Gastric Bypass Barbie

Product Review: Bariatric Advantage Chewable Probiotic

About a month ago, my friend Ed (from Bariatric Advantage) and I were chatting about their product line, and he mentioned that he’d love to send me a bottle of their new Strawberry Flavored Chewable Probiotic to use and review.

Now, before I go any further, there are a few provisos, a couple of quid pro quo…

Ahem (Clears Throat):

FORMAL LEGAL DISCLOSURE

This disclosure officially follows the new guidelines set for the the FTC concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (effective December 1, 2009).

1. By definition, I am (apparently), an “expert” because I am the reviewer and got FREE product from Bariatric Advantage
2. I did not receive any money for this review, but I did receive (2) Bottles of Bariatric Advantage Strawberry Flavored Chewable Probiotic (90 Capsules per bottle; 2.4 Billion CFU) The reason I got two bottles is that the first one was lost in the mail stream for, like, 2 weeks. So, Edward rushed me out another bottle, so I wouldn’t have to wait to try the product. About a week after I got the replacement bottle, my new bottle rolled in. So, effectively, I’m reviewing TWO bottles of the product.
3. I am currently a bona fide user of the product. As a matter of fact, because I had something containing milk earlier today, I am a little gassy, so I just chewed a tablet to help aid in my digestion. My husband will appreciate my use of the product — trust me.
4. I have no connection to the company, and am not related to Ed. In fact, the only two things we (me and the company, not me and Ed) have in common, are a) the fact that I live in southern California, and b) have the word ‘Bariatric’ in my name, too!
5. I am not selling the product or profiting from this review.
6. My review is truthful and honest. Duh. Why would I lie? It either works, or it doesn’t. Trust me — you’ll get the straight poop (pun intended.)
7. I did not ask my attorney if it was okay for me to review this product, because he doesn’t like Strawberry. I think he’ll be okay with what I wrote, though…

Okay, that is the legal stuff (I think).

On to the review!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

• Strawberry Flavored Chewable Probiotic
• Bottle contains 90 Tablets
• Each tablet contains 2.4 billion organisms at time of manufacturing.
• Suggested Serving size is 1 daily with food (Note: I took 3 Daily — 1 with each meal, as that is what I have found works best with my system. That means that each bottle would last one month for me).

WHY USE THIS PRODUCT?
According to the Bariatric Advantage website: The human digestive system is normally home to several kinds of healthful bacteria or “flora” that play a role in bowel health and regularity, immunity, carbohydrate fermantation and absorption and more. It is sometimes possible for this flora to be come altered due to medications (such as antibiotics or acid blockers), illnesses, or surgical procedures. Bariatric Advantage Chewable Probiotic is designed to assist in the maintenance of healthy normal flora in the digestive system as well as to support overall digestive health and wellbeing. This delicious strawberry flavored product provides 2.4 billion CFUs (colony forming units) of probiotic activity from lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium lactis – two of the best-studied supplemental forms for probiotic. It also supplies short chain fructoligiosaccharides (FOS) as a prebiotic and is Dairy-Free.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I TOOK THE PRODUCT?
I’ve long known about the benefits of probiotics, and had been taking another brand for some time. So, when Ed contacted me and asked me if I’d be interested in trying the BA brand, I was hesitant, and told him so. I mean, I didn’t want to waste his time if I was already pretty happy with the brand I was taken, but he persisted, because he was so confident i would love the product. Maybe it was the strawberry, or maybe I was just weak that day, but I agreed to let him send me a bottle, and promised I’d give my most honest review. In other words, if I didn’t like it, you were going to hear about it. He was cool with that — either because he knew I’d love it, or because the formal guidelines say that reviewers must be truthful, even if the review is negative.

The first thing I noticed about the BA probiotic was how good it tastes. It’s pretty yummy, actually, and that’s not a bad thing. But, I have a feeling that’s NOT why I’m supposed to take it! After about 3 days on the product, I began to notice that my bloating had gone away and I wasn’t…well..gassy. That’s just the truth. Gastric bypass people suffer from gas and it can be quite unappealing, to say the least (or, maybe it IS “appealing,” as in “you’re a-peeling the paint off the walls with your gas.”) Anyway, the next thing I noticed was my stomach wasn’t unhappy and I didn’t have any indigestion. The third thing I noticed was probably more mental than anything else, but I seriously felt like my food was being maximized in my system — that I was getting more benefit out of my protein. Again, This is probably just the “placebo effect” at play, but I went with it.

Now, for me, here’s the REAL advantage to taking chewable probiotics: You don’t need liquid, so if you just ate, you don’t have to wait! With other probiotics, you have to take them with liquid, That can be a negative, especially when you really need to get one down, but just ate.

Just to be sure about my experience, I stopped taking them for a few days and — lo and behold — the bloating and gas returned with a vengeance. So, that was enough proof for me. I believe the product works and I would buy it for regular use. I do recommend it for all bariatric patients, and wonder why more doctors/surgeons don’t mandate probiotics as part of the daily vitamin/mineral/nutritional supplement regimen. Perhaps more will catch on, but in the meantime, if you aren’t sure probiotics are right for you, why not ask your physician what he or she thinks? Then, when you get the green light, order up a bottle from the folks at Bariatric Advantage. Each 90-count bottle costs $17.95 (plus S&H — of course,  but you could just tag it in with the other supplements on your order, right?)

Barbie’s Bottom Line: 2 Thumbs Way Up. I thank you and my husband thanks you even more for this product!

Buy it, use it, be happy.

Tags: after life, Bariatric Friendly Foods, Bariatric Probiotics, Bariatric Supplements, bariatric surgery, Daily Bariatric Vitamins, gastric bypass, Healthy Eating, Nutritional Info Labels, Obesity, WLS Mentor

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Product Pontifications, Superlative Supplements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.