Hi everyone,

Welcome to the Clever Guts website. I’m hoping that people will come here to share their experiences and create a community. The book that this website is linked to is selling well in the UK and Australia (where I am currently doing a book tour), which is great.

In the book I said that people would be able to come to the website and get additional information. So, first of all, an apology. I have not been able to pull together more information on things like probiotics, olive oil and a proposed sleep experiment as fast as I would have liked. It is happening and below are some updates, but things are progressing slower than I had hoped. I am, I promise, onto it. Do sign up for the newsletter and I will keep you better and more rapidly informed.

Probiotics
As I mentioned in the book probiotics are the living bacteria that are sold, mainly in capsule form, in the hope that they will help improve a number of different conditions. If you don’t have a specific condition then I suggest you aim to improve your microbiome by following the menus in the book and on this website. I also suggest you try adding in some fermented foods to your diet (see Clare’s video about how to make delicious purple sauerkraut here)

Although they do contain living bacteria I think it is unlikely that buying one of those yoghurty drinks in plastic bottles will make a significant difference to your health. That said, some people swear by them. You should be aware that they may contain significant amounts of sugar or artificial sweetener (depending on whether you go for regular or light versions) and relatively few bacteria (usually 6-10 billion in a bottle. You should be aiming at more like 20 billion)

If you do have a specific issue that you want to try a probiotic for then below is currently the best I can do. Recommending a particular brand is tricky because it depends on the reason you are wanting to take it and the strength of evidence behind that brand. The following brands have a degree on scientific evidence behind them, but I would be grateful for any feedback on how helpful (or otherwise) you have found these products. Also if there are others you would like me to take a look at.

VSL#3
This is a probiotic which contains a mixture of different strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, though I would still recommend that if you have IBS you try to sort your diet out before/while taking VSL#3. You can buy VSL#3 via their website.

HOWARU Protect
This is a probiotic which contains Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus According to Medline Plus, part of the US National Library of Medicine, taking HOWARU Protect may help reduce reduce symptoms of cough and runny nose, also lung infections in children under 6. Visit their website for more information

Health Span Elite
This is made by a British company for athletes and was recommended to me by someone who also advises the English Rugby team. He recommends their products on the basis that they contain what they say, and nothing more, something which is important for an elite athlete. The danger with buying supplements in any form off the internet is they can contain substances like steroids which for an elite athlete would be career suicide. More information on Health Span Elite at their website.

Sleep and Prebiotics
In the book I wrote about wanting to set up an online study to see if consuming potato starch helps improve sleep quality. Since writing the book I have also tried a special pre-biotic fibre, which was originally developed by Reading University. I found this to be more effective than the potato starch, though also more expensive. What was striking was that within a week of starting on the fibre supplement the quality of my sleep, as measured by devices leant to me by scientists from Oxford University, had improved significantly. It could be chance and there is no guarantee that it will work as well for others, which is why I want your help.

I’ve decided to set up an online survey asking people to try this, potato starch, or another well tested way of improving sleep quality, and report back. We’re just ironing out some glitches and I’m hoping this trial will be ready to go soon, for anyone who fancies joining in. I will give you full details of the pre-biotic and where to get it then.

Olive Oil
In the book I also wrote about the fact that extra-virgin olive oil is the most counterfeited food in the world and that I would try to find brands that have some degree of certification. It is still early days but what I would say is that small, specialised providers are likely to be your best bet for price and quality, though they will be more expensive. If you are particularly concerned, it appears that Italian olive oils have some of the biggest problems. I will update when I hear more and happy to get recommendations from you for your personal favourites. I also welcome any manufacturer who cares to get in contact who can guarantee, on the basis of lab tests, that their extra-virgin, really is extra-virgin.

All the best,

Michael

I am interested in signing up for the potato starch study.

I wonder if you have seen the item in Food Unwrapped about probiotics which was on Channel 4 last night. In a lab trial four different probiotics were tested for survival in the same strength and type of acid as stomach acid to see which survived in the greatest numbers. Plain, unsweetened, natural, full fat yoghurt was the best, with sauerkraut having absolutely nothing surviving. It seems that the fat protected the probiotics from the acid. I know what I’ll be buying in future!

