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.

THank you so much! Nice to know someone is reading 🙂 hope it’s helpful.

As I understand it there are two forms of lactose intolerance: ‘classic’, whereby one cannot process lactose beyond infanthood (genetic, common in East Asians).

Or whereby lactose (milk sugar) irritates the gut due to some issue with the microbiome or damage to the gut itself (acquired).

There seem to be some intolerants who can tolerate a small amount of lactose, *providing* it is taken with or after certain probiotics. Be that capsule format or live fermented dairy.

Like your writing style! 😉

Is it possible to heal lactose intolerance? I wondered if bacteria that is missing or low in the small intestine could be improved so that the body can process lactose. I recently had gastro 4months ago and used to consume a lot of dairy. I now no longer can consume dairy and have been diagnosed with lactose intolerance. If I do the reboot your biome and remove and repair do you think it is possible to heal the small intestine to be able to consume dairy? Thanks.

Hi Michael Firstly thanks for such interesting books on diet and exercise..really enlightening and very easy to read. I would be very interested in the sleep trial. Many thanks.

I just purchased ‘Solo’ by Linda Tubby (£3 in The Works sale). Many recipes are Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern style. Quite a few unusual ingredients, so requires some substitution or sourcing (fancy deli/ online).

Hi there Pia,
I have both psoriasis and an underactive thyroid (I’m currently on levothyroxine 50mcg a day). Is there any reason I shouldn’t try seaweed extract – or indeed some nori seaweed every day? If I go for the latter, how many grams per day?
I’m fascinated by the possibility of a gut link to these two conditions.
Best wishes,
Saira

You don’t say what you are looking to ferment, nor what recipe/ method you intend to use?

There is no way to completely avoid pathogens when utilising microbes in food prep, all you can do is minimise risk. Even commercial food manufacturers experience contamination occasionally.

Source of ingredients and starter culture, selection of recipe (inc. ‘pedigree’ of the author), kitchen and personal hygiene, appropriate equipment, not cutting corners, storage container and conditions are all important.

Sugar-laden fruit jams/ jellies are very different to fermented vegetables or dairy. Greaseproof paper is very different to a boiled stone. Source a weight that is food safe and can be sterilised.

There is a thread here in the Welcome forum titled ‘Newborn Antibiotics’. I suggested the author looked at the work of Prof. Rob Knight of the American Gut Project (linked to the British, Asian and Australian Gut Projects) and author of ‘Follow Your Gut’.

Prof. Knight contributes to ongoing research on the different gut microbiomes of babies born by C-section or naturally, breast fed or formula, antibiotics or not. To find published studies try Google Scholar and PubMed.

HTH!

Brilliant, thank you abird, very grateful :0)

As the fermentation is supposed to be anearobic how does one avoid the risk of botulism, perhaps the culture isnt truelly anearobic? Also in the absence of a boiled stone what to use to press down on the vegetables? Would a disc of grease proof paper work as for making jam.?

Hi, everyone,

I have been using potato starch for a week now. Results : The first two days I slept like a log and was so chuffed.
The third day I took two and a half hours to go to sleep, had about four hours sleep for the whole night. The next few nights weren’t much better and last night I was awake for about an hour and then proceeded to wake up several times in the early hours. I am quite disappointed as I thought this might be the magic bullet.
However, I am finding Twinnings new tea “Sleep” reasonably good, although,
because I am drinking it close to retiring I end up having to get up to go to the bathroom between 3-4 o’clock.
What am I going to do with all this potato starch ??? I tossed some in my beef stew today as a thickener but can’t think of anything else to do with it.

jillyB

The skin tends to reflect what’s going on within.
Karen Fischer’s “The Healthy Skin Diet” changed my skin issues and the way I thought about what I consume. It fits beautifully with Clever Guts and also got my naturopath friend’s seal of approval! I can’t recommend it highly enough. Has a specific chapter on rosacea too. All the best!

