First a bit of The Book update. Tim, Dr. BG and I have completed the first draft and 95% of the content that’s going to be in it, is in it. Also, longtime frequent commenter (about 950 comments, going back to 2010) Dr. Gabriela Kadar, DDS contributed a chapter on non-gut microbes (mouth, skin, vajayjay, etc.). Comes in at around 450 pages, but I’m sure that will get trimmed as I go through the 1st editing run, now about 20% through. The references are the the thousands and much of the research published in 2013 and even 2014, is in it.
There’s lots of title ideas, but one thing for sure is that it will be for the widest possible audience. Not a “Paleo Book,” even remotely. Not a diet book either. It’s a book about the other 90% of us, the part ignored to our own detriment for so long. Anyway, this was the title and tagline I had in my mind when I woke up this morning.
Mind Your Gut, Heal Your Body and Mind — The burgeoning new science in the care and feeding of the 100 trillion
So, any suggestions, critiques, input in the comments appreciated. Brevity, please. I also posted this to Facebook, so wherever you prefer to provide input.
~ “Steven Leigh (Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) explores the nature of the primate microbiome with the goal of understanding the impacts of microbiomes on human evolution. His results point to important contributions of microbial ecosystems to the evolution of human diet. He also sees implications for human brain evolution through energy and micronutrients that are produced by microbial taxa. Series: ‘CARTA – Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny'”
~ Dr. Art Ayers of Cooling Inflammation has been busy at work with a series of four very nice posts:
- Health in Diagrams I — Gut Flora and Diet
- Health Diagrams II — Curing Autoimmunity and Allergies
- Health Diagrams III — Inflammation from Cell to Tissue
- 200th Post — Diet, Inflammation, Disease & Gut Flora
Congratulations on 200 valuable posts, Dr. Art! He probably saw he was at 196 and just had to go get busy.
~ Dr. Norm Robillard of Digestive Health Institute has up a new post about resistant starch:
Resistant Starch – Friend, Foe or Lover ?
Since my first article on resistant starch (RS), raw unmodified potato starch, or RUMPS as I like to call it, continues to light up the blogosphere. Like a lot of people, I was caught off guard by the overwhelmingly positive light RUMPS has been cast in. Some people have truly fallen in love with this molecule, or rather two molecules (amylose and amylopectin) all tangled up together. Even Tom Naughton and Mark Sisson have fallen and Jimmy Moore wants to get some. The explosive interest in this topic can be traced to the extraordinary efforts of two flies in the nutritional ointment, Tim Steel, AKA Tatertot and Richard Nikoley of FreeTheAnimal.com.
The reported benefits of RUMPS include the enticing claims of better sleep and vivid dreams. Those alone make me want to buy some tonight and give it a try, but there’s more: improved gut function, curing SIBO (Say what?) preferentially feeding healthy gut bacteria, preventing cancer with more butyrate, immune stimulation, toxin/carcinogen degradation, blood sugar/insulin control, improved cholesterol, triglycerides and even weight-loss. […]
After all, RUMPS is a form of resistant starch, which I have recommended limiting for SIBO. For more info on this counterintuitive idea, you can visit Dr. BG, AKA Grace, at Animal Pharm (link removed) and Dr. Art Ayres at Cooling Inflammation. You can also see my mini-debate with Tim in the comments section on Dr. Mike Eades’ blog on heartburn. […]
Tim and Richard contacted me recently to discuss some of the experiences people were reporting after supplementing with RUMPS. At that time, we agreed to share all information, both positive and negative about RUMPS and digestive health issues going forward. Realizing that our real goal was to help people and that science will figure this out eventually anyway, we agreed to do our best to speed things up hopefully benefiting all involved. In other words:
“Instead of making science conform to our beliefs, let’s find out what’s real and update our understanding”
~ Dr. Bill Lagakos of Calories Proper seems to have been interested in my 2-Part “Duck Dodgers” series: Disrupting Paleo: Inuit and Masai Ate Carbs and Prebiotics (Part 1 and Part 2).
Fruits and veggies, fermented or otherwise, aren’t the only source of prebiotics in your diet. Eat a whole sardine and some of the ligaments, tendons, bones, and cartilage will surely escape digestion to reach the distal intestine where they will be fermented by the resident microbes.
Salmon skin and the collagen in its flesh, the tendons that hold rib meat to the bone, and maybe even some of the ligaments between chicken bones. All of these are potential prebiotics or “animal fibres.” And it may explain why fermented sausages are such good vessels for probiotics.
~ Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple has had enough, and pushes his substantial blogging weight around by penning a Definitive Guide. I think it means that Mark thinks that resistant starch is definitively here to stay.
The Definitive Guide to Resistant Starch
Mark manages to be the elephant in the room, while also maintaining high levels of respect throughout the Paleo and Primal community in spite of the fact that he dares to actually make money doing this! Here’s why:
I’ll admit now, with regret, that I didn’t look as deeply into the matter as I might have. I didn’t dismiss resistant starch, but I did downplay its importance, characterizing it as “just another type of prebiotic” – important but not necessary so long as you were eating other fermentable fibers. While technically true, we’re fast learning that resistant starch may be a special type of prebiotic with a special place in the human diet.
See how easy that was? It happens.
Update: Oops, missed something worthy.
~ The Microbiome Discovery Project.
ME/CFS: a devastating neuro-immune disease as disabling as multiple sclerosis, affecting one million Americans and 17 million people worldwide.
The study: a cutting-edge hunt for the causes of ME/CFS in the gut “microbiome” – the bacteria, viruses and fungi in the digestive system – led by “the world’s most celebrated virus hunter”, Dr W. Ian Lipkin at the world’s largest and most advanced center for microbe discovery and diagnosis at Columbia University in New York.
The payoff: a world-class study with the potential to swiftly lead to treatments using drugs, probiotics or exclusion diets.
