This is the most enlightening blog I read. Today's post on healing the gut through diet and probiotics is very interesting.
I've now been drinking water kefir since October and I feel great. In fact, I accidentally ate several bites of provolone cheese yesterday hidden in a GF wrap sandwich at a conference. I didn't have my digestive enzymes with me...tried to do "mind over matter"...and nothing happened!! No bloating, no gas, no battery acid D, NOTHING!! I totally credit my new gut microbe friends.
http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com ... epair.html?
Great Blog: Cooling Inflammation
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Great Blog: Cooling Inflammation
1987 Mononucleosis (EBV)
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
Interesting article, but while I certainly agree with the author's claims about diet choices, I totally disagree with this claim:
The stomach and small intestine do all the digesting, and the small intestine absorbs all nutrients. Only water and left-over electrolytes are absorbed in the colon, so it makes no difference what bacteria do in the colon — nothing they can do there will be of any benefit to us. Obviously, that author has a rather poor (corrupt) understanding of how the human digestive system works.
When I was discharged from the hospital after my last surgery (a total colectomy, plus removal of my cecum and part of my terminal ileum), I had zero gut bacteria. The doctors had run so many antibiotics through me that there is no way that a single microbe could have survived. They even totally stopped my digestive system from operating (zero motility) for a couple of days (which is commonly done with surgery of this type). When they restarted my digestive system, they were still giving me antibiotics.
For the first couple of months or so after I was discharged, my fecal matter smelled as sweet as a baby's breath — absolutely no odor at all, other than any residual odor from the food itself, which provided additional proof that I had no gut bacteria. I never took a probiotic, or did anything else to encourage any of the little critters to repopulate my gut. Of course eventually, they showed up anyway, because they had to be in my food. But true to what we know, since they were naive bacteria (had not spent any prior time living in a human gut), they had a tough time attaching and becoming established.
I wish I had kept careful records, but I didn't. My best guess is that at least 2 or 3 months passed while I was totally free of any established gut bacteria colonies, because as I noted, my feces were always free of fermentation odors. With succeeding months, they apparently slowly became established, because there was a slow odor shift that would have been associated with a re-population. It probably took roughly a year, before a somewhat normal gut bacteria balance was fully established.
Did I get sick during those months when my gut was bacteria-free? Nope.
Was I able to digest my food? You becha. I gained weight without any problems.
Did I develop any new allergies? Nope.
Any new antoimmunities? Nope.
Did I develop any cancer? I doubt it, because it hasn't shown up yet, and the surgery was 3 years ago.
The bottom line is, IMO, the old claim that we need gut parasites (they may be small, but they're still parasites) in order to survive, is pure BS. That old wives' tale was probably initially spread by lobbyists working for the Gut Bacteria Union. It's an incorrect assumption that was made many, many years ago by ancient knuckle-walking predecessors of modern-day doctors, and it was never verified, so everyone just continues to believe that it's true. It's not. Sure, we can live with them — we can live with ticks and lice too. But we can also definitely live without them, and quite well, thank you. They need us — but we don't need them.
At least that's the way that I see it. But maybe I'm just biased — after all, I'm not a gut bacteria looking for a host.
Tex
First off, the bacteria in our colon don't digest our food. That's hogwash. Stomach acid and digestive enzymes produced by our own body organs (not by bacteria) digest our food. If that claim made in the article were true, I'd be dead, because I don't even have a colon, and I'm certainly not the only person who has managed to survive without a colon for longer than 24 hours.You will get sick if the bacteria in your colon can’t digest your food.
And sick means allergies, autoimmunity, cancer, etc.
Read and Heed or Dead
The stomach and small intestine do all the digesting, and the small intestine absorbs all nutrients. Only water and left-over electrolytes are absorbed in the colon, so it makes no difference what bacteria do in the colon — nothing they can do there will be of any benefit to us. Obviously, that author has a rather poor (corrupt) understanding of how the human digestive system works.When I was discharged from the hospital after my last surgery (a total colectomy, plus removal of my cecum and part of my terminal ileum), I had zero gut bacteria. The doctors had run so many antibiotics through me that there is no way that a single microbe could have survived. They even totally stopped my digestive system from operating (zero motility) for a couple of days (which is commonly done with surgery of this type). When they restarted my digestive system, they were still giving me antibiotics.
For the first couple of months or so after I was discharged, my fecal matter smelled as sweet as a baby's breath — absolutely no odor at all, other than any residual odor from the food itself, which provided additional proof that I had no gut bacteria. I never took a probiotic, or did anything else to encourage any of the little critters to repopulate my gut. Of course eventually, they showed up anyway, because they had to be in my food. But true to what we know, since they were naive bacteria (had not spent any prior time living in a human gut), they had a tough time attaching and becoming established.
I wish I had kept careful records, but I didn't. My best guess is that at least 2 or 3 months passed while I was totally free of any established gut bacteria colonies, because as I noted, my feces were always free of fermentation odors. With succeeding months, they apparently slowly became established, because there was a slow odor shift that would have been associated with a re-population. It probably took roughly a year, before a somewhat normal gut bacteria balance was fully established.
Did I get sick during those months when my gut was bacteria-free? Nope.
Was I able to digest my food? You becha. I gained weight without any problems.
Did I develop any new allergies? Nope.
Any new antoimmunities? Nope.
Did I develop any cancer? I doubt it, because it hasn't shown up yet, and the surgery was 3 years ago.
The bottom line is, IMO, the old claim that we need gut parasites (they may be small, but they're still parasites) in order to survive, is pure BS. That old wives' tale was probably initially spread by lobbyists working for the Gut Bacteria Union.