Hope this is okay to post here…
For anyone that might be interested, I’ve started a blog to document my journey following the meal plans in this book, because I’m a little bit obsessed with it.
Check it out, I welcome feedback 🙂
https://biomedome.wordpress.com/

Hello, I have just finished reading the Clever Guts book and I am fascinated with the topic. My friend has a 8 month old baby, who had a traumatic arrival and swallowed some meconium during birth and then was on antibiotics as a result. This gorgeous little boy has been a difficult, unsettled bub and will not sleep and just seems generally unhappy. As a mother of three, I know that babies have sleep issues, however I cant help but wonder if there could be a link. I would love to be able to help my friend (a first time mum) to find an answer. Any thoughts of how she could investigate this?

Hello Firefox and everyone,
You asked a while ago and now I have a diagnosis of Rosacea. I’ve been prescribed a topical gel (antibiotic unfortunately) but thinking about using my diet more than ever to help, instead. I’ve cut down on wheat, sugar, dairy and booze. Skin still bad but I’m guessing I need to cut them out 100% as per the diet…?
Thanks again for all your help.

SmartDNA looks interesting. I have tried to find a costing for the microbiome test but it isn’t on their website. I will attempt to call tomorrow. My GP gave me a path request for a company called Bioscreen based in Yarraville, Victoria. Their cost is $348 for a faecal microbial analysis which promises quantification of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and yeasts. It seems excessive so I am still searching…

You don’t need a yoghurt maker to make yoghurt, just a cooking thermometer. For several years I have made it in the following way. Boil full cream milk (I use milk from a local dairy farm, not a huge conglomerate), adding a pinch of gelatine to help it set. Pour it into a screw top jar. Let it cool to 47C, then add several spoonfuls of good quality plain yoghurt and stir to combine. After the first batch you can use some from your previous batch ad infinitum.
Have the oven heated to 60C, then turn it off. Wrap the jar of yoghurt in a towel and place in the slightly warmed oven for 4 – 5 hours. It becomes more tangy the longer it stays in wrapped in the towel in the oven. Remove and put in the fridge.

I am having a go at making sauerkraut and put it in a jar with a stopper top, but the pressure kept blowing the top off so I transferred it to a jar ( bigger than required )with a wire fastener. Does anyone know if this will affect the process? Will it still be safe to eat ? and roughly when will I be able to eat it?

I took one tsp of potato starch last night in a small glass of milk and have had the most excruciating stomach pain

I have worked with SmartDNA in the past for other genetic testing (fitness/mental health/detoxification profiling). They are extremely experienced and the testing concentrates on areas that can be influenced by diet and lifestyle. There is a practitioner webinar starting this week on the gut. I expect it to be informative.

hi, mantis,

I have experimented with pasta and rice and found the best method for both. I cook either for about a minute less than normal [ al dente ], pop in fridge over night, then drop in boiling water just to get it hot. I also keep the big saucepan with original water, seems to keep the flavour better.
Being a diabetic, this allows me to have pasta and rice which I really love. My blood sugar barely goes up.
Hope this is useful for you.
jillyB

Easiyo system is fantastic with out using their sachets. I have made youghrt successfully with powered milk and a couple of tablespoons of natural yoghurt with the easiyo containers – makes it easy. Anyone tried it with organic milk and yoghurt?

hi Gordon,
If you can afford olive oil made in Australia they are some of the purest. One that is sold in a dark bottle helps to protect the oil. MM will be making a list when he gets a chance in the meantime steer clear of oils made in Italy as they are the most likely to be adulterated according to the note by MM on this website and in the book.

hi Shankley,
Full fat dairy milk is better than skimmed according to studies done re. weightloss, quoted by MM. But you might need to go to 2 percent for a while, get used to it and then full fat. I also prefer unhomogenised milk, as it tastes better to me, and you can use a tea strainer to catch the creamy bits in the beginning till you get used to them. I don’t drink plain milk but use it in coffee and other recipes.

I swapped from using sugar to using grass fed butter in my coffee, but liquid stevia is the best of all the sweeteners. It can still leave you craving sweets though, be aware if it has that effect on you. Best wishes.