Our challenge: to raise $1.27 million (£760,000; €910,000) to fund the project and do it fast! The scientists are ready to go and can complete and publish the study within 12 months. The sooner we fund it, the sooner it starts.
Go check it out and watch the brief video by Dr. W. Ian Lipkin. And pitch in if you can.
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For your title, how about:
Your starving 100 trillion: The new science of fueling your gut microbes to rescue your health
or
Feed your gut, save your health: The new science of evolution’s missing ingredient in your diet
By the way, I hope it’s OK to mention a major fundraising effort to fund a gut microbiome study of people desperately sick with the neuroimmune disease myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known in the US by the appallingly trivial name ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’).
The world’s top virus hunter, Dr. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University, needs funding for this study – he believes that a pathogen or imbalance of gut flora might be driving the disabling symptoms but amazingly, the NIH won’t cough up despite this awful disease costing the US economy over $19 billion a year. The NIH spend $5 million a year on ME/CFS and $18 million on male pattern baldness.
Many people with the disease are trying resistant starch because of this blog and some are starting to see results, which suggests that the microbiome might be the place to look. Patients are crowdfunding the study and need all the help they can get. Their site is at:
microbediscovery.org/
Sasha:
Put the project link out on all my social media.
Thank you so much, Richard – that’s extremely kind of you.
Your blog will have helped thousands of people with their health by bringing resistant starch to their attention. You should be very proud of what you’re achieving.
Thank you!
Richard, thank you so much for adding details of the crowdfund to your post – it’s so very, very generous of you to make it so visible.
People can help not only by donating but also by spreading the word, especially to anyone they know with the disease.
Thank you again, Richard.
Some gut bacteria produce kynurenic acid:
if-pan.krakow.pl/pjp/pdf/2011/2_548.pdf
There are gut bacteria that can alter kynurenine levels and perhaps some that can produce kynurenine.
Kynurenine can cross the blood-brain barrier.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1827495
Kynurenine is transported into the brain via the same transporter as tryptophan:
goo.gl/zO6da0
Kynurenine and kynurenic acid are made from the tryptophan you eat. If something is consuming the tryptophan you eat (gut bacteria, yeast, parasites), you can get symptoms of depression from lower serotonin and lower dopamine.
Kynurenic acid lowers dopamine levels in the brain.
You can test for kynurenic acid levels:
greatplainslaboratory.com/home/eng/full_oat.asp
pharmasan.com/testing.php?CatID=1&CatName=Neurotransmitters
neurorelief.com/index.php?p=cms&cid=498
If you get diagnosed with depression (e.g. lower serotonin, lower dopamine) or A.D.D. (lower dopamine in the prefrontal cortex), it is worth trying to alter your gut microbiome to get rid of gut bacteria consuming tryptophan and possibly making kynurenine. Besides antibiotics, the paper in the first link above offers some clues how to do this. I used large amounts of single strain probiotics whose growth is retarded by kynurenic acid and fed them prebiotics to try to create an environment inhospitable to kynurenic acid producing bacteria (and hopefully one also inhospitable to kynurenine producing bacteria).
If a yeast or a parasite is eating the tryptophan you consume giving your symptoms of depression, your doctor can do something about that.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11796611
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23114508
Treating the bacteria, yeast or parasite consuming the tryptophan you eat is preferable to remaining undiagnosed and getting prescribed antidepressants or stimulants (A.D.D.) unnecessarily.
Did your attempts work? What probiotics/prebiotics did you end up using?
Interesting! Thanks
Rene
Awesome thoughts~! I heartily concur.
Another lab that tests kynurenic acid is GDX — I did mine — 7.5 and normal is << 7.1
url-removed/2013/09/my-n1-pre-and-post-microbiome-digestion.html
It was red zone and I was not feeling my mojo. After treating the parasite, yeasts and pathogenic bacteria, it has made a whole difference. The rest of the 7-steps to cleat gut dysbiosis maintain a clear, happy, healthy and horny brain now.
Thank you for highlighting how important it is to recognize the bad bugs, weed them out then lay down sod (probiotics) and fertilize (prebiotics) that lawn well.
url-removed/2014/03/gi-biohacking-basics-mild-havoc-or.html
It worked.
Before using the probiotics, I used this:
amazon.com/Lauricidin-227-gram-8oz-jar/dp/B004I8SMOQ/
I started with a bottle of this taken with potato starch:
amazon.com/Lifeway-Lowfat-Strawberry-Kefir-Ounce/dp/B00CHTWGTK/
Then, these are the probiotics that I used:
amazon.com/Ideal-Bowel-Support-299v-Count/dp/B008OYII4E/
amazon.com/BioGaia-Chewable-L-Reuteri-probiotic-cultured/dp/B004YDHZFC/
amazon.com/Culturelle-Probiotic-Health-Wellness/dp/B00I0804U0/
I took them with potato starch mostly:
amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Potato-Unmodified/dp/B0013JOKBC/
I also used this sometimes:
amazon.com/ProBiota-Immune-grams-Seeking-Health/dp/B004JCL3E2/
I am now taking this to try to prevent a recurrence:
http://www.prescript-assist.com
Here’s a nice overview of RS and it’s benefits:
voices.yahoo.com/the-health-benefits-resistant-starch-5630890.html?cat=5
Except that the conclusion is to eat whole grain cereals in the morning … no thanks ;)
How about “The Other 90% of Us: Reintroducing Carbs in Your Diet to Fix Your Gut” …? You keep saying that phrase “The Other 90% of Us” over and over and it is catchy in my opinion.
Can’t wait to get the book!
I have a couple of close friends who are morbidly obese, and we talk candidly about it. Like most heavy people, they’ve tried everything and are desperate. Of course, if I had it my way I’d do all kinds of things to their diets and lifestyles, but I’m wondering what single change could turn the tide for them. What I’ve learned here about gut biomes would be key. I’m thinking of getting them to try a morning smoothie of potato starch, soil-based probiotic, cocoa powder, amla powder, cinnamon, ground flax and the frozen fruit of their choice, sweetened with date sugar (dried, ground dates). Would this change, change everything? I wonder…
So, smart animals, what do you think?
