Hi – is she taking any other medication (besides the omeprazole?) One option would be to swap to Gaviscon (NB the low sodium version) but discuss with her GP before contemplating any changes. So long as the Kefir is made from pasteurised milk it should be safe. If you are going to try it start with small quantities and build up slowly

https://iythealth.com/kefir-during-pregnancy/

Hi
Please can I get some advice on kefir in prenancy.
My daughter in law is just 6 wks pregnant and has been taking omeprazole for acid reflux for several years. She would very much like to come off these, at whilst pregnant. As myself and several other members of my family have had amazingly beneficial result taking kefir for acid reflux, I’m hoping that it is safe for my daughter in law to try whilst pregnant.
She also has a NON active auto immune condition called systemic sclerosis making her high risk for miscarriage so I wouldnt want to upset the balance but GPs have no real heplful advice on this.
I would be grateful for any imput.

White rice is one of the worst things – very high GI/GL (glycaemic load and glycaemic index) pretty much guaranteed to spike sugar and therefore insulin!

Graham, thanks for your advice. What do you base your assertion, that it doesn’t matter if I drink kefir with an empty or full stomach, on?

I am fascinated by all of these ideas. Measuring blood glucose is so easy now and feedback is so very motivating. My husband & I had been under the illusion that quite large quantities of fresh fruit consumption was a healthy way to start the day. When we monitored our blood glucose response it was a window into our body’s responses to foods labelled as healthy by the current misguided outdated guidelines. One of the main spikes we saw was my husband’s response to an M&S ‘low carb meal’ containing white rice. Slowly this led us to discover the absolute joy and liberation of trying a ketogenic diet which has become our way of life. It has liberated us from the slavery of carb hunger and subjectively improved our overall health by 20%. My husband is now lighter than he has been for several years with no calorie counting and his visceral fat is visibly reduced.
I feel less stressed by life events and calmer all round and we spontaneously exercise more. All important as we are in our 60’s and keen to prolong our health span as long as possible.

To a large extent sugar is sugar, naturally occurring or added: no amount is actively beneficial. Sugars contribute to inflammation, overweight/ obesity, a host of common lifestyle diseases, supports an unhealthy gut microbiome.

Dr Mosley recommends “train your tastebuds to go for something less sweet.” (p.23) Lower sugar, nutrient dense fruits include blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants. Tropical and dried fruits are particularly high in sugar.

Start with the detailed food and symptom diary (p.187 + p.266-267). Initially just form the habit of recording current diet and lifestyle *as he goes about his day*, don’t make any changes. Analyse the diary yourself and/ or with a dietician or doctor.

I particularly noted your comment about hunger. This might suggest your son is not eating enough for his age and activity level, OR suggest he is eating or drinking too much easily digested carbohydrate (sugars/ processed grains/ potatoes) and not enough of the nutrients that slow digestion (healthy fats/ fibre/ protein).

Foods, drinks or habits that can increase heartburn or gastritis include fizzy drinks/ soda, chewing gum, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, eating then lying down, being overweight, stress.

HTH!

My son has sinner at night and if he doesnt eat something immediately before going to bed, he will have a disrupted sleep and wake up starving and unless he eats something, he cant get back to sleep. He sleeps with a plate of bread net to his bed. He had an endoscopy and that showed some evidence of acid burn just inside the stomach. He’s been on pariet for several years but has now stopped that and is looking for alternatives as that’s not meant to be a long term solution. He’s been to a gastroenterologist and he has now suggested seeing a dietician to see if that will help. He tried Alkaline water for a while and for a few months he was pariet free and happy – but the symptoms are now coming back again. Any suggestions?

I tried a variety of things mentioned online – diet, berberine, olive leaf, etc. None of them helped. The thing that did the trick was a Chinese herb called Jiaogulan (gynostemma pentophyllum) in both capsule and tea form. Completely took care of the issue. Here’s the study where I learned about it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5058752/

Evening all,

I’m only in my second week of the programme but doing well, 10lbs gone so far.

My question is, how much fruit is reasonable and what affect will too much have? All my life I’ve eaten a lot of fruit, I love it! I don’t drink fruit juice but eating whole fruits, I’m really missing it, I’ve got some watermelon in, is that doing to put a spanner in my weight loss plan?

