Latest forum posts

  • posted by  June1767 on New to fermenting
    on in Fermenting
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    Excellent. I would recommend Donna Swenk. Her website is http://www.culturedfoods.com
    I learned a lot from it. Info recipes. Has Facebook Twitter YouTube etc as well.
    Just ordered a new scoby for making kombucha & milk kefir grains. Make my own yoghurt already. Looking forward to getting back to fermented & cultured foods. Maybe if hadn’t lapsed in making them my gut would be in better order. Time will tell x

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Organic meat / Organic veg
    on in Newbies
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    Hello,

    Forgive me if this is in the book and I’ve missed it. I read it very quickly.

    I understand why Dr Mosely recommends consuming only organic grass fed meat. As it won’t have antibiotics in it. But does he also say there is any advance to eating organic vegetables?

    Many thanks
    Steve

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Kefir and my husband
    on in Probiotics
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    Yes I’ve been taking it for a few days now. It’s lovely yummy stuff. I’ve bought it from my local organic food store.

    I’ve now got the grains and it’s in the corner of my kitchen fermenting away! I can’t tell you how unnatural it seems to have milk out of the fridge! It just feels wrong.

    I have a question – how do you know if bad bugs have got into the mixture by mistake? Will it taste off? I understand it might have a fizz to it, but that’s ok. I’m a little worried about poisoning myself!!!

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Multiple Sclerosis
    on in Welcome
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    Hi Plutark,

    I suppose the probable answer is we don’t know yet. Certainly Dr Mosely seems to be at the cutting edge of science around fasting and diet. He’s back up how claims with real science, and is well respected as a doctor.

    I think we probably need to be cautiously optimistic about things. I would say that a combination of diet, plus managing stress is probably a big factor.

    I took some efforts to reduce my stress recently and have found Brené Brown’s books and talks extremely helpful. So I’m trying to tackle things in a holistic fashion – which I think is a good idea.

  • posted by  IKeeptrying on Welcome to Clever Guts!
    on in Welcome
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    Helen in north wales Thank you for your encouragement 😀 A little bit of positivity is a good thing, especially when you’re trying to understand your symptoms and sort them out – whatever we do it’s a leap of faith and we’ve just got to hope it works for us.
    I was out getting. Hair cut and seeing the optician for my yearly eye test etc. So I didn’t get much time to spend online and reply to your post

  • posted by  Plutark on Multiple Sclerosis
    on in Welcome
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    Hi I too have Ms, however mine is Primary Progressive MS. I do have symptoms continually, and recently these have had an impact on my quality of life. I have had PPMS for 20 years and now have to use a wheelchair. I too research thoroughly and have an excellent MS team who are very supportive. I, like you would be very interested on Dr Mosleys thoughts.

  • posted by  Efalump on Hypothyroid
    on in Newbies
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    Anyone Hypothyroid? I’ve tried loads of regimes trying to lose weight – it sneaks on little by little, seems to beyond control !!! Help

  • posted by  Tevenie on Multiple Sclerosis
    on in Welcome
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    Hi, I don’t know if Dr Mosley reads any of these forums but I am interested on his take on this (my own theory!)

    I have MS, which I have had for at least 25 years. I have no particular symptoms and am generally well and healthy. I have eaten pretty well all my life, though like most people I have had periods when I have eaten rubbish.

    I have done a lot of reading on the topic of MS and followed some of the diets – primarily Terry Wahls’ Paleo diet and Dr Jelinek’s Overcoming MS diet. On the surface these diets seem very different – Wahls is lots of meat, organ meat, fermented food, vegetables and OMS is no saturated fat, primarily vegan, but with fish. They seem to have great results but I have always been suspicious that it is not the diet per se, but the fact that all of them improve the gut microbiome. I have read the Clever Guts book and I am even more suspicious now that link is gut health and I was wondering if Dr Mosley had any thoughts on the subject?

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Just started – skin feeling hot all over
    on in Newbies
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    Thanks.

    Yes that’s what I’m thinking. Although I feel ok this morning.

    I’m wondering if, say I have too much candida, then by introducing new bacteria, the candida and this new lot & literallly fighting it out, hence the symptoms? Someone might be able to explain that medically?

    I’m sticking with it though!

