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.

Hi Charlotte
I remember once eating a vegetarian cashew nut stir fry, which gave me a humming head and I couldn’t get to sleep. Also using computer, tablet smartphone just before bed but again that stopped me getting to sleep, rather than waking up with racing head. I believe decaffeinated coffee can have that effect, too. So it could be something like that, perhaps.
Good luck with the inulin
BW
Madeleine

Hi Madeleine,
Thank you, I will look into trying inulin! I’ve always slept like a log so this is unusual for me. On the other hand, I haven’t felt especially tired with it, just frustrating!
BW
Charlotte

Hi Fi
That sounds good. Yes feeling fuller for longer is important.
The 5:2 diet says 500 calories for women and 600 for men on fast days, but you can go over that slightly, wihotu being too rigid.
Some days I’ve decided to have a low calorie day, instead, where i consume no more than 700 calories and I often still lose the 1lb per fast day, which is good.

Thinking off the top of my head- One tip is keep yourself occupied as the more you think about food, the hungrier you can feel and of course as diets are all about food then it’s going to be on your mind. Another piece of advice is to eat more slowly, as this tells your gut you are full.

Eating chunks of vegetables with skins on takes longer for the body to digest, so you feel fuller. Green veg have considerably fewer calories, so lots of lettuce, spinach and kale etc. will fill you up. grating raw veg including squash and sweet potato for salads also helps. crunchy veg is more filling than cooked soft veg.
Sweet potatoes. Beans, lentils and peas and chickpeas added to salads.

Porridge oats and Chia seeds are good bulkers especially if added to smoothies. Raw, unblanched almonds and hazelnuts are a good snack, as the body only consumes half of their calories.

Soup and water fill you up, as does redbush, green tea. My favourites are Green tea with peach and cherry blossom and Rooibos with vanilla.

Apparently cinnamon helps feeling fuller for longer; Greek yoghurt or Kefir especially if you add uncooked oats, blueberries and raspberries; avocados or apples with cinnamon and a little honey.

Although snacking is discouraged in the clever guts diet book, if you’re out and about, almonds plus some dried apricots is a great go-to emergency snack to stop those cake/ pastry cravings.

If you are tired, you tend to crave sweet things.
Eat your evening meal early, so that you are fasting between 7pm – 7am or 8pm – 8am helps, too.

You may know some of this already, but I hope this helps.
Madeleine

Yes I guess so. 5 lbs is good. I think they say weigh yourself on three days at same time of day to get an average then I guess you’ll know if it’s fluid or weight loss. Good luck.
Madeleine

Hi Pia. I was interested in the section in Michael’s book which refers to the trial you carried out which included a psoriasis sufferer (I have it mildly). It would be great to know what type of seaweed I should be looking for? You mention in an earlier post that Kombu contains too much iodine to be consumed every day but the link on Michael’s website takes me to Kombu (Emerald Isle Seaweed). If you have time, any information would be great. Many thanks.

I have read the book, undoubtedly full of very good sense. However, as I live on a West Indian island with scant resources, it would be very difficult indeed to get all the necessary ingredients. Furthermore, I have yet to see any recipe that doesn’t make me want to gag!!! If 2 hrs tv watching (which I don’t do) takes 13 minutes off your life, what does a sedentary job do?. When I’ve been in the Mediterranean I’ve been offered loads of meat as well as the sainted fish. Since seeing at the age of five, a catch landed from a trawler dying slowly and horribly from suffocation, I do not have the fashionable attitude towards fish. Cattle, sheep and pigs enjoy a great deal better life than chickens so white meat doesn’t have a halo for me either. At 71, I am horribly tempted to carry on enjoying my life as it is. Oh yes, I do eat fish and chicken (I didn’t say I’m not a hypocrite but at least I’m aware of it). Oh, and I find vast quantities of vegetables, however varied and tarted up, extremely dull. Please is there anyone out there who can change my mind?!!

Hello. I’m a newbie! In Michael’s book recipe section, there is a recipe for Tanya’s Leaky Gut Healing Smoothie. Can anyone recommend a reliable source of organic collagen powder. Have made bone broth but not sure I’ll be able to do that all the time!
Any information would be great. Thanks all.