Thanks

Taking control of our own health through diet and lifestyle modification can be very powerful. It is great how enthusiastic and inquisitive you are.

Medical conditions can be mild, moderate or severe: diagnosis is based upon clusters of signs, symptoms and test results not simply severity. If your symptoms are waking you at night that is not hypochondria!

The detailed food and symptom diary is a *factual record* that “helps identify any pattern in relation to diet and other factors [and] will help you be systematic and focussed in your approach.” (p.187-188). A thorough diary is an invaluable diagnostic tool for a doctor or dietician. The longer it is maintained, the easier it is to identify trigger foods, nutritional imbalances or gaps. But stop short of self diagnosing specific allergies, intolerances or medical conditions.

Do note that Dr Mosley and co “don’t recommend removing too many foods at one time, so it might be helpful to do R&R in several stages. You can always repeat the process … at a later date.” (p.190) Dr Mosley further advises we “introduce foods one at a time with a gap of at least three days between each one … To try and identify the foods that are causing you problems.” (p.193) Going slowly and carefully reduces or eliminates guesswork.

Not quite! While I totally agree, the ultimate cause of the metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance in response to excess of carbs and sugar (probably an over simplification) in fact insulin is normally pulsed. So when we don’t eat (eg overnight) our insulin levels drop allowing the body to consume the sugar stored as glycogen. When glycogen runs out (which generally takes 24-36 hours) the body burns fat stores. Totally agree about the low carb diet (yes we eat low carb). but its surprising and counter-intuitive as to what spikes sugars. Sugar spikes of course lead to insulin spikes. I do think you have a point: if we had 24hour insulin level monitors it would give some greater insights. Agreed, we are using blood sugars as a proxy. But it works. Take a look at #sugarfoodtest (twitter). The advent of the ability to monitor 24h blood sugars (I use Freestlyle Libre device) could be revolutionary in preventing/reversing type2 diabetes

Hi thank you for your replies and suggestions. I can and do use other herbs and spices it is only coriander I have a problem with, tasting very much like the scent of washing powder, so need a replacement herb. As for the Parmesan I find both fresh and drycheese quite overpowering so I will try the other types.

I believe you saw the predictions eventuate but you’re looking at the proximal cause and not the ultimate cause. It’s most (and highly) likely that, if your blood glucose wasn’t high from eating some carbs, then your insulin was. You see, unless you’re eating a low carb diet, if your blood glucose is low, it’s because insulin is keeping it low – the exact opposite of your assertion. Prolonged exposure to high insulin levels will most likely lead to insulin resistance and, ultimately, type 2 diabetes. Forget blood glucose levels, they’re not the problem (heresy, I know, but true nonetheless) it’s insulin you want keep low. Doing so reduces or stops fat storage, allows fat burning, allows autophagy, reduces IGF1, reduces oxidative stress, reverses insulin resistance and produces ketones (especially BHB). Plus some other goodies I’m sure I missed. I’m afraid that creating a diet based on blood glucose response is fraught with danger. I get it, glucose is much easier to measure but taking shortcuts is counterproductive in this case.

Just seen on your profile that you are in the UK … I *think* Asda’s Grana padano and Pecorino romano wedges are both PDO. The Lidl Deluxe and Aldi Specially Selected ranges include Manchego PDO. Look for the round red and yellow PDO logo on the packet.

You don’t like the traditional Italian cheese sold in wedges (Parmigiano reggiano PDO), the longlife dry granular ‘parmesan’ sold in a shaker or something else?

Alternatives to Parmigiano reggiano PDO (unpasteurised cows milk) include Italian Pecorino romano PDO (unpasteurised ewes milk, saltier), Italian Grana padano PDO (unpasteurised cows milk), Spanish Manchego PDO (ewes milk) and aged Spanish Iberico (cows + goats + ewes milk).

The ‘PDO’ name denotes a cheese made in a specific region of the country from local milk using traditional techniques. This affects the nutritional profile of the cheese, specifically the fatty acids and probiotic microbes. Similarly named cheeses made elsewhere may not have the same health benefits.

HTH!

