Can you now get lactobacillus sakei in Australia? I’ll be there for 10 days over Christmas. I have just bought a Neti Pot, this might be good timing🤧

I’m having a go at fermenting veggies for the first time. I’m using glass flip top jars, and a little ceramic ‘sour dough starter’ pot. One jar is nicely filled with mixed veggies, and is bubbling away, rather than fizzing. I used a table spoon of course sea salt to iirc a pint of water, (bottled spring water and I made sure the salt was all dissolved before I added the brine to the veggies).
The other jar, is only half filled with red cabbage, I added (again iirc) a tablespoon of salt for each 200g of cabbage, squidged it about every few minutes, until it had let out enough juice to dissolve all the salt. I then left it for a couple of hours until it looked like it had enough liquid to hopefully fill in any potential air pockets and a bit over, to cover the top, and I rammed it down into the jar. There was just enough liquid to cover the cabbage, but the jar is nowhere near full. I don’t think that’s the problem though.
Both jars took a day or two to show any signs of life, but while the mixed veg is still bubbling away, the saurkraut fizzed a bit, for a day or two, and now looks like it’s dead. Although it does have a bubble or two when I loosen the lid in the morning.
I am wondering if the higher concentration of salt has killed off what few bacteria there were on the very clean and tightly formed cabbage to start with. Is there anything I can do to get it fermenting properly?

No luck as yet. I am going to try some Lactobacillus Sakei in the neti pot. Some have had good success with it.

I am still waiting to be signed up for the potato starch study, however I have started taking 2 level teaspoon and I am having a better sleeping pattern, I forgot to take it one day and I had the sleeping pattern of 2 hours sleep and waking up. This is the pattern that I was having due to the untimely death of my daughter from a very late diagnosis of Colon cancer.

Hi, I’m just about to start this program with the goal of fixing my sinus problems. Have you had any luck? I have been on Allegra for four years and am wondering if it might be negatively affecting my microbiome.

I don’t think I have it now, but am pretty sure I did have an overgrowth at one point. I followed a diet about 6 years ago called Whole Approach and my symptoms disappeared to the extent that allergies and symptoms I had suffered with from being a teenager are now not an issue at all. This starts out quite similarly to Clever guts I think (not totally sure as I am more of a BSDer with an interest in my new healthier microbiome than a true clever guts) with quite a lot of restrictions and then gradual reintroducing of suspect foods after a longish period to cause the overgrowth to die off.

Haha yes indeed we would have no problem there 😉
However , its the little doses over a long period of time cause the most damage , so avoiding sugar and salt, the processed kind especially ,makes a big difference I’m hoping , over a life time. Sugar and salt are two of the biggest killers in the world today , but ill take a trip tomortow and see what i can find ✌️

Obviously it is impossible to know for certain how much sugar and salt is added, but the nutrition chart would suggest not that much. Bear in mind there is sugar naturally in the tomato and (sea) salt naturally in the fish.

Given your family keeps active, you should easily burn off a little extra sugar and sweat out a little extra salt. 🙂

Brilliant,
I didnt know that a out the tuna, thanks.

Yea my biggest gripe is the sugar and salt in most processed foods sardines included.
Yes the veggie mine field is a well navigated one,
Going to the supermarket is like going to the library with all the reading involved 😉
Cheers
Bill

No problem!

Canned tuna is cooked before canning, so losing the beneficial fats. Mackerel is a particularly good choice in terms of nutrition and sustainability.

The cheapo canned sardines I have (Good Fish Company, probably not ‘good’ at all) are in a simple tomato sauce with a little cassava, sugar and salt.

Some of the beneficial fats disperse into the canning oil, water, brine or sauce so it should be eaten where possible. Avoid fish canned in omega-6 rich vegetable oils: they will ‘cancel out’ the omega-3s.

Similarly consider the omega-6 content of your nuts and seeds. A real minefield for vegetarians, vegans and those who don’t eat oily fish.

Fantastic ,
Thanks for the response.

