Some lovely Italian doctors have set their intention on deep healing and have created some working partners you might not expect. They have trained some noble probiotic into being divine probiotics! Yeah!!
The first thing I did when I found out about this probiotic was that I bought it. Even though it was $400. Because the surrounding information was sound and true inside me and I didn’t want this one to slip away from me so I bought it, shared the expense with some friends and then started to study it.
This article is more the musings of what I had to get through to begin to understand what to do. There is another article with instructions here: http://simplymimi.net/archives/722
Some things contradicted themselves so I needed to learn more about culturing yogurt in general. I also needed more on the specific probiotics in general. I didn’t understand why the Bravo Easy said NO Yogurt machine and Bradstreet’s instructions for Bravo said, “Use a yogurt machine.” Now I understand. There are basically two groups of probiotic types. Those who grow well at 70 to 80 degrees (room temp) and those who grow well around 98 degrees. (body temperature).
The probiotics in our Bravo Easy Kit envelopes and bottles are a mixture of both. Truth is, they are probably just fine in either a warm corner covered and set for 24 hours or in a yogurt machine (they run around 110 degrees for 6-8 hrs). Or perhaps both. Maybe as it cools down, the other strains can culture.
I eventually ended up in the middle. The 110 degrees seems too hot and stressful and the low, although recommended, was hard to get a set and harder to figure out when it is done because temperatures vary. I settled for 93 degrees for 12 hours. I could do that by adjusting the space with cardboard between the yogurt machines heating coils and the bottom of the jar until I could get a solid reading of 93 degrees. Then it was easy to figure out 12 hours. Perfect every time. I adopted that as my “beginners recipe” and helped others to get their sea legs making yogurt.
What I found out is that the temperature “doesn’t much matter none”. It might matter clinically, but what is more important is the organic energy of love and consciousness that you put into them. Start being a conscious observer and interact with what your probiotics want and need. These strains of probiotic are alive and respond to love and attention. If I treated them too clinically or formally, they reminded me to stay in range of just plain folks. So I did.
I wanted to get it right. I had to let go of my fear. I had to relax and become a person instead of a ball of tension that couldn’t be related to. I wanted to make very precise recommendations that we could follow, sterilize everything and have a perfect batch. But that isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is to have a happy belly where the stains of acidophilus can grow happily and populate in their favorite environment – you.
I learned the opposite as well. When I used antibiotics for my black widow spider bite, I went over the top into all kinds of insecurity, OCD and mental illness traits that I hadn’t seen for a long time. I lost most of them when I did my GAPS diet for 6 months and repaired my leaky gut. Since then, I forgot that I used to fret so much and how much I needed to do it right. I am grateful to loose it and got a reminder. I also was given a very important key. That the gut flora was so very important. I have learned to say, “relax”!
The Probiotic Super-Stars!
We know these strains of probiotic. They aren’t unattainable. However, they have been cultured. What is the difference between a really good singer and a mega-star. That’s the difference here. We have taken good solid product and given it lots of training and attention.
- It isn’t a sleepy horse grazing under a tree in Tennessee could be but isn’t a race horse until he is trained, shows that he loves it and wants more and more to run. He is a special horse but still a horse.
- The redheaded snowboarder champ, Shawn White is from my town. He is about the age of my kids but my kids are never ever going to do what he does. He has worked himself to the point where he has grown wings. He is a mega super-star. He is just like our kids? NOT.
We have met these strains of probiotic before. We can buy the strains in bottles and culture them. I will do that to see how they compare. It is easy to culture probiotics. I must say, that there IS a difference to get these big, highly trained, charismatic celebrities called Bravo Yogurt starting powder in the mail.
Shall we explore?
Don’t be fooled. The probiotics in Bravo are very complete and very broad in their spectrum. There is a nice coverage and the Swiss are caring for them well and feeding them what they need. (The cows in Switzerland yodel.) The strains in Bravo are available at the top of the line probiotic vendors in their top of the line product. (Not cheaper either even at wholesale prices.). However, even then, there were a few energetic things going on in Bravo yogurt that keep going towards goodness. Some are added, others are energy embedded. This is besides the part where it creates ideal conditions to support the immune system.