Gina, I think that sounds like a great smoothie. For me the trifecta seems to be RS+SBO+Amla. As soon as I added the amla, the few pounds I wanted to lose ran screaming from my belly. Even after a weekend of eating and drinking my way through three counties, there was absolutely no bloating and continued to lose a couple of pounds. Everyone responds differently, of course, but I’m thinking that a combination of something to repopulate the gut bugs, something to feed them, and then something for overall immunity/antioxidant support is a winning combo.
The advice I give to those very obese people I see trying to lose weight: No sugar, flour, vegetable oil, or alcohol. Eat low carb, like 100g or so, per day until you are within about 20 pounds of goal weight, then start eating more starchy carbs. Do an occasional cycling of potato-only diet for 5-7 days once a month.
I also recommend they do a smoothy with potato starch and the other goodies we discuss around here, and a shitload of probiotics and fermented foods.
Basically, perfect health diet with a few tweaks. Also, as weight gets harder to lose, I like to see people ADD starch, not take it away as is common.
this study suggests eating spaghetti for breakfast is more beneficial than high RS options using potato starch
ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/4/647.full
Gina, the green powder stuff that Grace recommends also comes in chocolate flavour. Probably not the high ORAC version, but it would seem based on what my buddy reports, it tastes great.
I think the smoothie should be less rather than more complicated. Adding cinnamon, ground flax and frozen fruit is gilding the lilly.
Potato starch, yoghurt, ground tiger nuts, a little bit of psyllium, probiotics and the chocolate flavoured green powder stuff has made a big difference for my buddy. Her gut has shrunk big time. Her sister’s as well. She stopped adding the frozen fruit because she hates cleaning the blender. So instead she ends up stirring what ends up being like a pudding. She also takes a magnesium hot drink in the evening which in the past caused very loose bowel movements but no longer does. I guess the magnesium is getting better absorbed which can’t be bad.
Richard, Tim & Grace,
it might also be worthwhile to study larch-arabinogalactans a bit more in depth, if you haven’t already done so. LAG seems to be a very potent prebiotic.
Some interesting information & n=1 experiment can be found here: forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/the-resistant-starch-challenge-is-it-the-key-weve-been-loo…
Start with the post of user Gestalt. Very interesting stuff.
Also, here: dadamo.com/science_larch.htm
LAG – great stuff, just too expensive to use as a normal, daily prebiotic. Great stuff, though! The pills they sell are only like 2g each, hardly enough to make much change, but as an addition to a good gut-bug friendly diet, it’s good stuff.
How about:
“I have a gut feeding … ” (or maybe a pun with “gut healing” as well ? )
.. .. .. or even Sehr gut. :)
Sehr Gut und gute AusFahrt.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem !
WildeRover
haha, really funny! :D
“Sehr gut” indeed”
“Mind your Microbe, Heal your Body and Mind” is a suggestion.
First, congrats to the 3 of you for completing such an enormous undertaking, second, thank you so much for the life saving valuable information this blog has already put out. Thanks in advance for the definitive book that is coming on the gut microbiome. I will be the first on the pre-order list.
Richard, Grace, & Tim,
As a person who has had 2 small bowel resections about 12 years ago, I am wondering if I should modify the gut bomb smoothie recipe that Richard mentioned weeks ago. I have no negative issues with these digestive “modifications”, but was just curious if I should be aware of anything not already mentioned. Thoughts ?
Kelly! You are in luck! I was just about to post my brand new “12-year-post-small-bowel-resection gut-bug-blast smoothie” recipe. What a coincidence.
1-2TBS Potato Starch
1TBS Cocoa powder
1tsp Inulin
1tsp Glucomannan powder
1tsp Green Banana flour
1tsp Maca powder
1/4 cup Blueberries
1/4 cup Blackberries
2 raw egg yolks
Coconut Milk or Coconut Water to cover and mix
Take with your daily probiotics
Please don’t confuse this recipe with the “10-year-post-small-bowel-resection gut-bug-blast smoothie” The results could be disasterous!
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
I seem to recall a few people in the beginning mentioned mung bean starch as high in RS, and then heard nothing else about it. I have added it as a alternative source, but wanted to make sure I had not missed something regarding it’s benefits or detriments.
The papers indicate it should be high in RS, but I’ve never seen a sample tested, so until then I have to be leery.
How about “Mind The Gut…” for the title (instead of “Your Gut…”).
It would resonate somewhat with the UK readers. I don’t know if “Mind the Gap” is also used in the US.
My husband and daughter and I took a trip to England in the 80’s and used the tube in London. We still intone “mind the gap” to each other once in a while. Thanks for the memory. No, you don’t hear that in the US.
Sorry, memories flood me now. When we rented a car at Gatwick, the car rental fellow gave us a piece of advice about driving in UK:” ‘Ug the ‘edge”. Good advice once we got over the terrifying first “round-a-bout” about 1/2 mile from where we picked up the car. (Those are not plentiful here either.)
As far as book titles are concerned, how’s about:
1. No Gut Bugs, No Glory
2. You Are What Your Gut Bugs Eat
3. Gut Bugs: There’s more of them than you
Title idea:
Gut Gardening: Theory and practice in the care of your microbiota
A Lot of Nerve! Your sensitive internal tennis court, and the 100 trillion friends who maintain it.
A bit of biblical dark humour:
“My name is legion, for we are 100 trillions …”
Not sure this will appeal to all the potential readers.
Mind you the Gut Legion of 10^14 or even 10^20, one might regard as Outsiders or even Foreign.
In contrast there is the Home Legion of forceful Maternal Adoption – the mitochondria – their cardinality is also Legion as the number of their granularity is mythical.
Marius constructed the legion as a levy of 3,000 to 6,000 from the Head Count or proletarii.