Yes twice a week we eat quorn . With three days in betweeneach portion.
Our diet is mainly organic and quorn would be the only proccessed food we would eat.
Yes oliy fish is the catch of the day when we do it .
We also add pulses, nuts, eggs , cheese, coconut milk/oil, and a multitude of other goodies, in the daily / weekly diet , . But i have been thinking more about adding fish on a couple of more days, the problem is that its hard to get the sardines pilchards without them swimming in some low grade sauce. But thanks for that , ill delve some more.
Mackerel and salmon along with some tinned tuna in spring water, is the regular go to. ( the mecury content is a bit of a worry)

Ill write to quorn and see whats occurin ,
Thanks again for all your suggestions,
They are very welcome,
Bill

You might e-mail Quorn’s manufacturers about research specific to their products and the gut microbiome. Please post here if you get a response.

From memory some Quorn products have far better ingredient/ macronutrient profiles than others. As you probably know, the overall variety and balance of the diet is key to health outcomes over the the long term. If you only eat processed meat substitutes occasionally and have not noticed any adverse effects, you are likely fine to continue.

It would definitely be worth upping your family’s intake of small oily fish (eg. sardines/ mackerel/ herring/ anchovies) to meet official recommendations. For UK adults this is up to four servings a week. Even with marine algae supplements it is difficult to get enough long chain omega-3s.

Oily fish is also a good source of vitamin D, vitamin B12 and certain minerals (zinc, magnesium, haem iron) depending on the species.

HTH!

You also need to keep an eye out for aspartame . Its in a few gum brands. There is quite a bit on the web suggesting its link to cancer .
I will say though there is one huge benefit to having a litre of coke in the house , its fantastic at cleaning the stubborn rust off the chrome on my bike … !

I make a concoction every morning in the nutri bulet . Anything could end up in there( all good stuff) but i use Koh coconut water as the main ingredient. Koh doesnt go through a tenth of the processing most others do. ( so they say)

Half the jug would be filled with mainly veg , some fruit/ berries , pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds , nuts , ginger, a tea spoon of applecider ( the mother) and a tea spoon of tumeric, then topped up to the level marker with coconut water. Its a great kick start to the day!
( this is not part of michaels eating plan, just something ive been doing for a couple of years) .
Bill

Howdy folks
New to the forum so a big shout out from irelands east coast.
Just wondering if any of you know if there have been any tests done on quorn products and how it affects the biome.
We eat fish on an odd occasion but are mainly veggie and my boys have never eaten meat ( apart from fish) , but they love quorn, especially the sausages and rashers. Having nothing to compare it to, they have no problem with the taste. 😉
We are not having any adverse affects and we have been eating it for years, although I know from trawling through the web, some have had some pretty nasty reactions.

Our guts are working well and the boys are fighting fit , they have never really been sick or on antibiotics , apart one stint with my eldest when he was a wee nipper and had an ear infection.
Mine and my parteners health is great. We are an active family and I teach yoga ,previous to that I was a personal trainer, so I have a fair knowledge and try to stay clued in and on top of things.
Any info greatly appreciated
All thats good
Bill

Hi Graham do you make your own or purchase Kombucha?

I’ll be interested in hearing how you go with the 16:8 optionMeredithAnne. I think it would be a better option for me than the 5:2.

Michael briefly mentions Candida in the Gut Diet book but i would like more specific advice. Does anybody have this condition and have you any tips for me please.

Hi Garden girl – thanks for the info re Atlas – I may well try them and sorry for the delay in responding – I only just got the update one to this! And if it wasn’t for your post, I wouldn’t have known the ubiome results were there (no notification as you said) and of little use too to the lay person as you say. Not sure Michael should be giving them a mention…
Thanks for your help

I have problems getting to sleep and quality of sleep. I’ve read all the usual stuff about not using computers, exercising etc in the hours before bed.
I did 5:2 for a few months and lost weight, but my total cholesterol rose, so I have now altered things a bit.
I now follow the 16:8 fasting option starting late morning, as I am never hungry in the early mornings.
I need to further tweak this as I am an evening eater without an “off” switch. I am going to try really hard not to eat or drink, especially alcohol, after 7 p.m. That gives me several hours before bed. I will be interested to see if it improves my quality of sleep.

