I would like to sign up for the potato starch study please

Hi IKeeptrying

There is also an online program developed by Michael Mosley and his team called IFast12 (www.ifast12.com) if you do feel that you want extra advice and support.

The online program runs for 12 weeks and provides Med Style Diet recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, High Intensity Interval Training workouts, videos and educational handouts. The program is based around a 800 calorie fasting day.

I hope this helps and good luck with everything 🙂

I am very keen to know about the availability of seaweed capsules in Australia.

My baby was given antibiotics in his first days of life. I have read studies that indicate that diversity of gut flora is changed long term. Is there anything I can do to help him regain this diversity before he starts solid food? He is breastfed and I won’t be giving him anything else until six months, but is it worth my taking probiotics or exposing him to environmental factors?

Want to sign up for the study please

Resistant starch research is very much in its infancy, so its unlikely anyone knows the ‘best’ cook/ cool/ reheat protocol.

For practical reasons I would cook pasta, potatoes and rice to ‘al dente’: such that a quick nuke doesn’t ruin the texture. It would be a challenge to boil potato chunks in two stages without the nutritious skin falling off!

My family all have rice cookers: so steaming basmati rice without any stirring or agitating. Steaming leaves the individual grains in excellent shape to be microwaved without ending up soggy/ sticky/ mushy.

Apparently steamed rather than boiled rice and basmati rather than short grain rice, have a lower Glycaemic Index, so are gentler on the blood sugar. I wonder if this has to do with resistant starch.

Whether coconut oil would be a wise addition to your diet will depend on your specific health issues, advice of your medical professionals, and other experts in those fields.

I found coconut oil a useful addition to my ‘arsenal’ of cooking fats, but I certainly don’t focus on it. I am working on variety in all food groups, and use the wholefood version – block creamed coconut, olive tapenade, mashed avocado, hazelnut butter – rather than a processed oil/ butter wherever practical.

You might find the Rapeseed Oil thread in the Mediterranean Diet forum useful.

HTH!

Would love to sign up please. I’m a very light sleeper and it’s getting worse (though in good health otherwise). Thank you

Thanks to Paintrocks48 and Firefox7275 for your input. Dr Perlmutter’s response to the AHA was very interesting. I just hope it isn’t the start of a “he said/she said” situation. Now … do I want to try coconut oil?

Looking at trying the above method for altering the starch in my Pasta and Rice. Do I fully cook the Rice/Pasta (suitable for serving) then put it in the fridge and later reheating it in the microwave, or do I 2/3 cook it then cool it, then reheat enough to finish cooking it?
Thanks

*Forum mangled my response: this should have preceded my last post.*

Part of the answer is on page 109: “it can take three years to get the oils from the fish to those plastic bottles you see on pharmacy and supermarket shelves. Omega-3 is relatively unstable and in that time it may go off.”

Natural cod liver oil is not a great source of vitamin D, generally that is added along with vitamin A and sometimes vitamin E. A and E are antioxidants so may help slow oxidation. Cod liver oil is also a poor source of omega-3s so there is less to go rancid. Personally I can’t see the point of it, may as well just ask your doctor or pharmacist about supplementing vitamin D (esp. if in one of the UKs ‘at risk’ groups).

I take triple strength fish oil capsules bought online, so *hopefully* good stock turnover and better storage conditions than in a store. I have only experienced ‘fishy burps’ when I knew my stock was old (= forgotten at back of cupboard). My skin quality is definitely better with them.

Like Dr Mosley I trained myself to eat and enjoy fish. If I can anyone can because I was very fussy before! I literally gagged the first time I opened a can of salmon, but promised myself I would eat one bite. Now – when well enough to prepare healthy meals – I eat oily fish perhaps five days a week, and even order fish in restaurants.

Wiz53: there is some research on coconut oil/ key components, but not the large body of evidence there is for extra virgin olive oil/ key components. Hence you won’t find mainstream medicine actively recommending it.

Whilst EVOO has proven health benefits, the distinctive savoury flavour is not suited to all types of recipe.