I would be interested in your opinion of Nexabiotic Advanced Multi Probiotic (23 strains, 17.25 billion CFUs, delayed release capsule).

the Olive oil test would be interesting. I often bring Greek oil home when travelling around Crete , often the locals own . Taste is fantastic.

I make and take milk kefir, and have just started fermenting foods, purple sauerkraut and am experimenting with red onion and garlic. My main issue is that I have a slow transition. I’m under the hospital and they have cut all high fibre foods and limited others in my diet. Not best pleased as to me it’s totally alien and ‘unhealthy ‘. I’d be interested in your views and opinion on what you would recommend.

Diary printout –

I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction to print out the Daily Food and Symptoms Diary as mentioned in the book?
It mentions in the book that it can be printed from the resources section but I can’t locate it.

Ta

I also saw the ‘Food Unwrapped’ program. It would be interesting if the researcher had also tested ‘0% fat’ yoghurt to prove that fat is the reason for probiotic survival.

I’d like to sign up for the potato starch study

While I found the book fascinating, I have one quibble: everything in it is sooo expensive! How about a Clever Guts recipe book for the terminally poverty-stricken? I drafted a week’s menus, and the cost (excluding the store-cupboard items like spices) came to more than my food budget for a month.

I agree.
I think my post in ‘Re-Introducing Foods’ forum is also relevant.

1303liesl: Start a dedicated thread on budget swaps somewhere on here. If you are in the UK I will happily write an essay or two in response.

Work background (was) healthcare; last role included nutrition consults. Soon learned real people wanted quicker and/ or cheaper and/ or practical alternatives offering similar nutrients!

I am now on long term sick so low-ish income. Too much time (when well enough) to cram my head and cupboards with cheap-ish wholefoods. :/

Be helpful to know how much time/ energy/ willingness you have for shopping around within a week or a month. If you have a freezer and a smartphone or tablet.

What shops you have access to (Big Four supermarkets, Aldi/ Lidl/ Farmfoods/ Iceland, pound shops/ B&M/ Home Bargains, fruit and veg market stall, farm shop, decent sized Pakistani or Indian/ Middle Eastern/ Chinese grocers, Halal butchers …) ??

Dr Mosley suggests both Phase 1 and Phase 2 are done in multiple stages, which gives scope for slowly using up existing supplies, whilst slowly building up a base of new long life ingredients and wholefoods. Variety IS important, but the book is OTT for a singleton. Plus nobody likes everything – eg. I hate the texture of most cooked root veg/ squashes/ cucurbita family (ok in soup).

I did a module on nutrition as part of my degree several centuries ago, but have always had an interest in good food. Don’t own a tablet or smartphone, but would be lost without my freezer, which lets me buy and cook a lot of stuff that would otherwise be impossible – soups and stews, and freezer packs of meat and fish (Asda do a pack of tuna steaks for £3.25-ish, which does me 5 meals!). Also grow salad veg and peas/pea shoots, rasps and strawberries, and (usually, though not this year) potatoes in bags, which gives me a far wider range of varieties than buying them. Can’t stand sweet potato, which seems to be the fashionable veg just now, or okra, and the only way I can eat aubergine is in ratatouille! (It’s a textural thing, both okra and aubergine are sort of slimy. Yuck.) But I live in the country – no car, so reliant on buses and home deliveries – and the farmers’ market here is too damn dear, though nice for an occasional treat.
I’ve never had much willingness to go shopping, for me it’s a necessary evil, and between coping with my present disabilities (accident last August, and arthritis), clearing the house of three generations’ worth of stuff, dealing with half an acre of garden, and writing, I really don’t have very much time, never mind energy, left over for shopping!

I completely agree with 1303liesl. As an example, I wanted to make the coconut vegetable curry but the cost of the ingredients came to £17.54! I simply cannot justify spending £17.54 to make one meal – I just don’t have that sort of money. Yes, I can freeze what I don’t eat but even so, it’s just too expensive. I understand the science behind all these things but as with most things now, it’s all unaffordable to me (obviously, I can only speak for me).