  • posted by  Kefirlady on Kefir and my husband
    on in Probiotics
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    Good morning, I thought I would share my husband’s experience with digestion issues and food. He was on max strength ppi (lanzoprolol) and had been for 10 or more years for acid reflux . I realised this was inhibiting all stomach acid and got to thinking about what that must be doing for nutrient absorption etc. It was horrendous giving them up, but he did it, and has been acid free and symptom free for 6 years. He found that certain foods instantly cause acid reflux, but more importantly, I think, is that I researched kefir, started making it and he has it every day. We both have it for breakfast and I was so pleased when it’s effectiveness was proved by TrustMe a few months ago. I just went for it, and have kefir grains coming out of my ears, it’s so easy to make. If you haven’t tried it I recommend you do.

  • posted by  w14jogger on Making Yogurt
    on in Probiotics
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    From a gut bacteria point of view does it make any difference if I use UHT milk or fresh milk for making yogurt? Also is there any real difference if I don’t use organic milk and an organic yogurt starter and just use regular milk/yogurt?

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    I’m also doing 5:2 which I’ve not really done properly until last week. That reply helps. The day after a fast day, my skin feels less inflamed and my stomach is less bloated.

    Funnily enough I feel less hungry now than I did. The fermented foods seem to do that. It’s like my body no longer wants carbs. Also funnily enough, I’m no longer craving coffee. 1 cup a day, but actually that’s more habit than craving.

    I do think Dr Mosely is right when he says gut flora might control what we eat. Because they crave it for it their own survival and tell our brain that we are hungry.

    It’s like something out of Star Trek really. Symbiosis !!

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    Yeah I have all those symptoms too – plus a couple of dodgy infected nails that won’t clear up.

    Since being on fermented foods though I feel better in myself. Less brain fog and more awake. But my body feels kind of hot all the time. It’s very strange.

    I’m hoping that it means something is going on in my gut! And it’s gonna sort itself out.

  • posted by  IKeeptrying on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    I think I must have candida too, I’m guessing this based on my symptoms- athletes foot that comes every summer and is hard to shift, fungal infections, eczema like patches on my skin, flakey scalp, itchy skin, bouts of lethargy, ibs and food intolerances. My siblings also have similar problems.
    Let’s hope by doing this programme it sorts us out. I’m feeling it’s an insurmountable task at the moment – I can hardly believe that I can turn myself around as I’ve had it for so long and put up with it for so long it’s become the status quo

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    Ok thanks. I’d rather have it sooner but there you go. It’s not a bad price. You then have to wait 8 weeks for results. So 10 in total.

    I’ll be fascinated to know what my gut flora is made up of though. I know something is wrong. I’m assuming too much candida but I don’t know for certain.

  • posted by  Midlifethread on Prebiotic supplements
    on in Prebiotics
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    I can get to sleep easily but always wake in the night. After seeing The Trouble with Sleep I bought inulin/dried chicory root and believe my sleep is improving and in the past I’ve tried all the usual ‘tips’ for a good nights sleep. Been taking it for 1 week now. I add it to milk and have it with Weetabix for supper or in a milky drink 😀

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Advice on fasting needed
    on in Intermittent fasting
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    Yes I struggled at first but it got easier.

    To be honest, I had to sort some aspects of my life out before I could handle it. Because stress was making me comfort eat. Now I’ve done that, it’s a lot easier. Plus I’ve found that after a few weeks, the hunger gets less.

    The other thing I do, on the day before a fast I eat much later in the evening than normal (about 8 or 9pm). That way I wake up not very hungry. I can then happily leave it till 3.30pm when I have a meal containing loads of vegetables and some eggs & salmon. That fills me up till about 8, and then I go to bed hungry.

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    Yes I signed up for this 2 days ago. Not quite sure when exactly they will post the test kit. How long does it normally take?

  • posted by  Steve Maggs on Just started – skin feeling hot all over
    on in Newbies
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    So, I’ve started some aspects of the diet including more fermented foods and 5:2. My first week.

    Previously I had ezcma, asthma, candida rashes like athletes foot and nail fungus. Hence why I thought this might help.

    Only thing is, since starting this I kind of feel hot all over and my skin feels flushed. Not particularly unpleasant. Is this normal? I’m just not sure what it means? Is there like a war going on in my stomach between the various gut bacteria??

    Appreciate any thoughts. Sometimes it’s weird working out whats going on. If only we could speak to our gut flora friends!!

  • posted by  Ding on Potato Starch
    on in Stress, sleep and mindfulness
    permalink

    I’d sound a note of caution regarding long-term use of potato starch, if you google potato starch colon cancer you’ll see what I mean. It may be best rather than taking it as a drink to incorporate it in a meal with some form of fibre to help it get tomthe right part of your guts.

  • posted by  IKeeptrying on VSL#3
    on in Probiotics
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    I got mine from Dennis the chemist – they arrived a day later.