This is the Dark Legion: “marching on to Hell”
youtube.com/watch?v=DPsW8QkfzyY
Sláinte
“GUTFUCKED: How The Modern Diet Fucks Up Your Gut”
WINNER!!!!!!!!
I wonder if we could get away with “GUTF@CKED”?
How about: GUT PUNCHED: How the Modern Diet Kicks you in the nuts…. I mean… punches you in the gut!
I like that one.
Ding Ding Ding.
I like it!
“A long time ago a noble and wealthy king was looking for a new financial advisor…. He called the smarted businessmen in all the land. They narrowed it down to 3. The first candidate was brought into the room and there was a table with on either end 2 oranges. The king asked the first candidate in front of the rest of his team “how much is 2 oranges plus 2 oranges?” The candidate put his finger by his mouth, thought deliberately and answered “4 Oranges!” He was immediately dismissed. The second candidate came into the Kings large castle room and in front of all was shown the same table and asked the same question. “4 Oranges!” he answered and he too was dismissed.
When the last candidate came into the room the king took a good long look at him and asked him too, the same question. “how much is two oranges plus two oranges?”
The candidate looked around the room, then at the king and said… “that depends…are you buying or are you selling?” He got the job.
Can’t give you my suggestion for a book title yet… How many in the series do you plan on writing?
:-)
Marc
Well, it depends, Marc, on how many we sell of this one. :)
Touche..
In all seriousness meant as reminder. That title is pretty important…especially if you are building on the success of the first one… which will blow away your (and Tim and Dr Grace) expectations in my predictions.
“Gutopia”
I’m not so sure crowd sourcing a title is a great idea. That’s what they did for the Samuel L Jackson movie “Snakes on a Plane”, didn’t they?
“I’m not so sure crowd sourcing a title is a great idea.”
Well, it’s likely going to be pretty similar to what we already worked out. Mostly, I’m looking for subtleties, where changing 1 or 2 words might make a big difference.
But, we could get Samuel L. Jackson to narrate the movie!
“They’s mutherf@cking bugs in yo mutherf@cking guts”
How about Dan Aykroyd doing a vintage 70s SNL commercial…it feeds the bugs, it kills the bugs…
Richard,
I am trying to understand the wonderful video at the link. At around the 13:20 mark, Steven Leigh compares the nonhuman microbiomes to humans. He finds that nonhuman microbiomes metabolize more proteins and human microbiomes process more carbohydrates. I am stuck on what this implies. Can any one add anything further about this notable difference?
Also, the video is from 2012. Has Steven Leigh’s group presented more recent findings?
Thank you!
Regina:
It’s in the book. I’ll give you a hint, though. The microbiome of humans is a function of the landscape of Africa when we crawled down from the trees and became land dwellers.
From an advertising perspective, if you want the book to sell to mass audience, I would title it something like “Big Bang Bugs: The truth about humans, bacteria and optimal health.”
People will be more receptive to thinking there is something intrinsic to good health that is just now being discovered versus thinking they have been morons for eating their current diet. Give them a way out, with no accountability. (I am speaking as a marketing director, not as a human.)
I like ur sharp and deep insights Q ~~ what are your thoughts on ‘Gut Rut: The Truth about Humans, Microbes and Optimal Health’?
I like Gut Rut:……..
that’s my favorite so far.
Mmm, I’m not sure what “Gut Rut” means. And I’m reading this blog!
You could go for shock value: “You are not alone: How the trillions of microbes living inside you impact your health.”
I’ll just say that it’s best to keep your book title short for a number of reasons. Like “Freakonomics” for instance.
1. Word of mouth.
Most books sell by word of mouth. Imagine this conversation overheard in a coffee shop:
“Have you read Gutonomics? ….Not yet, was it good? ….Yeah I’m sleeping like a baby now. Go to gutonomics.com and check out the video. It’s great.”
2. Recall
It’s way easier for people to remember the name of a short book with a short title. And the media tends to promote books with short and catchy titles.
3. Cover art
It’s very difficult for an artists to create a good cover when there are a lot of words on the cover. The less words their are, the better the cover will be. The better the cover is, the more people who will buy the book (sad but true).
4. Branding.
Say you release a follow-up book or, say a cookbook. If the title is short and catchy it’s extremely easy to release follow-ups or other related materials: “Gutonomics: How to feed 100 Trillion Guests”
5. Tweeting
Way easier to tweet a short title and a short URL. (i.e. gutonomics.com)
You get the idea.
Verrrry X-filey — like that!
Mmm…. Mulder.
Good observation, Q. How about “More Bang for your Bugs”?
When I brand something, it takes weeks of thought and research. I usually come up with pages upon pages of options until that right one that everybody agrees on is found. It’s laborious. So for me to just throw some shit out there is not in any way professional. I was just chiming in with some random thoughts. Having said that, I was also thinking there might be an angle around “The Civilization Inside.”
You might want to do some research about how people feel about the word “bugs,” because I am thinking being told one has bugs inside them is going to turn a lot of people off. One might be able to better handle the thought of having microbes. Managing microbes is sexier than having bugs. :)
I KNOW. I’m watching season I of Californication and let me say aggressive mediocrity was NEVER SO GUUUUUUUUUD
Really digging “How To Feed 100 Trillion Guests” as a subtitle.
You know how soon guests “stink” as the old adage goes. With my PS experience and SBO, about 3 days. LOL
Personally I like everything about epic ecosystems, secret societies, hidden cultures, mysterious mayhem, etc…. so your ‘The Civilization Inside” may be exquisite…
Really bugs bug u????! that’s funny, I never of that. UR A QUEEN, thank you Q!
Mind Your Gut, Heal Your Body- the optimizing of your hundred trillion
You could try some A/B testing by buying some Google Adwords and seeing which get the best response. Something here perhaps as food for thought: dilbert.com/blog/entry/ab_testing/
Ok then. How about: Healthy Gut, Healthy Body and Soul: the guide to an optimal gut health solution.
Feed the Animal Within: free your inner health with optimal gut biomass health.
