Hi Jake----
You can buy probiotics at any reputable health food store. You can start with FOS (fructoogliosaccharides), and the brand I buy is NOW. Another one is Primal Defense HSO Probiotic Formula, made by Garden of Life. You won't need to worry about "ingredients" with either of those. After 3-4 weeks, you can begin a multi-strain, live-culture acidophilus. The first two will make the environment better for the acidophilus once you start it, and it will flourish readily. The acidophilus I take is at least six strains, and I get the eight strain when I can. The important thing is that it's live-culture.
Best wishes for renewed good health.

In Pasteur's times people lived in strict contact with any kind of germs, bacteria, so the idea of sterilization by, say, boiling milk, was useful and necessary. In fact, people, the poor but also noblemen, did not take baths daily, drank water from springs or wells, and farmers spent night-winters in cowsheds telling stories and sewing, warmed by the presence of their cows, did not wash hands any time after touching either bread or hens, milk or hay. Well, they were completely immersed in every kind of bacteria, good and evil, but especially the evil; most of people were too poor to afford enough food, so they were undernourished and surrounded by bacteria, and they had to work physically, so it was a very hard hard life. Of course, they could get ill.
Today, the idea of hygiene has become a sort of hysteric obsession, so we continuously push back bacteria with too much body-washing, Antibiotics , distance from nature, refined food, etc, but among those bacteria, there also are the good ones! Probiotics are the good bacteria coming from fermented food, such as unpasteurized milk, yoghurt, unpasteurized wine, sauerkraut, etc. I am persuaded that, if I could do a bath completely immersed in a tub full of lukewarm milk, just milked from a cow, I would not suffer any more from intestinal or dermatologic problems, because my WHOLE body would work with all the beneficial bacteria, and also the evil (why not), and a natural balance between them and me would establish, because I am not undernourished and I am not surrounded by many dangerous germs as people were once. But since I cannot do that, and I bet most of the "civilized" people cannot too, the pharmaceutical industry has begun to produce over-the-counter remedies containing in general ACIDOPHILUS. You need thousand millions of them every day for some months to regulate your body. I repeat this: I am not a scientist, but I am innerly convinced that to be in proximity of things that we now would generally consider "dirt" would help us enormously: walking without shoes (but in a field, of course), taking baths in unpasteurized wine, in buttermilk, caressing animals without immediately rushing to the bathroom (unless the animals look ill or abandoned); I mean, good sense is what we need and what we have lost.
Today every canned or processed food is pasteurized for hygienic reason. Of course, it is necessary to prevent fatal intoxication, and those products are sold on a very very large scale, industry cannot control the single customer, so in a sense, I perfectly understand that sterilization is necessary. But we can buy organic, we can prepare food ourselves from raw and we have to assure our body the intake of probiotics: you can do yoghurt at home, sauerkraut, then you have to buy concentrated probiotics. I take these: Bacillus clausii (resistent to many Antibiotics ), every little bottle contains 2 thousand millions (ENTEROGERMINA, by SANOFI-SYNTHELABO OTC). They have to be stored in the fridge; their better form is liquid, not dry capsules.
I hope I have given you some useful ideas.
Regards, Claudia

FitLine® Activize OXYPLUS is the ideal start into the day. It delivers the most important building blocks necessary for the cells to gain energy:

. the high performance fuels for brain and muscles: carbohydrates
.the vitamins essential for energy conversion in the body like vitamin B1, B2, B6, pantothenic acid, niacin
.the vitamins important for nerv stimulation and concentration: B-vitamins and vitamin C
. the vitamins important for transporting the nutrients even to the remotest cells, i.e. the B-vitamins and especially niacin
. the vitamins essential for building of blood and thus for oxygen transportation: folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6
. guarana in its natural form to gently stimulate fat release

Like a car motor or a chimney can only function if there is enough oxygen for combustion, thus our cells as well can only produce energy if oxygen gets into the cells in sufficient amounts. And our cells need oxygen especially for the burning of fat!

FitLine® Activize OXYPLUS, therefore, contains special natural sea algae extracts that considerably enhance the transportation of oxygen into our cells.

