When I first wrote about the dangers of ingesting soil bacterial organisms (also known as HSOs, SOs, SBOs, or shelf-stable probiotics) in 2008, some claimed that Natasha Trenev’s information was invalid (Natasha founded Natren, a probiotic manufacturer). So I copied my original article with the research references and posted it here.
Long story short: By 2011, Garden of Life had modified its Primal Defense product so that the only (direct) soil organism included was Bacillus subtilis – which has been used by the Japanese to cultivate natto for over 1000 years and has a long history of safety in human use. However, I was wondering why Garden of Life changed the product. Especially after their CEO contacted me personally in 2005 to convince me that soil organisms were safe…
When actions don’t match words, you need to take a closer look at what’s actually going on. Whatever the reasons, it happened very quietly – I only became aware of it in 2011 when one of my readers brought it to my attention. That’s why you can’t rely on probiotic manufacturers to have your best interests at heart – and that’s why I wrote this blog post about how to choose an effective probiotic.
I bring this up again because I recently came across this report/study from a 73-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had previously taken an Enterogermina brand probiotic (B. subtilis) to treat his diarrhea. He was hospitalized for high fever, mental confusion and persistent diarrhea. When he was admitted, they stopped taking Enterogermina. After further testing, a chest X-ray, and running some blood cultures, the man tested positive for B. subtilis – which, if you recall, was present in the “probiotic” Enterogermina he was taking.
The man eventually died after weeks of hospitalization and antibiotic treatment due to recurrent septicemia (bloodstream infection or blood poisoning). Septicemia can occur when a bacterial infection elsewhere in the body (such as the lungs or skin) enters the bloodstream.
What worried me about this study was this:
“The B. subtilis strains isolated during fever episodes on days 1 and 19 showed resistance to penicillin, erythromycin, rifampin and novobiocin. The isolate from the blood culture on day 16 was different, being sensitive to rifampin and novobiocin and resistant to chloramphenicol.”
And this line in particular:
“We conclude that even if the septicemia due to the probiotic strains of B. subtilis could not be directly linked to the patient’s death, patients with severe immunodeficiency should not be administered large numbers of viable microorganisms (especially if they are resistant to polyantibiotics).”
If you have an immune deficiency, it is very important to know which bacteria you are consuming. In my book Listen To Your Gut, I write more about the phenomenon of loss of tolerance to bacteria in inflammatory conditions and also provide further studies on bacteria that are “safe for normal people” but not safe for autoimmune diseases or people with immunodeficiency.
In this video below I tell the story of how I contracted TWO blood infections after the birth of my third son 14 years ago. Throughout the intravenous antibiotic therapy and after, I took high doses of Natren probiotics and did not touch the hospital food, drinking Absorb Plus shakes instead. Keep in mind that the bacterial species and strains in Natren all come from food (no spore formation, no soil bacterial organisms) and have been safely cultivated and consumed by humans for thousands of years.
Remember that bacteria are very intelligent, fully sentient creatures. Dr. Bonnie Bassler’s work focuses on the communication abilities of bacteria and how they use the information transmitted to alter gene expression and behavior. When I take my Natren probiotics, I welcome the bacteria into my body and thank them for joining our community (of 22 trillion creatures in our gut!) and helping us with their gifts.
If you’ve never connected with your gut community before, take this short guided meditation with Dr. Juliet and I share to connect and attune to your microbes…
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
