No one diet suits everybody. I switched to a WFPB diet earlier this year and it was disastrous for my body – even though I’ve been vegetarian + fish for 25 years. We each need to find what works for us.

hi guys, I have been doing some of the diet for about six weeks now and things have changed big time

1. my hair has retuned on my head were it was thinning
2.my sore joints have stopped aching

3.i sleep better
4.back pain is decreasing( not a back problem) was my bowl

this is the best thing I have done in my life

Ive recently started trying to figure out whats best for me and my gut and have been fasting from dinner to lunch, cutting out sugars ect. I’ve been doing this for 3-4 weeks to now find out i am pregnant. I am wondering if its ok to fast early stages of pregnancy as long as i am getting all my nourishment, vegetables, protein, calcium ect from my lunch and dinner. I am really enjoying the food i am eating and feel more energised. I am also wanting to be vegan and i know this isn’t advised while pregnant. Any advice please, I would be so grateful!

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?

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

Could there be a link between toxoplasmosis and dementia…..? Just a thought…..!

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 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

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 Mumra
I too am interested in getting my microbiome tested in the UK, but am interested in a company who does the whole package, including interpreting the results and giving clinical recommendations etc. Let me know if you come across such a company. Thanks Marina

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!

It’s busy round here, isn’t it?

I am enjoying trying out the diet. I do have 2 questions.
1 I would also like to lose weight and am not on this diet. Should I try the blood sugar diet instead?
2 I get quite strong facial eczema when I drink Kombucha and/or the milk kefir. Is this a common reaction to the bacteria/yeast? Will it go away if I continue to do it?

Cheers
Cathy

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?

I have had the same problem where I am sensitive to nearly all food, and turns out I have mast cell activation syndrome, which is an inflammatory allergic condition. Foods that are high in histamine are often a huge trigger, but when levels are high, then it becomes all foods. When it comes to mast cells, unfortunately it is very difficult to heal the gut, as live bacteria is also a trigger, making the sensitivities even worse, so the first thing to do, is calm down the cells, then look at the gut afterwards. If anyone wants more info and lists of doctors who can diagnose this unusual condition, then send me a message and i’m happy to email a list.

My thoughts are that our gut flora is our being i.e. the software with decision making abilities and the brain purely memory storage, muscle coordination and sensory input, with the Vagus nerve providing the link between the gut flora and the brain

The gut controls your mood through the production of a range of different chemicals as required, so damage to your flora by food preservatives, et al, will compromise this ability, affecting health and wellbeing.

Modern medical response to this is to replace the chemicals that the compromised gut can no longer produce, using synthesised equivalents, with little or no understanding as to the exact type or the correct quantity required, instead of healing the ailing flora.

Purely my gut feeling but I don’t think that the majority of society could handle this concept!

Recommendation at this Christmas time, fermented Brussel Sprouts….!

I feel confused about whether drinking tap water is unhelpful to the microbiome, reading about chlorine etc. to make it safe. What do other people do, and does it make s difference? Thanks.

I live in New Zealand and is poo testing available here or do I have to look overseas?

I have exactly the same thing… any thing fermented, aged or cured and foods with high histamine levels. I’ve spoken to a doctor and done some research , apparently it is a high level of histamine in the body. But I can’t figure out how to help my body and not have to take a anti histamine everyday without eliminating a large amount of foods. Also I have digestive issues but a lot of things suggested to improve this are fermented!
Looking for solutions…

Anyone any tips for making the phyto salad bearable to eat? I felt so sick afterwards raw cabbage did not agree with me!

Hi,
I am wondering if there has been any study on negative or positive effects on the gut when we take disprin or other pain killers. I understand that antibiotics kill the good guys and the bad guys and I had to take a disprin for pain today. Started wondering what this would do to the organisms in my gut?

Hi Lancslass, have you thought of FODMAPping to try identify if there is any particular food that is causing your problems.

Hi Lancslass, have you tried cutting out dairy. I have had very dry flaky skin for many years which has improved by cutting out dairy.
There are so many alternatives in the supermarket these days, I love almond milk on my cereal in the morning but you can also get dairy free alternatives for butter and cheese. Good luck and hope you are feeling better soon.

Hi
The prebiotic used was called Bimuno.

TLDR: I’ve experienced just over a week of diarrhea or really loose stools, since going onto the repair phase of the Clever Guts diet (no dairy, gluten, coffee or processed food) – any help out there about why that might be or what I can do about it?

I’m in my mid-30s and I’ve had discomfort in my stomach/guts for the last year (pain at times, or just general discomfort, and regularly constipated with the odd bout of random diarrhea) and these issues started with a fairly acute episode where I had a lot of pain in my stomach/guts that made me want to almost be sick/stop eating (I wasn’t sick though).

