hmm, can’t seem to post this one last try:
I’ve had insomnia almost every night my whole life, so long that I thought it was normal until relatively recently. Also because it was so prevalent, I never noticed any correlation with food consumed until recently, when, for only vaguely related reasons, I simplified my diet pretty drastically, and noticed that as well as my sleep improving generally, I also started to spot correlations between things I ate and how I sleep.
One of the things I have found to help is parsley, and for yesterday’s evening meal I experimented with adding a load to some braised leek and onions. Flavourwise it was good, but I was horrified to see that, on waking for the second time, it was only 1.45a.m. Wide awake, I gave up on sleep and started mooching on the ‘net, and for obvious reasons this thread title caught my eye.
By a fluke, I think tyramine probably explains tonight’s shocking level of insomnia, possibly made worse by consumption of refined carbs, but I had the same carbs the evening before and tonight’s insomnia is much worse.
Also for supper, I had a big chunk of blue cheese, normally I have no problems with blue cheese, but this piece had quite a whiff of ammonia, i.e. it had fermented . . .

How badly something like this affects you depends on a whole lot of factors, including your own enzyme system, what other foods you have eaten, or drugs you are taking, as well as your gut flora. They all affect each other to a greater or lesser extent.

I’ve had insomnia almost every night my whole life, so long that I thought it was normal until relatively recently. Also because it was so prevalent, I never noticed any correlation with food consumed until recently, when, for only vaguely related reasons, I simplified my diet pretty drastically, and noticed that as well as my sleep improving generally, I also started to spot correlations between things I ate and how I sleep.
One of the things I have found to help is parsley, and for yesterday’s evening meal I experimented with adding a load to some braised leek and onions. Flavourwise it was good, but I was horrified to see that, on waking for the second time, it was only 1.45a.m. Wide awake, I gave up on sleep and started mooching on the ‘net, and for obvious reasons this thread title caught my eye.
By a fluke, I think tyramine probably explains tonight’s shocking level of insomnia, possibly made worse by consumption of refined carbs, but I had the same carbs the evening before and tonight’s insomnia is much worse.
Also for supper, I had a big chunk of blue cheese, normally I have no problems with blue cheese, but this piece had quite a whiff of ammonia, i.e. it had fermented . . .

How badly something like this affects you depends on a whole lot of factors, including your own enzyme system, what other foods you have eaten, or drugs you are taking, as well as your gut flora. They all affect each other to a greater or lesser extent.

After seven years you very likely have postural/ muscular imbalances and ‘knots’ or trigger points, both locally (ankle/ calf) and further up the body (hips or higher).

If you have not already consider having a professional movement assessment (overhead squat/ walking) followed by being taught self myofascial release (using foam roller/ tennis ball) OR followed by a series of trigger point massages.

Diet is highly relevant in calming inflammation, function of the nervous system and in muscle contraction/ relaxation. To target these firstly cut back hard on sugars, refined/ processed carbs, omega-6 rich oils and nuts, alcohol.

Secondly substantially increase long chain omega-3s (oily fish), magnesium (certain seeds/ cocoa), B group vitamins (many wholefoods), low sugar fruits, non starchy vegetables. So pretty much the Clever Guts Diet!

Research into the gut microbiome is fairly new and very much ongoing. At this stage it seems that a diverse population or complex community of bacteria and yeasts – ‘fed’ by a balanced and very varied wholefood diet – is important for health. Its not about isolated symptoms, single foods or individual microbes.

Longstanding pain after injuries or operations can be linked to scar tissue, inappropriate nerve signals, muscle ‘knots’ (trigger points), chronic inflammation … or all of these.

In April of 2014, I had the last 4-5 feet of my small bowel removed due to a carcinoid tumor (a very slow growth form of cancer) in the lymph node feeding that section of the small bowel. (Note: based on recent lab tests and scans, my body is cancer-free.)

Questions:
* Has anyone else, here in this forum, had a small bowel resection (esp. removing the last 4-5 feet)?
* How might this type of small bowel resection impact some of the suggestions in the Clever Guts book?
* What can I do to improve the intestinal adaptation process? (i.e., make my gut and bowel movements less of a central issue [challenging area] in my life?)
* Are my guts now “stupider” given about 20% of the small bowel is now gone?

