E. Coli’s impact on digestive health can be good or bad, depending on the strain.

A recent study brought to light some interesting information about how different strains of E. Coli(Escherichia coli) affect those with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases such as Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease. The study looked at patients who had Crohn’s Disease & where infected with the “adherent-invasive E.Coli”(AIEC) strain “LF82”. It appears that another strain of E. Coli called “E. Coli Nissle 1917” is an effective way of treating LF82 infection & can improve symptoms considerably.

Intrigued by the name “Nissle 1917” I looked deeper into how the strain came about. It turns out that a professor by the name of Alfred Nissle isolated the strain during World War I back in 1917, thus the name “Nissle 1917”. So this strain has been known & used for almost a century. While most people in the US hear about E. Coli outbreaks in our food & all the bad things, not many people have ever heard of Nissle 1917 & that it has a probiotic effect. Nissle 1917 has actually had a ton of studies done on it showing it’s effectiveness. Though not all people see improvement with it as this HealingWell.com forum post shows.

The next question is, where to obtain Nissle 1917? Well that’s a good question. The only reliable product I can find is something called “Mutaflor“. It’s made by Medical Futures which is the same company behind Iberogast, which I use myself. Mutaflor is quite expensive though. I am not quite sure why it’s so costly, perhaps it’s the fact that they seem to be the only ones manufacturing it.

Overall E. Coli Nissle 1917 looks promising & is definitely worth a shot if you have an Inflammatory Bowel Disease & some money to spare.