Hi,
I used to suffer from headaches and could never get to the cause. I ended up being referred for an intolerance test (I did an Imupro test) and when I spoke to them they mentioned I might have a histamine intolerance. I did both the food intolerance test and the histamine intolerance test and found that I had a histamine intolerance as well as food intolerances. After modifying my diet I am happy to say that I rarely get headaches any more…( I did have to cut down on histamine rich foods and that made a huge difference.

Hi all,

I would very much like to incorporate a red wine into my diet here and there, however it gives me terrible migraines – does anyone know if there is anything I can do to stop this from happening?

Well I’ve made lots different kinds bread but never sourdough.
There’s plenty info out there but would like to hear from those of you who regularly make it.
.Advice on starters. Recipes etc Foolproof if possible lol x

Bought Lakeland yogurt maker from amazon x

I wonder if you have seen the item in Food Unwrapped about probiotics which was on Channel 4 last night. In a lab trial four different probiotics were tested for survival in the same strength and type of acid as stomach acid to see which survived in the greatest numbers. Plain, unsweetened, natural, full fat yoghurt was the best, with sauerkraut having absolutely nothing surviving. It seems that the fat protected the probiotics from the acid. I know what I’ll be buying in future!

Hi Pia, I don’t know if you will ever be doing any studies along this line but my husband suffers from psoriasis AND psoriatic arthritis. I just wanted to make contact with you so you had my contact if you ever wanted recruitments. Thanks for your hard work 🙂

Sorry to be dim, but what make did you buy?
Heave Read a few are using a slow cooker as well to make yogurt!!

Hi. I have just completed a week on this diet and have lost 6 pounds! I am so thrilled. I have not been hungry or bogged down with calorie counting and have made some amazing food. My 14 year old son loved the hoummous ( U am still in shock) and I made yoghurt in my slow cooker. The goan curry was amazing and the aubergine brownies are a revelation. Am combining with the 5.2 diet. I have 6 stone to lose to be at a healthy weight and am thrilled with this first week!

Hi Dorsetcream

Many thanks! Then I will try with yoghurt & fruit. Yes, I drink masses of water… I call it ‘the water torture’… 🙂

Hi there

Does anyone know if there is a downloadable version of the remove and repair meal planner from phase 1 of the diet. It’s on page 262/3 of the book.

Thanks

Fir those looking for dried culture have a nosy at this one one eBay. Very same type I bought.
Ebay number.. 112415265875

Read item description for more info x

Just bought it. Excellent on 1st use. Obviously can’t comment on further down line.
I also bought 1pkt dried Bulgarian culture off ebay. Followed instructions on pkt added milk put in yogurt maker. Worked perfect x will reserve some of 1st batch to culture next one. X

Hi there

Does anyone know if there is a downloadable version of the remove and repair meal planner from phase 1 of the diet. It’s on page 262/3 of the book.

Thanks

Yes I bought dried Bulgarian culture added it whole milk following instructions then in Lakeland yoghurt maker. Excellent results. Used to use flask Method.

Would like there to be a separate area for downloads and extra info book says is available. Very ery hard to find at mo x

I was hopeful weight would fall off but gp laughed at that idea, so I guess serious effort will be required, if only I wasn’t feeling so old and knackered….

Agree would be nice If there was separate download area x

I’ve been on thyroxine for a decade and have lost 6 stones (put a stone back on when I went hypothyroid again at Christmas and needed to up my dosage). My most successful methods of losing weight have been either calorie counting via MyFitnessPal or 5:2 (losing on average 0.75 pound a week over a year). I much prefer 5:2 as I don’t need to count calories on 5 days. I’ve also realised that I need to keep up my exercise (HITT, walking, strength) and NEAT to keep the weight off. My average calorie burn is 2800 per day (via fitbit HR) and I can maintain my weight or lose a bit on 2000 so I’ve learned that I don’t need to drop my calories too low either, that just leads me to crave all things sweet. But honestly I didn’t start to lose weight for months after I started thyroxine: I just assumed it would fall off, but I hadn’t realised how disordered my eating and exercise habits had become (no appetite during the day except for caffeine but then overeating in the evening and inactive from the overwhelming tiredness and lethargy).

