I suffer from this, linked with hiatus hernia. I’ve found it seems to improve if I’m eating low carb e.g. The BS diet. Things like bread, rice and potatoes set it off again. At the mo I’ve been winning by keeping the carbs low to about 30-50 grams per day.
I found this recently which interested me. It set out my experience very clearly.

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2013/09/23/gerd-treat-low-high-carb-diet/#comment-997743

Now I’ve read the Clever Guts book I think I’m nearer a longer term solution as the two lots of info seem to work in the same direction.

If I’m a bit too wakeful I have half a cup of full fat hot milk topped up a bit with hot water. The usually works but if I think it might not do so I also have a couple of herbal valerian tablets. That’s my “go to” if I wake at 3am. The two together usually sort it unless there’s something really on my mind.

I had blood tests last year that showed positive for intolerance to egg white and yeast (do not have Candida Albicans). Apparently this means I cannot have, among other things, fermented products (soy sauce (only ever had organic before), wine, apple cider vinegar, kombuchi etc) – any suggestion how can I reverse this to improve gut health? Go through good and bad days with diet and could definitely do more exercise (had injury last year which I am still recovering from). Take probiotics and have recently started prebiotic powders.

Hello,

I’m reading Clever Guts with great interest – Thank you.

Having suffered IBS with constipation for years, I’ve experimented with diet along many of the lines suggested. Amongst many avenues, I’ve recently found drinking Kefir (Bio-tiful) quite helpful (also forked out a lot on probiotic pills with seemingly less effect). My GP is helpful & sympathetic. Recently however, we have introduced a laxative (Macrogol) and this is has been very helpful in relieving symptoms. The GP says this can be used indefinitely (I’m aged 59 and otherwise in rude, high-intensity-rowing-machine health).

I’m wondering a fews things: (a) what’s the relationship between Macrogol and gut health? (b) is continuing with Kefir etc a waste of time used alongside the Macrogol? (c) is the GP right about the long-term use of Macrogol?

Antibiotics are referred to throughout the book; can’t see laxatives in the index!

Charming subject! Any advice hugely appreciated!

Thanks very much again!

I would also be interested in signing up for the potato starch study please.

Thanks Bizibee,
I hope I will also find it settles soon. The last few nights I’ve been taking additional magnesium before bed as I’ve read on some other forums people have found benefit. Whether my body is now getting used to the fasting routine or whether the magnesium is what’s helping, I am now making it past half four before waking up which is great!

I’ve found that it’s possible to get inulin prebiotic from local health food shops these days.

You are welcome, Phoebe. I hope it helps.

Me too
Lots of things referred to in the book are not on the website – hope this is rectified soon 😊

I too would like to sign up for the potato starch study but can’t see how to – or find the protocol.

4:3 should be fine. Dr Krista Varady, whose scientific research on intermittent fasting was one of the inspirations for the 5:2 diet, uses every other day fasting. Dr MM devised 5:2 as a trade off between practicality and effectiveness, thinking it more sustainable.

When I first went on this (5:2 and occasional 4:3), I also lowered my carb intake to between 50 and 100 grams per day and raised fats to compensate. I found I was more alert and at first it was harder to get to sleep. After a couple of weeks it all seemed to re-balance.

Hi. You might find this useful:

http://www.5spokecreamery.com/raw-milk-cheese-a-natural-source-of-probiotics/

This is an American cheese company but there are loads of fab raw milk cheeses made in the UK that are sold in delis. (American artisan cheesecakes use our traditional cheesemaking methods!). Try looking at The Guild of Fine Food website for your nearest one.

Some of my faves…Quickes Cheddar, Montgomery’s Cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire, Kirkham’s Lancashire, Tunworth, Stichelton, Colston Bassett Stilton….I could go on all day!!

Hi
I suffer from severe GORD(GERD if you’re American) and take a high dose of PPI every day. I would like to get off the PPI’s and still live a normal eating life. Does anyone have any experience of this and use of the clever gut diet to cure it. I dont have helicobacter, hiatus hernia or Barretts Oesophogus or any other obivous cause of my GORD but I suspect Lower esophogial Sphincter Dismotility. Unfortunately my GP has not been able to help me with this, continuously fobbing me off with PPI’s so I am now looking at diet and lifestyle to try and get me off the tablets but was wondering if anyone has any knowledge about the connection to gut bacteria.
Dr Mosley? Any thoughts?

Sign me up!

I used to get a great nights sleep every so often with Rohypnal; sadly that devoid of-day-after-fog sleeping pill is now illegal. I’d like to be part of your potato starch study.

Could be blood sugar fluctuation from the starch. It will cause a high then a low. Try adding a protein to the salad e.g., a bit of chicken or a a sardine or a hard boiled egg which would slow the uptake. Also a little olive oil would slow things.