There is a “starter” in a silver envelope which is a yogurt starter base. This forms a bit more consistency so you aren’t getting a liquid. Once you understand the basics of making yogurt, it really is easy to get a yogurt going. Yet what Bravo does is between the lines. It isn’t what one or another add, it is the whole event and the subtleties in between.
There are also some broader ranges of fungus and yeast in Bravo that aren’t probiotic bacteria at all. They didn’t fit in the description a top of the line probiotic product. However, these extra yeasts are easily added! No worries. Now that we have met the expensive package, we can duplicate the line up. If we have the talent to train them, then we have a much less expensive product. But getting the ratios is a more costly matter. The proof will be in the pudding (quite literally). See my chart. (my chart shows that we can find the strains of probiotics through a few sources, even at half the price. More importantly, readily available and not going anywhere. That is if we can’t get Bravo any more.) https://www.evernote.com/l/AGP5RWQ4fztIqY1WRtwSyC5JcBeXKVJ8r84
It says that we can reduce the cost of 1 packet from $33. to $15. (without the hassle of a shared purchase) The lactic acid yeast comes in wafers and can stay that way. This product establishes proper pH balance which is vital for the promotion of nutrient absorption, integral in maintaining the proper environment in which normal intestinal flora thrive, and beneficial for the overall healthy functioning of the gastrointestinal system. Another important add-on is S. Boulardii which is also a yeast used as a probiotic.
I have not yet worked these strains to see if I can get them to perform into the wonderful glowing energy of the Bravo Easy Kit. However, I will be doing that shortly.
Add on from 2017: After direct communication with Dr. Ruggiero and with other biochemistry individuals and healers, I have come to the conclusion the Dr. R is light years ahead of my thinking in this article. He has diligently designed this formula for a specific result. The testing was about 324 tests to get what he wanted. That’s Bravo Yogurt. Over the years it has changed a bit here and there as well. I trust Dr. Ruggiero and I am not personally going anywhere unless Bravo became unavailable. It feels to me like it is too good to miss. I can be strong enough to deserve it and allow it to received. (A big key to respecting ourselves enough to get well)
Bravo is a Direct Set – One time Starter
Bravo is saying that this is one time cultivation rather than one you can continue. I am in pursuit of seeing what it can and cannot do, using what is told to me as a guideline and pursuing my own truth. There is always the scientific info that is unknown and the marketing and selling of a product which is unknown. It is easier and safer for them to not encourage this line of thinking incase people make themselves sick, etc. Even cultures that are meant to be everlasting can get moldy. We are working with milk on our counter after all. Besides, they are the ones selling the product which is perhaps overly expensive. That all makes me want to find out for myself. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-mesophilic-raw-milk-yogurt/
The basic idea is that you can culture the yogurt and make a pasteurized starter that will stay clean and can be able to be continued at the same level of quality as the Bravo Easy Kit culture without competition from environmental bacteria. This is a reasonable goal. However, it must be explored so that we understand the components, including the energetic ones.
2017: Since this article, I did take the product out to 4 generations, etc. I found out that the yeasts grow much faster than the probiotics. They can’t be grown separately either because they change in form. You can’t substitute bark for leaf tips. The. yeast gets bitter. I found the 2nd generation to be 80% effective and fine for a second dose per day. The third generation was so bitter but I could if I had to take it. The forth generation was a waste of milk. I recommend and love Bravo Yogurt. I hope you can give it to yourself and more importantly stay with it.
These are my musings. If you want my instructions to make Bravo Easy Kit, look for that post. http://simplymimi.net/archives/722
Practice!
I recommend going to the grocery store, buying a small plain yogurt and a half gallon of the best milk and doing a trial run. This will allow you to know if you have the right pans, space and state of mind before you unleash your Bravo Easy Kit.
- Are you prepared?
- Are you relaxed?
- Are you letting the force/organisms be with you?
- Are you present and observing
In my trial run,
- I bought raw milk. I learned that pasteurization is a violent process these days (not gentle like the vat process of old) that leaves the milk with broken proteins that can resemble intolerance and allergy when ingested.
