Hi to everyone,

I'm new here and have a question about primal defense.

I have suffered from what seems to be candida for the past 10 years. I've been diagnosed with IBS but nothing the doctors have tried has helped at all.

I was given some caprylic acid and probiotics by a naturopath which definitely seemed to help a bit but then I reached a plateau and can't seem to move on from there.

I've read a lot about primal defense which seem to be different to regular probiotics and many people with candida seem to rave about them but others have said they are no better than other probios and not worth the money.

Has anyone here tried it and what were your experiences? I'd like to get more opinions before I splash out on them as they are very expensive!

Thanks in advance

You got me curious so I did a google search on Primal Defense and found this link:

www.curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=278134

It's a warning about the product. It seems very scientific. Here's what it says:

Along with a book I ordered called \"The IBD Remission Diet\" by Jini Patel Thompson, came a page inserted later by the author that essentially withdrew her prior recommendation of Primal Defense. Horrified, I searched the Internet and could only find glowing testimonials (most of which eventually stemmed from the Garden of Life company's own marketing.) I could find nothing from a scientific or unbiased source. The inserted warning is frightening. Here it is:

\"On Page 108 of the IBD remission diet, I suggest that readers may want to try a product called Primal Defense after they've been completely healed for 3-5 months. I learned of this product from numerous readers who wrote in to let me know how well it's worked for them. Since I couldn't try the product myself (I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for four years and counting,) I questioned numerous respected naturopaths, microbiology professors and gastroenterologists for their opinion on the product and all said it looked fine.

However, since meeting the founder and president of Natren Inc. (top quality pro-biotic manufacturer,) Natasha Trenev, I must change my opinion of bacterial soil organisms. Natasha is a world renowned expert on microorganisms and maintains one of the largest research libraries on that topic in the world. She has sent me an entire CD ROM of articles, research and clinical data and other scientific studies, (most done outside of North America,) outlining why it is not safe to consume bacterial soil organisms (like those contained in Primal Defense and numerous other products.)

To summarize the research briefly, soil organisms (SO) are spore formers, so they make make good competitors for yeast, fungus and other pathogens. This is why so many people taking soil organisms will initially experience very favorable results. However these spores are are extremely difficult to kill, surviving sterilants, disinfectants, acceleration forces, heat, pressure, radiation and many antibiotics. Strong antibiotics -- like Vancomycin -- can suppress certain spores. Spores are so persistent in the intestines that another round of germination may occur after the the drug is stopped. Soil organisms can also adapt loose genetic material and incorporate it into their cellular structure - the ramifications of which are yet unknown. Various soil organisms can also produce harmful peptides, affecting hemoglobin in the blood. It's important to keep in mind that virtually all antibiotic drugs were were initially developed from soil organisms and as antibiotics become more potent, they cause more damage to the host, not just in the immediate gut environment, but systematically as well.

In the EU (European Union) the use of soil organisms in animal feed is being stringently controlled and questioned at this time. There are simply too many questions and unknowns to sanction the use of soil organisms for human consumption and one can certainly cannot qualify them as safe at this time.

I'm very sorry for any confusion this may have caused you. To be honest, this is the very first time I've recommended a product that I've not tried and tested exclusively myself -- I admit I was swayed by so many good recommendations from readers. Rest assured that I will not do so again!

My sincerest apologies,
Jini Patel Thompson
July 2003\"

I've been dealing with candida problems. I just started taking Thorne Formula sf722. I take acidopholis every night on an empty stomach. It seems to have helped me. I've also done a course of HMF Replete and that was helpful.

Hi Airy, thanks for repyling

That has given me a lot to think about. It does seem that a lot of people with candida benefit from primal defense but I guess there are risks involved!

I have heard of Natren but their probios are really expensive as well so I don't know what to go for really. Perhaps I will give them a go for a month and see if I notice any added benefit...

Hi all,

Very interesting post Airy, thanks for sharing that!

Shazza - welcome to the site. When it comes to probiotics it is best to go for products containing specific strains of probiotic bacteria that have been shown to be effective in clinical trials.

Examples of these include:

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG - found in Culturelle

Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 - found in Align (Bifantis)

L. acidophilus NAS, B. bifidum Malyoth and L. bulgaricus LB-51 - found in Natren Healthy Trinity

Bifidobacteria longum BB536 (morinaga strain) - found in Jarro-Dophilus EPS

If you use a product containing bacteria that have not been tested or the product itself has not been tested it may be worthless. As far as I know Primal Defense is not backed by any clinical research....can anybody else confirm this or let us know what research has been done?

I have tryed Primal Defense about 9 years ago, NOT worth the money in my opinion.

That was just before I received Human Probiotic Infusions which did not help either.

It's been such a long time that I felt \"normal\" beginning to forget what that felt like.

After a lonnng stint on various antibiotics I'm about to start Majid Ali's BEP(Bowel ecology priotocol) protocols 1&6 alternated with 2&6.

Sammy<br /><br />Post edited by: Sammy, at: 2010/04/18 20:50