  • posted by  IKeeptrying on Forum Help
    on in Welcome
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    I’m not sure about the forum yet, it’s early days still. What’s a phpBB type forum? I’ve been on the blood sugar diet forum although not very actively posting and that seems ok. I also dallied with the 5:2 forum and that seems lively and fast moving. There’s a 5:2 and a BSD forum on mumsnet – I’m an aged mumsnetter !! They are quite quite lively – the forums, that is

  • posted by  IKeeptrying on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    I’ve also got the kit to do the test and then I got a bad cold and didn’t do it – I may do it and send it off.
    I read Tim Spector book the Diet Myth it’s very enlightening. I also read an article in my google searches that the only approach that Tim Spector advocates is a Mediterranean diet with intermittent fasting. I’ll post the link if anyone is interested in it

  • posted by  Aquilegia on Forum Help
    on in Welcome
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    Sorry for posting this in the welcome section, but it appears that several of my posts have ‘disappeared’.

    This has happened in the Prebiotic forum. Both with my reply to a topic and also a new post about Bimuno. Not sure if you have enabled forum ‘flood control’ and this has prevented it appearing or it has just got lost in the ether?

    (Incidentally, I don’t find this forum that user friendly. Have you ever thought about incorporating a phpBB type forum?)

  • posted by  Aquilegia on VSL#3
    on in Probiotics
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    You can buy VSL#3 Probiotics from here: https://www.vsl3.co.uk/

    Or you buy it from your local Lloyds Pharmacy (they keep it in their fridge).

    Personally, I wouldn’t buy it from anywhere else, although there are sellers on amazon etc. It needs to be shipped in a chilled package and direct from the fridge. Also, VSL ship via tracked next day delivery.

    Hope this helps.

  • posted by  Aquilegia on Prebiotic supplements
    on in Prebiotics
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    okay, so I’ve twice typed and submitted a post in this thread with the link to Bimuno prebiotics but neither have appeared!

  • posted by  Wilko on New to fermenting
    on in Fermenting
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    All those new to fermenting and Kefir making, I would highly recommend the Facebook group – UK fermenting friends. They are well established and an excellent kefir grains sharing resource. I currently make my own milk kefir, sauerkraut and I’m starting to experiment with more fermented veggies.

  • posted by  Momilsom on HOWARU PTOBIOTICS
    on in Prebiotics
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    Where can I buy these in the U.K. Only ones coming up are in USA or New Zealand. Thanks Maureen Milsom

  • posted by  Pia Winberg on Seaweed?
    on in Prebiotics
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    Well you are asking a supplier of seaweed food and capsules – so my answer would be yes! But for you to be able to make your own informed decision, you would have to have trust in the brand/company (there are many supplement companies that are not trustworthy as it is a notoriously unregulated market, but then there are good ones), then you will need to look for the evidence behind the active ingredient (the company should lead you to research from their website to demonstrate the benefits), and you will want to know that it comes from a clean and well managed coastline (seaweed can suck up industrial pollutants that you don’t want). The main issue is that this is such a new area of rediscovered knowledge, the markets and products have not kept up. There are a number of simply milled seaweeds in capsules on the market, but not many yet with the concentrated dietary fibre component with science behind it – but watch this space as there will be soon. Importantly if you buy any seaweed in capsules or powdered form as a supplement and it seems to be a brown kelp, then you just need to make sure that you are not overdosing for iodine. Some kelps concentrate iodine from seawater way too much for them to be edible in quantities everyday that make it useful as a dietary fibre (notably Kombu (Laminaria or Sugar kelp)). These are still good sources for trace elements, and they can have certain pigments (phenolics), that can also be good for the gut in other ways than the fibres. But the source and the function of the supplements should be made clear by the company/brand. Many other seaweeds from clean coastlines you can eat abundantly and they don’t accumulate iodine so much, notable the green, sea lettuce types. A little bit of seaweed every day in anything you can is a good practice, and supplements can help too, but ask the company to give you the information you need to trust them.

  • posted by  Boofla on Seaweed?
    on in Prebiotics
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    Are there good and bad types of seaweed fibre supplements to look out for?

  • posted by  Elise Mann on Welcome to Clever Guts!
    on in Welcome
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    Hi, there’s a tab at the top for recipes and you can submit your own – probably better than a forum strand, as it is more formatted and lets you add lots of info. I’m going to put in a few of mine when I can find time.

  • posted by  Elise Mann on British Gut Project
    on in Welcome
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    I remember thinking about doing this but was laid up at the time after an accident, then forgot about it. Do you have a link to the project, assuming it’s still on-going? Thanks.