Hi, Jenny,
I have been sensitive to salycilates and amins my whole life (49 years) without even realising it. I had eczema, migraines and was slightly overweight (BMI 26). 1.5 years ago I finally found a good dietician who put me on the elimination diet and we discovered my sensitivities. I have been on the extended elimination diet for a year and felt quite well, if I did not stray from it too far. But I love spices and diversity of fruits and veggies and sticking to that diet was not easy for me. 2 months ago I bought the Clever Guts Diet book and after reading it started to experiment with myself. I followed Michael’s recommendations and ate all those wonderful spices and veggies that have been out of bounds for me before. On top of that, and I consider it a major point, I have loaded myself with fermented foods: kefir, sauercraut (started to make it myself), kim chi, natural Greek youghurt, kombucha, etc. I also completely abandoned sugars in any form except apples and some other not-too-sweet fruits (oranges, for example, but not mangoes or grapes) and went gluten-free, as I suspected to have a light form of IBS. It worked like a charm! Even though I would have had a reaction to many of those spicy foods loaded with salycilates before, it has not happened yet! Besides, I have lost 7kg within a month since the start of this experiment and keep counting! My BMI is under 24 now and I feel great! My skin feels and looks the best in my life!
This is my experience and I hope you will find your way through your problems!
Cheers!

Dear Sarahwhite82,

Thank you.!
I have just found that FMT has cured the Lyme disease which Lesley Paterson,3 times world champion x-terra triathlete had….your enquiry acted as the catalyst !
If you google” Lesley Paterson triathlete lyme disease”, the 3rd item is her own video which has been there since March!!

So thank you, again.
Kindest regards

Lastly use the diary to consider which gut friendly and nutrient dense wholefoods have never featured much in your family’s diet. Some of the most frequently undereaten in the US/ UK are oily fish (rather than white fish), the full rainbow of bright and dark coloured fruit and vegetables, mineral rich seeds (rather than peanuts or tree nuts), beans and lentils.

Please do discuss any additions with your medical team. HTH!

Hopefully your paediatrician or dietician has advised you to keep a detailed food and symptom diary, with weighed and measured quantities, as you exclude suspect foods. You can review this yourself: looking at variety and balance of food groups (eg. grains, dairy) and food types within that (eg. wheat/ rice/ oats, cows/ goat/ sheep).

Also look at what you are replacing eliminated foods with – where possible other wholefoods (eg. brown or black rice) not heavily processed substututes (eg. Gluten free bread)

The inital phase of Clever Guts is restrictive in food types, calories and potentially in key nutrients. Any exclusion diet should be medically supervised in a growing child, someone underweight or those with certain health problems.

The later phases emphasise a really wide variety and balance of minimally processed wholefoods. This should be suitable for almost anyone, because the main things restricted are processed and/ or low nutrient.

Dear Sarahwhite82
I would be very interested to learn what Glenn and his team at Taymount Clinic have to offer.
They were recently featured in a companion TV program to Michael Mosley…where they even fixed C-Diff by changing gut microbe profile..
Kindest Regards

Hi,
My name is Sarah. I am a mum of 2 boys. My youngest is 3 years old. He is under weight. After going to doctors and specialist it has been found that his gut doesn’t have enough good bacteria. We have been removing foods that upset his guts.
While reading the clever guts diet I read that it’s not suitable for children.
I am just wondering if anyone has used this with young kids or if anyone can tell me if it’s ok if I try this with him.
Thank you in adavance for taking the time to read this and respond.
Sarah

@annelizabeth,
So glad you are now better.
I notice that you were cured by a course of 2 antibiotics in Australia.
This sounds very similar to the Australian winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize , the knowledge which Michael so ably promoted in the 1990’s.
Kindest Regards

@ Nicole8
Great News…I am so pleased .
Did you test for helicobacter pylori ? .In the U.K. it is now easy thanks to Michael’s pioneering work in the 1990’s.
Kindest Regards

I was on PPI’s. Gave me diarrhea and made my hair fall out. I don’t think I was absorbing any nutrients. I stopped it after thee months and cut out suspected causes of my reflux ie. coffee, chocolate and bread. Starting taking digestive enzymes before my meals and half a teaspoon of baking soda and a splash of Braggs apple cider vinegar in a glass of water first thing in the morning an at night. Three weeks later, my reflux has gone. My hair has stopped falling out and my tummy has settled. I know some people have to take PPI’s as their reflux is severe but I won’t touch them again.

I’d certainly consider the book by Dr. Barry Sears.

I’d certainly consider the two books by the Bluezones author Dan Buettner

And also The Pioppi Diet by Aseem Malhotra

I really loved this idea….but how should I defrost them?