The starting point really is maintainance and analysis of your detailed food and symptom diary. As I said consider nutrient imbalances or deficiencies and *whole*foods, not just potential trigger substances (gluten/ histamine) which you cannot consume in isolation.

Use your initial diary analysis to request a referral to a registered dietician and/ or further testing (bloodwork, maybe stool sample). Supply facts – *balance and variety* by food group or type, measured quantities, medical *signs and symptoms*, timing, frequency – not self diagnoses. Contemplating multiple serious, uncommon or faddy diseases leads to gut-unfriendly stress and a medical diagnosis of ‘worried well’

Ask your pharmacist whether your chosen antihistamine would block dietary histamine if taken after the fact. Generally antihistamimines are most effective when taken regularly, and before exposure to an allergen. Also about specificity: IIRC the older antihistamines do not act solely on histamine receptors.

Do post your initial analysis here if you cannot access a more open minded doctor or a registered dietician.

Sure- so what is your diet like and what herbs do you like to eat>? ditto in terms of healthy fats

I agree with gpennefather: fructose doesn’t raise insulin so the approach has to be minimise fructose which is uniquely toxic. Eat fruit in controlled quantities and not as “smoothies” which remove the insoluble fibre while concentrating the fruit sugar (ie fructose) and increase micro-nutrients as well as insoluble fibre in the diet. As he says, type2 diabetes and the entire metabolic syndrome are rapidly and relatively easily reversed with the right strategies of diet/exercise and SLEEP which is also extremely important

My partner and I (both health professionals) have been to Israel and had our microbiome analysed. We’ve then compared the predictions that the DAYTWO app gives with actual glucose spikes using the Freestyle device which gives a minute-by-minute accurate blood glucose reading. We were then able to modulate our diet to avoid glucose spikes. If glucose is kept low and steady then insulin levels are likewise kept low. This is key to the entire metabolic syndrome – all the major killers of western society (diabetes; cardiovascular disease; dementia; cancer). I cannot overstate how revolutionary this has the potential to be

Hi everyone! I have just purchased the Clever Guts Diet recipe book and the meals sound very yummy BUT……. I do not like coriander or Parmesan!!! Trust me I have tried, is there something else I can replace them with? Cheers

I saw the TedX talk and your comments and I have to say that I’m not a fan of the approach these people have taken. Measuring blood glucose is not a great way to determine diet nor your body’s response to food. The whole process is far more complicated. For a start, the better measure is your insulin response to food. Insulin is what moves glucose into the cells so it can be used as fuel but it also instructs the body to turn excess glucose in to fat for storage. Additionally, eating foods high in fructose (even if it’s “natural” like fruit and honey) won’t spike your blood glucose nor your insulin. But your liver will convert it directly to fat and store it in the liver – excess build up of this causes non alcoholic fatty liver disease and, ultimately, cirrhosis.

Essentially, there’s a complex metabolic system that the blood glucose measurement technique doesn’t capture.

My personal experience has been with a low carb high fat diet and intermittent fasting. I’ve lost 20kg in 6 months and come off most of my diabetes medications (blood glucose lowering ones). I’ve also reversed my diabetic maculopathy so I have much less chance of going blind. I can’t recommend this approach highly enough.

Many thanks for your detailed reply – appreciated. I’ve never had my food diary looked at – I’ve only ever really been sent away from both the GP and the gastroenterologist with a flea in my ear because I “look healthy” and no gastroscopy/endoscopy has ever shown anything other than the starts of diverticulitis. When I said to the GP the other day that with minimal fruit and veg I’d end up getting bowel cancer, she waved her head around and said “Well let’s hope not”…not great. But I think I see what you are saying vis a vis taking in small quantities (they’d have to be very small) of my problem foods. With that in mind, I’ve bought a small bottle of kefir, some apples etc….don’t think I can bring myself to try onions/leeks/wheat just yet even in a tiny amount. Bit by bit. Have been reading about SIBO – didn’t know about it – that was very interesting…all my symptoms and problems. Also – nobody on this site mentions (or maybe I’ve missed it – probably!) about histamine intolerance. I’ve only just noticed that when I have the worst of my symptoms, a piriton (antihistamine) really helps. When you look up food which contains histamine, it’s eye-opening. Brie, blue cheese, tuna…..all these things make me feel very instantly tired and bloated. One antihistamine later and the problem is significantly improved….