Keep going its a learning curve. Steep at times. Lol.
I now have Milk & Water Kefir brewing.
Also Kombucha.
Also lol I decided jump in buy Lakeland yogurt maker off Amazon plus 1 pkt starter culture off ebay. There’s now 1 litre natural cultured yoghurt in my fridge.
When I make next batch I will reserve some of 1st batch to use as culture x

Wish I had kept up making these. Stupidly stopped & gut problems came back with. He’ll on earth. Was sent for endoscopy. Showed stomach inflammation.
Anyway few days on all these good bacteria have seen it calm. No nausea or sickness after eating.
Determined keep all this I’m my normal diet.
Nesd to get back to fermented veg etc
Love sauerkraut. Great hearing everyone’s experiences x
Off to wilko this week to get flip top bottles for kombucha. Cheapest I can find.
Unless anyone has better idea.
http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-swing-top-bottles-500ml-tray-of-6/invt/0318707

Thanks Wilko and June1767 – I’m going to check out those recommendations. Unfortunately my first batch of sauerkraut was a disaster. Turns out I like fennel seeds in tea but not in my veg! About to start a batch of plain cabbage and carrot. Kefir was successful though.

Hi

I usually have my linseeds for breakfast with fruit and natural yogurt but have been known to quaff them in a glass of juice or even water in extremis (e.g. on holiday). Have the green flaxseed bread from the book in the oven and I reckon a slice of that would more than suffice for a day. I think it is important to have plenty of liquid with any high-fibre food otherwise it jsut makes the problem worse.Hope it helps!

Are you taking thyroxine? Have you actually been diagnosed hypothyroid? I have been taking thyroxine for four weeks, after two sets of bloods showed a worsening of my levels, starting to feel a bit more lively but not much and the weight is still there 😟
Hoping to start it shifting, gp said it would take six weeks for meds to take effect so keeping hopeful.

Hello, so I’ve suspected for a while I have a problem with candida. So the book has been very helpful.

Just before the book came out though, I’d been reading about histamine intolerance and had a test done. The results came back today and it turns out I do have histamine intolerance. It means avoiding certain foods & stress.

Does anyone else have this? I’m curious to know how to do the gut diet AND avoid histamine releasing foods at the same time. Not so easy!

Appreciate anyone’s advise

Yes I’ve been keen to find out which are the best yoghurt brands too. We had the Onken natural in our fridge already, but it only contains 3 live cultures vs 5 in The Collective unsweetened live yoghurt. Not sure whether that means that The Collective is better or not???

I am interested in signing up for the potato starch study.

Hi Kefirlady, that’s very kind, I saw this too late though! I plumped for some off Amazon. We’ll see!

Hi Kefirlady, that’s very kind, I saw this too late though! I plumped for some off Amazon. We’ll see!

Is the bought version just as good for u?

Hi JSmith, I have only ever seen raw vegies used in sauerkraut recipes.

I’m looking into this too Kajsa. I am thinking of going for the Easiyo system. You don’t have to use their sachets but can use milk and some live yoghurt. I seem to have so many electrical items in the kitchen so didn’t really want another one.
Or you can use just an container such a Pyrex jug or bowl and keep it in the airing cupboard to ferment. I think Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater have recipes online using this method. I didn’t really fancy my husband rummaging around in the airing cupboard while there’s a big bowl of yoghurt in there. Could be messy!

I bought a bottle of kefir drink from our local health food shop and liked it but it was very expensive. I looked into making my own and decided to buy a Mad Millie kit from Lakeland. It uses a dried starter and the results have been good so far. You can make a new batch from the original up to three times. I had a query about it as my second batch seemed lumpy and the company replied quickly to say that the different strains of probiotics multiply at different rates which is why they suggest reusing it only three times.
I went for the Mad Millie as I didn’t have a large container for the kefir and thought this would be a simpler start to kefir making. I think I’ll try some grains once I’ve used up the sachets which are in the freezer at the moment.

Hi. Can anyone tell me if the sauerkraut recipe uses raw or cooked beetroot?

Hi, I am also new to fermenting, (although I do make my own sourdough bread). I was wondering if anybody has used a food dehydrator to ferment yoghurt or kefir?

I haven’t made it but bought it already made from tesco, I’m not too keen on it as don’t like milk but I make a daily smoothie with it adding avocado to it and it’s lovely, I have to take a tablet called constella as I have really bad ibs so I’m hopeful that kefir might help me in a more natural way.

Thank you 😉

Thank you Dorset Cream

I have used Linseeds before but am happy to give it another go.

May I ask: what do you eat them with? Muesli/cereal? I’ve never tried eating as many as that – partly because I don’t much like the taste. But if it works who cares!

Hi again Barbara
I’m not a medical doctor – but this article:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0062815

concludes:

“We interpret our results as showing that any differences in the fecal microbiota before and after colonoscopy are no greater than those seen in normal subjects over time. We conclude that consumption of PEG does not have a significant impact on gut microbiota in the majority of subjects, although a minority of subjects…”

PEG = Macrogol (see Wikipedia)

I’m far from 100% certain I understand the full significance of this… but maybe someone can explain more!

I’ve been using the Bragg’s cider vinegar. It’s nice diluted with water as a drink.