Joe Kittel
joe@spibr.org

I’ll be very interested to see what you find!

Hi, just throwing this out there as a thought. I’m a fairly healthy individual but struggle with chronic pain, possibly nerve related, in my ankle and foot after 7 years of operations, culminating in a Total Ankle Replacement. I wonder if there is a specific bacteria that helps to ‘dial down’ the pain receptors? Has anyone anyone experimented with this?

Interesting! I started tablets a month ago to help with chronic nerve pain, one of the side effects is insomnia. I started on sauerkraut 10 days ago to help with the other side effect, constipation. The sauerkraut seems to be helping with the constipation but I did think I was sleeping even more poorly than before. It may be coincidence. I’m due to stop the medication next week, I’ll continue with the sauerkraut and see what happens.

Michael – you write about Pia’s work regarding seaweed capsules and how they helped a lady with psoriasis. I have palmar/plantar psoriasis and methotrexate is the only method of control which works for me. I would like to trial the seaweed capsules. When will Pia’s study be published and is it possible to obtain the seaweed capsules? I couldn’t find this information on your website. Thanks.

Thanks FireFox

Perhaps it wasn’t clear in my post.

I am looking to buy a seaweed fiber supplement.

Does anyone out there know of any products available?

I would like to sign up for the potato starch study. I’m in Australia.
Anthea

Depends how many glasses are drunk, how often they are drunk, and where you are in your Clever Guts journey (phase one, phase two, maintenance).

19g per serving is a hefty chunk of the *maximum* recommended daily sugar intake for an adult (World Health Organisation: <5% daily calories, so 25g-30g for a standard 2000-2500 cal diet).

In liquid format that sugar won’t suppress appetite, and likely won’t taste sweet alongside the sour lemon and spicy ginger.

Different supplements will have different effects on gut motility, the microbiome, digestive health generally. They are not interchangeable. Wheat bran is rich in insoluble fibre and certain minerals; seaweeds are rich in soluble fibre and different minerals.

When using supplements as over the counter drugs to treat a diagnosed medical condition, it would be safest to seek the advice of a medical professional (eg. registered dietician/ specialist doctor/ pharmacist).

As per the Clever Guts book ensure your diet is properly balanced and very varied. Vegetables are important but not more so than other fibre rich wholefoods (seeds, nuts, beans, lentils, grains).

I would like to sign up too please

i would like to sign up too

I will enclose a recipe for Homemade Ginger Beer. I was wondering what you think about this as a reasonable drink as it is brewed and has yeast in it. Thought it would be a good alternative to diet soft drinks. Not too much sugar and has some sparkle.

Homemade ginger beer

Homemade Ginger Beer
6:10 Prep 8 Servings Capable cooks
Put some zing into your spring outing with this refreshing soft drink. It’s sweet, zesty and just the thing to wash down the tasty picnic fare.
INGREDIENTS
1.25L (5 cups) boiling water, cooled slightly
155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
50ml fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Fresh mint leaves, to serve
METHOD
Step 1
Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, ginger and yeast in a large bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set aside at room temperature overnight to infuse.
Step 2
Use a slotted spoon to skim off and discard the scum that has risen to the surface of the yeast mixture. Use a funnel to pour the mixture into a 2L (8-cup) capacity airtight plastic bottle (don’t fill the bottle to the top). Place in the fridge to chill (the ginger beer must be kept well chilled).
Step 3
Divide the lemon slices and mint leaves among serving glasses. Top with the ginger beer to serve.
NUTRITION 320 kj ENERGY 19g CARBS (TOTAL)

Hi what the yes/ no on coconut water… I’m not a fan of water but drink and like coconut water is it good or bad ??? Thanks

Glennith, me thinks that there is no potato starch study as written in the book or someone is not doing their job????

I would also like to sign up for the potato starch study.

Please will someone tell where I need to sign up for the potato starch study?

Thanks for confirming what I thought. Have strained the broth and it smells delicious!

Hello fellow travellers.

As well as eating veges all day I use a large quantity of fibre supplement to help manage a symptom of a chronic condition. The thing is it is wheat based and I would very much prefer to be using a seaweed type.

