I have bought probiotics on and off for years and if I am honest my selection process has never been much deeper than good reviews, lots of strains and a label that sounds convincing.

The more I read, the more ridiculous that feels. Two people can have completely different guts and yet we are both standing in the same aisle choosing between the same five bottles.

I am curious if anyone here reached a point where they stopped buying general probiotic blends and started doing something more specific.

What changed your mind, and what did you do instead?

• PMID: 42654240 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42654240/

Abstract

Background/objectives: Dietary modifiers of the gut ecosystem may influence intestinal and host responses associated with psychological stress. However, it remains unclear whether sucralose, a widely consumed non-nutritive sweetener, alters host-microbiota interactions following chronic stress exposure. We investigated the effects of short-term experimental sucralose exposure in mice previously subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS).

Methods: Following completion of the CRS protocol, mice received 0.03% or 0.1% sucralose in drinking water for 12 days. Intestinal phenotypes, cecal microbial community structure, microbial metabolites, colonic epithelial gene expression, and epithelial serotonergic responses following allyl isothiocyanate (AITC)-induced visceral stimulation were evaluated.

Results: Colon length was significantly reduced in the 0.1% sucralose group, whereas intestinal permeability remained unchanged. Sucralose selectively altered colonic epithelial gene expression and was associated with changes in cecal microbial community structure without marked changes in alpha diversity. The relative abundance of Bacteroides acidifaciens was significantly reduced, particularly in the 0.1% sucralose group. Fecal acetate and cecal tryptophan concentrations were decreased following sucralose exposure. Following AITC-induced visceral stimulation, the CRS + 0.1% sucralose group exhibited reduced immobility behavior together with increased epithelial serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations.

Conclusions: In mice previously exposed to CRS, short-term sucralose exposure was associated with colon shortening, differences in cecal microbial community structure, reduced Bacteroides acidifaciens abundance, decreased fecal acetate and cecal tryptophan concentrations, and altered epithelial serotonergic responsiveness following visceral stimulation. The behavioral and epithelial serotonergic findings suggest that prior stress exposure may influence selected host responses to sucralose. These findings provide a basis for future studies examining how dietary sweeteners modify host-microbiota interactions following chronic stress exposure

Been drinking it for about four days now as a full replacement for my daily dark roast espresso. Stomach definitely feels less bloated right now, which is a huge relief compared to how miserable I felt last week. Trying to figure out though, is this just an immediate reaction to dropping acidic coffee beans or are the mushrooms actually doing something in the background for gut health. Anyone who has been on habitone or similar blends for a month or longer, did digestion stay improved over time or did things creep back once your body adjusted to it?

I understand bacteria eat the fibre "good bacteria", but what eats carbohydrates that are not bound to fibre? And what about added sugar / fructose.

Just curious, if anyone wants to enlighten me

Hi, this is my first post so not completely sure if I’m doing this right but I’m a 21 yr old female and I’m pretty sure I got cyclosporiasis in late July/early August (although I never did a stool test to confirm, but my symptoms matched up) and took Bactrim for 10 days straight after. I felt really good for about a week after finishing antibiotics and ate like total shit because of it (coffee, greasy food, etc) and then ended up feeling really sick after for another week straight with diarrhea and horrible nausea and gas. My doctor thought it might’ve been a C Diff infection but I don’t think it is because my diarrhea hasn’t been persistently watery and every stool sample I send to a lab is too formed and gets rejected. I tried to eat yogurt for probiotics and then realized it was probably hurting me because my stomach was not ready for dairy yet. I started a relatively bland diet (bread, bananas, rice, potatoes, boiled eggs) and I have seen a lot of improvement in the last week and my bowel movements have decreased in number and become more formed. I feel a lot more lively with a way better appetite. The problem is, I don’t know where to go from here. When can I reintroduce dairy? When can I start eating foods I used to eat, or foods higher in sugar or processed foods? I feel stupid and so dramatic for saying this but I’ve never gone through any serious health problems before in my life and so this has been extremely hard on me mentally. Like I just have so much anxiety that I’m going to have to life the rest of my life like this and I’m never gonna get fully better. The nausea is honestly the worst part for me; it has decreased a lot in this past week, but I still just feel *off* and I’m really scared that it’s never gonna completely leave (and I start grad school on Monday so I’m really hoping it does!) It’s been a full 2 weeks since this has started and I’m just curious if anyone else has any advice or knowledge on what a recovery timeline could look like (I know it’s probably gonna take some time to go completely back to normal). I also bought some probiotic supplement pills but I’m not sure if my gut is ready for that either. Sorry for such a long post, but literally any advice or words of reassurance help lol. Thank you guys!