Thanks for your input Firefox7275. I went to my doc’s many years ago when I first encountered this intolerance but he wasn’t interested, he gave me some anti-spasmodic tabs that didn’t work when I got the stomach cramps. Over the years, however, I have learnt not to eat raw peppers and Chinese foods so I haven’t had any symptoms for a while now. I don’t have the same reaction to chillis, paprika and anything else you mentioned.

Thanks for the replies.

Have I been diagnosed? No. My symptoms aren’t very severe; the worst of it is waking at night due to discomfort/pressure. Usually cooling down and having a wee to make space for the bloating helps enough to get back to sleep. I will go to a Dr if this R&R effort doesn’t work. The hassle for me is the expectation of wasting time trying various Drs who don’t give a fig and take minor gut issues to be hypochondria.

After I posted this, I got to thinking maybe it works like this: something (not FODMAPs) causes the gut irritation, and that irritation is aggravated by the products (especially gas) of fermentation, which will be produced in greater quantity when FODMAPs are consumed. If that’s the case (and your replies seem to say the same thing – ?) then eliminating FODMAPs might work (but is very restrictive) but a better solution would be to eliminate the source of irritation. Which would be … ? I’m guessing gluten, “refined grains” (I wish the book would be more specific about that), readily available carbs in general (sugar, starch -> GI). Either these things directly or the microorganisms they feed (although I’m still confused how there can be such microorganisms when sugar/starch is absorbed higher up than the large intestine). Sorry, I know I overthink things!

I used to eat a lot of white bread and sugary chocolate bars. They’re both gone now, so hopefully that will be the main help. Mostly replaced with fats and protein (avocado, oily fish, olive oil, eggs, nuts, olives, ripened/aged cheese… kefir grains are in the mail!) and some buckwheat-flour-based items. Plus a heap more lettuce, spinach and vegetables than I was eating – both quantity and variety. I am still eating white rice … I suppose that has to go, too?

I did switch up the breakfast and had chia/tinned coconut milk pots for a couple of days. And then got explosive watery diarrhoea. Guessing it was either the chia or the big mound of broccoli and cauliflower the night before so both are gone for now…

I am keeping a food diary but I was too keen make a change to bring myself to keep eating my old diet for a week. It can be tricky, especially when I am trying for variety, to relate symptoms to foods. An example is in the last paragraph … or was it the smoked eel, or the Australian Salmon with dry coconut sambal (incl fish sauce & soy sauce), all new? A fair bit of guesswork involved…

Coming to FODMAPs … You mention “IBS-like symptoms” and avoiding lactose, but have you been medically diagnosed with lactose intolerance or with irritable bowel syndrome?

Yes FODMAPs are prebiotics, they can be fermented before eating or after eating by various microbes (bacteria/ yeasts). The by products of fermentation are acids, alcohols or gases. Your reaction to FODMAPs and other prebiotics depends upon how much you eat, the health of your gut microbiome and how reactive/ easily irritated your gut itself is. Some gas production/ acid production/ bloating/ gut muscle contraction is completely normal or healthy. Excessive gas, painful spasms, constipation or diarrhoea is obviously not.

Many with IBS and/ or lactose intolerance can tolerate some prebiotic rich foods, within a *properly balanced and very varied* wholefood diet. Generally those with a reactive or sensitive gut need to make changes to their diet very slowly one at a time. What you add or increase is as important as what you reduce or eliminate. Good nutrition may calm irritation/ inflammation in the gut itself.

I agree with GrahamPhillips. What food types or individual foods you reduce, avoid, introduce or reintroduce at any given point in your Clever Guts journey depends on the analysis of your detailed food and symptom diary (p.187 + p.266-267).

Do note how varied the sample meal planners and recipes are, and the encouragement throughout the book to eat a *really wide variety* of wholefoods each day and each week. ideally have a different breakfast each day: switch up the live/ fermented dairy product or have organiceggs, switch up the low sugar fruits, switch up the grains/ pseudograins/ seeds/ nuts in the muesli.