There is no alternative fat source that is proven ‘healthy’ or ‘good for you’. Butter contains milk proteins and saturates, neutral tasting vegetable oils are often rich in inflammatory omega-6. Nothing has the antioxidant punch of EVOO (certainly not unrefined coconut oil).

The initial stage of the Clever Guts Diet eliminates many foods whilst still striving for some variety. Whilst I am not a fan of the meal planner, I can see why the breakfasts include subs for cereals and bread. Also why we aren’t expected to cook up eggs or fish and vegetables before work/ college/ the school run.

IMO the initial stages of the CG Diet don’t have that much in common with the Mediterranean diet: little or no dairy, grains, pulses, cured/ preserved meats. The ongoing phase is much better suited to being a reduced carb version of the Mediterranean diet.

Depends which underlying medical condition(s) you are dealing with: Metabolic Sydrome, Type 2 Diabetes or more. What your surgeon/ specialists have advised, what specifically you mean by ‘Mosley dieting’.

For optimal healing and recovery the body needs a balance of *all* the macro and micro nutrients, not too few overall calories such that you are in catabolism (tissue breakdown, inc. weight loss) rather than anabolism (tissue building, inc. weight gain). Protein is *not* more important than other nutrients. It is needed little and often from breakfast since our only ‘stores’ are muscle (inc. the heart!).

As I noted in another thread, the ongoing phase of the Clever Guts Diet fits in pretty well with UK official healthy eating guidelines (I haven’t read the Blood Sugar Diet book so can’t comment on that).

Minimising processed starches and sugars, more healthy fats inc. oily fish and olive oil, eating a really wide variety of wholefoods from *all* the food groups, appropriate portion sizes …

If you are eating reduced carb/ lower grain it is important to get the lost minerals and fibres from other food types. So a wide variety and balance of beans, lentils, seeds, nuts, very long cooked bone broths and cocoa/ low sugar dark chocolate.

With animal proteins I would opt for the micro nutrient dense ones: whole organic eggs, very oily fish, other seafood esp. molluscs, organ meats such as liver, probiotic-rich cheeses (from unpasteurised milk/ mould ripened/ rind washed/ grass fed sheep or cows), game meats. Don’t waste calories on low nutrient chicken breast, white fish or other pale and lean meats.

*Note that it is not my intent to advertise product or affiliate links. The link in my previous post is merely for info.*

Allow me to clarify my comment: I did not offer any opinion about the pros or cons of using UHT milk and my original post was made in reference to the original question “any recommendations on a yogurt maker?”
I mention using UHT milk because I had the opportunity to buy several litres at a very reasonable price and I wanted to test yogurt-making in an Instant Pot.

Over and *definitely* out.

*Note that TDF1315’s blog post is advertising the product/ contains affiliate links.*

I don’t see the logic in using Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk when making yoghurt for the probiotic content. Yes bacteria may cause pasteurised or raw milks to ‘spoil’, but controlled spoiling is exactly what yoghurt and cheese are!

The natural microbes in products made with non UHT milk *may* even add to the health benefits. There are interesting studies on Roquefort and Pecorino Romano cheeses, both of which are made with (very fresh) unpasteurised/ raw milk. Dr Mosley, Prof. Tim Spector and other experts advocate a wide variety of probiotic microbes and prebiotic foods.

I have been making yogurt with the Lakeland 1-litre electric yogurt maker twice a week for 18-20 years years without any problem. Simple to use, easy to clean. Highly recommended. In fact I also bought a spare inner bowl at the same time (I see this is still available.)
I prefer making a big batch rather than individual servings. It also make more sense for me as I prefer to drain the whey for a thicker yogurt.
I bought a cheap and cheerful yogurt maker from Lidl for under £10 purely for the glass jars, as I recently started making yogurt with the Instant Pot using UHT milk and I wanted to start with small quantities. My comments about this here: https://www.everynookandcranny.net/instant-pot-uht-milk-yogurt/

I totally agree, and have long thought that these celebrities forget that for some of us ( outside London, Borough Market etc), access and cost are real issues. I never, ever buy organic because the arguments don’t stack up, it is a very poorly checked and overseen area and I do not trust a label to be what it says it is.
I make my own delicious yogurt using only full fat milk and a starter from my previous batch. 14 yogurts for a cost of £1! I also make my own Kimchi but without the gloopy paste.

