Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Clever Guts forums!

This is a great place to meet others who are also on a path to improved gut health. We urge you to introduce yourself and share your tips, tricks, recipes and stories.

Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you!

Hello, is anyone there? Well, it looks like I’m the first here I’m 66 years (just) and live in Derbyshire uk I’m happily retired

I’ve been waiting for this book and way of eating since I first saw notice on amazon of it. I have also read the supplement that was in the Daily Mail last week (not my favourite newspaper!) I did the quiz that was with the online article and I was way over 10 eg my gut being in trouble – it was nearer 16!!!! I’ve had IBS since I was in my teens, I’m prone to fungal infections – thrush, althletes foot, and eczema type rashes in my scalp and ears etc. I seem to have reactions to sugar, yeast and wheat and over processed food that gets worse as I get older. I also suffer from insomnia especially when I have some of the foods I’ve mentioned I’m. overweight by about two stone I’ve tried the fast diet and struggled with feelings of nausea and headache, despite drinking pints of water, so I gave up. i have been dabbling with the blood sugar diet and love a Mediterranean type diet. I’ve just had blood tests done by my doctor as I’m worried I might be pre diabetic – I get the results tomorrow.
Sorry to hit you with my “health issues” all at once. I’m actually a positive happy person – honest 😀

Hi folks my book arrived in the post today read the first 92 pages already !
I’m determined to break my yoyo dieting cycle and get healthy physically and mentally 👍

Hi there! I did that quiz too and had a high score. Would like to get my weight and asthma under control and if my thyroid function improves, well that would be marvellous. Finished the book yesterday and in preparation chucked out all artificial sweeteners (ah who am I kidding, I finished the bottle). I’m just about to start my prepping my own sauerkraut and weirdly looking forward to fasting again.

Hello! I’m 31, suffered mildly with my health since having my daughter 8 months ago. I have gall stones and a duodenal ulcer. Although I think they have gone since eating lower carb and higher good fat. I haven’t quite finished the book but already annoyed by all the references to this site, only to find no info here. Or is it just me? I can’t find the information mentioned in the book about olive oil, for example.
Anyway lovely to meet you all.

Hello all, I am a 70 yr old retired person living with my wife, daughter and two young delightful grandchildren. I have MDS a rare and incurable cancer of the bone marrow. That said I am naturally keen to disturb its progress and have been studying food as an ally in my quest. I have become very interested in the microbiome and have already read 196 pages of this most absorbing book. I look forward to implementing the suggestions contained there in. I’ve just had my first teaspoon of potato starch!

hi i am just half way through reading this book and find it really interesting
i am a lady of a ” certain age ” (52) !!! and have always had a ” dodgy tummy” for want of a better word
however i had a hysterectomy and chemo in 2015 which i find has left me with hot fushes and at times an even “dodgier tummy” so am looking forward to giving this book a try
i recently had a bad bout of gastroenteritis in february so feel i need to get my guts to be clever again !!
does anyone know if surgery and chemo can have effects on my ” clever guts” ??

Hello. Just got the book yesterday, I’m about at page 90. I would love to have the analysis, pity it’s not available in the UK yet. I was diagnosed as diabetic in 2001, but quickly got on top of it with diet etc. and take no medication but have ‘normal’ blood sugar. I have a C&G nutrition unit qualification which I studied to help me with this, but I still can’t get my weight down no matter what I do. Yes, I’ve done 5/2. I do know about the biome etc., but more advice is always welcome if it’s evidence-based as this is.

Hi,

I read the book and wanted to try some recipes, but my first pick – banana cashew pots on p260 – involves 250grams of cashews! Is that right?

Hi. I am also of an even more certain age (74) and was also diagnosed with IBS years ago. Mine seems to have culminated in bowel cancer, I had the tumour removed last year and then had chemo. I am trying everything to improve my gut. I am interested in fermented foods but most of them seem to be pasteurised which isn’t much help. We are moving to Derbyshire in August, hopefully and the town has a good independent health shop so that will be my first port of call! Has anyone had any success in making their own kefir? Might try making the sauerkraut. I’ve tried the goats milk one from Wales but it is expensive. I think it helped though. I wish the book was more explicit with which are the best probiotics. Just had a blood test for showing if I am deficient in any vitamins or minerals but might try the fecal bacteria test once we have moved. All advice/polite suggestions and help welcomed.

