, it must never be used, raw, for the Gastrus® or Yakult® fermented food recipes here. We want only the specific bacteria to multiply, and with a near-body-temp ferment, over 36 hours or more, any stray natural microbes are a serious threat.
Raw milk must be pasteurized for this application (and we did, when we used our own goat milk). Heck, I repasteurize the store-bought milk for this application, although that’s optional on the official recipe.
Keep in mind that the goal here is not the creation of some ideal dairy product, but rather just having a vehicle that provides useful CFUs of microbes with a solid evidence base for health benefits, and not in junk food form. If the purveyors of these species and strains had a clue, we could just consume their products. But they don’t, so we proliferate our own.
These fermented not-really-yogurt products can be made on various substrates, such as coconut milk, but bovine dairy works for most people. The priorities for the substrate include:
• just milk and/or cream
• no preservatives
• no emulsifiers (esp. polysorbate or carrageenan)
• A2 if you are reactive to the more common casein beta A1
• organic for extra credit
UHT is fine. Cold-pressed I’d need to know more about.
re: «I have never made yoghurt before but would like to do so – it is just that I would like to use a thermos or similar but I guess this would not work,»
You need a setup that can hold 95-105°F for 36 hours. Here’s what I use, but most people are using either a sous vide or an appliance with a customizable “yogurt” cycle (both temp & time, as standard yogurt cycles on not-so-smart pots tend to be too hot and too short).
Whatever system you buy or build, be sure to run a test cycle with plain water and a thermometer, to make sure it regulates temp, and over the extended time needed.
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I’m sorry. Maybe I’m in panic mode. Can anyone please help me to see – if I get the product – What do I do exactly? Use only 1 Tablespoon of the product and add it to the 32 ounces of Half & Half and follow the directions for L-Reuteri? I’m sorry – I need someone to spell it out – I’m feeling overwhelmed – my brother-in-laws friend died last week from the virus and his wife is still in the hospital with it. Please help me, anyone? THANK YOU!
Jennie wrote: «Use only 1 Tablespoon of the product and add it to the 32 ounces of Half & Half and follow the directions for L-Reuteri?»
That’s what I’m doing. 1 tbsp. Yakult® per quart, replacing the saved starter I normally use. My first batch won’t be done until Saturday night, so I don’t have any further experience to share.
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Thank You. But don’t currently have a starter. Is it OK to proceed without a starter? Or should I use a 1/2 Cup of a plain yogurt Starter? THANK YOU!
Jennie wrote: «But don’t currently have a starter.»
Depending on which of the exploratory fermented dairy recipes you are interested in, you must (for the moment) initially seed it with one of:
• Biogaia® Gastrus® tablets, or
• Yakult® probiotic beverage
Once the first batch has been made successfully, you can save off some as starter for subsequent batches.
re: «Is it OK to proceed without a starter?»
Nope. That will just result in spoiled milk — if you’re lucky. We are just using the dairy base as a growth medium for specific species and strains of Lactobacillus, and the milk, H&H or cream won’t contain any.
re: «Or should I use a 1/2 Cup of a plain yogurt Starter?»
Again no. That will just make more of that yogurt — if you’re lucky. At our temp and time, you could get a disaster instead (or even just more spoiled milk, as the bacteria in many retail yogurts are dead by the time you buy them).
These fermented foods are a challenge at present. They have to be home made, and current events are making it even harder, particularly for fermenting neophytes, to obtain the equipment, dairy, prebiotic and initial cultures.
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Can’t we just purchase the Yakult and drink that, rather than making it?
Cindy wrote: «Can’t we just purchase the Yakult and drink that, rather than making it?»
Subject to net carb limits, that’s a possibility, but you’d need to do it in small amounts, so the CFUs will be lower, and possibly ineffective. A whole serving (the whole 80mL jug) is 12 grams net carb, almost all simple sugars.
