> but there is no > way a single bacteria species can replace all the various bugs that are > supposed to live in the gut. I probably should try dirt eating... ;-) try to eat some meats very aged and raw .The b12 deficiency is also suspected to be of autoimmune nature , if it is the case no supplemts will do its job only a radical change of diet might bring back a healthy gut flora . to give you a macroscopic analogy .think of the gut as an ecosytem , playing god by deciding which animals or plants are supposed to be introduced or eradicated in that ecosystem can only lead to further unbalances . jean-claude