I think we’re all pretty much in the same boat here, Shaila. All I can suggest is, put your questions up, and hopefully someone will have an answer!

It seems that it is beneficial to change from a low-fat live yogurt to a more fatty one. Dr Mosley’s “Clever Guts Diet” book refers one to this website to see notes of bought yogurts that have been tested but I cannot find these details on the website. Can anyone help, please?

Can the 5:2 fast day meals be used for the Fasting Mimicking Diet over 5 days? The Prolon is quite expensive for very little food

I have no worries doing 16hours without food as long as I can drink a couple of coffees in the morning to get me started. I don’t make them completely on milk, just instant coffee with a long dollop of milk. Is this allowed within the 16hrs, in the morning (so it would be between the 12-16hr period)?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I feel so well informed…. but also so ignorant. Is there anyone on this site who can answer any questions???

Many thanks,

Shaila

I believe that I suffer from low levels of Serotonin which affect my mood change.
I understand that the gut plays a major roll in producing it and therefore would like
to know of foods that are likely to influence the GUT in its production and distribution
to the brain.

Michael Green

Hi skinnykins
Not sure if this would fit the bill? Lower carb than some I suspect rather than low carb: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/recipe/gf-sourdough-recipes/paleo-gluten-free-sandwich-bread/
No made it myself as yet but I may give it a go.

I have found this link useful: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/oliveoil.aspx

Agree … I’m starting to make my own milk and water kefir but would like to know the different bacteria benefits of both

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2016/09/12/low-carb-flours/ have a few alternatives although I haven’t tried them myself

I’m looking for a low carb sourdough using a sourdough starter. I can’t find any on the internet

I’ve been using psyllium for several years – 2 tablespoons in warm water every morning. I started using it to supplement my fibre intake. I’ve experienced no untoward side effects and couldn’t imagine life without it.

Can anyone suggest what I can use replace ground almonds/almond flour etc with? I am fine with all nuts except almonds and unfortunately a huge amount of recipes in the book contain almonds. I normally just avoid almonds but I don’t want to miss out on some of these recipes!

Got it from my local health food shop, the brand they get is Green City Wholefoods, but I expect there are others. Downside is, it’s a 3kg bag (£7 -ish), but doesn’t seem to go off with keeping as long as it’s airtight. And at a heaped teaspoon a night, it goes down surprisingly quickly! The only ‘side effect’ is that it helps to keep you regular! Without, it seems, the problem with psyllium husk, of having to stop every so often to let your guts have a rest.

Hope it has the desired effect.

Hello,

I have the same question about freezing and heating. Also, freezing cooked food and re-heating. It would be good to know if we are not having as much of an impact by using these processes for food preparation.

Can anyone suggest ways to manage this condition? I have suffered repeated severe and painful sickness attacks since I was 15 and no medication seems to help. The doctors don’t seem to know much about it and I really feel as though I’m not getting any help.

Hello 1303,

Would you please tell me where you found the potato starch and what the brand is please. I didn’t see anything about it in the book unless I missed something? Any side effects? I would love to get 7 hours sleep a night.

It doesn’t know how long it will take them to iron out the issues around the trail that they want to run.

Many thanks,

Shaila

In addition to my ‘normal’ insomnia – 3-4 hrs a night since childhood, I got in a lot of reading with a torch under the blankets! – I’ve now also got Restless Legs Syndrome. I started taking the potato starch (1tsp in about 75ml milk) at night. According to my trusty Fitbit, my sleep levels have shot up from an average of 1hr 20mins a night to 7hrs. Not a miracle cure, I still have the odd bad night, but feeling so much better on it.

And having whinged about cost, I made the turkey burgers (pack of turkey mince on cheap shelf in Tesco!) and got enough out of the recipe for four meals. Also becoming much addicted to Tom Kerridge’s curried cauliflower soup – not cheap, but again, provides 6 meals for me.Quite surprised at how filling it is, not to mention its sheer staying power!

I’m lucky enough to sleep like a log so I can’t confirm that the husks help with that. However I always take the husks with me on holiday, or when away from home, as due to my normally high fibre diet, my gut grinds to a halt without it. I take a heaped tsp in a glass of water each day and that works perfectly for me.

I am desperate to sort my sleep issues and would like to participate in the sleep study and or know about the pre-biotic and where I can find it. Please include me.

Interestingly, someone (apparently mistakenly) told me that the pre-biotic was inulin and so I went out and bought some inulin powder and have been taking it for the past 5 days. It hasn’t thus far improved my sleep duration as far as I can tell (I still wake up at about 5 AM and can have difficulty getting back to sleep, but I feel that I sleep more deeply for the hours that I do sleep. It also seems to have greatly improved my ecsema. Is that possible?