I’ve been through doctors and had every test done to try and find out what’s going on (blood tests, stool tests, breath tests, ultrasounds, CT, endo & gastroscopy etc) and according to these tests I’m very healthy (yay!)!

I also started a fairly stressful job a few months before my stomach/gut issues started, so that led me to think that stress might have contributed to the issues kicking off…

Given anything serious being ruled out, that’s left me to think that it must be related to diet and I’ve stumbled on the Clever Guts Diet after seeing amazing transition in my mother-in-law. I thought I ate fairly well, but would have some sort of processed food most days (a cookie, some chips or chocolate etc), wasn’t eating a very wide variety of greens (just a simple salad and meat most nights) and was also taking a fibre supplement each morning to try and help with the constipation.

I decided to give the Phase 1: Repair a go, which was a bit of a shock to my system (especially giving up caffeine and dairy, but also gluten and cutting out the junk I would eat too). I had a shocking headache for the first 3 days, but just as that cleared, I started to get the loose stools which moved into diarrhea and hasn’t changed since (now day 10).

I’m at a bit of a loss as to what the next steps should be – whether I should abandon the diet and just try to deal with the diarrhea, or whether it might just take a couple of weeks for my guts to adjust to a new way of being?

I’m starting to feel very exhausted as the days go on, so I’m not sure whether I’m helping myself or hindering myself! Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

How much does it matter if you use Nappa Cabbage, or Korean Radishes and Chillis Flakes, etc. these are not all easily and readily available.
Cheers

Hi Pia, it appears that your campaign is now closed and although I’ve noticed other products on your site the capsules are not listed. Is there a way to purchase the capsules? I live in Adelaide, South Australia.

Here’s an interesting article on why the gut may actually benefit from intermittent fasting:

https://medium.com/lifeomic/why-your-gut-microbes-love-intermittent-fasting-5716948281a3?fbclid=IwAR3wN_aXAxd8DJ7ukRZjuSuFKooFu9PKpw6E7fdTXH3Uz8RSQP7hOFRMKus

“Intermittent fasting and other forms of dietary restriction, together with intake of fiber and other gut microbe enhancing foods, can theoretically increase insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, enhance immune tolerance and tissue repair, boost mitochondrial function, rid the body of damaged senescence cells and ultimately increase health and longevity.”

Hello!
I’m wondering if anyone has any experience or knows of any trial work done in the area of gut health post chemotherapy which I’ve just begun.
I’m assuming chemo will wreak serious havoc with my mocrobiome and only wish I had thought to have it tested before starting chemo.
There don’t seem to be many testing options currently in Australia although maybe I’ve just not found them?
I would love to hear of any clinical trials / research in this area.
Would also love to hear any suggestions for dealing with the after effects of chemo beyond making and eating a broad range of ferments and prebiotic food which I am doing or considering a poo transplant post treatment.
Cheers!

Try soaking 1 cup of porridge oats mixed with 2 cups of kefir & leaving it to soak overnight in the fridge. On a fasting day, it’s a delicious breakfast on its own. On a non-fasting day, it’s even more delicious with added fruit & honey 😋 There are also lots of other recipes for ‘overnight oats’, using milk & yoghurt, online.

I’ve found a Spanish raw cider vinegar, with the mother, in Home Bargains for £1.15. Tasty too 😋

you say ‘I eat pretty well, low carb, high protein most of the time. ‘
‘Low carb’ ki11ed my bacteria, do not believe the ‘keto hype’. I’ve switched onto whole food plant based (WFPB) Since Dec 2017 and feeling much better. Paleo is also a disaster, meat will rip your guts to shreds. Look up Dr Michael Greger on YouTube best, an eye opener for me.

Also, fish oil has been PROVEN not to make any difference to cognitive performance or cardio health, only negative from all the contaminants.

The Clever Guts regime has been working well for me over the last 3 weeks, so I decided to reintroduce gluten – a baguette and some beer – on Saturday evening. I was completely symptom free until Tuesday evening (72 hours after) when I started experiencing discomfort again. I had also had my first portion of red lentils on Tuesday lunchtime, after excluding them, so I am wondering if it is most likely to be the pulses which triggered the reaction. I hadn’t planned to introduce pulses at that point but I was stuck at work. Would the gluten have triggered a reaction before 72 hours elapsed? I am feeling very disappointed as I was starting to feel so much better, but I would love any thoughts from more experienced people on this. Thanks.

I’m keen to have my microbiome tested but see that on website only one company is mentioned and not available in UK. Has anyone tried a UK based company that they can recommend or any to avoid. Thanks.