Thanks for responding Firefox7275 – appreciate your input.

So a properly balanced, very varied, nutrient dense diet is key in exercising for health.

The starting point is your detailed food and symptom diary (Clever Guts book p.187). Weigh and measure everything, or you cannot assess your true intake of any individual foodstuff, food type/ group or nutrient.

Supplements may also be of benefit, but any regime should be personalised and carefully targeted. Please discuss with a health professional who has access to your food diary and medical history.

Hope that helps!

Yes I take a sedating antidepressant: currently amitriptyline (100mg at night), but previously mirtazepine (45mg at night).

At times of great stress/ anxiety I am prescrined a very low dose beta blocker (propranolol 20mg as needed).

Depending on intensity daily formal exercise can be counter productive. The body needs time to repair and regenerate; failure to do this can lead to overreaching and even overtraining syndrome. Interestingly the symptoms may include sleep problems and low mood.

In addition exercise can substantially increase the need for every nutrient (vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, protein etc). Lastly we sweat out minerals/ electrolytes, including magnesium.

Thanks Firefox7275. Do you take antidepressants in addition to the lifestyle and diet approach? I have been very well on antidepressants for 4 years since my first anxiety/depressive episode but they seem to have suddenly stopped working. I exercise every day and have a reasonable diet, but wondering if taking the biome approach will help me in the long term.

If the damage done by antibiotics is irreversible then these lifestyle changes won’t have much impact.

The similarities included being moderate carbohydrate/ low grain/ no added sugars, nine servings of low sugar fruits and non starchy vegetables each day, plenty of other fibre and mineral rich foods (certain nuts, seeds, beans, lentils), live yoghurt and a freeze dried probiotic supplement (Lactobacillus, Bifida sp).

I enjoy traditional aged cheeses but was minimising saturated animal fats at that time, so not daily. No other fermented foods that I can remember. So overall a prebiotic rich but not probiotic rich diet.

Alongside that daily physical activity (easy pace walking) *very slowly* working up to four hours a week of moderate to intense formal exercise (various gym classes) I improved my physical and mental health enough to be able to work and study again.

I had many clients improve their mental health (most often depression and stress/ anxiety) through targeted diet and lifestyle modification, tho much less ‘hardcore’ than mine ended up!

I am convinced some of the improvements are to do with taking control/ ownership of our health, and gaining confidence/ self belief.

I have a number of chronic mental health conditions, including anxiety and insomnia. My work background is healthcare: first allied to medicine (pharmacy/ research labs), later retraining in lifestyle modification (physical activity/ nutrition).

The wholefood diet I planned for myself was not dissimilar to Clever Guts, tho there was more emphasis on foods supplying micronutrients lacking in the western diet and key in mental health. In particular long chain omega-3s and vitamin D (oily fish, organic eggs) and magnesium (various seeds, very dark chocolate/ cocoa).

Lastly I am not sure if you are being flippant or serious about your low mood, but evidence suggests that mild to moderate clinical depression can be treated with targeted diet and lifestyle choices.

In severe clinical depression the concensus of the medical profession is that prescription medication (with or without talking therapies and lifestyle modification) is required.

Interestingly gut dysbiosis has been linked to some disorders of mental health.

I haven’t read of any expert in the field recommending nothing but a short course of a probiotic supplement. Generally a properly balanced and *very varied* wholefood diet is advocated, loaded with prebiotic rich AND probiotic rich foods.

Other aspects of a healthy lifestyle also impact the gut flora, such as physical activity levels, alcohol intake, smoking, weight management.

Many health conditions can be prevented, treated or (occasionally) cured through targeted lifestyle modification. Over time this can reduce or eliminate the need for prescription medication.

It is well worth discussing your concerns and options with the prescribing doctor, your pharmacist, a registered dietician or other lifestyle healthcare professional.

Who are “they” and which specific probiotic are they recommemding?Which parasites have been diagnosed, and which drug have you been prescribed?

Have you read Dr Mosley’s ‘The Clever Guts Diet’ and/ or any of the other gut microbiome books written by experts in the field (Prof Tim Spector, Prof Rob Knight, Dr Blaser)?