Anyway, the mistaken inulin suggestion is what led me to find the book, probe more deeply into these studies about the gut and to join this community.. Very excited.

How has everyone got on? I’m having colonoscopy tomorrow, then I have eight days until going on holiday to rebuild. I’ve planned to try and eat as much of the good stuff as I possibly can before I go away! Lots of endive, leeks, chickpeas etc.

Slightly disappointed that there’s no answer here on whether bowel cleansing procedures have a horrendous affect, or whether biome bounces back happily and quickly?

Hi Pia

I’m very interested in your seaweed capsules. I’ve recently had skin problems where I become terribly itchy following showers/swimming at any temperature. There is no visible rash however just incredibly itchy skin for around 30mins (following a shower for example). It makes no difference if the water is rain water, scheme, salt – all result in the same problem.

No doctor or dermatologist has been able to explain why and have only prescribed prescription antihistamines – I wondered if you had come across anything like this in your studies and possible assistance from taking seaweed capsules?

Thanks
Frankie

I told my Dr I had been fermenting kefir and he thought it was entirely possible that it could increase BP and anxiety.

That is so interesting because I started getting very anxious and higher BP (normally v low) and thought my thyroid was acting up again. I am also histamine intolerant. I stopped having Kefir of my own choice (even though it seemed to help my sense of smell return & improved hayfever and eczema). The anxiety & BP symptoms have definitely gone.
GP put me on HRT. No reference was made regarding Kefir at my Dr’s appt.

Hi Dot.
I don’t think the starter pack you have will produce grains but I’m not sure, I’ve never purchased it in this format. I got grains and they perform very well. This video shows the basic process. I believe starting with grains is the preferable method.

I purchased my grains off the guy in the video (UK based) he sells them on ebay.

Hope that helps

I use the Lakeland yogurt maker, full fat UHT and started off with 3 teaspoons of natural organic proprietary brand (I now keep some back for the next batch) keep the yogurt maker going for about 9 hours and this turns out absolutely fab, can’t fault it, great for my porridge but not too set for making a fab salad dressing.

Hello I am going to attempt to make kefir. The starter pack that I bought from the health store indicates that only 25 litres can be made (5 batches from each sachet). Do these starter packs produce “grains”. Also I think it would be helpful to include a video on the Clever Guts website demonstrating the process of making Kefir – similar to the video by Dr Clare Bailey demonstrating how to make Purple Saurerkraut.

People may find this useful:
https://examine.com/nutrition/how-can-i-safely-consume-seaweed/

Hi Firefox7275
Good idea about putting the recipe through MFP. I might give it a go.

Recoveringfatty: a quarter of a loaf sounds like quite a lot of carbs in one day. One to two slices of bread is a modest serving, depending on size/ weight. That would help you maintain a wide variety of different foods over the day and over the week. You might input the sourdough recipe into My Fitness Pal, and the day as a whole?

Hello,
I am learning to make sourdough bread and found “Do Sourdough” (there are a range of “do” books) by Andrew Whitley to be a fantastic resource – really thorough and helpful.

‘Breads’ and ‘loaves’ come in many guises, not just super fluffy refined grain bakery offerings.

Part of the reason those are made is literally to charge us for air (just like how whipped commercial ice cream is, then sold by volume not weight).

Not surprised the loaf didn’t rise given the dense, low carb ingredients, no added yeast, lack of proving or fermenting time. More like an unleavened bread, flatbread or bread substitute: probably should have had the same density warning as in the green flaxseed bread recipe? And definitely should specify which size loaf tin.

Similarly the porridge and granola recipes aren’t really those without oats, and grated cauliflower takes the place of rice.

You might find the thread on sourdough bread useful if you like a fluffier bread.

SaltySeaBird: the US political and healthcare systems are quite different to the UK ones.

Yet the powers-that-be came up with remarkably similar healthy eating guidelines, based on a combination of the evidence at the time and practical/ realistic considerations. These are updated as and when the body of evidence changes (UK last in 2015 IIRC).

*Agree wholeheartedly* farmed muscle meat can be shockingly low in micronutrients: chicken breast and chicken livers are chalk and cheese! As a (non practicing) lifestyle health pro I’d also love to see a lot more emphasis in the healthy eating guidelines on beans and lentils, not just wholegrains.

Research on macronutrients in hunter-gatherer society diets is VERY interesting, but often not directly applicable to European Caucasians since we have been eating farmed foods for generations, and so many of us are sedentary. Lactose tolerance, the microbiome … we are not what we were genetically in the palaeolithic.

I think part of the problem is the public perception and official definitions of ‘low fat’ (overly low) and ‘low carb’ (actually encompasses moderate carb) are at odds. We also forget –
or aren’t aware – that fibres and many other ‘indigestible’ prebiotics are actually carbohydrates.