Hello all glad there’s more people on here as I was feeling a bit like Billy no mates. It’s interesting reading all your post to see that we all have similar and different reasons for our interest in the clever guts diet.

LCB when do you move to Derbyshire? it’s a beautiful county I live between Nottingham and Derby.
I’ve ordered kefir grains from raw and pure co uk I’ll try to post a link to it

I’m wondering how to start this diet off – I think I’ll cut out things thatiknow dontafree with me like wheat sugar and over processed foods and I’m wondering if I should try incorporating a 5:2 blood sugar type diet

What are you all planning to do?

Oh, I’ve been to the doctors for my blood test results and my blood glucose levels were normal (great news!!) – my cholesterol was up for the first time in my life!! So I need to get losing some weight …..

i did the blood sugar diet so majority of my food is carb free but it does play havoc with my dodgy guts!!!!
i am hoping if i start this it may improve my poor dodgy guts!!!

We are moving to Derbyshire at the beginning of August, to a small town west of Derby. I’m told they call it The Gateway to the Peak District. Lovely area, lots of fresh air for healthy bacteria? I’ve just asked my local hardware shop if they can get fermenting jars, don’t want three, just one will do. If they can’t then it will be the products link.
I am trying to replace the fibre from wheat with the fibre from vegetables and beans. Got the old Audrey Eyton F2 books (remember her and that duet?). She does done lovely salads with butter beans (my husband loves that one) or red kidney beans and sweet corn. All good fibre. As I am allergic to dairy I have goats milk products which seem to suit me and I will have another 3 weeks of kefir shortly. I am also taking Bio-kult probiotics – Boots do a 3 for 2. Also going sugar free, or at least 90%. I will also do some fasting. Maybe from lunch to breakfast. We will see.

Tokyo14 – I believe it’s common to have prophylactic antibiotics with major surgery (certainly is with obstetrics) so that itself could have had an impact and have you seen this: http://www.drperlmutter.com/chemotherapy-microbiome/? Best wishes in fixing your dodgy guts!

IKeepTrying – my plan is to go back to 5:2 and cram in lots of colourful veg. I love fruit but am lazy with veg. Then I need to do battle with my sugar cravings. And I’m about to start my first batch of sauerkraut and might have a go at kefir. I already have yoghurt daily, do HITT and garden but the bit in the book about having a repetitive diet struck a chord.

I am a 52 year old vegetarian who has been doing intermittent fasting for 6 months and seen amazing improvements in many aspects of life from it, including reductions in my weight, anxiety levels, inflamation, pain from fibromyalgia and from the arthritis in my hands and asthma. My energy levels have gone up by miles too. I have lost all cravings for carbohydrates and everything tastes better. I am intrigued by the fact that my gut bacteria are behind much of this change. I want to learn more and be able to make further improvements to my biome.

I’ve just written a long post and the site decided to re-load itself and lost my post, so I’ll try to rewrite it from memory

That’s great news Fatrabbit, and motivation to people like me.

LCB I think I know where you mean – it’s a lovely town with some excellent individual shops. There’s a good art gallery (several) that has a restaurant run by the owners serving home cooked healthy meals – and.coffee and cakes – but you wouldn’t want them!
I also like beans and pulses and. Make a mixed bean salad with lemon and oil dressing, some garlic, coriander and basil with a handful of seeds thrown in – I can eat this instead of bread and carbs

Catananche I’m going to stick to a Mediterranean type diet and trying to cut out the foods that don’t agree with me at the same time as broadening the range of food I eat as I can get a bit stuck in a rut through laziness. I’ve tried 5:2 several times (my husband. Has been doing for 3 years and does maintenance now and it suits him) I always seem to get headaches despite drinking loads of water and also felt like if been hit by a bus on non fast days – I like the suggestion of michaels to eat 800 cals instead of 500 on fast days. – I might try easing into 5:2 after a week or so of repairing my mircrobiome
Keep posting everyone as it’s nice to read your posts about yourselves

Hello everyone!

