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by reuteriq 1433 days ago
Is it possible to introduce this to the body without buying it specifically? Or put another way, how did people get L. Reuteri without pharmaceutical/supplement companies growing it in labs?
5 comments

It is found all over the place in nature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limosilactobacillus_reuteri

> It appears to be essentially ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, having been found in the gastrointestinal tracts and feces of healthy humans,[7] sheep, chickens,[8] pigs,[9] and rodents.[10] It is the only species to constitute a "major component" of the Lactobacillus species present in the gut of each of the tested host animals,[11] and each host seems to harbor its own specific strain of L. reuteri.[10][12] It is possible that L. reuteri contributes to the health of its host organism in some manner.[13]

The labs got it from nature, not the other way around.

The article says breast milk is one source. Don’t wean your babies to formula too early!

You can buy breast milk from lactating mothers on Craigslist. Good luck.

Breast milk is inherently sterile (unless the mother has a severe bacterial infection). It usually gets contaminated with the skin microbiota during feeding.

So no, I wouldn't count on L. reuteri being found in a random sample of breast milk.

That's hotly debated. Even the study you cite cannot rule out skin contamination.

But unequivocally showing the existence of entero-mammary pathway (translocation of maternal gut bacteria from the gut to the mammary glands) would be very exciting news indeed.

In the context of this conversation, does it matter whether the cause is skin contamination or not?
Yes, because if you are buying breast milk from a woman who used a breast pump, then the skin contamination is very very little compared to actual breast suckling.

A seller:

https://cosprings.craigslist.org/hab/d/colorado-springs-brea...

The article says that L. reuteri is present in other places in the body besides the gut.
You can get HIV from breast milk, it's not sterile.
HIV is an infectious virus. Also, bacteria in milk is usually a sign of mastitis. I'm explicitly talking about healthy mothers.
> Breast milk is inherently sterile

There is nothing sterile in the human body. Not even the brain.

You've put more confidence in your statement than the scientific consensus allows.

A brain microbiome is hotly debated, no concrete proof (yet?). I personally also have a hard time believing in a healthy bacterial blood microbiota, but it's also proposed.

I know lactos are in the environment naturally. When I ferment peppers or other vegetables I lightly rinse them to make sure some bacteria is left. Eating raw fruits and vegetables would certainly pass some bacteria to the gut.
Labs usually get them from bacterial strain collections, e.g https://www.atcc.org/search#q=lactobacillus%20reuteri&sort=r...
They know someone who knows someone who swears their cousin had the best kefir, or a proper “Tibetan mushroom” complex. Supplement companies aren’t the devil.