- I used a 2 quart pyrex dish that sits into a large stock pot and used some jars to hold up my glass dish. But first, my dish, spoons, spoon cradle, even my silicon pot holders all went into boiling water.
- Once that was done, I poured the organic raw milk into the glass dish to heat up
- I cooled it down and added the probiotic powder from some capsules I had at home
There were a few things that I didn’t have. Enough spoons, jars for the mother, a spoon cradle so I didn’t put it on the counter and somewhere nearby to put the ice water bath so the Bravo wouldn’t keep cooking.
My powder stuck to the bottom of the spoon and was like glue. I don’t think I got it off with a scour pad. Plus the product sat on the counter and came out really, really sour, slimy and thin. It wasn’t at all interesting and I just threw it out after keeping it in the refrigerator with no interest in it.
Temperature Research and Preparations
- Most of the research available is about yogurt. The articles talk about consistency and taste. The temperatures you need to achieve it. This type of yogurt is easy to make. We aren’t doing that. We are culturing strains of probiotic bacteria within the milk culture, some of which need to eat cholstrum to survive. This tells me that these probiotics are targeting not only the immune system, but may also contribute directly to the immune system.
- Colostrum is the baby’s (stem cell-ish) first immune system. The mother’s milk doesn’t do that again. Which means this is a natural goody that is very precious.
- We are making the Bravo Easy Kit probiotics to improve the quality of what the body can do for itself
- To make these cultures, we know most of them like to germinate at 37.5 C or 98.7 F and where the raw milk goodies die at (118F) I am ignoring the acid content. That is from yogurt makers looking for taste. That’s a different process and intention.
- Streptococcus thermophilus ferments at 110°F to 112°F and produces .9-1.1 percent acid
- Lactobacillus acidophils ferments at 100° to 112°F and produces 1.2-2 percent acid
- Lactobacillus bulgaricus grows at 110° to 116°F and produces 2-4 percent acid
Manipulations to the milk for best results:
- Slowly heat the milk to temperature
- There are two different temps for culturing yogurt. Mesophilic is middle heat (room temp) and Thermophilic is higher heat (37.5C or 98.6 ish)
- If you want raw milk, 110F but not more than 118F. 118 is where the good stuff starts to die in raw milk.
- Yogurt makers run at 110 degrees.
- Everyone says: “It is important to preheat your sterilized vessels when you are warming the milk to make your product. Even pre-heat the yogurt maker with the empty jars in it. while you warm the milk and keep in a warm place in your kitchen.
- The yogurt maker ranges at about 9 hours where as the room temperature takes 24-48 hrs.
- If you don’t have a yogurt maker, but want that temperature, perhaps a light bulb or a fish tank heater, (new please!!) Or a clean oven with just the light bulb on. (good luck with the clean oven part, LOL) Spring for the $20 for yogurt maker of find them by the score on eBay.
- Preferably heat the milk in a 2 quart vessel like a double boiler or a glass bowl suspended in hot water held up by some glass jars. There is a 2 quart pyrex bowl with a plastic lid on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LOWN3C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
- This is a cheap yogurt maker with no timer. It fits the above bowl. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EX16RY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
- For a few dollars more, you can get a yogurt maker that has a timer http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KZM4Y4/ref=s9_al_bw_g79_i2
- That fits a whole extra tray on top http://www.amazon.com/Euro-Cuisine-GY4-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B003V2J0NM/ref=pd_sim_79_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1QA9N8YM5C3M1JY0K0RG&dpSrc=sims&dpST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_
- The tray above doesn’t come with the extra jars http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BLVXG3K?psc=1
- Make sure you have some kind of thermometer and that you sterilize the probe. (Chris promises me he won’t use his finger anymore…jk)
- After the milk cools down, before you put the probiotic powder in, you want to skim the film from the top. This film represents the bulk of the casein proteins that some people react to as an allergy. Most will not react is it is properly removed
- Adding the cultures may be hard if it doesn’t stir in and turns to glue. The Bravo Easy Kit that I used, did not but I put it through a small plastic sieve. I shook it and the particles feel through, I mixed them in. I took my time.