I have now read Michael’s new book ‘Clever Guts’. I had pre ordered it on Amazon but it was delayed and I couldn’t wait, so I bought the kindle version too! The hard copy is useful for the recipes though and Amazon have extended my prime membership for a month to say sorry, so all’s well.

As mentioned in my profile, I’m 56 – with predominant IBS-C (and sometimes IBS-D). I’ve been intermittent fasting since 2012, taking probiotics since 2016 and also following the slimming world eating plan as well. I have an underactive thyroid too, but have still managed to lose 2.5 stone with 5:2/slimming world and I’ve kept it off for 2 years on 3rd June!

Having read the book I can see how important prebiotics will be in my fight against IBS. My symptoms have already improved dramatically since following the above regime, but I’m still a bit of a way off living what I would call a ‘normal life’. I’m very much looking forward to introducing prebiotics into my daily routine and will be trying the ones Michael used in his recent documentary ‘The Truth About Sleep’ (which is where I first heard about them). For probiotics I use VSL#3 and it’s good to see Michael’s recommended them in his section on IBS. I buy them directly from the VSL#3 website though and wouldn’t trust getting them from Amazon etc, or I get them from Lloyds Pharmacy – although they’re £5 more expensive from Lloyds but useful if you’ve run out and need them in a hurry.

What an incredible book!

What I’m finding really interesting is that some of what Dr Mosely is saying has been on internet sites for years, but I could never really trust what was true & what was made up. A good example being leaky gut, which was dismissed by the established medical community as nonsense. In this book it’s stated as fact. At last I feel vindicated.

I’ve had skin candida rashes for years, as well as IBS, slowly getting worse over the years. Never knew which diet to go for. Now I have a proper diet plan from a doctor I trust.

In April I had to return from Singapore on the way to a holiday in New Zealand because of diverticulitis. Ive downloaded the Good Gut diet book and I’m determined to eat more healthily ( ordered a kefir starter pack and just made some sauerkraut and kimchi- watch this space!). But…….it it possible to have too much of this probiotic stuff? I already make yoghurt. I certainly don’t want to do anything that starts off diverticulitis again

OK, I finished the book. Lovely to have the actual scientific truth rather than having to pick my way though the rubbish-or-not on-line. From my point of view the only slightly sad bit is that there isn’t a lot of advice I can take from here as apart from a couple of things (such as potato starch – but then I don’t sleep badly anyway) I already eat like this – I gave up all added sugar of all types including fruit juice and easily digested starches in 2011 when I was working on controlling my diabetes, I love fermented food of all kinds and I eat a lot of veg, quite a bit of fruit, oily fish etc. and like nothing more than to have as many different kinds of veg and so forth in my meals as possible.

Hello all! I have finished the book and am very excited about it. I am looking forward to the Day 2 custom diet as I have never been able to lose the weight I started to gain when I hit 35.
I have had a lot of success getting my IBS under control. Background- almost 60 yrs old, had emergency colon resection 14years ago for diverticulitis. I firmly believe this was brought on by popcorn ( just my own theory based on other people and my own experience). As a result I suffered with many gut troubles for years and the doctors just told me to deal with it.
I started making my own kombucha and water kefir a few years ago and all gut trouble has disappeared. They are easy to make and replaced soft drinks in our house. I have shared with friends suffering with gut issues and they too have been helped. We tried milk kefir but couldn’t get on with the taste.
I highly recommend as a first step to try these, they are easy to do and it isn’t expensive to get started. There are websites and Amazon that sell starter kits or a FaceBook group.
Now I just need a diet that works! The 5:2 has helped me drop 10lbs but I have been stuck for 4 weeks at the same weight. I am not giving up yet though.
Thank you Michael Mosley, I love this subject and firmly believe in the microbiome!

Love the new book, but wondering about the suitability of the Clever Guts diet for my condition.