So it’s basically the Mediterranean diet but dairy & gluten free?? I’ve being doing it since Tuesday not fasting just not eating refined carbs or snacking and I actually weigh 5lb lighter already I know it’s fluid but still feels good so I will be keeping it up 100%. Xx

Thanks Madeleine!

Very inspiring to read I’ve read through twice now and went out and did a big healthy shop, cleaned the fridge out of all temptations and feeling positive.
I’ve started both myself and husband off today with a gentle start so not necessarily to the letter or fasting but had gut friendly smoothie for brekky and the phyto salad for lunch! Feeling good.

Main issue I think will be getting enough calories into my hubby so he doesn’t lose weight or feel faint which often happens to him when not eating enough 🤣🤣!

What are some good snack ideas?
Thanks Fi

Hi Charlotte,
No I haven’t noticed that side effect, though does it seem like you are fasting too often? The 5:2 diet is just that, five days eating normally and two on a fast calorie regime.

Sounds like you might consult your GP if you need to make sure. Taking a food diary of what you’ve eaten in the last week to your GP might also help.

Taking the prebiotic Inulin in green tea, at least an hour before bed, has been suggested in Michael Moseley’s programme on sleep to help anxiety/ insomnia. Good luck
Madeleine

Hi Kelnic. I found that I needed to make notes as I read through the book, as to which foods he recommended. However, if you Google the Mediterranean diet then you will see which foods are the ones that MM recommends. I would have liked calorie counts on the recipes, especially the treats.
The aubergine choc brownies are yummie!
Of course unless you get yourself tested you can’t be sure which foods are the best for your personal microbiome gut population.

I have been following ‘Deliciously Ella’ and the recipes in her books are also very healthy and unprocessed. Her books also contain useful sourcing/ ingredients information, but some people aren’t so enamoured with them.
Good luck. Madeleine

Hi Fi and Kelnic, I’m glad my advice is helpful.
Yes it does initially take some planning and effort, but with the increase in energy you will feel, plus other health benefits, it becomes easier. It is really a lifestyle change rather than a conventional diet.

I find the fasting harder in the winter, but if you keep it up, even for just one day a week, then the momentum makes it easier. For each 500-700 calorie fast day per week, you tend to lose 1llb in weight, without as much effort and hardship as conventional dieting. So, in my opinion, it is worth the initial extra planning and effort.
Following this diet regime also retrains your brain, because with these diet plans you know you have sufficient calories to sustain you though the day. So when you see TV ads etc. that make you WANT to eat things, you can tell yourself ‘actually I don’t need that I just want it’! So you begin to harness the power of cravings and will-power becomes less difficult to summon.
The first week is definitely the hardest, but it does get easier. I find that after 3 weeks I am able to adapt to a new food regime. For me, the side effects/ symptoms from eating sugar, gluten and lactose maintained my determination to succeed and I felt, for the first time, in control. It was exciting restocking my larder with the healthy symptom-free products, so in turn, I felt more ‘special’ and happier. Good luck Madeleine

I’d like to know more about the potato starch study

Hello! Thanks so much for your advice, very helpful!!

Yes that’s correct my husband has chronic IBS but doesn’t need to lose weight at all but he was hoping to gain some of the health benefits touted with intermittent fasting.

Think what might work best is if we aim for 5:2 fasting for me but with 6:1 for him and higher calories on his 6 days. Not sure if the 16/8 would work very well for our lifestyles.

Will stick to the basic principles of the Mediterranean/clever guts food options.

Hmmm not ideal as was hoping for something really clean cut and easy to stick to and follow but feel as though tgis may take A LOT of planning?

Let’s see how it goes!
Thanks
Fi

Anyone managed to find the list of probiotics?

I’ve read the book and I’m confused too, it has got the menu in the back but I’d prefer to make my own meals up if there was a list of good & bad foods, I have chronic ibs and I need to lose atleast 2 stone. I’ve done the 5:2 before and lost a little but I definitely don’t feel I should be the weight I am as I work out and all meals are home cooked, any advice or help is much appreciated thank you.