I am struggling with Food and drug intolerances, and until now have had help with Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (Australia) Friendly Food book guidelines. (which conflict with FODMAP diets interestingly)
As I have had part of my pancreas removed, I must take some action to settle my gut down so that I can take Diabetes drugs and Pancreatic enzymes. In your book (p 53) you say that biome sequencing is available in Australia Who do I contact please?

Thanks for your latest book, Michael. Definitely food for thought! I would be interested in trying the potato starch alternative if it is available in Australia. Cheers Juda53 ps actually……..thank you for all your books and docos! You mix science with good humour and make it all extremely palatable.

A new research report out from University of Adelaide has found a link between exhausted T cells and diarrhoea-dominant IBS which is the opposite of what they thought it would be. Most assumptions around immune system problems assume that it is due to an over-active immune system but this one showed it was underactive. Very interesting! http://www.theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/health/link-found-between-exhausted-immune-system-and-ibs/

Hi

I am interested in taking part in the sleep study

I’m interested in the potato starch and sleep study – I’m in Australia. Looking forward to more details.

Hi,

loving the book! Can’t wait to get my gut back in order ( has been out of order for a long time now) ! I am interested in the starch/ sleep study. I live in Australia.

Bought some potato starch the other day. My husband and I may give it a try as it does not seem like the study is up and running yet. Would be interested in participating in the study if OK to be in Australia.

Loved the book and the emphasis it has on real food. Could you please include a Ploughman’s Lunch in the recipe section of this website please? It contains trillions of bacteria and could be enjoyed with a delicious slice of sourdough bread. The fat from the cheese would also help the bacteria survive the gastric acid!

I am interested in taking part in the sleep study

HI,
I would be very interested in trying either the potato starch or the pre-biotic fibre study.
Thanks

Tried making the Rainbow Ratatouelle from the recipe in the book but the quantities must be wrong. 4 sweet potatoes 4 beetroot 3 onions 2 peppers, butternut squash, fennel bulb… It just wouldn’t fit even in the largest dish I had and I only used 2 sweet potatoes.

Tasted great but didn’t look anything like the picture in the middle of the book (which I found after I had tried to make it).

Come on Claire did you really use all the ingredients?

I totally agree, and have long thought that these celebrities forget that for some of us ( outside London, Borough Market etc), access and cost are real issues. I never, ever buy organic because the arguments don’t stack up, it is a very poorly checked and overseen area and I do not trust a label to be what it says it is.
I make my own delicious yogurt using only full fat milk and a starter from my previous batch. 14 yogurts for a cost of £1! I also make my own Kimchi but without the gloopy paste.

Hi Michael Firstly thanks for such interesting books on diet and exercise..really enlightening and very easy to read. I would be very interested in the sleep trial. Many thanks.

I am desperate to sort my sleep issues and would like to participate in the sleep study and or know about the pre-biotic and where I can find it. Please include me.

Interestingly, someone (apparently mistakenly) told me that the pre-biotic was inulin and so I went out and bought some inulin powder and have been taking it for the past 5 days. It hasn’t thus far improved my sleep duration as far as I can tell (I still wake up at about 5 AM and can have difficulty getting back to sleep, but I feel that I sleep more deeply for the hours that I do sleep. It also seems to have greatly improved my ecsema. Is that possible?

Anyway, the mistaken inulin suggestion is what led me to find the book, probe more deeply into these studies about the gut and to join this community.. Very excited.

And having whinged about cost, I made the turkey burgers (pack of turkey mince on cheap shelf in Tesco!) and got enough out of the recipe for four meals. Also becoming much addicted to Tom Kerridge’s curried cauliflower soup – not cheap, but again, provides 6 meals for me.Quite surprised at how filling it is, not to mention its sheer staying power!

In addition to my ‘normal’ insomnia – 3-4 hrs a night since childhood, I got in a lot of reading with a torch under the blankets! – I’ve now also got Restless Legs Syndrome. I started taking the potato starch (1tsp in about 75ml milk) at night. According to my trusty Fitbit, my sleep levels have shot up from an average of 1hr 20mins a night to 7hrs. Not a miracle cure, I still have the odd bad night, but feeling so much better on it.