I have daily acid reflux (mostly a hoarse/sore throat) so wondered if the diet might help with this particular condition. Any other reflux sufferers out there? Also, the diet is not recommended for those underweight … and I’m about a stone under where I should be. Again, not sure how easy it is to adapt the diet, other than obviously adding extra portions.

Be great to know if anyone starts this diet and has any suggestions based on these topics.

Good morning. I finished the book last night and do see the point of this approach. A lot of the foods for “The Old Friends”- fermented foods and live yoghurt- were a staple for the generation of my grandparents, but of course we have now forgotten about them.
I’ve had various stomach issues for years, so have decided to start the 4-week re-booting phase. I will cut out:
– added sugar
– gluten
– milk (but not cheese, sorry)
– alcohol (I may have one glass per week, if needed socially)

Cutting pulses is not a problem as I hardly ever eat them (my stomach reacts really badly to them). Broccoli does not affect me, so will not cut out. I will not cut out coffee completely, but will stick to one cup or two cups a day, without milk.

With a bit of planning, it should be doable. Good luck to everyone starting on this regime.

It would be good, when this forum develops, to have a thread where people share recipes, actually. I don’t eat meat, for example, which limits my options even further- and would be interested in quick and easy ideas for lunch/dinner.

I’d love to have the poo analyis done ( never thought I’d see myself typing that message to people I’ve never met before ! ) but likewise , just discovere that Ubiome don’t do this for the UK. Tried looking elseweher and saw a Kings College crowd funded research programme offering similar. Had anyone tried that ? Expensive as you have to ‘donate’ and then you get something called ‘perks ( which is apparently how these crowd funded things work ) dependent on the level of your ‘donation’. Don’t want to part with hard eearned case before finding out a little more so just wondered if anyone else has participated.

Great book, exactly what I have been talking about to my dietician (who also agrees) and my gastro consultant (who is a sceptic, and of the “anxiety” causes gut problems thinking, which is not helpful!).
Apologies for next bit; don’t like to moan on about my ailments, but just in case anybody recognises themselves or someone they know with the same symptoms, it just might be helpful!
Am 49 year old woman, who has had food sensitivities since my early 20’s, of what I didn’t know at the time but now understand to be “oxalates”. I used to become profoundly ill after ingesting food containing high levels of oxalates, e.g. Curry, ground coffee, chilli, strawberries, spinach and beetroot. I have just avoided all these foods most of my adult life.
When I was pregnant at 40, suddenly became extremely ill with debilitating headaches, agonising sinus pain, and general severe pain throughout my body, prolonged vomiting and days of exhaustion. This went on for the next 5 years; I was so ill, I barely left the house, could not socialise and could not work. I never realised all these symptoms could be related to food, until I read an article from the Daily Mail my friend passed to me, written by Dr Clare Morrison, about oxalates. When I cut out oxalates from my diet, my symptoms disappeared, to my absolute joy! Coincidentally, my acute asthma also disappeared at this exact time, which was the cause for all the antibiotics over the years, ironically. (Is it possible that oxalates contributed to my asthma?!?!)
However, my intolerance to oxalate has slowly become worse, and I can now only ingest very small amounts of apple, broccoli, courgette, peas and melon without becoming profoundly ill for several days. I have recently had a perforated bowel, but luckily managed to avoid surgery (after iv antibiotics, and a further 2 weeks of antibiotics!!)!
I believe the root of my intolerances stems from having a leaky gut, caused by extensive antibiotic use, and will be using this book and the advice within to try and heal my gut.
Agree with some comments above that some advice, e.g. recommended brand of probiotics to use, is not available on this website as directed in the book.
But so happy and so relieved that research and information about gut microbiome is finally being researched in depth, and fantastic books like this are being written. Am having my poo analysed in the near future, via Human Food Project. The work and research being done by Jeff Leach is very interesting, and I urge you to read of his work and research with the diet of the Hazda tribe in Tanzania.
Really think Michael Mosley is onto something here. Good luck everyone with your future endeavours to heal your guts; it won’t be easy, but will be most definitely worthwhile.