- Once you leave your mixture to culture, don’t move it or mess with it unless its wait time has expired. It needs to set a spell. Don’t leave it at room temp for more than 48 hours.
- Before you put it in the refridgerator, you can mix it and press it through a sieve.
What is all the fuss about? Why make this GcMAF?
- Here is where that story is told. It isn’t a pretty one either. http://simplymimi.net/archives/693
We need a therapeutic level of GcMAF. All of us do.
Let’s introduce you to the doctors:
http://www.bravousa.com/#!physicians/cipy
Here is a 55 minute video given at an autism conference recently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsVpuYw11c
After seeing this video, we purchased the product and split it 4 ways. Since the product was $429.00, we each paid $107.25 plus shipping. We each got 3 envelopes. Making them about $35 each. Shipping consists of overnight shipping and an ice pack. USPS express shipping is $18.
Now that I have lots of mother cultures around, I can ship you one. It would be just a small sample of a few ounces in a Miron glass jar running over night with an ice pack.
If you want to split an order, please contact me. I will type out my phone number because of the web crawlers:
76zero-44zero-8zero44
More resources:
These are the instructions that came enclosed with the product: https://www.evernote.com/l/AGPEuKW-1LhCn60YM21qyRwSPZPwnmd1DSA
This is the instruction page on the website (www.bravousa.com) (basically the same)
http://www.bravousa.com/#!/c1pna
The following information is copied here from Dr Bradstreet’s website:
“One of the frustrating things in dealing with most chronic illnesses is related to the gut ecosystem. TV ads are now extolling the issues of a bad gut ecosystem so the message about gut flora (the protective bacteria of the intestinal track) is getting much more widely accepted. The challenges I have experienced with many patients, however, makes this far more complex than merely popping a few probiotic capsules.
In previous blogs I have written about fecal transplantation or fecal bacteriotherapy (FBT). Recently the FDA warned doctors to not attempt this without FDA approval making it all but impossible these days. It has been a successful means of changing out a bad ecosystem in the got for a better one and in cases of life-threatening infectious diarrhea it has been published in the medical literature to be life-saving.
But given the impracticality and regulatory barriers, FBT is not a viable option. So what can we do? My choice is now Bravo and you can find it on the web at www.bravoprobiotic.com. Bravo is a complex multistrain bacterial fermentation process; it is not merely a probiotic and technically it is a fermented dairy product you make in your kitchen by using their system and culture blends. And if you have been around natural health very long you know most dairy is an issue for children with autism and many other health issues. However, tests on Bravo at a major university indicate it does not contain casein and other milk proteins after the bacteria digest the milk in the process of fermentation. In my population of sensitive children it has been very well tolerated.
After answering hundreds of emails about Bravo I decided it may be easier to just post this information with detailed pictures of how I make it for myself.
You will need a yogurt maker and I chose this one which I ordered from the internet for about $40 US. I also ordered extra jars because the standard volumes of yogurt suggested in the instructions yields more than the 7 jars will hold.
Extra jars for the yogurt maker I purchased. You can get any yogurt maker you like – although Bravo suggests you use one with an automatic shut off.
I suggest you read the instructions all the way through at least once prior to starting the process and make sure you have all the suggested materials you need. For me it meant a trip to Target to get a thermometer and a medium metal strainer and a other items like glass jars and special sized cooking pot for boiling the milk. The instructions give you a list of all the material you will need. The instructions talk about a smidgen as a unit of measure. Technically that is 1/32 of a teaspoon and before you get worried the Bravo starter kit includes a smidgen measuring spoon which you can see on the plate next the to ladle spoon.
The US still uses the Imperial measuring system so for many of you the metric units in the instructions require conversion. So her are a few tips: 1 liter = approximately 4.23 cups. The instructions ask you to boil 2.5 litters of milk so that is 10.5 cups (actually a bit more so like 10.6) and there are 16 cups to a gallon so that is more than a 1/2 gallon of milk. I recommend you use a non-homogenized milk but Bravo instructions don’t mind but they want the full fat milk (whole). I also suggest you use organic milk. You can use cow or goat or sheep but you cannot use non-mammal milk – meaning almond, rice, soy are all NO-NOs. You do not need to spend the extra money to buy non-pasteurized since you will boil the milk anyway. They suggest you NOT use the ultra-pasteurized milk now common in stores to increase shelf-life.