I’ve stopped taking any form of sweetener in my coffee but was advised organic stevia is ok to use. Is this correct?

Also, I’m still using skimmed milk, is this ok to use or should I be using full fat milk or refrain from dairy milk and use almond milk instead?

Can anyone provide information on high quality Olive Oils, which are not adulterated with other oils?

I am going to try it as I have relatively uncontrolled Psoriatic Arthritis. It can’t harm.

I tried halving the amount I was taking to one heaped teaspoonful in a glass of water, but it didn’t really seem to work. The dessert spoonful is much more effective.

Hi ajdee
May be you could give Kefir a go? I believe it may be better than yoghurt as it has more microbes. Its an acquired taste, easier to palette if you use it as a smoothie base, I add berries, spinach and chia seeds (although I love it neat) It’s also easy to make if you can get some grains.

I was wondering if seaweed would be of any help with Psoriatic Rheumatoid Arthritis as looks like it may be with Psoriasis. I found, over the last 20 years, that my condition can be managed with diet and fasting. .

Hi RF, Thanks for your reply. Yes, I had been taking home-made yoghurt and apple cider vinegar but I backed off about a week ago when I got a bad head cold. Yoghurt always makes colds worse with me. I don’t know why because milk/cheese etc does not. The cider vinegar was giving me a tummy ache and a lot of discomfort. Very puzzling. I hadn’t heard of Bimuno. It seems to be a UK product but we probably have a comparable product here in Australia.

Hi Midas
I’m no expert but my family have been trying different pre and pro biotics for a little while now, fascinating stuff!
Did you drink this just before bed?
If so maybe it would be worth trying earlier say 6-7pm to give it a few hours to digest before bedtime? From the little experience I have some people seem to be able to tolerate pre biotics better than others. For instance i have taken 2 tablespoon fulls of Potato starch before bedtime (as an experiment, not routinely) and it had no notable effect on me. I also take Bimuno every day and have had no issues, however a friend who also took Bimuno and suffered tummy ache every day after she took it (she now takes half a sachet and seems fine on that). I think its probably down to differing gut microbes in different people (hence your husband is OK), my guess is your microbes will adapt over time if you can persevere, maybe try half a teaspoon full and build up slowly?
Did you have any other pre biotics in your diet before taking the starch? Maybe adding a pro-biotic would help boost your microbes allowing them to cope (live Yoghut, Kefir, Saurkraut, etc) ?
Good luck.

I have taken a tspn of potato starch in small amount of milk for last few nights. I can’t remember when I have last slept so badly for such a prolonged period. The effect is the same as when eating an evening meal rich in onions: no sleep, and volcanic gut activity. I won’t continue until I know more. My husband took it and slept like a top.

Hi Plutark, hope you are well. I read this and thought
of you.

http://www.momentummagazineonline.com/gut-bacteria-may-have-role-in-ms/

Interesting reading.

Tevenie

Hi, I have been following a restrictive fodmap diet, but have flare ups as soon as I introduce a food containing fodmap.
Michael lists flaxseeds as being low in gluten, I didn’t realise they contained any? If so I have been eating a tablespoon on my porridge every morning with no effect, which is interesting.
Also, any idea if consuming cider vinegar would have a detrimental effect on one’s tooth enamel?

I want a more thicker greek style yougurt so I drain mine. First used a cheese muslin cloth but found the cleaning of that a bit taxing so have now started to use melitta coffee filters and that works an absolute treat!!! 👍🏻

Joiningthedots, there is a section on intermittent fasting to be reached from the front page of this website. Dr Mosely says, and I quote “So, there are various ways to fast. But essentially it comes down to what you find easiest and most effective to do”. What he is referring to here is fasting to improve gut microbes by encouraging a certain type that thrive when you fast, not weight loss or other types of fasting. However, Dr Mosely also says that blood sugar recovers better when you eat in the morning rather than the evening. Of course there are more details in the book.

I am allergic to dairy and so i substitute with soy milk and soy yoghurt

I’ve recently been told by a health professional to cut back on all soy products because of the GMO risk and also potential risks for memory deterioration later in life

I only buy Alpro products

Is soy safe to consume?

thanks!