The best person to diagnose is a health professional – family doctor/ registered dietician/ allergist – who has access to your medical history and detailed food and symptom diary. Self diagnosing food allergies or food intolerances based on comparison with someone else’s self diagnosis has a good chance of being wrong.

Reacting to a food raw but not cooked suggests a sensitivity to a component removed, destroyed or altered during processing. That might be the protein in the flesh of the pepper, or in another part of the plant, or a microbe (fungus/ bacteria) or insect or pollen commonly found on the plant.

With true allergies ‘cross reactivity’ can occur due to the same, or structurally similar, protein being encountered elsewhere. Examples include the enzyme in papaya and a protein in dust mite poop, or wheat gluten and the protein in oats.

For bell peppers some might also react to chilli peppers or paprika since these are closely related. Chilli-infused oil and paprika-based flavours/ colours are widely used in South and East Asian cuisines.

Once an allergy or intolerance has been formally diagnosed, the dietician or allergist will advise which other foods or substances to avoid.

HTH!

Have you been completing the detailed food and symptom diary (p.187 + p.266-267)? If yes, have you had this analysed by a medical professional (registered dietician/ gastroenterologist/ family doctor)?

Trigger foods or allergies/ intolerances are only one aspect of healthy eating and happy guts. Carefully consider the *balance and variety* of foods you eat, and thus the balance and variety of micronutrients (minerals/ vitamins/ essential fatty acids/ prebiotics). Restrictive diets often lead to insufficiencies or deficiencies. Common ones include magnesium, long chain omega-3s, vitamin D, haem iron. Foods rich in these include oily fish, cocoa, certain seeds, organ meats, oily fish again.

Also carefully consider the amount and form of potentially problematic foods. A splash of cows milk in tea? Live goats milk yoghurt or kefir? A matchbox size chunk of unpasteurised aged ewes milk cheese?

A tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flaxseeds? Ground almonds in home baking? Hazelnuts soaked overnight in water and chewed thoroughly?

Similarly grains … Half a slice of homemade sourdough bread? Steel cut oat porridge? Muesli from raw jumbo oats soaked in apple juice? Pearl barley in a stew or casserole?

If numerous wholefoods seem problematic regardless of amount or form, you may be a candidate for a full blown/ very strict elimination diet. However this *must* be medically supervised for safety.

HTH!

would like to join potato starch survey

Hey, I agree with you, diet plays a very important role in balancing the body and give adequate sleep. The tips given here about the healthy diet are very useful. Lack of sleep result into anxiety, depression and stress, which affects the body and mind. It becomes really important to get the peace of mind in order to come out of such situation. Consuming pills can give a temporary relief, but there are other ways like healthy diet, exercise and talking to some experts like the http://www.martine-voyance.com who help in getting positivity in life.

Hi there, I have also recently joined this forum.

My gut problems started after my first child was born and made much worse by massive doses of antibiotics 16 years ago. Not been able to touch alcohol for 20 years and now my diet is getting more and more restricted with no successful reintroduction of anything. I am self-controlled so I do the elimination of a food carefully. Gluten was my epiphany 18 months ago (no vomiting, huge fatigue, bloating now and migraine now minimal). But I never manage to successfully reintroduce anything. But I am 4 weeks into taking Symprove and have seen my energy levels soar which is great. I can’t eat a diet full of fruit and veg (although I love both) as it causes me problems. Likewise milk. Nuts cause me terrible stomach pain. But I can’t keep eliminating – I’m like litmus paper though….any advice?

Its complex! FODMAP is pretty restrictive and the more you restrict your variety of foods, the more your restrict the diversity of your microbiota; the less diverse your microbiota, the less resilient the “tropical rain forest” in your gut. So this move towards cutting out more and more foods can do more harm than good. A bit like serial dieting. It doesn’t work.

It all depends on your baseline diet and your symptoms. Have you kept a detailed food diary and mapped what you eat against your symptoms? If not then that is the place to start. If you can be clear about which foods/food groups cause your problems, they are the ones to eliminate initially. If your symptoms then resolve your probably have cause and effect. Give it a month and if you remain symptom free, cautiously add back the omitted foods one by one (small quantities to start) and see how you get on. Make small and incremental changes step-by-step

1) So in answer to your first question YES! (assuming these foods are problematic for you)

2) Yes -and maybe try some Kefir

It really doesn’t make any difference but fluids do exit the stomach into the small intestine faster than solids. Bottom line? Eat healthily, eat a rainbow of colours plus healthy fats and lean protein. Minimise sugars, carbs and avoid processed foods. Include pre and probiotic fermented foods like Kefir, Kombucha, Sauerkraut and you’re microbiota will do the rest!

