I was one of the first posters on this forum and sad to say I’ve slipped off the wagon somewhat since then although I do try keep to general healthy gut principles . I’ve lurched off into various diets and plans including low carb high fat diet and weightwatchers all that happened was that I got constipated. I’m now at the stage of not doing any diets
I’ve moved house since and we’re coming to the end of work to build an extension and I’m not feeling too healthy as a result of the stress, upheaval and not having much of a working kitchen and having to keep going on ready meals and takeaways and pub meals. My IBS has flared up, I’ve got several inflammatory type ailments like athletes foot and eczema and mouth ulcers and sore gums, and I’m getting regular bouts of insomnia

I want to boost my health and my gut health up and I need some advice on how to do this – I was thinking I’d get a probiotic – any suggestions for which one – I was thinking symprove or vsl#3. I’ve been taking inulin FOS. I like kefir but need to start buying it again. What else can I do to get myself healthy again?

It’s busy round here, isn’t it?

Busier now your here!
I’ll offer my 2p worth increasing the foot fall 100%….
Can you make your own Kefir? or other probiotics?. Kefir is easy and I’d like to think probably has more beneficial bacteria than commercially available and possibly offers the most bang for your buck. I make may own most days, its easy but it takes time. It might help you but I doubt it will cure you. I also make Purple Sauerkraut (recipe off here I always make 7 times the recipe, it goes in my daily salads and I make it every 3 months or so), Kombucha, Yogurt and Sourdough (for occasional consumption as I try to be low carb). Re diets as I think you’ve found they are not sustainable (especially in the upheaval you’ve been experiencing, hopefully things will settle down and you can get back on track). I think to be really effective you need to change your lifestyle, diet is just part of it. I know that’s easier said than done but I did it a couple of years ago and I’ve sustained my 3+ stone loss and I feel better than I did when I was 20 so its possible. Think of it as a new hobby but you do have to stick with it. I’m sure if I went back to my old ways I’d quickly revert to where I was. Look at doing HIIT 10 mins every other day is a very time efficient way of improving your fitness (but you may want to start with less and build up) I do mine on a cross trainer but there are plenty of other ways.
Good luck! Go for it you can do it!

Hi recoveringfatty
thanks for replying. I was beginning to think this forum had died or like me people had disappeared off doing other things
I’ve used to make kefir but since we’ve been having building work I’ve not made it but I’ve been buying it from Sainsbury’s the white bottle with the green label. I should start doing it again, do you know where can I get the grains from?
I’ve had a week of feeling rough with IBS pains and reflux, as well as 2-3 nights of insomnia but something stops me going to the doctor cause I don’t think pills and medicines will help me, it has to come from me and my eating and current lifestyle. I know it’s been triggered mainly by a bad diet and stress of the ongoing building work (almost finished now, thankfully). The last time I went to the docs, I had inflamed toes after some OTC cream for athletes foot hadn’t agreed with me and the doc wanted to give me antibiotics – which I know ruins your gut health and would probably make my athletes foot worse – I treated it myself in the end by bathing it in hot salty water daily .

You’re right about making lifestyle changes and I like the idea of treating it as a new hobby. Wow 3 stone loss is excellent. Do you mind telling me what did you do and what helped you?.

I’m going to start properly after the new year – I’ve got jury service for the next two weeks – it’s must be for all my sins! So Im just going to to my best to keep my head above water til that’s finished and eat as well as I can. . I need to get out on my bike again too. I’ll get myself prepared for it, I’ve been reading the cleverguts recipe book as well as one called the Healthy Guts Handbook by Justine Pattison, and have got some good advice and ideas from them. I’ll be v grateful for anything people can recommend I read, etc

Again recovering, thanks for replying to my post – we’ll liven this forum up 😀

Hi I.K.Ting
Your welcome and no I don’t mind telling you what I did/do which have changed a bit over the years….
I was historically always overweight and decided if I didn’t do something aged 40+(with a BMI of 30) It would cause me issues later, my knees were starting to give me a bit of grief and I wanted them to last at least another 40 years…..I was lucky in that I had no illness and was fairly active , enjoying weekend walks and having a job that involved a reasonable amount of time walking about but I never played sports or took any form of exercise (other than walking), as I was convinced I was allergic to both. I started a ‘diet’ and read books (still reading and learning!), everything Dr Mosley has written is a good start (but Fast diet and Fast exercise are a must) I used to eat toast or cereal for breakfast, sandwiches at break time and lunch and snack when I got home before evening meal (which was nearly always Pasta/Spuds/Rice/Pastry etc) . First I started to exercise, I hated the idea of doing this in public- it wasn’t going to be pretty! and I also wanted something quick, so after reading Fast Exercise I thought I’d give HIIT a go. I decided to spend £300 on a reasonable cross trainer, enough of a commitment to make me use it but not so much to bankrupt me if it was a huge mistake. I started doing HIIT every other day for 5 mins, building up to 10 mins and also strength exercises 20 minutes on the days in between. After a while of doing this I got to thinking i should put more effort into what I was eating as I was undoing all the good work I was doing exercising, after all I wasn’t doing the exercise for fun! (I didn’t enjoy it then and I still don’t! but its much more tolerable now!). So I ditched the bread and changed a few other things. Porridge for breakfast (its now eggs or yogurt as lower carb) Fruit for break time (now swapped to nuts) salad for lunch (this is a big one with salmon or cheese etc and fermented stuff, as many veggies, seeds, olive oil etc as you can fit in the box!) I lost the three stone in 9 months. I reckon I’d have done it quicker if I knew then what I know now. I’d now say diet is the singularly most important thing, exercise is beneficial but I’d say 80% of the battle is what you eat.
So the main things I now do are:
Eat fairly low carb by ditching the starchy ones (bread,pasta,rice, potatoes now rare for me, yes I miss them, yes most people like them and they are staples but I also believe that’s one major factor why we are in an obesity epidemic) we don’t need them.
Avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners
Practice intermittent fasting (it sounds scary and mad but once you go lower carb its much easier) obviously it will help with weight loss or maintenance but its suggested to have other health benefits (Read Jason Fung’s books) I do 24 hours (dinner to dinner) twice a week, occasionally doing 2-3 days…..
Eat loads of veg, not loads of fruit (beware of dried fruit, loads of sugar in there)
Exercise 10 mins HIIT every other day, alternated with half an hours strength exercises (I use the 7 min app and do 3 reps of the classic workout).
I still have a couple of vices!…
I still drink (not excessively) but go for red wine over beer most of the time (but not always!)
I’m a bit of chocoholic but its now dark chocolate 75%+ coco solids not dairy milk, even I can’t eat so much dark….
I’d recommend measuring yourself, height and weight and waist, work out what your BMI is and what it should be, that’s your goal and don’t sell yourself short, yes loosing a stone is great but if your still overweight after loosing it keep going. Keep a diary of your stats.
Start tomorrow, you don’t have to do everything in one go but change something. I’d suggest looking at what you eat and plan some changes i.e what do you normally have for breakfast can it be improved? if not look at lunch and keep looking….
Go for it, its not easy as we are surrounded by bad stuff but its well worthwhile!
Good luck