As you can see there is a bottle of Colostrum in the picture above. Kirkman sells a high quality colostrum (milk derived) but again no worries. The dose of colostrum is a little tricky. The initial suggestion is for 8oz (1 cup) of colostrum (not in the instructions) but that makes the yogurt a little runny. You need to work on this as time goes on but consistency is not that critical to culture results and health benefits. Temperature conversion are in the instructions.
Preheating the yogurt maker and cups without their lids for 2 hours is critical.
In the front is what Bravo calls compound 1 and behind that is compound 2.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU WASH YOUR HANDS, JARS, SPOONS ETC AND KEEP THEM CLEAN AND DRY THROUGHOUT TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
I find the taste good without any special flavoring required but then I like real yogurt which is not the sugary stuff we get in the US. You can add honey to it but not until you are ready to serve. If your child or you are unaccustomed to real fermented food I suggest you go slow and start with small amounts like a teaspoon and work your way up to large doses. I suggest adults and teens can have 4 oz a day and medium children 2 oz and little children 1 oz (2 tablespoons are 1 ounce).
Bravo is very responsive to emails so if you have any other questions please contact them about specifics. I hope this is helpful to you all.
Dr Bradstreet is a graduate of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and received his residency training at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Arizona. He is extensively published in the peer-reviewed literature on subjects of autism, oxidative stress, mitochondrial disorders, virology, hyperbaric oxygen, and toxicology (especially heavy metal chelation). He is trained in the the isolation and use of stem cells.
12 Responses to Bravo Probiotic – Actually a System for Making a New Ecosystem NOT Merely a Probiotic
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Dr Bradstreet
We are making it now per your suggestion and look forward to trying it – for the whole family. The process is a bit challenging at first as there are multiple steps over multiple days, but the Bravo people are great at answering emails with questions. We have tried a lot of different probiotics and hope that this is the one that really makes a difference!
Thank you for all these great details. I agree Bravo has been great about answering questions and havd agreed to ship me a year’s supply to share with two local friends so we can assess how our son’s do-very accommodating. Thankfully for us we are also metric (Canada) and now I know to ask for several “smidgen” spoons.
Would it be faster to use 2 yogurt makers instead of buying extra jars? Or are the extra jars used just for storage of leftover starter?
2 yogurt makers do not speed up the process since only 1/2 the batch actually ferments in the yogurt maker – extra jars are desirable for portion control in the fridge after the components are combined.
Thanks Dr. B… Great cabinets, by the way
I’d love for parents who have tried this to share their experiences here including whether or not the packaging was sufficient. I’ve never liked ordering probiotics in the middle of the summer.
The Bravo kit is a small cosmetics bag in which the Starter #1 (dark amber glass bottle), Starter #2 (foil packets), and Probiotic #3 (clear plastic bottle) plus a smidgen spoon was enclosed. The cosmetic bag was shipped in a plastic envelope via DHL; there is no refrigeration required. The instructions advise to keep Starter #1 in the freezer after opening but Starter #2 and Probiotic #3 can be kept in a cool and dry location.
Some tips per my experiences:
1) My local nature store only carries organic milk in half-gallon cartons and every brand was ultra-pasteurized which Bravo specifically advises not to use. I checked other grocery stores and found similar (e.g., “national” organic brands such as Horizon, etc.). I eventually found that organic pasteurized milk was available in plastic jugs which I located at Publix (their Greenwise organic label) and also at Trader Joe’s.
2) Bravo also has a caveat about not using “extra” fortified milk — so don’t buy milk that has Vitamin A beyond 6% RDA, Vitamin D greater than 25% RDA, and calcium beyond 30% RDA (or DHA additives, etc.)
3) Day 1 is definitely the most time consuming and tedious because you spend a lot of time waiting for the milk to cool to the appropriate temperatures specified for the two compounds. I found that about 30 minutes after you begin to warm the yogurt jars (extremely important), you can begin heating the milk. It took about 90 minutes or so to cool down to the ~105 F temperature for Compound #1 (from boiling), so the yogurt jars should be ready by the time this optimum temperature is reached. Then, it’s more waiting for the milk to cool to the 70 – 86F temperature for Compound #2.