Hi
There’s quite a few of us clever gutters here now – I accidentally typed clever grits and thought that was quite amusing we could name ourselves the clever gits
I’m wondering how everyone is doing so far. Im still trying to get my head round the whole programme. I got my delivery of VSL#3 this morning so will start that tomorrow Ive tried to work out a shopping list of things I’ll need and am heading off to my local a health food shop and supermarket tomorrow
I’m working on cutting out wheat and sugar and trying to follow a Mediterranean diet. I’ve also been on my bike which is progress as I dislocated my shoulder 2 months ago so was a little worried my ligaments weren’t strong enough to support my shoulder

Hi I Keep Trying
Yes, I think Clever Gits would be an excellent collective name for us all! 😄
Well done you! You have gone for it! Really inspiring and impressive, especially the bike riding just after you’ve dislocated your shoulder. It’s always quite daunting and overwhelming starting a new way of eating, working out what to eat, and how to make the diet work for you, especially when you already have huge limits on what you are able to eat. I think it’s important to eat foods in this diet that you really enjoy as much as possible, so that you don’t feel deprived or denied, and to give yourself little treats along the way, to keep your spirits up. I treat myself to a nice cup of coffee in the bath, with a good book from the library, when I’m feeling a bit low, it really makes me feel good. Also, watching a good film is a pick me up. Whatever works to keep yourself positive. And I remind myself that this food is healing me, and nourishing me, so that I don’t feel resentful about missing out on junk food during the craving moments. You deserve to do well with this diet, and I really hope you get some fabulous results. I am making very small, tentative changes, taking my time, as I’m so afraid that any change might make my symptoms worse. But any change in the right direction is good progress. Keep up the good work!

Hi, there’s a tab at the top for recipes and you can submit your own – probably better than a forum strand, as it is more formatted and lets you add lots of info. I’m going to put in a few of mine when I can find time.

Helen in north wales Thank you for your encouragement 😀 A little bit of positivity is a good thing, especially when you’re trying to understand your symptoms and sort them out – whatever we do it’s a leap of faith and we’ve just got to hope it works for us.
I was out getting. Hair cut and seeing the optician for my yearly eye test etc. So I didn’t get much time to spend online and reply to your post

As a self confessed gut-geek I did the Kings College analysis for £75.
I now have a moderately helpful pretty chart and a long long list of unpronounceable microorganisms and a comparison to other women, westerners, age group etc but now I need to know what I need to increase or decrease. It’s good to see a list and spot a few superstar biome inhabitants like christensenella and go off to google but the scientific papers are tmi for my little brain. I am not sure I’d do it again but my purpose isn’t to fix anything – but to contribute to the science.

I am now reading through Dr Michael’s book for the 2nd time, skipping the bits that are not relevant to me. I am finding it very informative; I now know the difference between probiotics & prebiotics & he confirms some of the information I have acquired scouring various IBS related websites which I tended to think was not always accurate. I am 77 years old & have suffered from IBS for about 30 years & over the past couple of years it has steadily got worse. 18 months ago I went to a homeopath for food tests with shocking results. It seemed I was intolerant to wheat/gluten/dairy/anything in the cabbage family/chocolate (ouch) etc, etc. I stuck to a diet omitting almost everything suggested, apart from sugar in my tea but although I did see improvements it wasn’t the “miracle cure” I was looking for. The downside to this diet is that I have lost so much weight which I could ill afford to lose, that I now resemble a stick insect & I am desperately trying to gain some weight while keeping to the gluten/dairy free regime. I now eat lots of home made cakes & biscuits, crisps, chips etc. For me it’s a Catch 22 scenario.
My life is not all doom & gloom & I do have “good” days when I feel almost normal.
My joints are a bit stiff but that’s old age. I sleep well & have loads of energy. I try to be positive & keep myself busy & stop thinking about my IBS which as Dr Michael says is due to the brain in the gut communicating with the brain in the head. If only there was a way to sever the cord between these two brains, I think it could solve my problem!!!