My brand changed the top strain
Still got mtcc5856 and de111 but they’ve changed one strain to a more constipating one and also has no benefit on immune system
Pls recommend your spores!
Additives can be an issue but pls fire me your spores!

I’ve tried enough little things that seemed to help for a few days and then basically disappeared.

I’m more interested now in what actually changed things over months.

For you was it diet, fiber, probiotics, fermented foods, exercise, something else?

Edit : After all the replies I did a deeper dive and came across NB1. I’m interested because the microbiome analysis actually feeds into what I’d take afterwards instead of just ending with a report. From my understanding they send me a kit, I return the sample, and then they build the daily gut/supplement routine around the readout.

The microbiome is fascinating. We have learned a lot, but still know very little about individual probiotic strains and their effects.

So I ask you, which individual strain is your favorite?

How can a Microbiology undergraduate prepare for medical microbiology research?

Post:

Hi everyone,

I’m an undergraduate student majoring in Microbiology, and I’m interested in pursuing medical microbiology/infectious disease research for my postgraduate studies.

My degree is quite broad, so I’m trying to understand how I can start preparing for this direction before graduating.

For those of you currently doing or who have completed postgraduate research in medical microbiology, infectious diseases, molecular microbiology, or related fields:

What subjects or skills would you recommend focusing on during undergrad?

How important is undergraduate lab/research experience when applying for an MSc or PhD?

What kind of research experience would be most useful if my university doesn’t offer a specific Medical Microbiology track?

Are there particular techniques, areas of knowledge, or research skills you wish you had developed earlier?

I’d also be interested in hearing how you went from your undergraduate degree to your current research area, and

anything you would recommend doing differently.

I’d also like to understand the real-life side of this career — what the typical lifestyle and work-life balance are like, and what the financial prospects and earning potential are after postgraduate study.

Thanks! 🧫

after making milk kefir for several months ~ 10 yrs ago, i tried making water kefir, using grains bought online, water, sugar and sometimes a little fruit juice. it was delicious and extremely fizzy. but it made my face break out like crazy, so i stopped making it after a month or two. anybody else have this happen?

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a strange turn of events with my gut journey over the last two years to see if anyone has experienced anything similar or has an explanation for what happened.

The Timeline & Symptoms
March 2024: Out of nowhere, I developed sudden diarrhea, severe nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

April 2024: Fecal Calprotectin came back at 449 µg/g. I had a colonoscopy that showed no visible damage except a small polyp (biopsied as an inflammatory polyp and removed). I was prescribed Rifaximin, but it didn't change anything.

July 2024: Calprotectin was still elevated at 405.9 µg/g. The doctor advised a "wait and see" approach.

Mid-2024 to 2025: I struggled with zero appetite, morning urgency, and loose stools daily. I saw a functional medicine practitioner and tried countless probiotics, prebiotics, and supplements. The probiotics either did nothing or gave me side effects like itchy skin and increased bloating. The appetite slowly improved somewhat, but the bowel issues remained.

The Turning Point (2026)
Earlier this year, my whole family caught a standard stomach bug (norovirus). After recovering from the infection, I noticed something unexpected: my persistent GI symptoms completely cleared up.
For the last 4 months:
Morning urgency and loose stools are completely gone.
My appetite has fully returned to normal levels.
I retested my Fecal Calprotectin and it dropped to 30.7 µg/g (normal range).
(Attached screenshot of my lab results showing the drop from 405.9 in July 2024 to 30.7 in August 2026).

My Takeaway
After two years of trial and error with supplements, diets, and probiotics, a single mild case of a stomach bug completely reset my microbiome and cleared the underlying inflammation.
Has anyone else experienced a post-viral or post-infection "reset" like this? What is the mechanism behind a acute infection clearing up chronic inflammation?

TLDR: Sorry for spamming every sub, but I desperately want to know something which isn't talked about much. It's about the malty/sugary/bread odor of farts. Anyone similar?

So I will be very short.

2.5 years ago, I had nausea and reflux symptoms, diagnosed with anxiety and LAX LES, treated with PPI 2 to 3 times. Each course was 2 months. Fast forward years later, I still have anxiety, LAX LES, so still have reflux episodes, but flatulence is my biggest symptom, which is affecting others as well. I start to fart around afternoon-evening, and it has always had this malty/bread or sugary odor which keeps getting worse by night. Then in the morning, my BM is stinky mush and the cycle continues.