Having said all that many of us on this forum are not the ‘norm’. Much more knowledge and hopefully a much better diet!

Hi Firefox – I agree absolutely that a varied diet which doesn’t attempt to exclude whole good ground is the ideal – I was really thinking specifically of grains, rather than other sources of starchy carbs. However, our bodies perform best when fat is the primary fuel and in modern society carbs – starchy, healthy or otherwise seem to be an overused form of fuel – in days gone by when good food sources were limited and people had heavy, manual jobs, this was not a bad thing – carbs are ‘ballast’ when other food is scarce. But a review of the hunter-gatherer tribes (modern day and primal) indicates that low carb – high fat – moderate protein is a healthy combination e.g the Hadza tribes MM writes about.
I also agree that we have a very ‘sanitised’ and limited diet – even when we attempt to eat healthily – skin and bone are removed from meat and fish and only muscle meat is eaten when in fact, organ meat is far more nutritious. As an example, the Plains Indian tribes ate most parts of a hunted animal but the muscle meat was considered inferior.
There is a very good book called Death by Food Pyramid by Denise Minger which takes an objective and scientific look at the modern diet and also the shoddy science and political interference which has resulted in the terrible food advice banded around by various governments – it is truly shocking!
SSB

SaltySeaBird: many UK and US citizens are low on magnesium, vitamin D and omega-3s (pref. long chain). These are all very important in diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, mental health and numerous other inflammatory conditions.

This is largely due to restrictions in personal taste: we don’t eat much oily fish (sardines/ mackerel/ herring) with some bones, other seafood esp. molluscs (mussels/ snails/ oysters), seeds (flax/ pumpkin/ chia), cocoa or low sugar dark chocolate, bran (rice/ wheat), organic eggs from seed-fed and insect-eating birds (less soy, corn, grains).

When we go lower carb we tend to increase meat from land animals, o-6 rich/ o-3 poor nuts, calcium rich/ magnesium poor dairy, green vegetables, processed carb alternatives. This often worsens existing nutritional imbalances.

I have not read the ‘Blood Sugar Diet’ but hope it emphasises variety and the much neglected food groups I listed! Certainly these types of wholefood played a key role in the stone age and Mediterranean diets, and are arguably more what our microbiome evolved on.

HTH!

SaltySeaBird: certainly we don’t need the nutrients found in bread or other wholewheat foods, and can get them from other wholefoods.

However starchy carbs are a big family – encompassing many beans, lentils, root vegetables, true grains and pseudo grains.

When trying to meet the restrictions of two healthy eating plans there is a real danger that we end up with a diet that is neither varied (core principle of the Clever Guts diet) nor balanced nutritionally.

We can easily end up low on one or more minerals, the ratio of anti inflammatory omega-3 to inflammatory omega-6 is off, too much extracted fat/ oil, or too high an intake of animal protein.

Certainly have smaller portions of starchy carbs, certainly include the lower carb and brighter coloured wholefoods from each group (eg. edamame, beetroot, black beans), certainly swap some starches for mineral and fibre rich plant alternatives (eg. ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, hazelnuts, cocoa).

Hi Chris,
Sorry to hear your loaf didn’t turn out as expected and I’m at a loss as to why it happened. I’ve made this loaf only once and it was ok even though I subbed maple syrup for honey and also realised half way through putting it together that I only had 4 eggs and not the recommended 5! so I added an extra tablespoon of flaxseed. I also added some pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. The mix was not dough-like either but more like a muffin mix or banana bread mix. I didn’t overmix it either…just made sure all the ingredients were combined. I’d say the loaf was more cake-like than a bread ….freezes well too. Oh, and I baked it for around 45 minutes.
Hope your experience hasn’t put you off trying the recipe again – good luck!

I made this yesterday, my third attempt at a gluten free sourdough recipe and the best so far by a mile!

http://www.bakingmagique.com/2015/02/seeded-gluten-free-sourdough-bread/

I proved mine in a sieve lined with a rice floured tea towel as I haven’t got a proving basket. It worked great!
I wouldn’t eat it every day but I would think sharing one loaf over a weekend would be acceptable to us trying to watch our carb intake?