Will it change their chemical makeup if I put them in the microwave on defrost…..or should I just let them defrost naturally?

Any suggestions??

Thanks

Rosalin

New out this month so I don’t own this book as yet … Thus only a suggestion not a full blown recommendation: ‘Wild Mediterranean’ by nutritionist Stella Metsovas might be a good fit with the ‘Clever Guts Diet’.

Please post your thoughts if you buy it, and I will do likewise. HTH!

G’day, first post….
Does anyone have any recommendations for good books about the Mediterranean diet? I was hoping Dr Mosley had written one, but it doesn’t seem so (as yet anyway)….

Lee

I would like to be involved in the potato starch project too please.

Dear Ladyhaddon, Microscopic Colitis is an inflammatory condition.
You might , therefore , like to have a look at The Inflammation Research Foundation.
Kindest Regards

I have also recently taking Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar (with The Mother) diluted every morning with honey. No adverse side effects yet but I have noticed I keep needing to pee…!

am pleased to learn that the cause of your problems were helico- ..not diet as my friend found in 1994.regards

Do consider your intake of magnesium rich foods, of which there are relatively few (certain seeds, cocoa, brans). Magnesium is lost in sweat and loose stool, and has many functions inc. muscle relaxation.

HTH!

I would suggest starting with the detailed food and symptom diary (p 187 of the Clever Guts book). Every mouthful as you eat it, with weighed and measured quantities. If you add or subtract too many foods/ ingredients at this stage you won’t know what helped or hindered.

Look at the balance and variety of foods in your current diet: oily fish and other seafood, natural dairy, wholegrains, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds are just as important as brightly coloured produce.

Curries can be spicy without being hot (chilli). Spices are loaded with antioxidants.

I have just been diagnosed after colonoscopy with diverticulosis two pockets not inflamed. Strangely I have never suffered with constipation if fact the opposite so don’t understand how I got them. I do however love curry and very hot so wonder if this is the cause. I eat very healthy no rubbish eats lots salad and veg and go to gym 3 to 4 times a week.

Is love to know what caused it but I am now going to be more careful no more hot curries and will look into the Apple cider vinegar and kefir. Any advice very welcome.

I have just been diagnosed after colonoscopy with diverticulosis two pockets not inflamed. Strangely I have never suffered with constipation if fact the opposite so don’t understand how I got them. I do however love curry and very hot so wonder if this is the cause. I eat very healthy no rubbish eats lots salad and veg and go to gym 3 to 4 times a week.

Is love to know what caused it but I am now going to be more careful no more hot curries and will look into the Apple cider vinegar and kefir. Any advice very welcome.

That’s really interesting, I’ll definitely be reading more, thanks 🙂

There is thread on this in the ‘Newbies’ forum. 🙂

Ivy22: I combined reading about archaeology and diet (purely amateur interest) with my existing knowledge on nutrition/ dietetics (prior qualifications and employment) to decide which foods to eat more of.

As GrahamSPhillips says Prof. Tim Spector’s book is excellent, as is the ‘Human Food Project’ blog if you want to read more about the gut microbiome.

Was just wondering if it affects digestion at all?

Ivy22: it also seems that humans are more or less adapted to digesting large amounts of starchy foods, partly dependent on the number of copies of the amylase (an enzyme) gene. It is believed farming of certain grains originated in the Middle East but spread to the Mediterranean and Europe thereafter.

Of course, we cannot know our full genetic history, nor eat many of the plants available to our ancestors. Habitats have altered and selective breeding altered many from the ‘wild type’ beyond all recognition!

What is the reason for waiting??

Ivy22: evolution or selective adaptation of humans and our gut flora over thousands or millions of years. An example would be the ability to digest lactose (milk sugar) into adulthood. This is common in Europeans but uncommon in East Asians, where many are lactose intolerant. This is believed to be because dairy farming was widespread in Europe from the Neolithic (late stone age), but not in East Asia.

Is it healthy to drink a glass of water or cup of tea/coffee with your meals or should you wait 30 minutes?

Thanks Graham, I will have a read 🙂

The theory is that there are pre-historic genetic adaptations to the human genome. Or to put it another way humans adapted to their very different environments..(compare say Eskimos to African tribes) so the balance and nature of a “good diet” depends in part on the diet and environment that your genetic predecessors bequeathed to you. If you are interested there is lots about this in Tim Spector’s Diet Myth

Please may I be considered for the Potato Starch Survey?

Hi Firefox7275

I am just wondering what your ancestry has to do with the food you eat. I’ve never come across this before and am intrigued 🙂

Thank you. 🙂

Sorry meant 51.30 but the whole video is interesting!