These special extracts in combination with the other substances in Activize OXYPLUS ensure:

. a faster and higher uptake of oxygen into our cells
. an enhanced supply with oxygen for our body and especially the brain . an increased blood circulation and thermal production even in remotest areas of the skin

FitLine® Activize OXYPLUS is an absolute world novelty and is, therefore, patent applied for. As all other FitLine products, Activize OXYPLUS is, as a matter of course, also produced according to NGP, NTC and GMP criteria: for a higher effectiveness, highest quality, and safety. Activize OXYPLUS is exclusively available at PM-International.
Please feel free to order from the following homepage: www.162.fitline.com
Read here, why I do strongly recommend this product:
Elevating your energy, nourishing your brain!
Energy is essential to all living organisms. It creates and sustains life. In today's fast paced world dominated by cheeseburgers and potato chips, people often forget that in order to maintain sufficient energy, the body must be provided proper nutrition. As a result, the use of energy supplements to boost tired, weak and under nourished bodies has become commonplace.
Supplements that provide a quick boost often feature natural source of caffeine, such as guarana and energy boosters such as CoQ10 and offer a gentle influence on the system for people with health concerns as well as those who may be uncomfortable taking intense stimulants.
B-Vitamins
Basic nutrition is key to energy production. In this function the B vitamins stand out. And, while all B vitamins are vital to the human system, B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid) and B12 (cobalamin) are prominent in energy production.
Niacin plays an important part in the nervous system and circulation as well as in processing carbohydrates, fats and protein into energy. It is a major constituent of two major coenzymes (NAD and NADP ) that generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is elemental in releasing energy to cells. Niacin also assists the digestive system by converting food into energy, and it further aids in the development of the adrenal gland.
When niacin develops into nicotinic acid, the blood vessels in the body become dilated. This can sometimes result in niacin flush, which is distinguished by a reddening, itching or burning sensation on the arms, neck, chest or face. This usually occurs only when large doses (100 mg or more) are taken and may subside within 15 to 30 minutes without lasting detrimental affects. The risk of toxicity is possible, but highly unlikely if taken as recommended by label.
Pantothenic acid, is also essential in the process of releasing energy. It plays a role in adrenal gland function, glandular balance and nervous system function. Pantothenic acid builds red blood cells and aids the body in maintaining normal growth and repairing tissue. Its primary role is in the production of coenzyme A, an important mechanism that helps convert carbohydrates and fats into energy.
Cobalamin (B12) is the leader in energy enhancing vitamins. It is essential in the production of red blood cells and is commonly used to prevent and treat anemia, which usually makes the body feel drained of energy. It has been administered both intravenously and orally to give a quick energy boost. However, some experts say if the body is not deficient in B12, then the effect will not be as pronounced.
Several doctors, including John Dommisse, M.D., have used B12 to treat patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and have found that patients with Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome had severe deficiencies in vitamin B12. Dommisse found that when the vitamin was introduced back into the body, his patients showed marked improvements in their fatigue.
All of the B vitamins are known to be important factors in maintaining good health, which in turn provides the body with consistent energy. Thus far, the majority of the studies on B vitamins have focused on conditions such as high cholesterol, anemia and increasing immunity. It is only recently that B vitamins, namely B12 and B 3 (Niacin), have been looked at for ailments such as Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome and fibromyalgia, another energy draining disease. It is thought that this vitamin may aid in treating these diseases because of its role as oxygen transporter and "methyl donor" in energy production. Niacin is converting fats and carbohydrates into energy. It is involved with all three of the body's energy producing cycles--glycolytic cycle, Kreb's cycle and electron transport side chain (ETSC). Each unit of Niacin can generate three units of ATP, thereby maintaining energy throughout the body and ensuring new energy is produced within the cells. It does this by acting as a catalyst in converting glucose and oxygen into energy.
Because of the vital role Niacin plays in the production of energy, it has been studied as a nutritional adjunct for treating energy-deficiency diseases such as CFS. One study, conducted by researchers from various departments at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., involved 26 patients (17 females and 9 males) who were given Niacin or placebo for four weeks. Results showed that 31 percent of the subjects given Niacin showed marked signs of improvement as compared to eight percent with the placebo group. In addition, a follow-up, open label study revealed that 73 percent of the subjects showed improvement over time (Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; 1999 ).
Niacin has also been found to be beneficial when combined with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is found in every cell in the body and aids in the delivery of oxygen throughout biologically active molecules. It is involved in ETSC cycle of energy production, which biologically carries oxygen in the cells, which is where the body's ATP (energy) comes from.
CoQ10 is also active in the cellular components of mitochondria, an organelle that drives production of ATP. Its function within the mitochondria is that of an energizer. An increased amount of CoQ10 in the mitochondria leads to a speeding up of ATP production, which provides energy to the system.
Although there are many very important factors driving the activity in mitochondria, perhaps the most important nutrient is carnitine. It aids in energy production by carrying fat to mitochondria. Without carnitine, fat could not be turned into energy. Research has suggested that the level of carnitine in the body correlates directly to the level of energy. In a study published in Neuropsychobiology (1:16-23,1995), researchers found that when fatigue was at its highest, carnitine levels were low, and as carnitine levels rose, fatigue was less apparent. When 30 Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome patients were given 3 g of carnitine per day, symptoms decreased. Another study revealed that when athletes took supplemental carnitine, aerobic performance was enhanced (Intl J Sports Nut;1992).
Another energy enhancing supplement naturally found in the body is pyruvate. It is the stable form of pyruvic acid and is formed in the body during the digestive process. Pyruvate is present at the beginning of the Krebs cycle of energy production. Its chemical reactions promote mitochondrial action by stimulating cellular respiration, therefore increasing ATP production. It is also said to improve endurance in athletes by enhancing the process in which glucose is assimilated from the blood stream into the muscles, called "glucose extraction." This process draws the glucose from the blood into the cells, increasing energy production.
Pyruvate has become a very popular ingredient in athletic energy supplements. One study observed 10 physically active male students taking pyruvate supplements for seven days. Results concluded that those who consumed pyruvate for one week had increased exercise endurance capacity by 20 percent (Am Physio Soc; 1990).