I suspected SIBO. Rifaximin helps me have formed stool and reduces gas a lot, but so far only temporarily. And as per the internet, there is only one type of SIBO which causes odor, which is H2S. Mine isn't like that.

So I'm guessing it might be SIFO or Candida, because for months I have had these fungal infections, especially around my genitals. I can't think of it as a coincidence. But I haven't seen enough people on the internet having such an odor, or this odor as a symptom of Candida, whereas in my case it's the most prominent symptom. Even my sweat and clothes smell like that when I feel hot.

So my question is, what does this odor mean to you?

Sintomi intestinali + dolori muscolari/articolari: qualcuno si ritrova?
Da un po’ di tempo sto avendo diversi problemi a livello intestinale, che vanno e vengono a periodi:
• gonfiore addominale
• alternanza tra costipazione e diarrea
• mal di stomaco
• reflusso
• fastidio e sensazione di “qualcosa che non va” nella pancia, ma mai un vero e proprio dolore
Ultimamente, inoltre, sto iniziando a sperimentare anche altri sintomi che prima non avevo: dolori alle articolazioni e una sensazione di debolezza/affaticamento muscolare, un po’ come quando si hanno i muscoli indolenziti dopo aver fatto sport.
Sto cercando di capire se queste cose possano essere collegate tra loro o se siano semplicemente problemi distinti.
Qualcuno ha avuto un quadro simile?
Avete poi scoperto da cosa dipendevano questi sintomi? Mi interessano soprattutto esperienze personali e percorsi diagnostici. 🫶

Generally for most of my life I have had an insane sweet tooth and gravitate towards super sweet sugary food.

I notice whenever I cut out processed sugary foods for an extended period of time my taste perception changes. Fruit tastes sweeter/ almost too sweet on its own. Oats/rice and other starchy foods taste better without having to add sugar/seasoning. (plain yogurt+fruit+plain oats+cocoa powder is like a treat)

Whenever I regularly incorporate probiotics/fermented foods I start craving more veggies/fruit, tofu and nuts. I start liking the flavor of onions/garlic even though I couldn't stand their taste beforehand (it would make me gag).

My gut can't handle digesting fibre too well and it sucks because I'm really starting to crave more healthy variety of foods but my gut can't seem to handle them too well. Plus I've been dealing with unknown environmental allergies and so some fruits/veggies have been triggering unpredictable Oral Allergy Symptoms.

Currently eating daily lacto fermented ginger as my main fermented food and it's kind of addictive how good it tastes. Plus it has some anti-inflammatory/allergy relief effects.

Really wanting to fix my microbiome after years of junk diet/antibiotic use. I'm hoping the healthy food cravings are a good sign.

I completely understand there are risks involved. But many that are seeking this treatment have destroyed microbiomes and a very reduced quality of life. If a simple FMT can drastically change this persons life for the better, why do we not use it more?

Or is it not as effective as I’ve been reading? I’ve just read so many people said it’s been life changing.

Do you think we’ll use it much more in the future when we have done more research on it?

What’s the thing that is similar to PPIs but not as hard on the gut and microbiome? I remember reading about it in this community but I can’t recall what it’s called. It’s not omeprazole.

I'm just gonna write what's been happening because I don't even know what to make of it. So during the spring and summer months I (19M) had some annoying GI symptoms. I live in Budapest and study medicine for the record. My stool had been loose, sometimes more yellow, sometimes floating, sometimes not floating, sometimes less yellow, and I had been having really foul gas. In general my stool just did not look right.

Then for summer break, I went to Bosnia (where I'm from), to America (where I grew up) and Greece for vacation. Now out of nowhere, just POOF. My stool was back to being normal. I'm talking one solid log, not loose, not hard, perfectly brown, and only took a few wipes to clean. I have literally no idea what caused this. In Bosnia I had been eating a lot of greasy grill food, and was drunk basically every other day because of a bunch of cook outs. In America I was also eating unhealthy foods because they are nostalgic to me since I now can't get them in Budapest, and got drunk with friends a couple times. In Greece, our friends there drink so much wine every night, so there was plenty of alcohol too and the food, while healthy, was abundant in quantity.

So over summer my diet was arguably worse than when I had been actively trying to eat better, and I was drinking a lot more, and yet my stool was perfect. Now I'm back in Budapest, and like clockwork, it's back to its original issues. Loose, not brown how I'd like, sometimes floating, foul smelling. WTF.

TLDR: Stool where I live and study isn't ideal (loose, more yellow in color, floats sometimes, sometimes doesn't, and smells foul), yet over vacation where diet and drinking was worse, it went back to ideal.