Hi
I suffered for years from IBS constitpation until I discovered linseeds (flaxseeds). I can honestly say they changed my life! When wet they coat thenselves in a gel and therefore do not cause the irritation that bran sometimes does. Most days I have one desertspoonful of whole seeds and one of ground seeds with my breakfast (I do this myself in a coffee grinder but you can also buy them ready ground). They are full of healthy oils and also good for the biome. Win, win! I haven’t taken laxatives for over ten years.

Hello JoseJose
If it’s any help I can sell you some of my kefir. I sell it on eBay, and it’s the same batch I use and drink every day.
I don’t want to offend anyone here by offering to sell, it’s literally a small thing I do with my excess grains, bit of pin money!
I sell on eBay for £5.50 free postage but if anyo here wants any, it would be £5, as I can avoid eBay fees!
I can assure the efficacy of my kefir, and can always replace if any problems.
Just email me on jbartlett57@gmail.com and I can give you more details.
Jane

Hi Barbara
Sorry to hear you have the same problem – but interested to know you have a similar ‘solution’ and question.
It would be great if anyone has some knowledge to share on this. Like you, I’ve googled whether macrogol (or other laxatives) affect gut mirobiome but without finding anything directly on the topic.

I’m really keen to make kefir, and had a look online for grains, but it’s hard to tell if buying them off the internet would be safe/worth it. Can anyone recommend a good online source?

Just to add that I’ve had gastric problems for 20 years – not sure what, but I have a very “slow” stomach and no investigation gives any diagnosis so I live with it (it’s unpleasant rather than medically difficult). I’ve been drinking kefir recently because I was won over by discussion in the book. Fingers crossed things have been a lot better – I can eat a small meal with no nausea. I can’t say if the kefir is the reason, but I love it anyway!

Aspall in the UK do one, available direct from them or from Ocado. http://www.aspall.co.uk/shop/vinegar/raw-organic-unfiltered-cyder-vinegar

Holland and Barrett do one by Bragg’s.

I get a delicious one from Dorset Nectar, but they are small with only a few outlets and rather pricey mail order. I happen to be near a farm shop that stocks it.

The reference to the “mother” is to the cloudy bits in the bottom, which are the yeast particles. In non raw products these are filtered off and the product is pasteurised, thus preventing any further fermentation. If you see the cloudy bits rising on a hot day, put the bottle upright in the fridge.

I make a very refreshing drink which I have as a non alcoholic aperitif. I’ll put it in the recipe section.

Shouldn’t have much effect if you reduce your carb intake as Dr MM suggests in the book. Here’s a research paper on alternate day fasting comparing a high fat and low fat diet. Sadly it’s only the abstract as the paper isn’t free. Krista Varady is one of the authors and she refers to this article in her book, confirming that LDL cholesterol went down in both high fat and low fat groups in the study. So did blood pressure.

“Alternate day fasting (ADF) with a high-fat diet produces similar weight loss and cardio-protection as ADF with a low-fat diet. M C Klempel et al

“Alternate day fasting (ADF) with a low-fat (LF) diet is effective for weight loss and cardio-protection. However, the applicability of these findings is questionable as the majority of Americans consume a high-fat (HF) diet.

Objective

The goal of this study was to determine if these beneficial changes in body weight and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk can be reproduced if an HF background diet is used in place of an LF diet during ADF.

Methods

Thirty-two obese subjects were randomized to an ADF-HF (45% fat) or ADF-LF diet (25% fat), which consisted of two phases: 1) a 2-week baseline weight maintenance period, and 2) an 8-week ADF weight loss period. All food was provided during the study.

Results

Body weight was reduced (P<0.0001) by ADF-HF (4.8%±1.1%) and by ADF-LF (4.2%±0.8%). Fat mass decreased (P<0.0001) by ADF-HF (5.4±1.5 kg) and ADF-LF (4.2±0.6 kg). Fat free mass remained unchanged. Waist circumference decreased (P<0.001) by ADF-HF (7.2±1.5 cm) and ADF-LF (7.3±0.9 cm). LDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations were reduced (P<0.001) by both interventions (ADF-HF: 18.3%±4.6%, 13.7%±4.8%; and ADF-LF: 24.8%±2.6%, 14.3%±4.4%). HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart rate remained unchanged. There were no between-group differences for any parameter.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that an ADF-HF diet is equally as effective as an ADF-LF diet in helping obese subjects lose weight and improve CHD risk factors.