I do not care about the title, I just want to go ahead and pre-order now. Please take my money!!!! Great links, I especially liked the “Cooling Inflammation” stuff. Not all of it is for the layman, but damn he is full of knowledge. I hope you will be letting him take a look at the book pre-publishing to see if he as any thoughts to offer. One thing I was wondering if you might have in the book. Dr. Ayers talked about the gut bugs making all the vitamins for communication. You are have said vitamin K2 is one of the few supplements you take, and from my reading, it is an extremely important vitamin sorely in need of supplementing in the modern diet. One way to get it is from fermented natto and some cheeses were it is a product of the fermentation process. So I got to thinking. If our gut is properly seeded, would not the bacteria produce ample K2 for us? Quick Google search……..
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7895417
and ………
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1492156
Wow. There is not much a properly functioning biome will not do for you.
SteveRN,
Good finds. Though, Richard has also mentioned this many times.
SteveRN, the question is whether the K2 thus produced is absorbed by the host (?). I have not read anything about it. maybe your linked pubs say something about it ?
What I read recently though is that even in the small intestine, some fermentation can occur, the by-products of which can then be absorbed (like K2 I presume).
Regarding vitamin production in the gut. We all want it to be yes but the question of availability remains: Is it all consumed by the critters? Masterjohn looked into K2 production and determined that there was no excess for us to use. Richard linked this well known article earlier but here it is again for convenience:
westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2#bacterial
RN, Tim, anyone: might be time to give Mr. Masterjohn a ring. He’s be all over this.
Seems unlikely it’s all consumed by the critters. Something the bacteria are synthesizing in our n=1s is making the plaque fall off our teeth more easily.
I’m sure if scientists study the average person eating <20g of fiber/day there probably isn't any K2 for the host.
Gut Feelings: Learn to know yourself by knowing THEM
oo or just THEM
Richard– I’ve been consuming the shake for several weeks now and have noticed it is quite the appetite killer. Far more than the daily 4 TBS PS…..and some other improvements on a few issues I’ve been battling. Premature to declare victory, but things moving in the right direction.
Facing Your Feces: Optimal Health Through Optimal Pooping
+1.
As doogs: +1
Oh and who be ScheißeMeister ?
For Shit’s Sake: The Idiot’s Guide To Your Gut
Title suggestion, “Feed your gut, save your health!”
Trillions
100 Trillion
Ninety Percent
Tiny Gardens
Silent Partners
Gut Wonder
Go With Your Gut
Mighty Microbes
Gut Feeling / Feeding
Starved for Starch
Most of Us
Enteric Ecosystem
Bacterial Buds
The Microbe Mistake
The Gut, The Bug and the U… umm… i got nothing
And the Imprint name would be what, Gutenberg Galaxy .. or .. or .. Gutter Press ?
Your Gut is Busted
Your Butt has Gusted
“The 100 Trillion Bug Question”
Gut Check: The Surprising Science Behind Healing Your Body and Mind
(See what I did there?)
LOVE the RS info and all who have commented in order to further the discussion. Half-unfrozen greenish bananas…yum! Who wouldn’t want to get several hours of their life back every day? I know I do!!!
I’m giving this feedback, that I first left on William Lagokas’ post: Gluten vs. gut bacteria, Op. 78. The post, which is spectacular, is about how increasing bifodobacteria reduces inflammation caused by gluten; in part:
My experience:
Further, commenter George Henderson posts a link to this paper:
Fascinating!
How do you like dem apples?
I think Bifido is da bomb!
Babies are full of it, we’d probably all have tons if we ate RS and lots of prebiotic fiber after we are weaned. Just imagine the ‘old days’, the diet was full of fibers, we probably went from 90% bifido while on the teat to 25-50% when shifting to adult foods. In modern times, once weaned we go low fiber and live a life w/o much bifido.
I was looking at Gerber Baby Food in the store, strained apples, strained pears, etc… where are the pre-chewed yams and tiger nuts? I’m surprised the baby food doesn’t just come with wide spectrum antibiotics in it. Might as well.
Christopher
Yea, I’m a GERD sufferer and nothing does it better than pizza & beer, but that’s also confounded by the fact that when I eat pizza I typically overindulge. Anyway, so long as no booze is involved, I can tolerate grain products. I’ve done a few tests.
OTOH, since upping the starches with rice, beans, potatoes—some corn tortillas now & then, I have almost zero desire for wheat stuffs and in fact, with Udi’s gluten free bread, I can still have a couple of nice sandwiches every week, or tome toast with peanut butter. And no, I don’t think peanuts are any big deal if you’re not allergic.
I have also across recipes half-cooked with half-raw.
tatertot:
Some mothers wean their babes on sweet potato purée.
Googooing finds much including this sentence:
“The tuber also used to prepare different kinds of baby foods”
in
nutrition-and-you.com/sweet_potato.html .
I have also across recipes which mix half-cooked with half-raw.
( BTW I worked with Gerber decades ago preparing a cohort based future births estimator for France. At that time the products were mainly apple based. (I guess you might be TaterBébe in France.)) :)
Sláinte
Sometimes my editor just does not delete.
“Again, it depends on the health of the caregiver.
Pre-mastication appears to be a valid, viable way for Ma (or Pa) to deliver food to a baby’s maw. There are some impressive potential health benefits, it might save money, and it could even bolster immunity. The potential downsides, however, must be considered. Overall, I don’t think it’s necessary for parents, and the social pariahism you’re likely to face may not be worth the trouble, but I certainly find it intriguing.”
Read more: marksdailyapple.com/should-you-chew-your-childs-food/#ixzz2yNv8dJe9
Wow, what an exciting prospect! I can’t wait for the book! I don’t have any title suggestions, but I will surely pre-order a copy as soon as it becomes available.