Atlas Biomed Group Ltd

Hi GardenGirl can you post the web link for Atlas. I can’t find them. Many thanks.

I’m so confused and definitely need some help. So ive come acrossed some articles which state that antibiotics can potentially permanently alter beneficial bacteria after the course is done. https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-09/antibiotics-may-be-permanently-altering-our-friendly-gut-microbes this is just one. Now if this is true they tell you to just take a probiotic which in most cases is transient and doesn’t really colonize the gut. And also you’d only be supplying ten strains compared to hundreds that got destroyed during treatment. Is this true? I’m asking because I want to take antimicrobial s for parasites but I don’t want to permanently kill my good bacteria. So depressed right now..

I too was stung by the VAT & had to use normal post to return as the prepaid service is only available in the US. After a good 6 weeks I got the results (they don’t inform you, you have to login and check) which are SO detailed & scientific you would have to be qualified to understand them properly. I would avoid this company and use someone in the U.K. Read in today’s Guardian a journalist who used Atlas. I have looked them up £125, London based, more useful information ie easier to understand & they even tell you what you, as an individual , should eat more of.

I would like to sign up too!

Many thanks

Hi. Just wondering if anyone has had any improvement in anxiety and sleep problems by following the diet suggestions?

Thank for the link. Articles of that poor standard are best left unread. Note references to culinary trends and the author’s opinion, nothing about quantity of raw garlic.

‘Holes in the intestine’ would presumably be formally diagnosed during endoscopy (live) or post mortem (dead). Demonstrating cause-and-effect of a specific amount of a specific foodstuff requires many volunteers/ subjects, including healthy ‘controls’, and a long timeframe.

You’d need a teaching university and/ or hospital research team, generous funding grant and a pseudo-scientific method of separating human volunteers or animal subjects into ayurvedic body types. Obviously it isn’t ethical to feed human volunteers a potentially harmful/ toxic substance nor to sacrifice them!

Abstracts – and sometimes full text – of published studies and literature reviews can be found online by searching PubMed and Google Scholar.

Similarly a healthy eating plan or gluten-free diet is not necessarily an anti inflammatory diet or balanced and varied diet.

Often the gluten protein is not the issue, the carbohydrates in grain rich diets are. Many gluten-free alternatives are very low in minerals (such as magnesium) or low in prebiotic or bulking fibre, plus the carbs are more easily converted to blood sugar, so just as or more inflammatory!

Obviously I don’t know what you have previously been advised or tried, but this is what I saw frequently when I was practising (lifestyle health professional).

Formal exercise – especially repetitive movements – can easily worsen postural imbalances and knots/ trigger points.

After injury(s), operation(s) or with a modern sedentary lifestyle (desk/ car /sofa), the small stabilising muscles or sections of large prime mover muscles can become weak and ‘lazy’ or tight and ‘knotted’.

Many fitness professionals (even physiotherapists) do only static posture assessments or assess isolated joints, use only static stretching after strengthening. SMR or trigger point massage is completed before or separate from activities of daily living or moves that mimic such activity.

Thank you Firefox, I do eat a healthy diet, gluten free, I don’t have a sweet tooth and no alcohol. Believe me, after 7 years of this, I have seen all sorts of professionals and tried an awful lot of things. I exercise to my capabilities. It was the section in the book which stated that they had seen less lung infections in children taking specific bacteria and that taking Lactobacillus casei for 8 weeks helped women with Rheumatoid arthritis to relieve swollen and painful joints, that sparked my query.

I’ve been making my own yoghurt for some time and have eaten sauerkraut on and off, along with lots of veg. I’m 99% gluten free as well (just for the record!). However, since this post, I’m adding the sauerkraut with my midday meal instead of evening, it’s too early to tell if it’s a coincidence or not but I have slept slightly better the past few nights. Medication remains the same until next week.
Ancient Weaver, I love blue cheese, especially with a crisp apple. It’s never bothered me either.

I’m not following the Dr Moseley diet as such, but I can tell you that, once I started to think about it, there was a very clear correlation between eating saukerkraut/kimchi and sleep.