Forgot to say I got my grains from here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Organic-Milk-Kefir-Grains-Live-Tibetan-Mushroom-Superfood/302853177827?hash=item468374c1e3:m:mh4fQNmRT9LW6RCPB1B6-rg:rk:1:pf:0
I’ve had em a couple of years and no issues so I’d recommend him. The seller also has useful You tube instructions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c2vuA2OQTw
Cheers!

Hi Recovering thanks, that’s brilliant, you’ve done really well. It is really helping me firm up my ideas to read what you have done
I get the whole thing about trying to keep healthy and fit for as long as possible as my mum has Alzheimer’s and her two sisters had it as well – although as far as I know it’s not heredity, I am predisposed to similar health conditions like indigestion and IBS. But I don’t smoke and only drink 1/2 glasses of wine about 4 times a week and I view that at as good for my health and that I get out and socialise in the pub. I too hate sport or going to the gym and most of my exercise is walking the dog but he’s getting old and arthritic.

I got on the scales for the first time in ages and I’m way way too heavy 12 st 10 for my 5’ 7” height which gives me a BMI 27.9 !! My focus over the past 6 months or so has been to shun diets and try to eat intuitivey – Eating what I want and when I want BUT I think it’s where I’ve gone wrong because I’ve ended up feeling ill and fat after eating too many crisps cakes biscuits and processed meals so I’m going to work on what I eat and like you say start with small do- able steps and am going shop for and prepare a weeks worth of healthy lunches for when I’m doing jury service next week. I’m using the Justine Pattinson book, as I like it and she sets out meal options covering 28 days that are based on a Mediterranean diet and healthy gut principles.
My husband does 5:2 religiously but I struggle to maintain fasting as I start panicking about getting hungry and getting headaches, I’ve done 16: 8 with v little effort so I’m gong to work towards including that in my plan.
Thanks for the link for the kefir grains – I’ll get some ordered
So, here I go

Hi IKTing
I’ve read a few places recently that refer to Alzheimer’s as type 3 diabetes. Jason Fung’s take on obesity and diabetes (and possibly Alzheimer’s ) are all linked to insulin resistance caused by people eating the wrong things (sugar and other refined carbs) and how regularly they eat. His book the obesity code is probably the best book I’ve read and makes so much sense, its quite an eye opener, maybe get it to read during the breaks on Jury service?

Specifically for irritable bowel and and inflammatory bowel symptoms I recommend Symprove. Take a look at their website. They’ve actually funded clinical trials. My next go to is VSL3, but as said above a combination of natural pre and pro-biotics in the diet can be extremely helpful

Rather late to the party but just in case…. Try to get back into keeping your detailed food and symptom diary. This can really promote awareness and focus.

It is possible to eat quick and easy meals that are also healthy, with limited kitchen equipment or gadgets. You can make a surprisingly decent one pot ‘stir fry’/ steam fry or quick curry in the microwave. Assembly meals can be no more effort than a ready meal.

Protein: Fish that is already cooked (canned or chiller), hard-boil organic eggs six at a time *in* your kettle, frozen cooked jumbo prawns, probiotic-rich cheeses and yogurt or kefir.
Fruit and vegetables: A huge range is available ready prepared fresh or frozen.
Jar sauces: Some brands of tomato/ vegetable sauce or curry sauces have solid ingredients lists and tasty too. I rate Loyd Grossman and supermarket ‘premium’ own brands.
Starches: Brown rice thread noodles just need a kettle, frozen wholegrain mixes, ‘instant’ ready-cooked brown rice, wholemeal pitta or other flatbreads in the toaster, canned beans and lentils.

I am not one to talk 😮 but that number of standard glasses of wine is more likely to be harmful when your diet is low quality, and less likely to be harmful when your diet is nutrient dense. Always eat before not with your drinks: there is scientific evidence that the old ‘line your stomach’ thing does reduce the negative effect on alcohol on the liver and the gut.

Ditto physical activity really can balance out any negative effects of alcohol by making the organs function more efficiently. It does not have to be full-blown formal ‘exercise’. Do you/ can you walk or cycle to and from work, or to and from the pub or both?

HTH.