Hi Everyone
I just wanted to share my experience with you. I’ve taken a couple of heaped tsps of Potato starch three nights running with Kifir as suggested. I have had the most agonizing abdominal pain for 48 hours so far. I’ve Googled this and others report that it can go on for a week. I’m on pain killers to ease the pain and bring my temperature down. So just be careful. Try little by little first to see how your body reacts.

Hi. everyone,

I couldn’t find potato starch in supermarkets or health shops, can’t understand why not as it IS used for other things apart from sleeping….I used to use it for making latkes. Anyway, I bought some on-line from a reputable health site and it arrived today.
The book says take early evening …..what time would you think is “early” ? I had my first “dose” at 9.0pm [ Australian time }. Can’t wait to see what happens tonight, if anything! Will keep you all informed.

jillyB

It seems quite a few here are fermenting their own yoghurt and kefir. I am currently eating Arla Skyr strained yoghurt or Pakeeza set yoghurt (same company make ‘Lancashire Farm’ and others).

Not sure what you mean by a “live bacteria”. Are you looking for the name of a specific species, a ‘starter’ for making fermented dairy or a freeze dried capsule?

For anxiety foods rich in magnesium, omega-3s and vitamin D are key. These include seeds (pumpkin/ chia/ flax), cocoa or low sugar dark chocolate, and oily fish. All of which are included in the Clever Guts diet.

Magnesium is lost in sweat and loose bowel movements, so what type of IBS you have is relevant as well as your lifestyle.

HTH!

Me too please!

Hi there, can anyone recommend any live bacteria? I have IBS & suffer from anxiety if that’s relevant? Also what live yougurt is everyone using?

Internet forums are usually set up for mutual support and help, rather than for professional advice.

Your own medical team know your medical history, inc. all diagnoses and medication. This team may include your family doctor, pharmacist, endocrinologist, dietician or specialist nurse.

Most supplements have not been studied in people with a given medical condition. It would be unethical and/ or unsafe for a health professional to make recommendations online.

Dr Mosley and other authors emphasise the importance of variety in the microbiome. The Clever Guts Diet advocates a really wide variety of nutrient dense wholefoods, in order to feed many different beneficial microbes and to repair the gut.

Supplements are not a ‘fast track’ or ‘short cut’ to a healthy gut, nor any other body organ or system. In many cases they are more of a tweak or add-on.

Don’t underestimate the power of a balanced and varied wholefood diet to improve health. When I first started studying I was blown away by the evidence … and that was well over 15 years ago! 😮

HTH.

Firefox 7275

Read your resistant starch cooking comments with interest. About 6 months ago, or more, I read about this somewhere and thought it worth a try as I love pasta and rice. Everyone thought I was crazy, even I wondered ! But as I am an insulin dependent diabetic so had nothing to lose. I tried pasta first , and it worked. I think I was more surprised than anyone. I let it cool in the fridge overnight and gave it a zap in the microwave the next day. It certainly worked wonders on my BS but was a bit tough, so next time I reheated it with a quick dunk in boiling water and it was great…and I am pretty fussy with my pasta, used to make my own but am getting too old and in poor health so rely on Barilla now.
Then I tried rice…..the same result. I was cross that I had avoided potato salad most of my life as this would have been OK as it was cold. Ah, well ! Hope this helps .
jillyB

Hi there – there are not many seaweed capsules available that concentrate the dietary fibres needed for the gut health benefits. Seaweed capsules that are currently available are often straight milled seaweed and need to be dosed carefully to avoid too much iodine. But as long as you stay within 5g per day and avoid kombu (high iodine) you will at least be boosting some kinds of seaweed dietary fibres. Or you can eat 5g of sushi roll seaweed (nori) which isn’t hard to do. However we can keep you abreast of the concentrated, fibre-capsule availability in the next few months at http://www.phyco.com.au
Best
Pia

Another Australian here, keen to find try them 🙂

I agree Gilly. No point in having a forum is nobody is going to answer our queries 🙁