Good question... I dunno what is the answer. I'll do some research and get back to you if I find an useful answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably could give you an answer..

Nope, you don't need them at all. The beneficial flora in our guts LOVE raw fruits and veggies. The "bad" bacteria LOVE processed, cooked food. If we eat our natural Medifast diet of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds we provide the beneficial flora with what they need to flourish and discourage the "bad" bacteria from getting out of control..

I took them for many years on the advice of naturapaths and never noticed much effect other than a very pronounced lightening of my wallet! :-) My IBS and digestive issues were completely cured by going raw..

RAW IS AWESOME! NATURAL IS WHERE IT"S AT!!!.

Blessings!.

Audrey.

Www.rawhealing.com..

I do take them occasionally - one jar/package every few months. I actually see the difference, but I am fairly new to raw so maybe my gut needs more adjustments...

I am doing it all..

Raw to create the favorable environment for "good guys" in my gut.

Probiotics - pills AND natural (saurkraut and kombucha, no kefir because I am diary free).

Enzymes - pills AND natural (pineapple and papaya) AND raw foods.

Why? I am fighting candida and dealing with other issues, so I need to re-establish healthy flora in my gut. Candida is not that easy to get rid off and I am sending heavy altillery it's way.

I still am to remove one last amalgam filling in my mouth, it is still doing it's bad thing (affecting the balance in my system), so I am trying to counter-fight it.

Plus - I wish all the foods (even raw and organic) were as full of nutrients and benefits as they were before the era of artificial agriculture and genetic engineering, but alas, they are not..

So I supplement. With vitamins too. Is it the best way? No, not at all. But the best I can do in this current environment that I live in, where even the simple soil I have to buy and it already has chemicals in it (or is "sterilized" one way or another). So even IF I were (and I try to) grow my own food, I am still not getting all the nutrients that humans "should" be getting..

I agree, a vegan raw Medifast diet supports the "friendly" gut flora and a cooked diet, especially one containing meat, supports the "unfriendly" gut flora. I think probiotics can be useful at first to kick start the friendly flora in a body that has few of the good guys in there. When a colony of good guys is present the raw foods will support them and promote their proliferation...

Hi,.

Vitamins and supplements are just compact bombs that your system doesn't really break down. For most people, they are a complete waste of money and only make your wallet lighter and the manufactures richer. They're a freud much like the meat & dairy industry who says you can build a healthy body by drinking milk..

Think of it this way........would our creator make a flaw in his plan....NO. IF you eat Medifast food in it's raw and natural state, you will be fine. He would never make our beautiful bodies so that we had to depend on a bottle of manufactured vitamnins that we buy in a store. I understand about depleted soil etc., so eat organic. You still won't break these supplements completely down in your system no matter what concerns we have in 2008..

Please, save your money..........If you would actually look through your own waste you'd find most of these compact bombs came out in the same shape they went in...undigested. Vitamins and supplemenst are NOT natural no matter how they are made. Nature didn't made them; some company did who's reason for making them was MONEY!.....

See, just because something is labeled "organic" does not mean it was grown on a naturally rich soil. Or was grown from non-genetically engineered seed. It often simply means it was not sprayed with pesticides..

I agree with you that our body does not digest all the supplements (actually washes out majority of it), but unless we lived in a more or less natural environment (which most of us don't), we just don't get all the nutrients we should..

I am not originally from USA. I spent a lot of time in my Grandma's village where we as kids rummaged in the gardens and the orchards. I remember the TASTE of those fruits and vegetables. No offence, but the taste of the fruits and vegetables I buy here (that are labeled ORGANIC) are nowhere close..

You are absolutely right that the Creator would not put a flaw in his plan. We, the people are constantly doing that...

Chilove thats brilliant to hear!!.

I had 3 operations on my intestine 4 years ago and since then iv had alot of problems they've lead to my agrophobia and panic disorder I have now,the doctors could never decide whether I had IBS or not, but I had stomach acid leaking into my body so it must of done some damage I'm also missing a piece of intestine. id love to chat to you about how bad you was before how much better you've got etc?..

Certainly a lot of wisdom here about fruits and veggies being the solution. But I also think it's a very personal and individual choice if you feel your gut needs a little boost. Follow your intuition, my friend...

I totally agree with your statements...but of course supplementing is ultimately a personal choice!..

Sorry...........I wasn't trying to sound harsh. I agree, the soil is deleted. You are right about that..

I'm just concerned that people think the answer to any health problem is found in a pill..

We have so may misconceptions about Medifast food in this county that it is SCARY! That's how most of us got here; looking for a better answer than what mainsteam medicine and Medifast food makers what us to believe about Medifast food and the need for protein and how manufactured Medifast food is as good for us as whole food. The list of lies and mistruths go one an on..

People on this site are more enlightened or they wouldn't be here so trust your own instints..

It was just my two cents.....

Nah, you were not harsh.

Pill is definitely not an answer...

Irinam - My dad used to have a garden every summer with tomatoes and cucumbers and I remember the full-bodied taste and aroma of the home grown tomatoes. I NEVER find them anymore. Such a delicious memory; such a shame now. I wish our children could taste what we tasted growing up...

At the grocery store a few years ago! There were several people, mostly middle aged, standing around a bin of tomatoes! Everybody was commenting about the fresh smell! We all enjoyed it, too! Everybody was remembering living elsewhere and the smells. I know that for me the only time I remembered that smell was from my childhood in Michigan. Getting to smell ripe tomatoes is a rarity in Alaska. I get that pleasure once in a while in my greenhouse when the tomatoes are ripening, but it was the first time I had ever smelled them in a store and have not noticed it again since!.

In a couple weeks I plan on ordering some tomato seeds and a few others and then start some seeds to grow in the greenhouse and in my small outdoors garden this summer. I hope this summer will be a bit warmer than it usual...