4) For the colostrum, I also used Kirkman Labs hypoallergenic colostrum; the folks at Bravo confirmed for me that 8 ounces was needed for one batch and they also advised that if I was using the 16-ounce bottle, the remainder would keep for the two weeks after opening until my next Bravo batch. It’s more economical to buy the 16-ounce bottles — I think they’re $52 while the 8-ounce bottles are almost $33.
5) To make the final Bravo mixture which combines Compounds #1 and #2, you sprinkle a half a smidgen of Probiotic #3 on top of 4 ounces of the combined #1 and #2 mixture, but you are not to further mix or shake Probiotic #3 into it. The instructions advise that if you use a larger amount of the mixture per your containers, to calculate accordingly the amount of Probiotic #3 to be used. Given the cost of Bravo, I was really paranoid about doing it right, so I found that glass baby food jars are 4 ounces and bought 17 (I choose applesauce since we’d actually eat it instead of wasting) — 14 as required and 3 extra for overflow (which I did use). That way, no smidgen calculations!
6) The recipe was designed to provide an excess of product for every step in the process in case of spillage or other accidents. So you’ll find that you won’t use all your milk or the completed compounds — essentially you’re taking large aliquots of each and will have residual remaining. In my case, when my milk boiled over a bit, I still had plenty.
7) As Dr. B emphasized, read the directions a couple times minimally to have a good understanding of the process and also to ensure you’ll have all the materials you need before you start the procedure. I too had to go out and purchase most everything new, either to ensure cleanliness or due to the lack of the items in my kitchen supplies.
8) I was very concerned about the dairy issue because my son is extremely intolerant and in general, he’s a very, very sensitive child — reacts to most everything where other children do well. He’s done very well with Bravo and takes 4 ounces daily (he’s 11-years old). He’s struggled with gut problems no matter what we’ve done and tried previously, and almost immediately after starting Bravo, he had an improved calmness, happier demeanor, and stopped “Lamaze” breathing (which he does in pain, particularly gut pain which he has always experienced to some degree). He had a routine neurology appointment a few days after starting Bravo and his neurologist noticed how much calmer he was, better eye contact with her, and more willingness to engage and interact (my son is nonverbal). Thus far, it’s been very beneficial for my son and I hope everyone else has a similar experience.
FDA backed off somewhat on fecal transplants. At least for c-diff.
One other comment – looking at all these instructions for Bravo, home fecal transplants don’t seem that much more complex. Although you do need a donor who has been tested first.
Do you have a reference for the FDA backing off?
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/fda-backs-away-new-fecal-transplant-rules-6C10370978
Wow! This must have some super power stuff! The cost for a three month supply is $730+$80 shipping. What worries me above the cost is, that the product contains a strain of strap. There are no studies that I am aware of that show what happens when Strap A and B dance. What is the effect? How does it react with one another, especially if you already existing strep overloads slanted in one direction. In our case, when I give him probiotics with any form of Strep, he goes bonkers, his OCD gets worse. Now, please understand, I am not saying this product will make you go bonkers! I am just stating a fact of what happens in our case. Sorry, I am not yet sold.
Question for Susan or Dr. B…I’m unclear on how you have extra “liquid” from compound 2 to use as starter for the 2nd week? I keep re-reading the instructions and it seems there is leftover compound 1…not compound 2. What am I missing?
I also would like to know if these two compounds (once fermented, but before colostrum is added) can be strained through a cheese cloth to remove some of the extra whey? This would make it much thicker like greek yogurt and it would be less runny once the colostrum is added. I do this when I make traditional yogurt. Any thoughts here?
I just made the Bravo Probiotic last week so it’s pretty fresh in my mind. The extra compound 2 comes in the last step as you mix 1 and 2 together you use 750ml of Compound 2 that leaves you 250ml of compound 2 as a starter for next time.
My question for people who have been using this for a while – do things typically get worse before they get better using this? I guess that might make sense as things are getting rebuilt….