Along with so many others, I too would like to sign up for the potato starch study, joanna

I use the Andrew James Spiralizer and find it easy to use and simple to clean. It comes with 3 blades to make flat ribbons, noodles as well as spirals of veggies. It’s also dishwasher safe. Hope this helps.

Dr. David Perlmutter has some interesting facts to relate on coconut oil on his website drperlmutter.com

I make great kefir. You only need a nylon sieve, no metal.

I would probably carry on with the diet, but maybe slightly higher in protein and a good variety of it for the recovery period. You shouldn’t need to up your carbs too much for strength, just eat normally, and with as healthy a mix of fruit and vegetables as you can.

My understanding is that Greek-style, Icelandic-style and some Middle Eastern-style yoghurts are strained through muslin cloth after fermenting/ setting.This removes excess watery whey whilst retaining the more solid curds.

The result is sometimes described as ‘yoghurt-cheese’ or even ‘fresh cheese’. No idea where the dividing line between yoghurt and cheese is; hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in!

I bought the Easyfibre Cleanse natural psyllium husks from Healthspan, and am following the dosage and instructions to take a break which come with it. Psyllium husks have only a very mild laxative effect, but it is cumulative over a couple of weeks and I found myself getting increasing windiness However, it is all worth it for the quality of the sleep, such as I do not remember having had since I was a young adult. Despite being marketed as a laxative, the product is listed under probiotics and prebiotics on the Healthspan website.

Maybe you should try reducing the amount you take each time, if you’re having to take a break from it. Tom Kerridge’s book, ‘The Dopamine Diet’, has some recipes in it that use psyllium. Haven’t tried it specifically for sleep (only bought the stuff yesterday, to put in the recipes!), but it may well work as you suggest. Never really thought of it as a prebiotic, I have to admit!

Rereading your post, JoiningtheDots, you seem to be using two completely different styles of fasting. This is purely my personal opinion, but the closing of your eating window doesn’t seem like a fast to me; I know the theory is, that you’ll eat less, because you’ve less time to do it in, but I suspect it would be very easy just to pack it all into the shorter hours! It’s not really when you eat that matters, as how much, and that will depend on your age, gender, basal metabolic rate, and lifestyle – a deckhand on a sailing vessel needs between 3500 and 4000 a day; a doddering ancient like myself can survive very happily on 1800 or less.

Probably your first act should be to keep a food diary, as recommended in cgd – this absolutely MUST be accurate, so weigh and measure everything (and I do mean, everything! Right down to that sneaky Polo mint you thought wouldn’t make a difference…). A good set of kitchen scales, which will measure to the gram, is a great investment, and if your mental arithmetic isn’t too hot, a calculator will help. Fortunately, most things, in the UK at least, come with calorific values on the packet. Don’t bother about what you’re eating, just eat normally and keep the diary for three days. You may well be surprised at what you can remove from your diet without noticing the loss. This, though granted it’s tedious, will also show you where your normal diet is deficient , whether your portion sizes are right, etc. Then you can start adding in the cg good guys, taking out the things that are, if not actually harmful, not doing you any good. And work in fast days – the 500/600 calorie rule is a bit much for me, I find it hard to stick to, but even aiming for 900 a couple of times a week will help. Remember: a pound of fat = 3500 kcal; eliminate that from your weekly intake, and you’re on a winner. Unless, of course, your ‘normal’ diet turns out to be way above 500 kcal/day too many!

My yoghurt maker produces very watery, sour yoghurt. I much prefer the Greek-style, which is milder-flavoured as well as having a better texture. I know one can buy greek yoghurt mix in a packet from H&B (just add water), but does anybody here know how to make it ‘properly’, ie with milk and starter?