2nd attempt to reply – hope this one makes it onto the forum. Suggest you try a product called “Flourishe” made by Nature’s Best. This is made from chicory root, recommended by Michael Mosley as a good source of the prebiotic inulin. I have always found NB’s products to be excellent (no, I don’t work for them and have no vested interest!). Their website is easy to navigate and their customer service is very good. Hope this helps.

I have done the 5:2 diet and lost weight. My diet is now pretty much the mediterranean one described in the book.

My understanding is that If your husband doesn’t need to lose weight, he won’t need to reduce his calorie intake to 600 for two days, as the 5:2 diet suggests (You’d need to refer to the 5:2 diet book for that diet regime).

Nevertheless, when you cut down on the bad foods, weight loss is inevitable, although some people (like coeliacs) may find their bodies can digest and absorb nutrients better on the healthier diet and so may start gaining a little weight.

Delaying eating (as suggested in cleverguts book, helps wih losing weight and the portion sizes and types of foods in the recipes should also encourage healthy weight loss or at least discourage weight gain.

Also, if you are eating the diet that is right for you, then you should be able to maintain a healthier weight, though portion /calorie control should always be taken into account.
I hope this helps?

I’ve heard this a few times and it is also mentioned in the book, is it the same for dry cider?
Sam

Hi, do you think medjool dates and prunes would be alright to have on the Mediterranean diet . Thank you

Hello! I’ve just purchased the clever guts book and have read it cover to cover twice so far. Great interesting read and all makes complete sense. My question is which of Michaels diets to do first? Or a combination of all? My husband has ibs but doesn’t need to lose weight in fact needs to gain weight. I on the other hand need to lose about 15-20kg. The BSD also sounds really beneficial likewise with the 5:2 fast diet? Wondering if it would be ok for my husband also to do intermittent fasting without the weightless??

Argh. As you can see in a bit confused as to where to start! Your advice would be much appreciated! Thanks fi.

A very reputable company called Nature’s Best (excellent website and easy ordering) sell a product called Flourishe, made from chicory root which is mentioned in MM’s book as a good source of inulin. It’s easy and pleasant to a take. Hope this helps.

Which supplement do you recommend for hay fever? I live in the UK.

Thanks Kajsa

That’s my point really, maybe I’m shopping in the wrong places but I haven’t seen anything on labels to indicate “live or active cultures”, just the regulation nutritional guidelines.

Regards Dave

Would love to give the book to my Swedish friends and family, can’t find it translated though.
-Is thee any plans to translat it and if so, what is the time scale?

Many thanks,
Kajsa

Yes, was thinking the same. It says about cheese; ” look for live and active cultures on the food labels” ….”you will need to read the labels to be sure.”
But WHAT is it I’m suppose to look for? Any hints would be very much appreciated!

Many thanks,
Kajsa

Hi,
Is there any negative effect done if heated I.e including the capsule content in food (trying to get my children to eat them)?
-really pleased to see they will be available in the U.K. Soon!!

Kajsa

Well, I too cannot find the list mentioned in the book, but I have googled http://www.realfoodforlife.com/which-olive-oil-to-buy-the-olive-oil-fraud/
so I guess I’ll check their recommendations out.

I’ve made some homemade yoghurt following the recipe in the book but am wondering how I can find out if it contains the good bacterias???

I have been making yoghurt with live cultures bought on Amazon. I buy a Bulgarian culture, which is supposed to be one of the best. You need a flask or yogurt making kit. I use an Easiyo set. You can also buy kefir and other cultures, but it’s important to follow the instructions to get good results.

Research tells me Onken, Yeo Valley and Total Greek yoghurts all contain cultures – hope that helps! (The website didn’t).

Which is the best olive oil to buy?