Abbreviations:

ADF (Alternate day fasting), CHD (coronary heart disease), HF (high-fat), LF (low-fat), METS (metabolic equivalents), NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey)”

Hi POL,
I don’t have an answer to this I’m afraid, but I’m in exactly the same situation as you. I’ve been on macrogol for years for IBS and I make my own kefir, which, as you said is definitely helpful. I’ve tried an internet search to see whether macrogol affects gut mirobiome, but I can’t find anything about it. I’ll follow this thread in the hope that someone might know.

The recipes keep referring to Live (raw) apple cider vinegar… is that normal apple cider vinegar or where do I get this live and raw vinegar from?

Aww very interesting, may buy a slow cooker instead of a yogurt maker then… is it as easy to use as a yogurt maker would you say?

Hi, any recommendations on a yogurt maker? Seen the Lakeland one but a few reviews on Amazon seem to say the temperature settings gets out of hand after a few months of use. Your thoughts would be useful.
Many thanks, Kajsa

Hi, have been looking for the list too.
VSL#3 was mention in the book so did a google search and found the supplier. Just ordered a batch today… not cheap though.
https://www.vsl3.co.uk/index.php

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the Clever Guts website. I’m hoping that people will come here to share their experiences and create a community. The book that this website is linked to is selling well in the UK and Australia (where I am currently doing a book tour), which is great.

In the book I said that people would be able to come to the website and get additional information. So, first of all, an apology. I have not been able to pull together more information on things like probiotics, olive oil and a proposed sleep experiment as fast as I would have liked. It is happening and below are some updates, but things are progressing slower than I had hoped. I am, I promise, onto it. Do sign up for the newsletter and I will keep you better and more rapidly informed.

Probiotics
As I mentioned in the book probiotics are the living bacteria that are sold, mainly in capsule form, in the hope that they will help improve a number of different conditions. If you don’t have a specific condition then I suggest you aim to improve your microbiome by following the menus in the book and on this website. I also suggest you try adding in some fermented foods to your diet (see Clare’s video about how to make delicious purple sauerkraut here)

Although they do contain living bacteria I think it is unlikely that buying one of those yoghurty drinks in plastic bottles will make a significant difference to your health. That said, some people swear by them. You should be aware that they may contain significant amounts of sugar or artificial sweetener (depending on whether you go for regular or light versions) and relatively few bacteria (usually 6-10 billion in a bottle. You should be aiming at more like 20 billion)

If you do have a specific issue that you want to try a probiotic for then below is currently the best I can do. Recommending a particular brand is tricky because it depends on the reason you are wanting to take it and the strength of evidence behind that brand. The following brands have a degree on scientific evidence behind them, but I would be grateful for any feedback on how helpful (or otherwise) you have found these products. Also if there are others you would like me to take a look at.

VSL#3
This is a probiotic which contains a mixture of different strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, though I would still recommend that if you have IBS you try to sort your diet out before/while taking VSL#3. You can buy VSL#3 via their website.

HOWARU Protect
This is a probiotic which contains Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus According to Medline Plus, part of the US National Library of Medicine, taking HOWARU Protect may help reduce reduce symptoms of cough and runny nose, also lung infections in children under 6. Visit their website for more information

Health Span Elite
This is made by a British company for athletes and was recommended to me by someone who also advises the English Rugby team. He recommends their products on the basis that they contain what they say, and nothing more, something which is important for an elite athlete. The danger with buying supplements in any form off the internet is they can contain substances like steroids which for an elite athlete would be career suicide. More information on Health Span Elite at their website.

Sleep and Prebiotics
In the book I wrote about wanting to set up an online study to see if consuming potato starch helps improve sleep quality. Since writing the book I have also tried a special pre-biotic fibre, which was originally developed by Reading University. I found this to be more effective than the potato starch, though also more expensive. What was striking was that within a week of starting on the fibre supplement the quality of my sleep, as measured by devices leant to me by scientists from Oxford University, had improved significantly. It could be chance and there is no guarantee that it will work as well for others, which is why I want your help.

I’ve decided to set up an online survey asking people to try this, potato starch, or another well tested way of improving sleep quality, and report back. We’re just ironing out some glitches and I’m hoping this trial will be ready to go soon, for anyone who fancies joining in. I will give you full details of the pre-biotic and where to get it then.

Olive Oil
In the book I also wrote about the fact that extra-virgin olive oil is the most counterfeited food in the world and that I would try to find brands that have some degree of certification. It is still early days but what I would say is that small, specialised providers are likely to be your best bet for price and quality, though they will be more expensive. If you are particularly concerned, it appears that Italian olive oils have some of the biggest problems. I will update when I hear more and happy to get recommendations from you for your personal favourites. I also welcome any manufacturer who cares to get in contact who can guarantee, on the basis of lab tests, that their extra-virgin, really is extra-virgin.

All the best,

Michael

I find tge Williams and Perry Mindfulness is great, too.