Don’t know where you are, Catananche, but if in the UK, Tesco stocks it

Traditional (German/Polish/French) sauerkraut has NO vinegar. The cabbage is pickled in a brine made from salt and its own juices, which are drawn out of the cabbage by the salt.

A good start would be to take this back to the trader (presumably he’ll be back!) and demand a refund. Complain to Trading Standards, too. And then go online or to a proper health food outlet like Holland & Barrett, and buy the real thing! Tapioca flour and potato starch don’t even come from the same or even a nearly-related plant – tapioca comes from under the bark of a tree that grows in the Pacific.

The more the merrier, kindly include me too.Fit4life😎
Great Gutsy Gastronomic read .

I would like to sign up for the Potato Starch study. Just bought a bag labelled “Potato Starch” from a market stall. When I got it home, it also carried the label Tapioca Flour. Now I don’t know what I bought. How do you tell them apart?

I have just returned home following 4 weeks of diet interruption. Initially I had an Umblical Hernia ,then after a week of recovery I had an emergency Gall Bladder removal.
Prior to my Hernia operation I had been Mosley dieting and had lost 18 kg, stabilized my blood sugars to 4.9, and corrected my fatty liver . The Surgeon told me that my weight loss and sugars greatly assisted my recovery.
My questions what should I eat after surgery to regain strength, but not to undo the good work I’ve achieved?

Recoveringfatty: that article is quite oddly written. It flips between published scientific research and Tatertot Tim’s experiments on himself. It also flips between weight and volume for measurement. 5ml = 5g for water, but *not* for dry powders.

There is reference to dosing for people on the Standard American Diet (SAD), which doesn’t apply to many of those experimenting with Tatertot Tim (Paleo/ Primal) nor many on this forum (CG diet).

Dr Mosley impresses upon us the importance of variety: in wholefoods (prebiotics), in fermented foods (probiotics) and in our gut flora. This likely applies to prebiotic and probiotic supplements. I don’t see any logic in downing multiple tablespoons of a single source of resistant starch.

I agree with you that timing is interesting, not least because we all have different schedules and lifestyles. I certainly notice a difference in how well prescription sedatives (eg. amitriptyline, mirtazepine) knock me out, depending on size and timing of my last meal.

HTH!

*I am not Dr Mosley nor do I represent him.* Any responsible author or medical professional would advise checking with your family doctor/ childrens nurse/ hospital specialist/ dietician/ pharmacist before embarking on an elimination diet (cutting out an entire food group or type) or adding any supplements to your children’s diets.

However the ongoing phase of the Clever Guts Diet fits in pretty well with UK official healthy eating guidelines.

Minimising processed starches and sugars, more healthy fats inc. oily fish and olive oil, eating a really wide variety of wholefoods from all the food groups, appropriate portion sizes …

The average UK family eats too much processed stuff, and not enough overall variety. For example wheat products – cereal/ bread/ pasta/ biscuits/ cake – two or more times a day. A wider variety of foods means a wider variety of nutrients.

Eating more oily fish, certain seeds and high cocoa dark chocolate supplies vitamin D, magnesium and omega-3s, which act alongside calcium (from dairy) in bone health, immune function and brain development. The fibre, polyphenols and protein all help keep the gut healthy.

HTH!

The timing when the Potato starch is taken may also be interesting, in the book Michael says he takes 1 teaspoon full before bed, but also earlier in the book it mentions taking a teaspoon full in the early evening. I wonder how crucial the timing could be as presumably the starch will take some time to get down to the good guys, so they can get to work on it and start producing their sleep promoting goodies. Maybe the trial could involve different protocols…..

As the study will be following Michael Mosely’s regime, I would suggest going along with his quantity: 1 teaspoon in milk at bedtime

Interested in joining the study but impatient with the time its taken to get it off the ground….
I note some people seem to be starting to take it and interested in the amounts people are taking. There’s some interesting info here: http://www.gestaltreality.com/2014/02/27/resistant-starch-a-concise-guide/ which seems to suggest at least two tablespoons is required and taking it 4-5 hours before bedtime. That’s a lot more than I was thinking would be necessary!