Apart from the Lactobacillus Casei Shirota, this is a junk food. Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Skim milk Powder, Glucose, Natural Flavors, Lactobacillus Casei Shirota
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Bob, I used 1 bottle of Yakult with 1 quart of Organic Valley (full fat) H&H. I’ve made “yogurt” with BioGaia’s Osfortis®️ and each capsule is 5 billion CFU, so I figured that the entire bottle of Yakult would be okay. Yakult contains a lot of sugar so I did not add any inulin. That may have been a mistake on my part. After 31 hours I put the yogurt in the refrigerator overnight and the next day strained it because it was not as thick as I wanted (like the Gastrus and Osfortis batches).
Dr. Davis’ comment – “Each 80 ml (2.7 ounce) bottle (5 servings) contains 6.5 billion CFUs of L. casei;” – is not clear. Each bottle is one serving. There are 5 small bottles in one pack (or 10 packs in a case).
Since Yakult contains a lot of sugar, I did not add inulin (as I normally do). That may have been a bad choice in my first attempt at Yakult yogurt.
I’ll save a “muffin” of this Yakult yogurt as a starter puck for a future batch because I am interested in the experiment. As you may have noticed, Organic Valley H&H is not readily available in the stores now because of the COVID-19. However, I prefer the tart taste of the Gastrus and/or Osfortis “yogurt” much more than this first batch of Yakult.
Richard (typed and then pasted in this comment section)
Richard wrote: «I’m having a difficult time of replying to you because this blog’s software keeps deleting my comment before I can press “Share My Comment!”!»
I’d recommend doing what I do, which is to compose off-line in a text or HTML editor. Aside from whatever the instant problem is, there are numerous reasons why comments (on any site) can get blown out the server fan — network congestion, login time-out while composing, WordPress in a bad mood, etc. You might also try a different browser.
re: «It really should be adjusted so that it does not do that.»
Alas, I’m just a content person, and not only don’t control that, I don’t even have an account that presents the blog exactly as subscribers see it. However, since this particular thread is public, I may run some trials.
Update: I tried a slow Comment as an ordinary unsubscribed user, and it worked.
re: «I used 1 bottle of Yakult with 1 quart of Organic Valley (full fat) H&H. … I did not add any inulin.»
Roger that on the math, but that product is basically sugar water, plus a pinch of milk protein and some flavorant. A quart of H&H may be insufficient dilution. When I make my first batch, I plan to use 1 tbsp., and 2 tbsp. inulin, but my usual 48 hours. I’m also expecting the batch to have some 1st-batch shortcomings, but that some saved off from it will make great starter for subsequents.
re: «As you may have noticed, Organic Valley H&H is not readily available in the stores now because of the COVID-19.»
We have enough trouble finding decent H&H that we stock up a bit when scored, and have ample for the moment. Our regional near-organic dairy seems to be operating as usual, and their farm store gets little enough traffic that doing social-sep on customers probably isn’t even needed most of the day.
re: «Each bottle is one serving. There are 5 small bottles in one pack (or 10 packs in a case).»
I plan to cube and freeze all but the first tbsp., for possible use as starter, but I won’t be surprised if I end up tossing the excess, and relying on saved yogurt instead.
re: «I prefer the tart taste of the Gastrus and/or Osfortis “yogurt” much more than this first batch of Yakult.»
Thanks for the report. I plan to keep making Gastrus®-based batches, and won’t be surprised if where we end up is mixing them post-ferment.
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Bob, I’m having a difficult time of replying to you because this blog’s software keeps deleting my comment before I can press “Share My Comment!”! It really should be adjusted so that it does not do that.
I just made a batch of the Yakult yogurt using the L. Reuteri method. Let it go for about 31 hours at 102°F using 1 quart of Organic Valley half and half. It isn’t quite as thick as BioGaia or Osfortis, so I’ve got it in a Donvier strainer. There were lots of fissures of the top of the yogurt (unlike anything I’ve seen before). The taste is okay, but I won’t be making it again.
Richard, how much Yakult® as starter in how much H&H?
