David has just finished eating at the Los Angeles Farmers Market and he did not feel well. He had heard about the wonderful variety of foods that were available there and had wanted to go. He ate at a Brazilian restaurant that was crowded. The whole market was crowded. He was a little bit disturbed by the birds flying through the open air eating areas but everyone was eating. It was difficult to even find a table. He had just finished attending a conference. He found a very cheap flight and drove to Atlanta for the plane. He had just broken up with his girlfriend Selena a few weeks before and was depressed. She cancelled her ticket to come with him. She had found someone else when who was ‘much more fun’ than he was. Those words rang in his ears. Alone he wondered what he would do in his hotel room if he passed out. He felt nauseous, queasy and felt like he needed to go to the bathroom.
He had just attended a conference in probiotics and the addition of ‘happy bacteria’ to your diet. He had heard about lactobacillus pills, but a new agent to add to the mix was colostrum. Colostrum is the protein in breast milk. Cow colostrum was now being advocated for use along with lactobacillus. He had always made fun of the mothers who would breast feed their children into kindergarten. He thought if the child could ask for the milk he was too old for breastfeeding. But maybe all these moms were onto something. Maybe breast milk was good for you but perhaps it did not have to be actually breast fed. He had heard that it was the immunoglobulin in the milk that would help protect against infection. These immunoglobulin proteins were actually antibodies against the bad bacteria that were about to make his life quite miserable for the 2-3 days and maybe even longer. He frantically looked for a drugstore and wandered into a local one near the market. Everything in Los Angeles seemed too expensive! He also remembered that pepto bismol would help kill bacteria that he had probably ingested. He grabbed a bottle of liquid and drank half of it. He was determined not to get sick.
In the most recent studies of colostrums there is mounting evidence that colostrums from cows provided large quantities of antibodies that were active against many bacteria that cause gastroenteritis (an inflammation in the intestinal tract). The most common cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients and dyspepsia of during hospitalization is Clostridium difficile. Recent articles have proposed using probiotics (saccharomyces boulardi, lactobacillus) and colostrums (960mg twice a day) for two to three weeks to eradicate the bacteria.
David found some probiotics and started them. He drank only ginger ale and went to recover in his hotel room. When he arrived he had a message flashing on his hotel room phone. It was Selena.
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