Hi Topaz,

I also went through this exercise with the potato starch.
I found a rounded teaspoon early evening, about 7.30pm
worked for a few days then no more. I have tried many ‘natural’
suggestions, every time I see another, I try it. But I have finally
succumbed to sleeping pills again, which I am not happy with
as I like to give those things a miss. I take half a dose of Imovane which is less addicted
than others.
Good luck in your quest for sleep.
jillyB

Hi KatyTree,

Sorry to hear of your intolerance, I don’t get sick, just awful stomach ache, I can’t do anything when I have it I just curl up in a ball and it lasts for hours or until I can eventually get to sleep at night. I guess I am luckier in you, in that I can eat peppers when they are cooked e.g. in commercial soups and foods, and foods that I prepare and cook. I have had a very milder version of the stomach ache when eating spinach in salads as well – again, cooked is fine. Cant seem to find a connection with any of these foods. Needless to say I avoid all of these things like the plague 😁.

I continued to alter time of and dosing quantity until I found 2 hrs before bed and 1/2 tsp gave me a decent night. This worked for about 3 weeks then didnt work at all! Am now taking a magnesium supplement instead.

I am intolerant or allergic to bell pepper too, its really frustrating as it isnt one of the 14 official allergens, so i have to search ingredients lists and everytime i eat out or eat packaged food. I get shivery and am violently sick within 20 minutes of eating anything with pepper in. If its dried pepper flakes, i feel ‘car sick’ for the rest of the day. I get really cross when i find that pepper is in random food, for example tomato soup and not listed on the menu. I have no problems eating potatoes, aubergines and tomatoes.

Hi, just caught the end of Michael Mosely on Radio 2 on intolerances. I have had an intolerance for years now and wondered if anyone has the same intolerance as I haven’t come across it before. I can’t eat raw Peppers (red, orange, green or yellow), if I do I get really bad colicky stomach pains that comes in waves and lasts anytime between 4 – 8 hours. I can, however, eat them if they are cooked are regularly eat them cooked in dishes. The same thing happens if I eat Chinese food but I haven’t pinpointed what it is in Chinese food that upsets me, I thought maybe it was the Monosodium Glutamate but I don’t get the same reaction to other people who are intolerant to MSG (eg headaches) and I can eat potato crisps etc freely with MSG with no effect.

I am particularly interested in the Peppers intolerance though, I regularly eat potatoes and tomatoes so it can’t be a nightshade intolerance. Any ideas??

Should we be drinking things like kefir and kombucha on a full or empty stomach. I originally thought it would be better on a full stomach, as the live products would have more chance getting through the stomach acids if they were protected by the food (I think I imagine a bubbly vat of acid, which the solids would help dilute). But perhaps it would be better on the an empty stomach, as liquids are allowed through quickly, and it is the solids that are fully mixed in the high pH stomach environment. Have I been murdering my live food?

Crohns/PCOS/hiatus hernia. I am on the immunosuppressant mercaptopurine (6MP) for the last 13 years. Chronic insomnia – on and off for 10 years plus. Tried all the usual “Sleep Hygiene” tips. Even after a “good” nights sleep I am mentally exhausted. Suffer with osteo-arthritis in hands and feet. Very overweight which is pretty unusual for someone with Crohn’s who is NOT currently on steroids (but have been in the past). All the connections you have made about sleep, and the immune system and the biome ring bells for me. I recently started taking pro-biotics and a variety of supplements including glutamine and magnesium as my research suggests I may be lacking in these and they may have an impact on sleep and energy levels?
Interested in Starch/Sleep Study – in fact sign me up for anything as I just want to feel normal again!! Thanks

Hello. I’ve just read the book with interest, but I have a question on the theory.