Hi all!
I’ve recently started intermittent fasting. From January I removed breakfast each day, but have switched to fasting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays a couple of weeks ago. I feel my body has adjusted fairly well to it and have noticed some good results in relation to that uncomfortable ‘stuffed’ feeling I used to get so frequently. Except for one thing: after my fasting days, I seem to wake up in the early hours with my mind racing and it takes ages to fall asleep again! Has anybody else experienced this? If so, how long does it last? As getting up before 6am after a night like that is pretty painful on a regular basis!
Thanks in advance,
Charlotte

Hi all, I am a 68 year old man, living in Yorkshire, and have suffered from IBS for many years after what was thought to be several food poisoning events ( i was never that convinced but hey …). I was on antibiotics for over 10 years prescribed for acne which I now suspect could be part of the reason for my gut issues. I also have dry skin every where except my face which is greasy (still have acne problems). I have fungal infections on my toe nails and have regular problems with my ears – thought to be eczema.

I now have Michael’s book and feel hopeful that it could lead me to a way of repairing my gut problems.

Hi Kaje

Australia doesn’t have an easy consumer facing testing facility yet. But you can just go onto website like ubiome and buy from the USA. The freight is not prohibitive. If you are interested and eligible there will be a new gut health clinical study starting next month here and that will involve 4 gut health samples following a wash out treatment using seaweed capsules and placebos, run by the University of Wollongong. The recruitment criteria are BMI 25-30 and preferable with a psoriatic type skin disorder. Contact bmeyer@uow.edu.au if you are interested.
Otherwise just buy a kit form ubiome – simple.
cheers
Pia

Hi JoMarie and nice to see that the seaweed circle is closing.

For sure with your locality you can just email me and you will know where to find us. I am often up doing research at iC anyway so that can work too. But we will have products online within the month too – so watch this space. Including for the UK for those further afield – we will have some delivery solutions worked out soon.

Best
Pia

I am interested on the potato starch trail too.

I would like to sign up for the potato starch trial please. Thanks.

I had similar symptoms and diagnosis and also stopped Omeprazole a year ago instead (on empty stomach before breakfast) taking cider vinegar in a pint of hot water with a large squeeze of lemon juice….. much better.

I would like to sign up for potato starch study please

Hi, I’m due to have a colonoscopy in the coming weeks and want to start this diet.
I’ve been eating this way mostly anyway….but thought after colonoscopy would be a good way to really start building back a healthy gut.
I need to do their white food regime in the lead up to procedure…just looking for advice on when I should start this….straight after colonoscopy??
Thanks

Hello fellow friends. Do we yet know a reputable and recommended Biome testing company in Australia that we can get our gut biome tested?

Hi, I am having the same problem but I found a website called The North American Olive Oil Association, they claim to have tested brands, there are some available in the UK

I bought the Daily Mail with the magazine supplement which gave some of the recipes from the book. I can recommend the chicken goujons which I have made twice & the beef goulash omitting the paprika & using my own chicken stock instead of the bone broth which basically turned it into a beef casserole. I now have the book, which I have read & also looked through all the recipes but for me the downside to some of the recipes is the vast amount of different spices & herbs, both dried & fresh needed.
I always have a couple of bottles of apple cider vinegar in my cupboard but I never thought of taking it before meals (recommended in the book) which I am now doing.

Just having the exact same thought ! and have failed to find the answer.
At the moment I use Total – Greek or Waitrose own brand Greek (not Greek style ) and prefer Waitrose …. but I would be interested to see the results too

Thanks Deniselynn fingers crossed I will feel the same benefits!

Hello there!

Has anyone done any research on what are “proper cheeses” and who sells them?

I’m a bit confused about what to do and what to buy?
Did you read the book first and then follow the recipe’s or does it not really matter what way you do it. Also did you go for the recipes you like the sound of or buy all the ingredients?
I have had IBS for about 30 odd years (funnily the same amount of time that I have been married). And have only recently come of Omprezole tablets for acid reflux after many years of being on them. I had an endoscopy a few weeks back and showed I had a hiatus hernia which I knew I had due to a previous endoscopy and my dr told me I had to come of Omprezole for two weeks, it was hard at first but after reading about cider vinegar, I decided to give that a try and I am not going back to the Omprezole tablets. It hasn’t taken away the pain completely but I feel much better for not taking them and will continue taking the apple cider vinegar