Niacin, or B-3, provides nutrient co-factors for the production of calming brain messenger GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), and can help relieve Depression and anxiety. Vitamin B-6 aids in the production of neurotransmitters, increasing neuronal energy. Studies have shown that B-6 can help quell hyperactivity, and has even helped some children to recover from autism. Deficiency symptoms include mood swings, poor concentration, and irritability.7 Folic acid and vitamin B-12 help to clear excess amounts of homocysteine from the blood, which can cause impaired cognition.

Nutrition for the brain and the mind.
Nutrients to fight fatigue, irritability, depression…
A healthy brain needs proper nutrition, like the B vitamins. They are coenzymes, catalysts, needed to supply the brain with its energy source, glucose. Without enough glucose the brain performs poorly. Mental fatigue and Depression can be symptoms of low glucose levels in the brain. Vitamins B6 and niacin are terribly important "foods" for adequate brain glucose levels.
Fearful, apprehensive and suspicious feelings, or excessive worry, or a gloomy, downcast, angry and depressed outlook can be early symptoms of niacin deficiency. (Michael Lesser, MD, in Nutrition and Vitamin Therapy)
Thiamin deficiency can also bring on neurotic behavioral symptoms like depression, insomnia, chest pain, and chronic fatigue. These symptoms can also be seen in some people who eat lots of "junk food" without maintaining enough thiamine to metabolize or "burn it."
A deficiency in folic acid can sometimes cause moodiness and depression. Folate deficiency has been found not only in persons experiencing depression, but also in persons experiencing reduced work productivity, lack of interest, psychic anxiety, and loss of sex drive. Folate supplementation has been successfully used in helping such persons.
Vitamin B12 may be more than just an energizer for the body, it may also be extremely important for good mental health.
What some consider a medically sufficient iron level is not always sufficient for optimum health. If you think you have an iron deficiency, see your doctor. "Almost anyone with an iron level under 100 is not in good shape." (Michael Coglin, PhD, Your Personal Vitamin Profile).
Calcium shortage may result in a grouchy, irritable, tense disposition, with depression, impairment of memory, insomnia, and cramping in the calves. Extreme calcium deficiency, while rare, may be severe enough to cause the symptoms just mentioned.
Stress and nutritional burnout
Some psychological approaches useful in promoting health and healing include meditation, yoga, relaxation, biofeedback training, self-awareness, conflict resolution techniques, the ability to care properly for yourself and others close to you. In addition, you should, of course, complement those practices with what the kind of foods that our brain needs nutritionally.
When you are under stress, many physiological and biochemical changes occur in the body. Large amounts of nutrients are pushed into the bloodstream and excrete. This happens all the time but more so when you are under stress. If stress causes you to drink alcohol or coffee, or smoke, or increase the amount you drink or smoke, you can count on even greater losses of nutrients. Coffee, to make matters worse, will flush out of your system water-soluble vitamins, like the B's and C, and essential minerals. The result is likely to be nutritional burnout.
Among the so-called "antistress" nutrients helpful in fighting the harmful physiological effects of stress are the B complex vitamins, especially B6, B 12, thiamine, niacin, folate, pantothenate, and vitamin C. Magnesium levels also seem to be affected by stress, showing in some individuals as much as a 14 percent decrease in cellular magnesium. Not only can stress cause a drop in cellular magnesium levels, but a diet causing a deficiency in cellular magnesium can make you more sensitive to stress. It’s a vicious cycle. This feedback interaction between stress - the researchers used "noise stress" - and decrease of cellular magnesium may cause an increasing risk of cardiovascular disease. It seems that stress not only can cause a drop in cellular magnesium levels but also low magnesium can greatly increase the stressful effects of whatever is stressing you.