I agree with Kalm on the foods but I would not juice, rather eat the veg lightly cooked with a bit of butter or as a salad, as you then feel more full and the will power doesn’t have to work so hard! I find that egg helps fullness too, so hard boiled on salad or poached on cooked veg or stirred into broth before serving all help fullness. Juices go through the gut very fast I find and leave me feeling hungry.

I too have been hunting info on collagen. Basically you get it from bones, either animal or fish, hence the bone broth recipe in the book. Also, fish stews using the whole fish with its bones or cooking fish bones separately as a stock to return to the fish soup will give collagen. Thus the collagen powders come from different sources, either beef or fish. Looking down the list of brands when you google it, some guarantee they are from grass fed beef, some are organic and some are fish, including wild fish. My choices are heading towards organic meat based (organic are usually grass fed as well) or fish based. I’ve not made my mind up yet between the two types, still researching. But meanwhile I’m also buying whole chicken, then making soup broth out of the carcass, removing the breast, leg and thigh joints to eat separately.

You can make your own soft cheese by draining yogurt. If its live yogurt it will be live cheese. Use muslin in a seive drain for 12 hours in the fridge. Add salt and maybe herbs then drain some more; you can tie the muslin into a ball and suspend it using a chopstick or just continue in seive. Drain in fridge until it is as firm as you like it. A threadbare teatowel works if you dont have muslin or cheese cloth. Might need a couple of layers of muslin or cheesecloth.

Also looking for the good quality probiotics list

I’m puzzled by this too, but have come to the conclusion that it’s a proof-reading error. ‘Live or active cultures’ surely refers to yoghurt, not cheeses, which are normally described as made with pasteurised or unpasteurised milk. Perhaps Michael could enlighten us?

Thanks for your suggestions, Msara. I’ll certainly give kefir a try – I tasted some a few weeks ago when a friend gave me some from a Polish shop she knows. Loved the taste, it reminded me of buttermilk.

Not found most of the lists mentioned in the book so far, I’m afraid. I’ve stuck to Kefir for probiotics and inulin powder in green tea for prebiotics since they were recommended on the Michael Moseley programmes.

Hi Phoebe
I have found taking Kefir in the mornings over the past 2-3 weeks has helped me feel better intestinally, after a meal and during the day and night. In fact, yesterday I ate something that really disagreed with me, but within the hour the symptoms dissipated. I was amazed as it usually takes longer.

I also take the prebiotic inulin in green tea an hour before bed. My sense of smell has returned, too.

I have also taken tablet forms of probiotics over the years, which i am sure have helped me, but none as noticeably as the Kefir and inulin.

I found taking kefir at lunchtime or tea time wasn’t so good as i awoke at 4 am feeling very empty and needed to have a soothing warm drink to get back to sleep again.
Hope it helps you, too.
Madeleine

Hi Tokyo
Sorry to hear about your symptoms and surgeries.
I find the worst thing for night sweats and hot flushes is refined sugars and carbs. It also brings on terrible back pain, acne and dysmenorrhea to name just a few symptoms. Cutting sugars out has certainly transformed my gut in terms of those symptoms.
When I cut them out the symptoms pretty much disappear, but when I lapse they start coming back. I treat myself usually to only 1 square of 74% dark chocolate when i need some chocolate and that doesn’t seem to bring on the symptoms.
I have also found taking Kefir in the mornings has helped me feel better intestinally after eating. In fact, yesterday I ate something that really disagreed with me, but within the hour the symptoms dissipated. I was amazed as it usually takes longer. I also take inulin prebiotic an hour before bed.
Hope this helps you, too.
Madeleine

Hi Yes the things mentioned in the book are hard to find here, like the olive oil best products list, which I still haven’t located.

However, the symptoms diary is located here: https://cleverguts.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/05/cleverguts-foodsymptoms-diary.pdf

via Get Started – Reboot your biome-re-introductions.

The CG Diet books says I can download a daily food and symptoms diary in table form from this website but I haven’t located it. Any pointers most welcome. Thanks

Me too. As an insomniac I keen to try things other than sleeping pills.

Has anyone tried any prebiotics which they would recommend?

Hi all, just joined you and am delighted to find other Old Gits on this site. I’m 72 and have had IBS since my late teens, but wasn’t diagnosed until 3 years ago by my GP. I just thought I’d eaten that had upset me each time it flared up. Well, I had, but not in the way I thought. I don’t have any problems with wheat or dairy and I can easily avoid shellfish, which I know I’m allergic to, so I’m trying to decide what to do next. Just read Michael’s book, which was very interesting and informative. I’m thinking of trying something gentle like some fermented foods, to see if they help. I’ve tried prebiotics, but they make me nauseous after a couple of weeks. I’d like to know if anyone else has had the same problem?

