Hi. I’ve just finished reading the Clever Guts diet book and am now thinking about what changes I want to make. I tried 5:2 fasting when that book was released but didn’t get on too well with it. Recently I’ve experimented with fasting 16:8 and that seems to work better for me – my eating window was 1pm-9pm. Would this still be effective in terms of improving gut health, i.e. is eating late going to impact on this? Should I think about trying 5:2 again? Many thanks

Surprised nobody has yet mentioned Symprove – http://www.symprove.com. In trials it was one of only three products which delivered the number of bugs as advertised, survived stomach acid and reproduced in the gut. You need a three-month course and it’s not cheap, but it does seem to help. It’s a liquid you keep in the fridge by the way – even took mine on holiday to the US!

Count me in for the study. I assume the Newsletter will advise when and where?

Hi Gigi60, thats fantastic! I purchased the book a week ago and saw Dr Mosley on Insight last Tuesday. I’m recovering from a bad flare-up of gastritis and as much as possible following the re-boot but with FODMAP overlay .. it severely curtails what you can eat. The faecal test is a great place to start. I’ve been looking everywhere. Great work. Thanks for the post !! I am absolutely considering going to USA to do the Day Two personalised nutrition plan.

Try and limit fats and alcohol. Sadly nuts are off the list. Your body will let you know what doesn’t agree with you.

They are a capsule that should be refrigerated, although they say on their website that they can be out of the fridge for short periods of time while travelling – although they don’t say how long that short period is, guess it would depend on the outside temperature. I think I might buy the VSL 3 ones when away.

Hi Evie – it won’t be long. Watch this space and I have you on our newsletter list.
Best
Pia

Yes so hard to know which ones might be effective. On looking at the Faulding ones they only have 1 type of lactobacillus so suspect not great whereas a powder I bought recently had 10 strains. It was expensive and neither my husband or I liked the taste even if tried to disguise it. As didn’t like it I have not kept what the name was. We travel quite a bit and especially like to have them when traveling so really need a capsule that you don’t need to refrigerate. Would like to know how you go with the Udo’s. Are they a capsule that is non refrigerated?

Thanks for your info Gigi. Guess I’m being a bit impatient as know it can take time but worried it won’t improve. Just hoping the clever gut diet might be able to get results where I can improve past where I was before having it out. I don’t think I could have all the foods on it though as suspect foods like nuts and seeds eg flaxseed might not be a good idea at this stage.

Hi
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I stopped thinking of my diagnosis and look at it in terms of symptoms. I found this helped a bit.
I’m going to keep going with my dietary changes as the link to the gut makes sense to me. I’ll watch out for the seaweed extract becoming available . Is there a link to the crowd funding site?
Thanks
Evie

Hi, there. I note that there is a lot of coconut cream and oil in the diet, which I believe is about the only vegetable-based fat that contains cholesterol. I’m trying to get my cholesterol down without going on statins and am concerned that clever guts might not be suitable. Should I ignore cholesterol from this source, or substitute coconut cream and oil for another good oil? Will I miss out on something good in the coconut by eliminating it? Cheers.

Hello,

I have just phoned NuriPATH.
They will put you in touch with a medical practitioner who is registered with them to fill in a request form for the test.

If you are wanting to go through your GP they will need to register your GP and send them the request forms.

A CDSA Level 4 test is the most comprehensive @ $360.
Results in approx 10 -14 days.

At this stage I do not want to involve my GP so will leave it at the monment.

If anyone hears of anyone else who tests please post.

Cheers

I have just finished the “Clever Guts Diet Book”, how fascinating. I too would be very interested in a testing facility was found in Australia. I am on the Sunshine Coast.

Does taking olive leaf extract effect the good bacteria?

My husband also had his gall bladder removed last January for similar reasons. We were told your body needs to adjust to not having a gallbladder and can take time to improve. He is back to normal now but still has to watch what he eats and eat similar foods than before surgery otherwise he feels nauseous.

I found this Australian company that does faecal testing for $220 for the CDSA5 test which is very thorough. They send you a home kit which you post back
http://www.nutripath.com.au

Hi Erukus
We ordered 2 kits from uBiome in the US and they are sending to Australia no problems. It just cost an extra $20. Kaje

I have just purchased Udo’s Choice Probiotics having googled best probiotics to use. They arrived today and I will let you know how I find them. Would be good if CG Admin could take a look at them to see if they are what they claim.