Thoughts are Food for the Mind
Thoughts are food for the mind, psychologically speaking. Negative thinking, like mineral and vitamin deficiency, can rob the mind of the energy you need to be healthy and happy. Attitudinal Healing can be as vital to good health as all other kinds of medical and physical therapies. Attitudinal healing is a special program designed for retraining the mind to avoid negative thought traps.
To heal the body you must heal the person within. The change needed is to replace fear with inner peace, to replace negative thoughts with love. But faced with a life-threatening illness, how can anyone become concerned first and foremost with finding peace of mind? It’s natural in such circumstance to feel upset and fearful, even angry. Nevertheless, to believe that nothing is impossible is powerful medicine. Most people know that. Few know how to believe that. That’s what those who practice their own kind of "attitudinal healing," have to offer. They know how to help you believe in yourself and in your own natural inner resources for healing.
One way to open yourself to the healing powers within is to focus on the present. Don’t focus on what has happened or what has been, but what is now and what can be if you choose to change your outlook. Worry, guilt, fear, and all those negative emotions drain you of the energy you need to heal you and prevent you from taking decisive action for your wellness.
The thoughts that we put into our minds are as valuable as the food and vitamins we put into our bodies. Anger, fear, resentment can have devastating consequences. Love is the antidote.
Do you have to embrace God to benefit from the process of attitudinal healing? Not so, you can subscribe to your own kind of spirituality, whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Muslim. The principles of attitudinal healing are universal. They are in this sense spiritual principles. The link between body and mind is spirituality.
What can you do when feeling upset that would nurture the mind and potentially free your energy for healing? Ask yourself three simple questions. What is upsetting you? Why are you holding on to it? What do you really want?
What is upsetting you? This question will help you determine the importance of what’s bothering you. Is it something that is happening? Is it something that has happened or something that you are afraid is going to happen?
Why are you holding on to this negative feeling? Everything is a choice. You made the choices that led to your feeling upset. You can choose to do something different that might resolve the situation. Do you like being a victim? Do you like being a martyr? Do you like feeling depressed? What do these feelings do for you? What are they doing for you right now? Only you can answer these questions. Once you do, then you can decide whether feeling angry, upset, depressed, or fatigued is doing anything for you. It may be necessary to keep that feeling for a while. That’s okay, so long as you realize you can change it when you want to.
What do I really want? This seems an easy question to answer. My experience in counseling people is that they do not always know what they want. In fact, they may seem puzzled when you ask this question. Some even get annoyed by the question. Yet, it is the most important question you could ever ask yourself. What do you really want right now? What do you want for yourself? What do you want from others? What are you willing to do to get what you want? Is what you want for yourself reasonable? Is what you want from others reasonable? Can they give it to you? Are they likely to give you what you want? At what cost? Are you willing to do whatever it takes?
No one can give you happiness. Only you can give yourself happiness. The same goes for peace of mind. Someone can suggest things you might want, how you could get them, but you must make the decision and put forth the effort. I fully subscribe to the following advice: if you have the choice, choose peace instead of conflict; choose love rather than fear.