Hi Micheal
I want to start the repair diet in the back of the book. (Which incidentally I was obsessed with and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it) if I replace meat with vegan/vegetarian alternatives will the diet still be effective?
I will use natural products such as chick peas, beans and pulses but I’m concerned it won’t have the same effect.
Thank you in advance for your help

I use this one – I’ve no idea if it’s well thought of though.

Great Lakes Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate Unflavored Beef Kosher Gelatin, 16 oz. – … https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01947XDNK/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_FbKmzb5QMR03B

Hi to those that are interested in the capsules – we are very excited to see the interest and are just completing our second part of the clinical study at the University of Wollongong, Australia, to look at reconfirming the effect we saw on some of the psoriasis type skin sufferers in our first study. We hadn’t recruited people specifically for that type of disorder in the first study, but simply on risk factors for pre-diabetes (see https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=369364&isReview=true).
We should have the results published from that first study very shortly and will keep you alerted here, and also an update on the BioBelly trial II which will recruit shortly.
If you would like email alerts on the progress and availability of the capsules then you can sign up for email alerts and indicate that you are interested in the limited edition access to the first capsules at : https://www.phyco.com.au/contact
Looking forward to this global network bringing a shift to the global health status through better gut conditioning. It is great that people can be empowered to take their basic health status into their own hands through diet – it is a lifelong and rewarding investment.

I’d like lots of information promised in the book.
I LOVE the book, but I’d really like:
1) The list of good probiotics
2) The information about the collagen (The side note in the book mentions Pure Gold Collagen, which might be from gold-collagen.com. Tanya’s Leaky Gut Healing Smoothie is by Tanya Borowski, and her website is http://www.nutritionalvalues.co.uk/ although at first glance I can’t see anything about collagen powder)
3) The flavonoids list
4) Which olive oils to avoid and which to trust

I’ve bookmarked a few other things to look up on the website, as directed by the book, but so far I’ve found nothing.
Please help Michael!
PS
However I was EXTREMELY excited to finally get my hands on his turmeric latte recipe, which I’ve been searching for ever since he gave some to Jeremy Vine to try many months ago.
Great work!

Not sure this is the right place for this query , but what affects will all the full fat , butter and coconut oil have on cholesterol levels ?

The ‘clever guts diet’ book lacks a good diagram. Can anyone suggest a good, easy-2-read diagram to buy to enable me to B more aware of the gut processes? Thanks.

This particular antacid doesn’t have good reviews from some medics, see Dr James le Fanue in the Daily Telegraph.

I find that not eating 2 hours prior to laying down stops any reflux – hiatus hernia is ‘common’ in ladies approaching menopause – as oestrogen levels drop off so muscles may become lax = aches and pains including the wretched heartburn scenario. I find that over-the-counter preparations such as ‘Rennies’ are enough to ease symptoms, though I do need to chew 2/3 tablets sometimes.

Eating little and often can also ease heartburn symptoms. It really can be difficult to find what suits each individual.

My Mum swears by Apple Cider vinegar for various ailments – she is 90 and doesn’t take any medication other than Paracetamol occasionally.

Are you generally well?

My DH eats lots of these weekly. He chops them to add to morning porridge as well as munching them in the afternoons along with an apple.

Hello, does anyone here suffer from inflammatory bowel disease IBD (ulcerative colitis(UC) or crohns disease) rather than IBS? My daughter-in -law has UC and is currently in hospital again. I feel that the key to her staying well is through maintaining a healthy gut microbiome but does anyone know if the clever guts diet is suitable for her? She is only 23 and was diagnosed about 10 months ago and this is her 3rd flare up already. I would really like to help her.

Your are most welcome, Kelnic.

The Deliciously Ella cookbooks and website have some great recipe ideas, all healthy natural stuff, including treats and snacks, too.
Madeleine

Brilliant thank you for all the advice madeleine certainly helping xx

I’m also interested in buying the seaweed capsules in the UK

I’m also looking for the probiotic list.

My stomach (IBS) has gone ballistic over the last few years. Going to a Gastroenterologist …. The book is giving me hope

Hi can anyone tell me how panadol osteo affects biome and what can be done to counteract it?

I too am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy next Thursday and I assume it will wipe all biomes. I wonder what would best thing to do with a totally empty gut for rapid recovery??

That’s great, thank you.

I’ve started taking kefir and already my sense of smell is better again. I’m hopeful it will help with hayfever too. I have sneezed a few times, but no major symptoms otherwise

Yes however prunes are on the ‘avoid list’ for FODMAP. So if you react to those tyoes of food they are best avoided. Medjool dates are a good alternative natural sweetener.