Hi Pia,

I don’t think it is that simple because UBiome does not service outside the US. It specifically mentions in the book for Australian tests to check this website. Is there any other info aside from this?

Thanks

I had my gall bladder removed 3 weeks ago. I had a poorly contracting gall bladder since 2009 and have avoided having surgery on it until now as was concerned I could have digestion issues if removed so was controlling it with diet -no spicy, no alcohol, avoiding fried foods, no cheese, no cream and generally lower fat foods. However I was recently diagnosed with several large gallstones and was a ” ticking time bomb” heading for more serious problems so I’ve had it removed. I also have mild IBS. Since its removal I am having a war with food with diahorrea, nausea and some light headedness. On doctors advice I have cut out gluten, lactose/ dairy, fruit ( except pear) high fat foods and foods I didn’t have before plus onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower . On a few days I’ve had improvement but then comes back. I’m wondering how to best apply the Clever Gut diet to help me get my digestion better in these circumstances as realise it would need to be modified but a lot of the theory behind it I am hoping could help just unsure what to apply and what wouldn’t be good idea? I would really appreciate Michael’s advice.

I am also looking for a good quality probiotic in Australia. I suffer from mild IBS and have been recommended to take them by GP. I am currently taking Faulding IBS support probiotic and sometimes I have thought they have helped and other times not so sure. I have had a fair amount of antiobiotics recently for tooth infections and then also with surgery so I have been taking them then but not sure if really helping or not as still got diahorrea from the antiobiotics.

Hi Evie
We had the most significant anecdotal benefit with a woman with severe psoriasis on the palms of her hands, but there were others. One woman had what she called “menopausal acne” of the face, while a dermatologist colleague in Sydney would have called it adult acne or Rosacea. This woman too experienced a reduction in symptoms during the trial a year ago. It is the diverse number of people and anecdotal improvements to symptoms of the skin that lead us to establish this second trial with a focus on psoriatic disorders. The first study wasn’t designed for that; but a number of people reported skin benefits, so we identified the need for this second study to include psoriasis as a focus. We are just setting up the way we will score psoriasis in this study using the dermatology PASI score as well as a wellness questionaire and index. In this study everyone will be their own control, so I think that if the seaweed extract capsules can really deliver outcomes for psoriasis, then this study will be well and truly designed to demonstrate that clearly. Although a number of clinical diagnoses of skin disorders will differ and the effects may be different across these – there are so many skin disorders being linked to the gut now that we hope there can in part be a common solution.

Hi Ian – your contact details are on my list great!

Andrew and Evie happy for you to add yourselves to our newsletter list at http://www.phyco.com.au

I am working hard on a crowd funding opportunity to accelerate the production for those who are keen to try sooner rather than later. There seem to be so many that suffer from skin issues which is tragic as I can hear the desperation for solutions. I am sure that an overall gut improvement through diet is a good approach until we can get more in production.

From reading around the internet I can glean things such as Christensenellaceae bacteria are associated with being lean whilst Helicobacter pylori can lead to stomach ulcers.
What I’d love to know is if I pay to get my and my family’s gut bacteria analysed might I then be able to work out what pro and pre biotics we should take in order to promote particular good or overwhelm particular bad bacteria.
Does such a list of associations exist from the American gut or British gut research and would I get access to that if I sent off for an analysis?
For example a family member who suffers from hemorrhoids has had improvement from taking kefir plus increasing dietary prebiotics.
If we found that a certain type of bacteria is common within populations who have hemorrhoids, perhaps we could target a good bacteria known to overwhelm the bad ones that could be causing them?
All very exciting. Many thanks if anyone knows.

Our daily bread is homemade sourdough. Check out sourdough.com. It is an Australian website. I use their starter recipe. It’s great. Good luck

Hi,
I’ve just made an enquiry with NutriPATH in Vic that do stool sampling. It appears to tick all the boxes but I’ve yet to hear back from them
Cheers
Gigi

I have just started thyroxine and also having tests for other stuff including coeliac, can I ask what symptoms you had for that oyster Pearl? I have toilet issues in the mornings only, wierd.