Hi Tofu63
Watch this video by the fermenting guru Sandor Katz: http://www.wildfermentation.com/sandor-at-the-river-cottage-food-fair/
hopefully it will reassure you there is little to no chance of any issue with botulism. Particularly relevant at 41:30.

Crunchy alternatives to rice crackers for spreads or dips include skin-on apple or pear slices, raw vegetable crudites (bell peppers/ caulifliower florets/ sprouting broccoli/ baby corn/ sugarsnap peas/ carrot/ asparagus), whole rye crispbreads or oatcakes. There is a recipe for grain-free nut and seed crackers in the CG book.

Chopped nuts or seed butters are standard ingredients in blue cheese dip/ spread and houmous.

HTH!

Nuts and seeds farmed or eaten in the Mediterranean and Middle East include walnuts, almonds, tahini/ sesame seed paste, flax or linseeds (must be ground to release nutrients). Other healthy fats from olives, avocados and oily fish.

I also include soaked hazelnuts or filberts and hazelnut butter, because these fit with my North European ancestry and have a decent fatty acid profile. Nut butters tend to be oily or tasteless without salt or sugar, so I use as an ingredient only (salad dressings/ stir fry sauce).

Teven: The sample day isn’t varied, balanced or rich in essential nutrients. Definitely an improvement over the standard US/ UK diet but not obviously Mediterranean. Work in progress! 🙂

In terms of bang for buck/ calories for nutrients the indulgences are bacon, peanut butter, rice crackers, dates, chicken. Maybe also chocolate, toast, rice depending on the form.

thx, 7275, good summary, rice crackers and peanut butter were my one obvious indulgence, I tried almond butter, was ok but wasn’t the same.

Hi Kitty: don’t worry – coconut oil won’t adversely affect your cholesterol – that’s a myth!

The only documentary I can name is the fascinating ‘Wild Food’ series with Ray Mears and paleoethno botanist Gordon Hillman (on Youtube). It is pretty old so do watch more recent archaeology articles and documentaries.

Sorry for the slow reply. Do other nuts and seeds cause digestive issues when soaked overnight and/ or toasted and/ or ground?

I ask because there is thousands of years of history of processing certain nuts or seeds, I have heard experts say this is to make them more digestible particularly for children. For example the archaelogical record shows hazelnuts have been bulk harvested (Europe) and linseeds have been farmed (Middle East) since the stone age.

The Mediterranean diet focusses on vegetables and salads, oily fish and other seafood, beans and lentils, live dairy (inc. sheep and goats), outdoor reared/ pastured/ free range meats, certain nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oil.

In the Mediterranean quality coffee and chocolate are strong and dark. Healthy fats are eaten at most meals and snacks, but portion size is often modest. Ditto meat serving sizes are small: depending on the region key protein sources are cheeses, fish and other seafood.

Lose the peanut butter and crackers, reduce meat to max once daily.

Kitty cholesterol: not really, coconut oil is used for its flavour (neutral and mouth feel (saturated fat). You might read the various threads on olive, rapeseed and coconut oils.

The elimination phase massively reduces the worst offenders in inflammatory/ cardiovascular conditions, namely sugar, processed carbs, land animal fats, omega-6 fats (many vegetable oils). The overall diet massively increases beneficial foods, namely vegetables, oily fish, extra virgin olive oil, certain seeds and wholegrains.

Maybe emphasise dishes that utilise oily fish and olive oil over those using coconut oil.

I made a big batch of the purple sauerkraut recipe from the book and left a couple of cm at the top before I shut the lid of the (clean and boiled) ex pickled onion jar I used. I thought I was supposed to open the lid to let out the gasses which I’ve been doing and on a couple of occasions I’ve even poured away some of the liquid because it just keeps growing, this morning I came down to find purple juice all over my kitchen worktop so I poured some more away. I put a bit of cabbage root on top of my sauerkraut as suggested to keep the contents submerged and when I’ve had the lid open to pour off some liquid I’ve been pushing this down to keep the contents submerged. Ive now been reading about the potential for botulism if the contents have contact with the air and I’m wondering if I’ve done this all wrong and need to throw my sauerkraut away??

What do you mean by “taking”? How much, how often, what recipe, where are you in the Clever Guts diet?

I use live apple cider vinegar like any other condiment or ingredient, primarily in salad dressings as a change from citrus juice. When on a roll I eat large salads daily year round, be they leafy or raw vegetable based. No negative effects.

BTW I have a history of gastritis, my main triggers being copious quantities of cheap strong cider (never seen an apple stuff), regular use of NSAID prescription drug.

I do just enjoy yogurt with some fruit and like to make tzatziki. I do plan to make kefir too. I’m just watching my first batch of purple sauerkraut (very bubbly) and I’ve been trying to find a vegan kimchi recipe that looks approachable. Thank you for the heads up.