I now list those seven principles to whet your intellectual appetite. Here they are:
 Health is inner peace,
 The essence of our being is love,
 Giving is receiving,
 All minds are joined,
 Now is the only time there is,
 Decisions are made by learning to listen to the preference for peace within us,
 Forgiveness is the way to true health and happiness.
Eat well, exercise regularly, be positive and enjoy the true gifts of life, namely, love, peace of mind, health and happiness!

FitLine Nutritional Concept
Due to today's environment and dietary habits we are no longer assured adequate nutritional protection through our regular daily diet.
Health Insurance company studies have shown, that approximately 70% of all diseases stem from a consistently poor, deficient or one sided diet. In addition, we are exposed to increased environmental pollution such as smog, air- and water pollution, pesticides, ozone, etc., all factors which did not exist as little as 50 years ago.
Medicine is for the most part concerned about treating disease. The pharmaceutical industry develops preparations for treatment of disease and offers mono- or multivitamin products, which are often ineffective and provide nutrient supplementation according to the “Sprinkler System” principal. Tablets for instance are the least costly, but also the least effective option for dietary supplementation.
The Solution
Is a scientific concept, which has the goal, to provide optimal dietary supplementation through individual NUTRIENT GROUP PREPARATIONS (NGP), for maximum results and dependable protection from 70% of the most common illnesses.
The NTC ®
The FitLine Nutrient Transport Concept (NTC) was developed by Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, in co-operation with leading European and American manufacturers, and it covers nine important factors:
 Revitaization of the intestinal flora as the first step for ideal absorption of essential nutrients derived from food and FitLine products
 Delivery of nutrients in natural drink or powder form into the body
 Special Combination of nutrient groups
 Synergy of nutrients, meticulously tuned to each other
 Amount of individual nutrients
 Quality grade of individual nutrients
 Antioxidant protection
 PH balance
 Micellar Process
THE NTC IS EXCLUSIVE AND UNIQUE AND IS PROTECTED FOR FITLINE
THE NTC IS APPLIED 100% IN ALL FITLINE PRODUCTS
THE NTC IS REVOLUTIONIZING DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION
One of the nine factors in the NTC is the MICELLAR processing of fat- soluble vitamins. Since the transport system of our bodies functions on a “water basis”, it is difficult for fat- soluble substances to be absorbed from the intestines into the lymph and/or bloodstream. The body laboriously builds so-called micelles with the aid of bile acids, glycerides and fatty acids, in which fat-soluble substances are enclosed for absorption. The absorption rate of fat-soluble vitamins which are derived from food is relatively low (only 25 – 30% maximum).
With the aid of micelle technology for fat-soluble substances, the smallest micelles can be generated and quickly provide the body with large amounts of fat-soluble vitamins. Micelle technology is applied for all FitLine products with fat-soluble vitamins. (e.g. in the Shakes, Antioxy, Q10). The essential aspects of this technology are:
 Copies a natural process in the body
 Promotes the ideal combination and synergy of fat-soluble and water-soluble nutrients in liquid and powder products
 Ensures 5 times quicker and higher absorption of active ingredients compared to tablets
 Significantly improves the effectiveness of food supplement products
With NTC, the FitLine products offer a unique holistic approach to food supplements. NTC forms the core of the FitLine product line and guarantees effectiveness and success. In the end, it is the effect, not the theory that counts. Many customers have experienced how quickly the FitLine NTC can work. The FitLine products have already triggered enormous improvements in the personal well-being and health of many people.
Bless you, Barbara