I know for pretty sure that the foods that give me the biggest problem are onion and garlic, especially raw. Garlic-infused oil seems to be OK. This fits well with FODMAP theory, which I was familiar with before reading the book. However I still get IBS-like symptoms (bloating mainly, especially in the early hours of the morning), with reduced severity and frequency, even when avoiding those and lactose.

The question I have is that the theory presented in Clever Guts seems in some ways contradictory to FODMAP theory. It seems to suggest that those substances feed the healthy gut biota – they are prebiotics. Whereas FODMAP theory seems to suggest the organisms that eat FODMAPs are bad (because they produce gas), and we would be better off without them, but while they’re there, just avoid feeding them FODMAPs.

Do the theories contradict or am I on the wrong track with the above?

I want to give Clever Guts’ protocols a go starting with R&R, but I have two questions, one related to the above and one not

1) I assume I should keep eliminating onion and garlic during R&R even though the book doesn’t say to do this?

2) Is lactose-free dairy OK for R&R? I am very fond of my usual breakfast of home-made muesli with home-made yoghurt, which I make using lactose-free milk. (Yes it does work, somewhat paradoxically.)

Thanks for this, Ellie.
I have decided to continue with the Kefir. I think that often companies that sell products are keen for people to buy them, and that if more people make it much more cheaply at home, they probably worry about their business! I think a big problem is for many years people have been advised to over sanitise their lives, and everything has to be boiled or bleached beyond recognition as a natural product. I think we have suffered a s a result and it has affected people’s health in a negative way. Hooray for homemade Kefir! Long live Kefir!

Hello MamaKC
I agree with the sound advice that Graham has given and would just add a couple of things. A friend who also suffers with diverticulitis has disasterous effects if she even eats tomato pips or even skins on apples or grapes. Unfortunately, what is considered to be a healthy diet can sometimes be detrimental as in the case of the tomato pips, so it’s being mindful of what you eat but any kind of probiotic would be extremely helpful. The only other thing I would mention is did your GP refer you to a Consultant for a confirmed diagnosis? I realise that you have had problems for over 20 years but it makes sense to see a Consultant who specialises in the gut and bowel. I do hope you have relief very soon.

Hello
I also read the article that advised having Kefir laboratory tested occasionally to check for infections and I too was concerned. However, like you I have been fermenting my own Kefir for a while and consider that the amazing amount of pro-biotics in the milk as opposed to yoghurt that only has around five, would outweigh any infection in the milk and that is the point of pro-biotics and as you say Kefir has the ability to kill pathogens. The fact that some people do what is called a double fermentation increasing the B Vitamins and increasing even more pro-biotics and to achieve this the milk is strained and that strained milk is then put into a clean jar covered with a muslin cloth and left for another 24 hours to ferment without the grains. Then any grains that may have formed are strained and the milk used in the normal way. Some people even use the same jar each time only cleaning it once a week as they say it kick starts the next batch. So if there was any real concern I cannot imagine that people would be leaving milk out on the kitchen cabinet for around 48 hours or using the same jar to ferment the Kefir without cleaning it. Plus the fact people have been making Kefir for many years using these methods without problems. I don’t have any concerns and will just continue to enjoy the benefits, hope you do too.

Hello!
I have been fermenting Kefir at home for some time. I read recently that it is wise to have your homemade kefir laboratory tested on occasion to check for infections that can cause health problems. I would be interested to know what people who make Kefir at home think about this. My understanding is that the Kefir bacteria kills pathogens, so as long as you are fairly clean with equipment, it should be fine. Seems many people around the world have been making this sort of thing at home for a long time without worry. Any ideas? Cheers.

Hi MamaKC can you provide more details? What anti-biotics have you taken; can you be explicit about your gut issues and any ongoing treatment from your GP. Finally keep a two-week food/drink/exercise/sleep diary and post it. There are no simple solutions but almost everyone CAN be helped.. but you need a good baseline and the key data! Hope that helps. Graham

oops sorry I think I’m on the wrong section

I agree it’s an acquired taste so just eat a little frequently rather than a lot all at once and hopefully it will grow on you. I didn’t like yogurt once but now I love it, same with broccoli.
You could try adding it to other dishes so it’s disguised a bit too eg chilli, curry, stir fry etc.
🙂