Does anyone out there know of any product/s. Also because of the condition I do not have much money so I hoping for a cheaper option and just can’t spend a lot on it.

Well wishes to all.

I’ve been eating sauerkraut or kimchi daily for the past fortnight – and for roughly the same period of time I’ve been waking up too early, unable to get back to sleep. Sometimes that happens, so it took me a while to make a link, but I’ve finally got round to doing a quick Google (for example, https://www.alternet.org/story/149722/5_unexpected_foods_that_prevent_insomnia_and_5_foods_that_promote_it), and it seems that sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir (I see someone else has posted about kefir) contain an amino acid called tyramine – which inhibits sleep.

So much as though I like the effect they’ve been having on my guts, I think I’m going to have to try knocking them on the head, to confirm if the link is genuine.

Thought it might be useful to post on this, just in case anyone else has been having similar problems …

I’ve recently started making my own yogurt again, or rather, trying to make yogurt like I used to. I just can’t get it to set as firmly as I used to, and it’s always gloopy, even when I keep it warm with a waterbath.
I’m increasingly getting the idea that it might be due to the shop bought yogurts (I’ve tried loads, including Yeo Valley) being pasteurised, so not having any/enough/the best bacteria/yeasts.

I’m not going to try the ‘one off’ sachets that e.g. H&B sell, but I will probably eventually get round to getting a heritage variety ‘starter’. I am curious about GrahamSPhillips’ comment, though. Can you really use kefir granules to make yogurt? What is it like, gloopy, lots of water, curdy, firm set?

To me (UK) a consomme is a clear watery soup. A broth is more opaque and gelatinous, with or without morsels or chunks of meat/ vegetables/ carbs (eg. noodles, large crouton, beans).

After six to eight hours simmering I would imagine the veggies are mushy? As you say, without straining it would not be a broth, and the mush could make the broth go sour more quickly.

I am just making my first batch of bone broth and just wondered if you should strain it of all the ingredients or leave them in. I only ask because I thought that a broth was clear. In the recipe it just says to take the chicken out.

Mari50: Foods rich in these nutrients include oily fish, cocoa/ low sugar very dark chocolate, various seeds, organic eggs.

Hopefully you are drinking fluids even when not eating solid meals? If so you might be able to manage thin smoothies, soups or live fermented dairy drinks (eg. kefir, cultured buttermilk).

If the idea of making soups and smoothies from scratch on bad days is overwhelming, you are not alone in that!! If possible prep, portion and freeze ingredients on good days. Freezing and thawing softens many fruits and veggies reducing or eliminating the need for cooking/ making blending much easier.

Mari50: It is very common for anxiety/ stress to reduce the appetite, even cause ‘butterflies’ and nausea. Whether that has a negative or neutral effect on health depends on how long you do not eat for, how often, and what you eat the rest of the time.

There is some evidence that periods of fasting may positively impact health. I haven’t got around to reading Dr Mosley’s book (The Fast Diet) but others here have, and will hopefully reply to your thread.

A balanced and very varied wholefood diet (like Clever Guts) supplies the nutrients most important in mental wellbeing. These include magnesium, long chain omega-3s, various B group vitamins and vitamin D.

I have a disability and because of it I get very stressful through frustration mainly. I am unable to do what I used especially walking a fair distance. I want a healthy diet, although I do eat fairly healthily (maybe a kitkat once or twice a week) but when I feel this way I donot want to eat. Can you please help?

Hi West2Jim

Can you post a food diary/? What does your diet look like? Are you taking and prescribed or over-the-counter meds? How much alcohol do you drink? Do any particular foods or drink pre-dispose you to heartburn symptoms??
Anything else that seems relevant ?
Regards
Graham

Hi Gutache: I agree about removing the rubbish diet as you suggest. However its not necessarily the case that probiotics are only effective short term. Given the right environment (ie Cleverguts type diet) then the beneficial probiotic bacteria could well permanently recolonise the gut

Thank you for your response!

Quorn is processed after fermenting, likely including sterilising so not a source of probiotics. It does have some fibre and is not loaded with sugara, refined carbs or oils so not bad for a processed food.

Overall Quorn is acceptable within a properly balanced and very varied diet. However it is not a direct substitute for meat and fish because it doesn’t supply the same vitamins or minerals.