Hello, I’d like to sign up for the trial. Please let me know when it starts.

Everyone, including me, seems to be asking where and how to sign up for the potato starch trial. I haven’t seen any answers yet. Has anyone signed up? Is anyone monitoring this forum?

When I heard Dr Mosley say that prebiotics might help sleep problems, I didn’t know that he meant potato starch. I began taking a dessert spoonful of psyllium husks stirred into a large glass of water at bedtime. I was astounded to find that although I am in my late 60s, I started getting eight hours a night of refreshing sleep. The disadvantage is that psyllium husks are marketed as a laxative, and I found that after a couple of weeks I needed to take a break. Has anyone else tried psyllium husks to help sleep? Does it really work? I try to tell my friends about it, but they only give me funny looks.

I’ve decided to give it a go anyway – what have I got to lose!! ( Only sleep!!??!!) Going to try a rounded spoonful per day – I put some in soup and seems ok. Can add it to my kefir and muesli in the mornings from now on……….

Just wondering if anyone has experience with this – have been looking at something called “Heal Your Gut” Powder which is diatomaceous earth. Realise one can get a bit hopeful with the sort of claims made for it.
This Dr Axe post covers it in general: https://draxe.com/diatomaceous-earth/
Grateful for any comments.

Hi Pam, thank you for replying to my request. It seems that a daily dose of olive oil has worked well for your friend so I’ll definitely pass on the tip to my daughter-in-law so thank you very much.

Hi Wilf,

Thank you for replying to my request. That was strange advice you got about partners! You’ve clearly experimented a lot to find what works for you. It does seem to be very individual but some common themes seem to arise when you talk to lots of suffers. She’s already cut out coffee and spicy food and she’s pretty teetotal anyway. I think the turmeric and oily fish will be worth her trying and I agree with you on the evils of white bread (even for healthy people). I will pass your experiences and advice onto her so thanks you very much.

Thanks for raising this issue, Ed. I too was very surprised to see coconut oil mentioned frequently in the recipes, although the text recommends a Mediterranean diet. While celebrity endorsements and anecdotal evidence abounds, I haven’t been able to find any evidence of proper studies showing that coconut oil is good for you. Has anyone else? Thanks

Hi Slaura

I have no personal experience of ulcerative colitis, but a friend has suffered from it for many years. The best treatment he found was recommended by his consultant who wanted to follow his progress over time. This was one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil every day. He has followed it faithfully for ten years and never had a flare-up in that period. Checks show a vast improvement in his condition. I think its worth a try.

My first thought when reading your initial post was “straw that broke the camel’s back?”

It sounds like your body has been under great stress/ strain lately: the initial illness, antibiotics, stomach problem, restrictive diet (Lipotrim), unintentional/ rapid(?) weight loss. Lots of potential for inflammation (gout is inflammatory …)

I wonder how the release of fat and protein from your ‘stores’ (ie. muscle and bodyfat) and your organs processing of of that affects gout. A question for a dietician or doctor!

I would suggest working on prebiotic intake, in order to feed the good microbes from the fermented foods you can tolerate. As Dr Mosley advises, *at least* seven portions of fruit and veg a day from the full rainbow (blue/ purple, red, yellow/ orange as well as green). Plus some beans/ lentils/ nuts/ seeds as you can tolerate.

Secondly monitoring, and potentially reducing, your intake of animal protein and animal fats.

http://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/gout/articles/purine-foods-gout-attack.php

Do limit your portions to official guidelines: meat and fish the size and thickness of your palm or a deck of cards (100g+), harder/ high fat cheeses the size of a matchbox (~30g). Even then these are surprisingly high in protein, so it may well be meals OR snacks.

I really feel for you: I love my aged/ cured meats, mature cheeses and alcohol! 🙂