Since discovering you/Dr.BG/Tim, I’ve upped my carb/RS intake significantly. I try to eat cooked, cooled, and reheated rice or potatoes at least once a day (although I’m unable to fry my rice when I reheat it since I usually eat it at work and it’s reheated in the microwave). I also have been taking 4 Tbsp of PS every day, although I scaled it back to 2 Tbs/day this week because my eyelids have been twitching almost unbearably due to what I suspect is the PS.
This week, however, I started a new regimen: a RS smoothie with all my probiotics in the morning. My smoothie consists of 4 oz goat milk kefir, about 80 g of frozen berries, 1/4 frozen banana, 2 Tbsp PS, 3 g of Inulin FOS (by Jarrow), and a little water. I blend that together and take it with 1 capsule of Natren DigestaLac, 1 capsule of apple pectin, 2 capsules of monolaurin, 1 capsule of Prescript-Assist, 1 capsule of S.boulardii, 1 capsule of Jarrow Ideal Bowel Support (L. plantarum 299v), and 1 capsule of AOR probiotic-3. Separately (but in between drinking this smoothie and downing my pill cocktail), I take 1 serving of Natren Life Start 2 (Bifidobacterium infants) and 1 serving of Natren BifidoFactor powder mixed in lukewarm water. Some mornings I’ve been taking 1 Tbsp of bentonite clay mixed in cold water before starting on my smoothie. I also take 2 capsules of Interfase biofilm disruptor mid-morning, well after breakfast and well before lunch. Anyway, the point of all this is to say that I have definitely noticed a HUGE difference since starting on this aggressive mixture of pro and prebiotics. I get tired during the day sometimes, but it’s nothing compared to what I felt before. Today is a grey, shitty, rainy day, which usually would make me feel the same, but I felt energized all day. My moods are significantly better. I work in a call center for a living and I find that I have much more patience with callers than I usually do. Wow! My sleep is also great and I’m more “regular” than I was on LC Paleo. My gas is definitely reduced from LC Paleo. The only negative I am seeing is I am having some lower belly bloating, which could be due to any number of things. I suspect a nightshade sensitivity (since I get heart palpitations if I eat a nightshade-heavy meal, for example homemade buffalo wings with homemade oven baked white potato “fries” and a side of ketchup), which may be the culprit, but food allergy testing last October came back with sensitivities to dairy and chocolate, both of which I love and can’t seem to give up for longer than 5 or 6 weeks at a time. I’m going to lay off the PS next week and see how things go.
I have some Amazing Grass Green Superfood Powder (berry) as recommended by Dr. BG coming in the mail tomorrow, which I’ll start adding to my smoothies. I might order some more probiotics and start up a rotation so I’m not taking the same things every day. I’ll play around and see how things go. I just wanted to let you all know to keep spreading the gut bug message! I’m also leaving this comment because other peoples’ comments have helped me, and I want to pay it forward.
(P.S. – I commented earlier about my amenorrhea. I met with my gyno last week, had some blood drawn, and will find out the results in a couple weeks when I see him again, so no worries that I’m trying to go it alone. I’m just not sure if I find out I have screwed up hormones if I will want to take drugs, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.)
Probably a good idea. I did notice you were taking a lot of probiotics. Probably also both good ideas cutting back the prebiotics but also keeping up a variety of them!
And I’m glad you feel so much better.
I’ve been taking a lot of probiotics to jumpstart things… it’s not something I’ll keep up forever, especially since it’s expensive! I guess I’m anxious to help heal my gut problems, but I know I need to be patient. :) Thanks!
Just saw this post on FB by Dr. Wahls, Bacterial toxin potential trigger for multiple sclerosis in Science Daily. It is Clostridium perfringens.
@sally –
1) “Despite its potential dangers, C. perfringens is used as the leavening agent in salt rising bread.” So it’s not only gluten, but also this nice additive.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_perfringens
2) It looks like Richards meat preparation techinques do not include much protection against this particular bacteria.
Wikipedia: “In the United Kingdom and United States, C. perfringens bacteria are the third most common cause of foodborne illness, with poorly prepared meat and poultry, or food properly prepared but left to stand too long, the main culprits in harboring the bacterium.[3] The clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) mediating the disease is heat-labile (inactivated at 74 °C (165 °F)) and can be detected in contaminated food, if not heated properly,
[…]
Since C. perfringens forms spores that can withstand cooking temperatures, if cooked food is let stand for long enough, germination can ensue
”
freetheanimal.com/2010/12/meat-mastery.html
“I preheated the oven to 500 and when ready put it in merely to give it a shock and tighten it up a bit, as well as create a bit of a crust on top. After only 15 minutes I turned the oven down to 120 (yes, 120) and then let it slow roast for 8 hours (yes, 8 hours). In the last hour or so I kicked it up to 130, then 135 in order to arrive at my ultimate goal of 127-128.”
foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/Clostridium_Perfringens-Associated_With.pdf
“Optimal heat shock occurs around 75°C which will activate germination of any spores in the food. Slow cooling and/or slow reheating provide germinating spores and any surviving vegetative cells with conditions (>10°C to <54°C) allowing multiplication to large numbers, particularly as competitive flora will have been killed (McClane, 2007).
Growth
Temperature
• Minimum 10°C
• Maximum 54°C
• Optimum 43°C (Li and McClane, 2006b)""
After considering DuckDoger’s thoughtful comments, a title in keeping with your website and allowing for future books and products might be Feed the Animals – A book on healing (your body) by exploring new science regarding the proper care and feeding of your 100 trillion.
It might help if I could read a draft copy of the book (hint, hint ;-)
I recently discovered your site and wonder where I have been? I was not aware of resistant starch or most of the information I have read so far. Thank you for the info, opinions and feedback. I always considered my self healthy and health conscious. My friends teased me about my wacky eating habits, organic veggy gardening and exercise. Now I look back at a long path of insidiously increasing health issues. As I am sure is common, I see where my corrective actions were not only not helpful but likely made my situation worse. I am diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and more recently, insulin resistant and have been on a recommended low carb diet to stave off weight gain and other symptoms and it seems that has made me feel worse…surprise! Can relate to issues with sleep, mood, digestion, skin and energy. Other than that, I feel great ;-)
I do feel hopeful now and I have not felt that for quite some time. I’m anxious to read more and implement a new plan to feel good again. Wish me success and put me on the pre-order list.