Hello 1303,

Would you please tell me where you found the potato starch and what the brand is please. I didn’t see anything about it in the book unless I missed something? Any side effects? I would love to get 7 hours sleep a night.

It doesn’t know how long it will take them to iron out the issues around the trail that they want to run.

Many thanks,

Shaila

Got it from my local health food shop, the brand they get is Green City Wholefoods, but I expect there are others. Downside is, it’s a 3kg bag (£7 -ish), but doesn’t seem to go off with keeping as long as it’s airtight. And at a heaped teaspoon a night, it goes down surprisingly quickly! The only ‘side effect’ is that it helps to keep you regular! Without, it seems, the problem with psyllium husk, of having to stop every so often to let your guts have a rest.

Hope it has the desired effect.

Agree … I’m starting to make my own milk and water kefir but would like to know the different bacteria benefits of both

I feel so well informed…. but also so ignorant. Is there anyone on this site who can answer any questions???

Many thanks,

Shaila

I think we’re all pretty much in the same boat here, Shaila. All I can suggest is, put your questions up, and hopefully someone will have an answer!

There seems to NO feedback or response from Michael or his science/medical advisers to any of the questions put forward by members. This is disappointing.
I asked a technical question about GI and GL on one of these forums – I’m still waiting…
I joined this site to get answers to questions raised, not just to have cosy chats and swapping ideas with other members – nice and sometimes informative though that may be.
It seems that Michael & Co. have written some books and started a website with forums – after that the members are on their own.

Please include us two guinea pigs in your sleep research pre-biotic fibre developed by Reading University. Thank you.
Received kefir grains yesterday, very exciting!

I would suggest that the forums are there precisely for the purpose of cosy chats and swapping ideas. Why not try the direct approach through the Contact Us button?

Thanks. Didn’t think of that. Perhaps because it’s not obvious in tiny letters at the bottom of the page.

Hi 1303.

Thanks for the various responses. I also didnt see the contact us button and am re-reading the book so that I know what the questions that I have are. I have done a bit of addtional reading on line etc so some things seem clearer to me now…

Was just curious is the potatoe starch actually potatoe starch and not flour as I cant seem to find it thus far ( except a brand that is American) and of course is it still working?

Thanks!

I’ve sent a message (via Contact Us) to ask if the Contact Us can be moved to a more prominent place and in larger letters.

Are you in the UK? Yes, it’s potato starch, not potato flour. You don’t say where you’ve tried to buy it – I had no difficulty at all in obtaining mine from my local independent health food shop, although as she’d run out, she had to order it in. Have you tried that, or only online?

We got it at Holland & Barrett – but had to ask for it. Between £1 to £2. Still trying to find out how and why to use it, hence coming on the forum. Agree – these would be far better if Michael and his team dipped in to give some definitive answers to save us all flaffing around our own assumptions

I’m not clear what definitive answers people are hoping for?
The CG book gives the current (limited) information available, what ‘dose’ Dr Mosley takes and in what base.

If anyone wants to delve deeper into existing published research check out PubMed and Google Scholar, or read one of the books by the Gut Project guys (eg. ‘The Diet Myth’ by Prof. Tim Spector).

HTH!

I agree with Firefox7275: Michael’s latest book is superb. The Diet Myth by Tim Spector is the obvious next step and also Rob Knight’s book Follow Your Gut -all available very cheaply on kindle

Hello All,

I think that there are a lot of questions that someone could help with. Maybe they are already in the book and I’ve missed them. The contact us function on the site seems to be about marketing questions… but here are a few…(and yes, I have done some research but it’s difficult to find anything that is exact that is backed up by science)
For example,

how much saurkraut and or yogurt is a good amount? Do we know that both of these and the other pro-biotics make it past the acids and into the large intestine? Evidence seems spotty as far as I can tell.

