30 Day JamiesonⓇ Probiotic Challenge Part 1
*Disclaimer* I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. Please take my advice with a grain of salt. Always consult your family doctor before taking any supplements or making any serious changes to your diet.
I am also not sponsored by JamiesonⓇ in any way and have purchased this probiotic myself, #notsponsored.
The Backstory
For the last two years, I have had increasingly bad gastrointestinal (GI) issues. My lactose sensitivity (I refuse to acknowledge that it is a full-blown intolerance) has gotten worse, and I honestly cannot remember a time in the last few years where I have eaten food without feeling pain or discomfort of some kind.
Recently I consulted with my family physician about my GI issues and he asked me if there was anything environmental in the past few years that may have triggered these changes. Looking back, within the past few years: I moved out on my own; my work has included more responsibilities; and I am also attending post-secondary education on a part-time basis. Inevitably my stress level has increased which has negatively impacted my eating habits. Because I did not exhibit any severe symptoms, my doctor suggested that I try a probiotic to help with my GI issues before pursuing other medical tests.
Naturally because I work in the science field, I will be formulating this experiment similar to a formal lab report. You can take a lab technician out of school, but you can’t take the school out of the lab technician.
The Experiment
Introduction
Due to ease of access and cost, I am choosing to use the JamiesonⓇ brand Probiotic 10 Billion active cells. This probiotic is readily available in most pharmacies, Walmart, Costco etc. I was able to pick up a bottle of 130 from Costco for ~$30 CAD. According to their website, the Jamieson probiotic claims to: support the maintenance of digestive health; guarantee active cell count to expiry; contain a variety of unique probiotic strains; and be certified by TRU-IDⓇ. TRU-IDⓇ is a certification program originating from the University of Guelph that verifies, through DNA testing, the accuracy and efficacy of the bottle and its contents. I will also leave the link to the TRU-IDⓇ homepage here if you’re interested to learn more (it’s actually a really cool process).
Side Note
The studies and articles (free to access) that this section is based on are linked here:
Probiotic Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Bifidobacterium Bifidum: Benefits, Side Effects, and More Why Is Lactobacillus So Important For Human Health? Probiotics and Lactose Intolerance
The probiotic contains strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. There are limited studies for Bifidobacterium, however, there have been more recent studies that have linked Bifidobacterium bifidum to helping treat symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and infections due to H. Pylori (this can cause stomach ulcers). Lactobacillus has similar benefits to Bifidobacterium but also contributes to mental health. Lactobacillus casei has been linked to improved mood and lowered anxiety, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus has been linked to lowered anxiety and depressive behaviour.
I will be providing a full chart of each strain in the Jamieson probiotic and their associated benefits in Part 2.
In this experiment, I will be focusing more on recording any changes in pain and discomfort, the frequency of the pain/discomfort, and if there is any change in mental health or mood. These will be presented through both qualitative and quantitative measurements (qualities that cannot and can be measured numerically respectively). Normally I would end off this section with a hypothesis of the results, however, I want to remain as objective as possible because one of the measurements is mood and I want to limit the placebo effect as much as possible. I am also not doing a statistical analysis of my results so I don’t think having a hypothesis (or null hypothesis) is necessary.
Method/Materials
JamiesonⓇ Probiotic 10 Billion Active Culture (130 capsules, LOT: 302105)
For the month of May 2021 (31 days), I will be taking one probiotic pill with dinner (the instructions say to take the supplement with a meal). I will also be recording the frequency of stomach pain, the severity, mood, and other changes on a daily basis for the full 31 days. I will not be changing my diet in any way during these 31 days in order to limit the influence of outside factors besides the probiotic.
I will be updating this post in about a month’s time with my findings so you’ll have to come back to see the final results!