So excited to have learned about the potential of RS. I’ve had all kinds of new health issues since taking ONE dose of Cipro for supposed diverticulitis (was “diagnosed” by telling my doc at that time that I’d had recurrent sharp pain in one area of my lower abdomen for about a month. Turns out that wasn’t the cause, and I never did find out what was causing the pain, which resolved on its own). Anyway, the one dose of Cipro landed me at the ER within an hour with what I was told was an minor allergic reaction. From that night onward experienced a landslide of new symptoms and eventual diagnoses of Graves Disease, Hashimotos Disease, IBS, GERD and pre diabetes. Self diagnosed with gluten and corn allergy as well. I’ve been off an on a primal type diet for about 6 moths with great benefits but am hoping the RS will help even more. I’ve just started taking the Bob’s Red Mill potato starch along with the Jarrow dophilus probiotic I already have on hand and am excited to see what my results will be.
I do have a couple questions that I’d love some guidance on if possible…
I have a daughter turning 3 next month. She’s been breastfed since birth and still nurses to sleep and a couple times during the night. She’s had two rounds of abx in her life…one about a year ago for suspected UTI while potty training and another round this week for a bacterial sinus infection she got two weeks after having her first ever cold. Is it a good idea to start her on some RS as well? She’s gluten intolerant and eats a pretty good mostly primal diet…lots of meat, raw local milk, local eggs, tons of fruit, veggies, some nuts, very few processed foods or gluten free substitute foods, the occasional square of 87% dark chocolate and conventional ice cream here and there. She doesn’t really have any health issues aside from the gluten intolerance. Is she too young to be trying this?
Also, I have an 8 year old stepdaughter who we have 2 nights each week and every other weekend. Been sick her entire life with all the typical childhood probs…ear infections, respiratory infections, constant constipation, now has allergies so bad she sounds like she’s got a constant cold with severe congestion, possible asthma, mood issues, memory issues, and my husband and I suspect gluten intolerance (he is gluten intolerant as well). She’s has so many rounds of antibiotics I’ve lost count. Her mom feeds her processed crap and fast food constantly…she mostly eats grilled cheese sandwiches, bean and cheese tacos, Mac and cheese, Carnation instant breakfast drinks, pop tarts, and tons of candy, cakes, ice cream etc etc. Just utter garbage. She won’t eat any veggies or fruit at her moms, and hardly any meat. She eats much better when she’s with us, but we don’t have her enough and I don’t see it having much impact. I’d love to give her a smoothie containing RS and probiotics when we do have her but will it not have much effect if not eaten daily? Especially since she eats so poorly at her moms? It breaks our hearts to see her having so many health issues that we feel we’re unable to help with since her mom makes all the (crappy) decisions.
Any insight at all would be muuuuuuch appreciated…
Hello,
I sympathize with you, I have 2 young kids as well and for the oldest (4 y.o.), we were not exactly clean in our diet when he started solid foods (he was breastfed until 8 m.o.). I am French and so was indulging a lot in wheat and developed an addiction with refined sugar in processed crap in my 20’s (when I was living on my own as a student …). I had to do something because I was getting more and more fat and unhealthy during my early 30’s. I became a father and I thought I had to really step it up with health for my and my kids’ sakes. Fortunately, I did not go along with CW and switched to primal rather straight, adopted a clean French diet (without wheat and refined sugar, all organic, etc). Dramatic changes! Then I learned the importance of vitamin A, D and K2. I understood why I had some problems earlier on with teeth, energy, etc (I am a southerner and need a lot of D3). Of course, I immediately changed my kids’ diet but my older kid was not too happy about it. At 4 y.o. he still rebels against what I am preparing for him sometimes. But I insist that he takes vit D3 and I don’t restrict butter and K2 rich dairy. I also give him some foods rich in inulin, I do a lot of RS rich foods (cooled and reheated) which he likes (beans, lentils, rice, potatoes).
So after all this blabla, I would say: RS is only one aspect. You can mitigate some damages by ensuring she gets enough A, D3 and K2 at least. I buy D3 in drops (the vitamins are diluted in coconut oil) and give my kids a few drops in yogurt or gluten-free oatmeal which I stuff with butter and honey (or xylitol).
They never caught any ear infection and their sicknesses are rather mild compared to their little buddies at the daycare (always mega-snotty, etc).
I forgot to say: French parents tend to be a little authoritative with foods at home. It is not something I do on purpose, it is just inherited behavior … I try to chill out but the natural behavior always comes back eventually …
Thanks for the info on vitamin a, d and k2. I will definitely look into that further as we could definitely supplement her in those. I’m very authoritative regarding food in our home as well! If I weren’t I’m sure my youngest would be eating much worse…most parents stop trying to introduce foods to babies after a couple attempts if the baby “doesn’t like it”. Wasn’t an option in our house…foods were introduced many many times until a tolerance or outright love of it was developed. Now my 3year old LOVES things like broccoli, avocado, mushrooms, kale, cucumber, etc., all manner of meat…I only draw the line at things that make her actually gag, I won’t make her eat that. Plus, my stepdaughter now eats almost everything we eat because we’ve insisted for years she do so, rather than give her a different meal than ours as so many parents do these days. Now she likes to try new things knowing it will please us, and is surprised at how many things she’s learned to like along the way. Problem is, her mom won’t even try to give her better food because she allows our stepdaughter to make all the decisions and come on, you give an eight year old a choice between a healthy sandwich and a grilled cheese what do you think they’ll choose lol?
Deborah – If finances permit, you should really look into getting all of your gut biomes tested to see exactly what’s inside you. Find a functional medicine doctor nearby and have them get you the kits to collect stool and urine samples, this will give you a good baseline of where you all are at and where you need to be.