Readers may be interested in the testing of the blood which shows the result of the food etc. so in addition to blood sugar , and TGL/HDL we also do inflammatory measurements…I expect Michael also does these#

Thank you Firefox,
I suppose I’m wondering whether bread has any place at all in my diet. Even wholemeal bread has a high carb load and comparatively low nutritional content so is it better to get carbs through fruit and veg and just ditch the starchy carbs completely? I had some wholegrain bread for the first time in a long time yesterday and ended up feeling bloated and uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure I am neither coeliac nor gluten intolerant, I just think bread is possibly unnecessary – except as a vehicle for other things – oh yes, and it does taste good!
SSB

Hi,
We followed the recipe on page 211 in the book which says it makes a 900gm loaf.
Firstly the mix was like a cake mix and nothing like a dough. Secondly I put it into a 900gm loaf tin. The mix only came 2-3cms up the sides. Baked it for 40 minutes as per the recipe and it has hardly risen, if at all, and has come out like a slice not a loaf.
At approximately 300 gms of dry ingredients I’m wondering if there are enough dry ingredients in the recipe? The recipe on page 210 for Green Flaxseed Bread also says it makes a 900gm loaf but it has approx 750gms of dry ingredients which seems more appropriate for a 900gm loaf.
Has anyone else tried to make the Breakfast Bread?
Our thoughts are that it could be;
1. the recipe is wrong in that it makes a 900gm loaf, and thus it needs a small tin OR
2. there aren’t enough ingredients to produce a 900gm loaf

Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks in advance
Chris

In the book it refers to a company these drs have created to test you Southey can analyse and send you a recommended personal nutrition plan.
Does anyone know their website or if this is launched yet ? Thanks

A good article

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/23/sourdough-bread-gluten-intolerance-food-health-celiac-disease

Fermented foods and live probiotic foods overlap, but are not one and the same.

Humans have been making breads with stoneground wholegrain flours for millenia before white became fashionable. 🙂

Stoneground flour has larger particles than modern super fine flours, so is supposed to digest more slowly and have a gentler effect on the blood sugar. How a slow fermented loaf differs from a regular loaf in that respect would be an interesting Google search.

Thank you Bellado – I always used to make sourdough bread with my own fermented starter but I’ve been on th BSD for while so haven’t made bread which is a shame because I love making it and my OH loves eating it!
I might get another starter going and give it another go using organic whole meal flour – OH prefers w/m anyway.
SSB

Hi,
It is a very good point about sourdough that it gets baked at high temperature. There are however numerous benefits when the dough is fermented over longer and using ‘wild yeast’ and lactic bacteria. These partially digest/alter the gluten in the flour, which suppose to make the baked good easier to digest. Furthermore when using good quality flour (organic stoneground flour for example), the fermentation process renders the minerals and vitamins in the flour bioavailable. There is some research suggesting that sourdough bread is acceptable to otherwise gluten intolerant people.
The fermentation will make white flour product superior to anything shop bought yeasted . Bread made with rye, spelt or kamut is another option. Even gluten free sourdough exists. Bread is basic food and should only ever be made from 4, time honoured ingredients : flour, water, salt and time.

Hi all,
I have a couple of questions about sourdough as I have seen it mentioned several times in relation to ‘good’ fermented foods –
All the sourdough recipes I have seen use white bread flour and this is supposed to be a ‘no-no’ as far as the BSD and Clever Guts diets go;
Although sourdough is naturally fermented, bread is baked at a very high temperature so I’m not sure how the prebiotics can survive to enhance gut health.

Does anyone have any thoughts or info on this?
SSB

A few months ago I was able to stop blood pressure meds as my BP had returned to normal. A month ago I started fermenting and drinking kefir. After ten days of mounting anxiety my BP and heartrate shot up apparently caused by the high amounts of tyramine in kefir. The only medication I take is Livial for menopause.

Also be aware that rosacea is believed to be about hypersensitivity of the skin, and a faulty skin barrier.

If you have been treating for acne, or otherwise less than *super gentle*, there may be repair and recovery needed here. Consider everything that touches your face: water (quality/ temp/ frequency/ duration), skincare or cosmetics, haircare residues, hair removal products and techniques, anything on bedlinen, sunlight and even air (conditioning/ fans)!!

And as per earlier post consider oral and dental health, even minor gum issues/ light bleeding when brushing.

Hope that helps!

Glad to read you now know another element of what you are trying to address! Diagnosis is so often the first battle of the war won. I think it partly depends what level you have cut down from and to, what sources you have cut and what you have retained, what you are replacing those foods with.

Over the short term
the Clever Guts diet is about eliminating (and thereby identifying) our problem foods. But over the medium to long term it is about *increasing* variety of wholefoods, and thus increasing variety in our gut flora.

It should not be too hard to drop the major sources of processed wheat, added sugar, milk, processed cheese. MUCH tougher to remove all traces of gluten and sugar, since these are hidden in so many flavourings and ingredients.

Be sure to eat plenty of oily fish, organic eggs, seeds or nuts that are lowest in omega-6, extra virgin olive oil. The right balance of fats is anti inflammatory: direct impact on the gut, also incorporated into skin cells, hormones, immune cells over time.