The seaweed study was phenomenal for some of us who have psoriasis but also as a nutrient but how mcuh seaweed should we combine into our life and what kind (there are multiple types)

How cold does rice and potatoes need to be to become resistant starch and for how long? Some on the internet say frozen for 8 hours and others just say less than 130 degrees or does the food need to be cold and then re-heated and reltated, what is the calorific impact of resistant starch or (and this is another question) are we no longer living in a calorie counting world and if that is the case, how do we adapt

It seems pretty impossible to remove all processed and preserved foods from our life because they are everywhere including in basic things like crackers and often bread or even pasta, (cold or not). What is essential to avoid and what is just okay and what is the impact of some of these products on the microbiome and is there a way to compensate…

On sleep:

I guess maybe there is some confusion because I for one saw the program that Dr M did on sleep on the BBC where he did not use potato starch but instead used the stuff created by Reading University that he references above and the bought and read the book after largely prompted by my own sleep issues.

It took me a while to find it (as no site administrators seem to be answering comments), here is the link in case you’re interested. It’s not cheap but I have ordered a box to see how it works.

I also just started the potato starch (though I ended up buying the brand that is sited in most of the US internet articles that I could find because it seems that not all potato starch/resistant starch is created equal and some potato starch is actually potato flour). Last night was my first try with the PS and first decent night’s sleep in …. ages…. so we’ll see. But it seems that RS is also very good for lots of reasons part from sleep as we know from the book.

The link for the University of Reading stuff (BIMONU) is below in case anyone is interested. You can order online or apparently at boots. It’s quite interesting as it’s been created to mirror breast milk so it’s quite a complex pre-biotic.

https://www.bimuno.com/

Happy experimenting!!

La Shy: I try to think of wholefoods (as close to the original plant or animal as possible) as basic foods, and processed stuff (has an ingredients list) as processed foods or occasional add-ins. I find flavourings/ condiments the most challenging, but easy to minimise wheat-rich foods (cereals, bread, pasta, crackers, baked goods) with a little practice.

Essential to avoid anything advised by a doctor or dietician, or identified by you as problematic in phase one.

If you focus on adding in wholefoods and eating a really wide variety (Dr Mosley says 20-30 varieties mostly veg and little fruit a week) there is minimal room for processed stuff.

Portions check out your country’s official healthy eating guidelines. UK is 80g fruit and veg, 30g hard cheese, 150g yoghurt, dried fruit 30g, meat size and thickness of your palm. Can fit fermented stuff and seaweed into this, personalising over time. It’s fine to have half servings if something is strong flavoured or gives you gas!

La Shy: microbiome changes daily as we poop, eat and drink.If you have a celebration or splurge meal (or day) just get right back on the wagon next meal or next day. Both Dr Mosley and Prof. Tim Spector (British Gut Project) had colonoscopies and got their guts back to normal quickly. Tom Spector (son of Prof.) did a MacDiet – scary results in ‘The Diet Myth’ or somewhere online. Also see blog by Jeff Leach ‘Human Food Project’.

La Shy: I think you’re trying too hard, and over-complicating things. Dr Mosley’s book will give you a fair idea of portion sizes in the recipes section, and much of the other information is in the book, for example the resistant starch: sorry, but seems fairly straightforward to me – you cook the stuff, let it go cold, stick it in the fridge/freezer till you need it, take out and reheat. Or not, if you’re having it cold! No, unless you’re going to start making your own bread and pasta, you’re not going to eliminate all processed foods, but as long as you buy your meat and fish fresh (though I seem to remember tinned tuna is OK!), ditto fruit and veg, you’re well on the way. And bear in mind, yoghurt and sauerkraut are processed foods, too! But don’t try to quantify everything, an ounce of this and a couple of ounces of that are going to drive you nuts – chill, eat as much as seems good to you at the time, and if you’re still bothered about portion sizes, weigh everything and get a calorie count for a few days or a week – terminally dull, but by the end of a week, you’ll have a very good idea of how many calories each individual food serving comes to. Alternatively, use some sort of measure – I use American cup measures – and once you work out the weight and calorie count of each type of food for a given cup size, you’re sorted.

The Japanese, incidentally, advocate 30 different types of food daily. Sounds horrendous, but isn’t really, as every ingredient counts as a food type, so (for example) a veg soup might be: oil, stock, carrot, cabbage, swede, peas, potato, barley: 8 food types, more if you count the bits and bobs that went into the stock.