There is also the American Gut Project, they have a family package, $320 for 4 tests. fundrazr.com/campaigns/4Tqx5
It’s not as telling as a complete workup you’d get from a doctor, and won’t show yeasts or overgrowths, but it will give you a nice snapshot of the diversity in your guts and a lot to chew on.
Until then, the best you can do is to continue eating right for you and your guts, get the kids loving healthy foods and hopefully they will want it when they are away from you.
For you, with the cipro-induced problems, I’d say be doing as much RS-rich foods as possible, supplement with potato starch or banana flour as tolerated, and start taking some widely diverse probiotics…Prescript Assist, AOR-3, Primal Flora, and get some with Bifido and Lacto as well. AND, get your guts tested ASAP. No telling what’s in there. You could be spinning your wheels big-time on this.
Thanks Tatertot. Unfortunately our finances are extremely limited at this time and getting any testing locally is out of the question for now. However, the link you provided to the American Gut Project is possibly doable…thanks so much for making me aware of it! It would be very helpful to have at least some kind of snapshot of what’s in there. I was also hesitating about making the plunge with the three probiotics you mentioned (costly!) but you’ve convinced me I need to at least give them a try. I’ll keep doing what I can for the kids, and start adding some RS to their diets as well.
Thanks so much for all the work you and Richard have done regarding RS and the gut. It’s all so overwhelming and I’ve been reading nonstop almost for the past two days. My head is spinning! You guys are certainly pioneers…keep up the amazing work please!
One more question…my husband is currently participating in a 5 year study using Enbrel to treat his severe psoriasis, which great success (although I DO NOT like him being on an immune suppressant for such a long time). Is he unable to take any probiotics at this time, or should he just steer clear of SBOs? I assume he’s considered immune compromised on this drug…
He’d have to ask the Enbrel folks. I’d think no SBOs.
Deborah, try live culture yoghurt in small quantities a few times per week first. Don’t go great guns with capsules. If he responds well to the yoghurt, then ramp up to kefir. None of these contain bacillus species or other SBOs. And they are safe.
Go with the small doses and encourage good bug growth with fibrous veggies like artichoke hearts and asparagus. If he does well on those, very carefully introduce fractions of capsules containing SBOs. Don’t go whole hog. Watch what happens.
The only severe reactions recorded that I’ve read were in a leukemic in Italy taking a pure Bacillus subtilis probiotic.
I wouldn’t ever suggest a cancer patient taking heavy duty chemo that supresses bone marrow to take SBO probiotics for example.
Thanks for the quick responses. Will try to get an answer from the makers of Enbrel and/or his doctor in the study. In the meantime will just stick to yogurt/kefir as suggested.
LaFrite
Concerning Vitamin D, interesting stuff here:
fungi.com/blog/items/place-mushrooms-in-sunlight-to-get-your-vitamin-d.html
“Did you know that tasty mushrooms are one source for vitamin D, and that you can naturally multiply their levels by exposing them to sunlight?”
Yeah, I read that a while back :) I think the D in mushrooms is D2 but I have not dug that, I eat plenty of raw mushrooms because I like it. And of course, sauté in butter is unavoidable in my kitchen!
Would anyone care to comment on Self-Hacked’s view on resistant/potato starch?
“Unmodified Potato Starch May Cause Inflammation”
selfhacked.com/2014/02/15/potato-starch-source-resistant-starch/
Hello! Thanks so much for this post. I looked at the link. I have had an immune system response to potatoes for over 5 years. I tried the BRM PS last week. Took a break and tried again last night and this morning. I think I will focus on other RS souces. For whatever reason, my immune system reacts to potatoes…. No problems with glutens! Just potato.
I really appreciate the post. I have een doing terrific on cultured veg, Kefir, nxt dayparboiled rice and traditionally cooked (soaked overnight) beans. I will juast be cautious of potatoes.
N.
Dear Johan,
Good morning. I looked again at the blog you posted. I don’t think any of the major posters will respond to you, because you did not provide a summary or opinion of your own. I replied, because I am a newbie and because I have potato issues.
From a more thorough reading, my opinion is this: the work of the young man from SelfHacked does not compare with what is being done here. While intelligent, he does not have any science of his own. His criticism of potato starch is a merely his own personal dietary issue – one that I also have.
SelfHacked concludes because he has a problem with potato starch, that potatoes are the problem. Thus his claim that potato starch “may cause” inflammation…. inferring that those involved in RS should abandon all the research done here and instead, follow him and do plaintains/hi-maize corn/etc.
He also does not recommend this site, which is rather sad. I think he would really benefit from the very generous help of this group – especially since he has gluten intolerance as well as “all dairy, yeast, eggs, caffeine, theobromine, alcohol and other foods/substances”. selfhacked.com/about/
He also has problems with coconut oil and claims it “may cause” fatty liver disease, because he gets ill when he takes it. He also explains that he feels great on 7 tbsp. of honey. In my opinion, his gut is very disordered. Myself, I do wonderfully on coconut oil and get sick on honey….
I also have a problem with potatoes, but from what I read on Cooling Inflammation/ Animal Pharm / Fed the Animal – I know that my gut is the problem.
Discern for yourself. Personally, I will continue to read here and not bother with the young man.
“Discern for yourself. Personally, I will continue to read here and not bother with the young man.”
Yea, Tim and I concluded that about the youngun’ trying to do whatever and make whatever on other people’s work a long time ago.
Heartening to see that kind of discernment. Thanks luv.
The Synbiotic Diet
Designing the Universe Within
And a science-but-cosmic-pretty picture.
(prebiotics + probiotics when addressed together as a topic are called synbiotics, according to wiki.)
Keep it simple if you want to sell it to the masses. Not everyone understands “microbiota lingo”
For what it’s worth, here is my suggestion:
Remember to Feed the Good bugs in your intestines when you sit down for dinner