Hi Parkoskip and Nurse
I’m in NSW and would be interested if you find anything out in regards to the poop tests too
Thanks Emma

Hi Parkoskip,

I am in Adelaide. If you have any luck with tagc.com.au, please let me know.

Cheers

Diary printout –

I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction to print out the Daily Food and Symptoms Diary as mentioned in the book?
It mentions in the book that it can be printed from the resources section but I can’t locate it.

Ta

I am doing my government funded poop test lol! I was checking this same thing over the weekend ( I am on the Gold Coast) and I came across tagc.com.au who are in Queensland. Will be asking my GP on Wednesday to see if she knows of them. They are in Brisbane I think so probably worth a call. Let me know if you find anything of interest.

Hi Pia
I was diagnosed with Rosacea Lymphoedema. After a long journey with dermatologists and antibiotics ( which I refused) I started changing my diet and following an anti inflammatory diet. Although there are improvements in my skin I’m not quite there yet. I believe the answer is in my gut !
I’m continuing to try different diets but I’d love to buy and try your seaweed capsules for the inflammation. Where can I get them ?
Many thanks
Evie
Central Coast NSW

I have been on thyroxine for over a decade. There is no quick weight loss, I have found a consistent exercise regime and for me walking at least 8kms per day will take the weight off but once I stop then it returns. It has always been a constant battle and fatigue creeps back in. Since being dx with Coeliac I have tried different menu plans which are starting to have some effect. Great to see that there is a blog on Hypothyroid and I will check in with interest for future comments. Cheers and have an awesome day.

Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I have reached that wonderful age where the Govt. sends out the poop test kit for Ca.

I am inquiring about poop testing as talked about in “the clever guts diet”. Where the wonderful flora in out digestive system can be identified.

Nurse

I would love to participate in the potato starch research……long time trouble sleeping !!!!😞

Have a look in Aspalls website, they have an organic live apple cider vinegar which is much and I’m sure it’s mentioned in the book.

I make and take milk kefir, and have just started fermenting foods, purple sauerkraut and am experimenting with red onion and garlic. My main issue is that I have a slow transition. I’m under the hospital and they have cut all high fibre foods and limited others in my diet. Not best pleased as to me it’s totally alien and ‘unhealthy ‘. I’d be interested in your views and opinion on what you would recommend.

There is a Facebook group where we all share milk kefir and water kefir grains and lots more for the price of the postage, which is usually about £2, unless you are near someone then you can meet up!

It’s called UK Fermenting Friends.

Hi Pia,

Looking forward to getting your seaweed capsules in the UK too – my son has had psoriasis for years and is eager to try them.

Regards,

Andrew.

Hi I had GERD symptoms and was diagnosed with it after an endoscopy; I was precsribed PPI’s but after researching them I decided to look for an alternative and came across Deglycyrrhised (DGL) licorice tablets. After taking them for a few days my GERD symptoms of burning, indigestion and slight breathlessness became less and then disappeared. If I don’t take the licorice for a while, I might get a slight burn but they have been amazing and I am happy to have so far dodged the PPI’s.

Hi does anyone know how many calories would be in the breakfast bread??

Hi, I just wondered what impact freezing food, eg vegetables or basically anything, has on the bacteria? Does it survive? Does frozen food still have the same punch as non frozen food. Also what impact does cooking food have on bacteria?
Any ideas most welcome. Thank you

I will consult my GP about this but I was wondering if prebiotics and/or probiotics and this diet are safe to take if you have an underactive thyroid. In the book Michael states under the heading “Are probiotics safe?”:
” you are advised not to take them if you are pregnant, have recently had surgery or have a faulty immune system..” Does an underactive thyroid count as a faulty immune system?

I would like to join the potato starch survey.

Very keen to sign up for the potato starch survey

Just a note to say my new grains have worked great! They even grew two-fold over just two batches. Very tart kefir but great in a smoothie with a banana and some nut butter.

Hi, I read about the potato starch survey and would like to also try it.

Hi
I would like to sign up the the potato starch survey.

I’d like to be considered for the survey

To Nurse,
I live in BNE and have passed that mythical age of 65. Apparently the Federal government do send out tests by mail. I twould pay to have a chat with your GP.