Hi all, I am a 68 year old man, living in Yorkshire, and have suffered from IBS for many years after what was thought to be several food poisoning events ( i was never that convinced but hey …). I was on antibiotics for over 10 years prescribed for acne which I now suspect could be part of the reason for my gut issues. I also have dry skin every where except my face which is greasy (still have acne problems). I have fungal infections on my toe nails and have regular problems with my ears – thought to be eczema.

I now have Michael’s book and feel hopeful that it could lead me to a way of repairing my gut problems.

My stomach (IBS) has gone ballistic over the last few years. Going to a Gastroenterologist …. The book is giving me hope

Hi all, just joined you and am delighted to find other Old Gits on this site. I’m 72 and have had IBS since my late teens, but wasn’t diagnosed until 3 years ago by my GP. I just thought I’d eaten that had upset me each time it flared up. Well, I had, but not in the way I thought. I don’t have any problems with wheat or dairy and I can easily avoid shellfish, which I know I’m allergic to, so I’m trying to decide what to do next. Just read Michael’s book, which was very interesting and informative. I’m thinking of trying something gentle like some fermented foods, to see if they help. I’ve tried prebiotics, but they make me nauseous after a couple of weeks. I’d like to know if anyone else has had the same problem?

Has anyone tried any prebiotics which they would recommend?

Hi Tokyo
Sorry to hear about your symptoms and surgeries.
I find the worst thing for night sweats and hot flushes is refined sugars and carbs. It also brings on terrible back pain, acne and dysmenorrhea to name just a few symptoms. Cutting sugars out has certainly transformed my gut in terms of those symptoms.
When I cut them out the symptoms pretty much disappear, but when I lapse they start coming back. I treat myself usually to only 1 square of 74% dark chocolate when i need some chocolate and that doesn’t seem to bring on the symptoms.
I have also found taking Kefir in the mornings has helped me feel better intestinally after eating. In fact, yesterday I ate something that really disagreed with me, but within the hour the symptoms dissipated. I was amazed as it usually takes longer. I also take inulin prebiotic an hour before bed.
Hope this helps you, too.
Madeleine

Hi Phoebe
I have found taking Kefir in the mornings over the past 2-3 weeks has helped me feel better intestinally, after a meal and during the day and night. In fact, yesterday I ate something that really disagreed with me, but within the hour the symptoms dissipated. I was amazed as it usually takes longer.

I also take the prebiotic inulin in green tea an hour before bed. My sense of smell has returned, too.

I have also taken tablet forms of probiotics over the years, which i am sure have helped me, but none as noticeably as the Kefir and inulin.

I found taking kefir at lunchtime or tea time wasn’t so good as i awoke at 4 am feeling very empty and needed to have a soothing warm drink to get back to sleep again.
Hope it helps you, too.
Madeleine

Thanks for your suggestions, Msara. I’ll certainly give kefir a try – I tasted some a few weeks ago when a friend gave me some from a Polish shop she knows. Loved the taste, it reminded me of buttermilk.

You are welcome, Phoebe. I hope it helps.

Hi. I have just completed a week on this diet and have lost 6 pounds! I am so thrilled. I have not been hungry or bogged down with calorie counting and have made some amazing food. My 14 year old son loved the hoummous ( U am still in shock) and I made yoghurt in my slow cooker. The goan curry was amazing and the aubergine brownies are a revelation. Am combining with the 5.2 diet. I have 6 stone to lose to be at a healthy weight and am thrilled with this first week!

Hi LCB, you were interested in Kefir. I have a couple of goats and make goat milk Kefir daily. I keep grains (aka glob) in a large lidded tea mug on the sink bench. Daily I tip the lot into a beaker, remove the grains, use the Kefir for a smoothie, put the grains back in the mug and top it up with milk. Very easy as a system. If I can’t rehome the extra grains I blend them into the smoothie. I’ve been doing this for several years. I don’t get upset stomachs, but no idea if its the Kefir or not.

Hello peeps
For more on Kefir take a look at The Fermentarium. I did their course. Lovely people! And join the facebook “fermenting friends” group.

We bought the sachets of grains and every other day we save 1/5 and add it to fresh milk for the next batch, it seems to work for us and it’s been 8 weeks since the sachet was opened, we really see grains as such tho ?