Motherofwhippets: You don’t say which country you are from, but UK guidelines are *at least* two servings and *up to* four servings a week for adults. Also to emphasise small fish over large fish to minimise nasties like mercury. Wild fish may be richer in long chain omega-3s and vitamin D than farmed.

As I understand it tuna is cooked before canning so much of the beneficial omega-3s are lost. As regards smoked salmon, there is an article on the Harvard Medical School website entitled ‘Does smoked fish contain omega-3 fats?’

There are no iffy ingredients in Lidl UK lightly smoked salmon fillets (raw refrigerated) nor Aldi UK smoked mackerel fillets (cooked refrigerated).
Other canned oily fish include sardines/ pilcharda, herring and salmon. If rhey are cooked in the can some of the omega-3s end up in the water or tomato sauce so eat that too.

Smoked salmon – probably the healthy oils are reduced or gone! Best is line-caught. Tinned tuna (or salmon) from a healthy source (look for the source and the omega-3 content – higher is better) would be fine

Just to add: focus on reducing carbs and sugars. Coconut oil is very healthy!

Thank you very much indeed for looking into that. Most helpful.

I’m new to making yogurt. Should I start it off with shop bought bio yogurt or the granules you can buy? Can anyone give me some tips and possibly recommend a yogurt maker? I’ve seen a few on Amazon. I’m a bit confused.

Hi Amy:good advice above from Firefox. Besides the dietary aspects, what comes into contact with the skin? I f you have a tendency towards eczema/dermatitis then you need to review absolutely EVERYTHING that touches the skin. Soaps, shampoo, washing powders, cosmetics. Literally any of these can cause a flare. Also try googling GLADSKIN. Which may well be worth trying

Take a look at Moseley’s 5:2 diet. In general the CleverGuts diet IS anti-inflammatory ( the typical western diet is very inflammatory by comparison) so Cleverguts could well assist any type of inflammatory condition

As above – look at Gladskin. It specifically re-balances the skin microbiota in a healthy direction

There’s absolutely no reason to avoid coffee- ideally black coffee- all the evidence is that drinking black coffee has significant health benefits probably related (at least in part) to the healthy changes to the microbiota from drinking coffee

Hi OliveOil

Firefox’s advice above about diet is spot on and I’d go with that. The cleverguts diet is one I highly recommend. But WHY are you anaemic in the first place? What tests has your GP done to establish the reasons and what other tests have you had? Anaemia can be caused by many things but you want to know IF there is an obvious cause. There may well not be

You GP’s prescription is totally appropriate. I think you are confusing the elemental iron with the total size of the tablet. Iron is presented as a salt of one sort or another (hence ferrous sulphate or ferrous fumeratate) but its the no of mg of elemental iron that counts. I’d really not worry about taking an iron supplement.. the risk of toxicity is incredibly low, whereas the side-effects of iron deficiency are really not pleasant.

People (wrongly) assume that a veggie diet is automatically healthy. It is’n’t! But a healthy veggie diet IS the healthiest. That said maybe your iron deficiency is dietary related. Simply put, find an iron supplement that you get on with, one that contains sufficient elemental iron to be effective, and stick with it at least until your levels normalise

At a quick glance, Culturelle only has the one probiotic bacteria. That is hardly an advantage. One size definitely does NOT fit all. I can’t see anything special or uniquely recommendable about the Culturelle range. Also don’t over-rely on probiotics. A healthy diet high in pre and pro-biotic foods is key!

Also think about your toothbrush: a small head is less likely to score your gums and don’t use too much force!

Thank you so much to everyone who has responded. I am replacing my toothpaste and buying the Propolis liquid as a start.
Many thanks again

In answer to my own question if anyone’s interested, I’ve just found Quorn Cottage Pie in the Clever Guts Cookbook, so quorn must be good!

Thank you very much indeed. I have passed the information on! And thanks for the recommendation of other brands. Are they just as effective as Culturelle? So far as I can tell, Culturelle is the only one that has Lactobacillus GG

I think that’s a misunderstanding. You can’t “get hold of” specific gut bacteria. The best you can do is optimise your diet (as recommended in Clever Guts) to give you the best chance of achieving a healthy micriobiota