How much of what was used for prebiotic buffer (e.g. inulin)?
I’m also wondering if we’ll see differences between initial batches (from retail used as starter), and generational batches (from saved yogurt), as we do with Gastrus®.
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Bad news, sorry: IASLC: Editorial: Coronaviruses: Facts, Myths and Hypotheses.
Bad news regarding what?
Dr. Davis said use same recipe as L. Reuteri yogurt.
do you mean use same recipe as in inulin, time, temp as L.Reuteri but keep cultures separte. Or ok to combine both cultures while using same L.Reuteri recipe? Thank-you!
Lynn Evans
Lynn Evans wrote: «do you mean use same recipe as in inulin, time, temp as L.Reuteri but keep cultures separte. Or ok to combine both cultures while using same L.Reuteri recipe?»
Make separately, mix later if desired.
These are, for the moment, distinct fermented foods, like cheese and kimchi, and not yet known to be suitable for a blended starter. I managed to score some Yakult® today via curbside pre-order at a regional grocery, and plan to start my first batch tonight, using the same recipe I use for L.reuteri not-really-a-yogurt (without the L.r. starter, of course).
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I already make the yogurt with the lactobacillus reuteri; is it possible to add the lactobacillus casei to the same batch of yogurt, or do we need to make 2 separate batched each with the different strain?
Chris Masterjohn is recommending no vitamin D nor vitamin A supplementation during this Corona virus pandemic. He said new research is showing that those two supplements increase the number of Ace 2 docking site on cell membranes. Those docking sites allow the virus to gain entry into our cells and that increases the chances of contracting Covid-19.
Maybe hold off on taking vitamins A and D until things settle down.
Jay wrote: «…those two supplements increase the number of Ace 2 docking site on cell membranes. Those docking sites allow the virus to gain entry into our cells and that increases the chances of contracting Covid-19.»
Vitamin A is not program core here, so I won’t address that. The program advice for Vitamin D remains unchanged to date.
Although Dr. Davis hasn’t addressed the ACE2/ARB question specifically, Drs. Attia and Kendrick have lately discussed it, and come down clearly on the fence. The problem (paradox) apparently is that people on blockers appear to be at higher risk of infection from COVID-19.
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Hi,
Can L. casei be fermented with L Reuteri for super boosted yogurt or should it be separate yogurt?
Dan
Dan wrote: «Can L. casei be fermented with L Reuteri for super boosted yogurt or should it be separate yogurt?»
I doubt we know how the various strains would compete, and it looks like the fermentation period for casei is sometimes 6-7 days, or over 4× longer than for reuteri, suggesting that the growth rates are different. Also the optimal substrate for casei may ultimately be different. Temp seems about the same, 97-99°F peak reproduction.
If you make separately, mixing after making, for consumption, is likely fine.
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6 days? Yikes!
Dan wrote: «6 days? Yikes!»
That was just something that turned up in search. My presumption is that Dr. Davis’ suggestion to use the normal l.reuteri process suffices to both amplify the CFUs per portion, and dilute the incompetent other ingredients in the Yakult®.
Separately, I fixed your link to that IASLC editorial. The URL had a space character in it (at source), which to this day is a mistake in computer file names/paths/URLs, and it was further mangled into a 404 by the WordPress filters, which parsed it at the “.” in “.pdf”.
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I’m wondering if there’s anywhere to order the yogurt you are talking about? I have no idea or dont have equipment to make the yogurt and also wondering if we can drink the Yakult in portions so we dont get all the sugar at once?thank you,
Mary Louise wrote: «I’m wondering if there’s anywhere to order the yogurt you are talking about?»
Not that we know of — this is the same problem as with the Biogaia® strains of L.reuteri (which at least are available as concentrated probiotics instead of sugar water).
re: «…also wondering if we can drink the Yakult in portions so we dont get all the sugar at once?»
As I speculated in an earlier reply, reducing portion size to a reasonable net carb target is easily done, but might also reduce the CFUs to sub-clinical levels.
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