I generally eat a lot of fruit and veg, and I certainly was trying to build up to it – started with a small forkful per day.

Once we get towards Christmas and it’s not so crucial what time I get up, I may experiment again, perhaps trying sauerkraut/kimchi every other day …

Having recently read Why We Sleep (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-We-Sleep-Science-Dreams/dp/0241269067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512730247&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we+sleep), I’m currently tending to prioritize sleep over gut issues!

But as you say, there are so many factors to take into account, and different for each individual …

I have a simple method of making Kefir which I’ve been doing for some years. I have a lidded Chinese cup, the Kefir grains go in and its filled with milk (goat milk in my case as I have a goat) 24 hours later I remove the grains, use the Kefir in a smoothie, replace the grains with more milk. I find this “perpetual motion” system really easy especially as nobody else likes it! Sometimes I manage to give extra grains, away, otherwise they’re blended into the next smoothie. Grains can be cultured with cream for the most delicious sour cream in the world by the way!

I have a simple method of making Kefir which I’ve been doing for some years. I have a lidded Chinese cup, the Kefir grains go in and its filled with milk (goat milk in my case as I have a goat) 24 hours later I remove the grains, use the Kefir in a smoothie, replace the grains with more milk. I find this “perpetual motion” system really easy especially as nobody else likes it! Sometimes I manage to give extra grains, away, otherwise they’re blended into the next smoothie. Grains can be cultured with cream for the most delicious dour cream in the world by the way!

I have amine, glutamate (and salicylate) intolerances, in fact, I am highly reactive but fortunately have never experienced anaphylaxis. I was diagnosed about twenty years ago after I eventually went to an allergist because I felt so ill, (respiratory and digestive symptoms), and lacking in energy most of the time. Environmental allergens were eliminated and I then undertook the food elimination challenges. This is not for the faint hearted or uncommitted but I had nothing to lose. This established the problem, and when I stick to foods that are low or moderate in salicylates/amines/glutamates I am okay. I was given charts with the level of these chemicals in the food categories by the dietician, (and they are also in the book ‘Friendly Foods’ from the RPA – Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia). I do believe that a healthy biome is so critical and important, and had in fact seen the TV programs on which (I think) Clever Guts is based. I have tried introducing some foods e.g. fermented – but have had reactions – so unfortunately in spite of their great health value, I can’t persist with them. What has make a huge difference for me with the digestive system was taking probiotics. While I would prefer to obtain nutrients from food, often for me that isn’t possible; (I take probiotics in tablet form). Next for me to try will be the apple cider vinegar – I’ll see how that goes!

Gut lining issue raised here http://www.ener-chi.com/eating-garlic-is-very-toxic-for-the-body/ Michael’s view on the benefits of garlic on pages 122-123 of the Clever Guts book which contradicts the info in above link and what said on the FB group I quoted. Clarification would be good.

Hi Firefox

A mixed bag really I came of the Lymecycline 3and a bit weeks ago having begun in the previous week or so to make slow changes to my diet in line with the advice on here and in the books also the Clear Skin diet book. Last week the yellow filled pustules began to return on my nose ending up with about 5/6 reluctantly I returned to taking them and after a week they’re just about gone but my stomach is beginning to screw up again . I’m gonna go to taking them every other day now and try to slowly ween off them whilst improving my diet even more. If they come back I’ll see the doctor and talk about another treatment tho I’d really like to beat this without going down that path. Do know anything of the Gladskin products a couple of people have mentioned on here. Thanks for your interest and concern its helps with my confidence to contact other sufferers I was really despondent last weekend when the spots returned.

Microbes don’t grow without water, for example in a pure fat or oil. In foods, medications and cosmetics water added means also adding preservative(s).

Raw garlic contains water so safest used separately IMO. Dried chillis work well if you like a little kick?

As an aside do not add dried chillis to cooking wine: capsaisin is much more alcohol than oil soluble apparently! HOT stuff.

Please clarify the gut lining comments: source, name of problem?

Dr Mosley disagrees with which concern, and where/ when?