Hi all I could really use some help. I have IBS that has been diagnosed by my GP but I think I may also have a yeast infection as I have itchy ears and eczema intermittently. I’ve just turned 65 and feel like this is it now! I’ve tried cutting out carbs and sugars but I still keep getting pains and acid and bloating. Sorry I’ve rambled a bit here but I just don’t know what to do – any suggestions? Thanks

Hi there….. I have Ibs and I do better on white breads etc when it’ flares up…..I know, so wrong!!, we get told the opposite but fibre doesn’t help my pain in that time period and white rice, plain white breads and plain starches help me alot. ☺

I have what was diagnosed as Ibs and have been dealing with symtoms for years now. I turned vegetarian a while back and found that helped as I don’t digest meat very well and it makes my symptoms worse.
I have never been able to eat large amounts of iron rich greens and high iron vegetarian foods either due to the Ibs so now I have very low iron, which I don’t know how to fix……I cannot take iron pills as I suffer terrible headaches on them , which rules out transfusion as it will have the same effect if not worse. ….and who knows if my stomach even absorbs iron anymore after so many years not working well. I eat good food, take protiotics and b12…… but my iron is the problem and it’s been decreasing everytime I get tested.

Im new – so I have 2 questions :
1, Is the Clever Guts Diet an eating plan that one can continually use? ( as opposed to most diets which once you’ve achieved what you set out do – you stop! )

2. What is the difference between Clever Guts and a Paleo diet ?

Hi, I’ve just seen this, so you may have worked it out already.
If not, Windows 10 has a “snipping” app, it’s in Windows Accessories.
Get your recipe (or anything else) on screen, open the snipping tool (I keep mine on the task bar) and select New.
Then all you have to do is draw a box around the area you wish to keep, save it to your Recipe folder, from where you can print it out 🙂
Hope this helps someone, if not you.
Andy

i’ve just got my results back from the british gut project and one glaring omission is akkermansia. from what i’ve read so far my diet seems to be one which would support its’ production as i eat plenty of polyphenol rich foods. does this mean i need some way of introducing it to my gut? and if so, how?

Hi Bizibee,
After reading articles on resistant starch,I was lead to believe when u eat cold potato,rice,etc,it gets absorbed in the large intestine and not the small.Thus no sugar hit from the carbs.But ofcause me no Nutritionist.

I am recently diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease…I have had colonoscopies, and am on medication. I feel certain that the answer will lie in food and diet, but after a few half hearted attempts I am just confused and don’t know what to do next. I’ve had some good days, but more not so good with loose stools and grumbling swollen tummy. I have read articles on the internet, and bought the Clever Guts book – but this seems to more for IBS than IBD? I don’t know how to cut out foods sensibly in order to identify the ones causing problems. I’ve tried Actimel, and I’ve tried Kefir….the internet advised cutting out healthy whole foods, and substituting with white bread, white rice etc – the very opposite of what we’ve always been told!!
Any advice gratefully received!!!

Since I’ve been reading the ‘Clever Guts Diet’ book,my depression has improved remarkably.I’m sticking to it now.
I have read articles where,by cooling pasta,rice,potatoes after cooking,the structure in them changes to resistance starch and is obsorbed by a big intestine Instead of the small.I would dearly love advise from a professional if this is true or not.I am also reading thke ‘8 week blood sugar diet’ (fewer carbs).

Hi Wellylass, did you find a company that tests microbiome in Wellington?
Thanks in advance

I am just one person who has had psoriasis for sixty years. Mine is the kind that gets worse in sunshine so I always have to cover up, though I know that this is unusual. I followed the above suggestion and tried liquidising 5g (that’s 2 1/4 sheets) of sushi nori from the supermarket in vegetable soup. After a daily dose for about five weeks my psoriasis more or less cleared up. I still had to protect myself from sunshine. I don’t know if it was the nori, my age or something else, but I would say it could be worth a try.

Is there any research done on Alflorex precisionbiotics, has been recommended by Gastro Consultant, personally I think that it’s a placebo effect due to my circumstances. I have started taking them but having doubts that it will solve my gut problems.

Hi there, I’ve just had a test done through Bioscreen in Australia, organised through my holistic GP in Auckland. Am waiting on the results. So I would contact Bioscreen and ask which GP’s/naturopaths in Wellington could refer, or maybe you could just do it direct with them. Good luck.

Which type do I need? 2 or 1 & 3
Many thanks

Having seen the Clever Guts Book comments on Italian Olive oil I was minded to comment that as a regular daily drinker of olive oil the best I have found is GREEK . Apparently the most beneficial is that derived from the Koroneiki olive in terms of it being a good source of Polyphenols and Flavonoids, which help to fight against harmful free radicals.It also tastes as good as any I have tried and is “drinkable ” .I buy from http://www.maltbyandgreek.com . Perhaps these guys are worth checking out ? Be interesting to see if this is really the best in terms of health benefits – I cant say myself one way or the other and I have no interest in that company other than being a very small time customer .

hi all,
Has there been any update on the brands of Olive Oil that are best to use? I’m in New Zealand, so looking for a brand available in this hemisphere!
Thanks in advance.