It's an incorrect assumption that was made many, many years ago by ancient knuckle-walking predecessors of modern-day doctors, and it was never verified, so everyone just continues to believe that it's true. It's not. Sure, we can live with them — we can live with ticks and lice too. But we can also definitely live without them, and quite well, thank you. They need us — but we don't need them.At least that's the way that I see it. But maybe I'm just biased — after all, I'm not a gut bacteria looking for a host.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
From the article.....I didn't know this.....are most commercial probiotics made from dairy? I have had to stop using them while healing.
Probiotics are not Gut Flora
Commercial probiotics are made from bacteria used in dairy products (dairy probiotics) or bacteria used to make enzymes in other products, such as laundry detergents.
These bacteria can be repackaged and sold as probiotics, because they have already been tested for toxicity. These bacteria don’t normally grow in the gut and if you swallow them, they just pass through. These “probiotics” can temporarily provide some of the functions of gut flora, because they are bacteria, but they don’t grow in the gut.
Probiotics are not Gut Flora
Commercial probiotics are made from bacteria used in dairy products (dairy probiotics) or bacteria used to make enzymes in other products, such as laundry detergents.
These bacteria can be repackaged and sold as probiotics, because they have already been tested for toxicity. These bacteria don’t normally grow in the gut and if you swallow them, they just pass through. These “probiotics” can temporarily provide some of the functions of gut flora, because they are bacteria, but they don’t grow in the gut.
Linda :)
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
LC Oct. 2012
MTHFR gene mutation and many more....
Hi Linda,
Yes they are. This is because they are widely available, they're already FDA approved, and they're cheap. What more could probiotics manufacturers ask for? When an ad claims that a "new", uncommon strain is available for sale, you can safely bet that it's not available because it is so much better for health (as claimed in the ad), but more likely because they were being discarded as useless byproducts of some process, and no one had considered trying to market them before.
They're all dairy-based because the only practical starter cultures available (that are robust and reliable) are specific to dairy. This observation in itself should raise a huge red flag about the use of conventional probiotics. Why? Because dairy was most definitely not a basic part of our evolutionary diet. Dairy was introduced into the human diet roughly 10,000 years ago, pretty much after the evolutionary process of our digestive system was complete (IOW after it was in it's current form). Therefore, while lacto-based bacteria might have played a role for infants, for the first couple of million years of our evolution, such bacteria were probably absent in the adult gut, since there was no reason for their existence there.
The point is, if milk was not even a part of our diet back then, why would milk-based bacteria be necessary for proper digestion and good health? Clearly, bacteria associated with actual diet staples would have made much more sense. But you won't find any such bacteria in commercial probiotic products, because commercial probiotics are not designed to make sense (or to improve health) — they're designed to make money, and they do that, extremely well.
Tex
Tex
Yes they are. This is because they are widely available, they're already FDA approved, and they're cheap. What more could probiotics manufacturers ask for? When an ad claims that a "new", uncommon strain is available for sale, you can safely bet that it's not available because it is so much better for health (as claimed in the ad), but more likely because they were being discarded as useless byproducts of some process, and no one had considered trying to market them before.
They're all dairy-based because the only practical starter cultures available (that are robust and reliable) are specific to dairy. This observation in itself should raise a huge red flag about the use of conventional probiotics. Why? Because dairy was most definitely not a basic part of our evolutionary diet. Dairy was introduced into the human diet roughly 10,000 years ago, pretty much after the evolutionary process of our digestive system was complete (IOW after it was in it's current form). Therefore, while lacto-based bacteria might have played a role for infants, for the first couple of million years of our evolution, such bacteria were probably absent in the adult gut, since there was no reason for their existence there.
The point is, if milk was not even a part of our diet back then, why would milk-based bacteria be necessary for proper digestion and good health? Clearly, bacteria associated with actual diet staples would have made much more sense. But you won't find any such bacteria in commercial probiotic products, because commercial probiotics are not designed to make sense (or to improve health) — they're designed to make money, and they do that, extremely well.
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Yes. IMO, commercial probiotics are pretty much worthless for the supposed purposes for which they are sold.
You're very welcome.
Tex
You're very welcome.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex, do you mean to tell me that you are sitting out there in cow country "diss'n" milk? Close the windows and lock the doors! You risk ending up with a fanny full of buckshot! 
On a more serious note, you certainly have had more than your share of intestinal issues. You are an intelligent man with WAAAY to much first-hand experience. It's no wonder you know so much about this stuff. You have done a ton to help others. They say, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade".
Thanks so much for the lemonade.
On a more serious note, you certainly have had more than your share of intestinal issues. You are an intelligent man with WAAAY to much first-hand experience. It's no wonder you know so much about this stuff. You have done a ton to help others. They say, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade".
Thanks so much for the lemonade.
IMO, cow's milk is for calves, and I'll bet you won't find a single cow that will disagree with that.
I'm pretty safe out here, because government programs designed to squeeze out the family farm (and small dairies), and economy of scale, put all the small dairies around here (and across the entire country) out of business decades ago, and none of those that I remember from my youth have survived around here. Virtually all production dairies now are huge operations, many of them incorporated. The dairy industry is a different world, and it's pretty much industrialized, in comparison with the grass-based world of ranchers who run cow-calf operations out on rangeland. They provide all the calves that end up in feedlots, or in organic grass-fed finishing programs.
Regarding my own issues, there's nothing like a few good incentives to inspire one to seek solutions and develop empathy for others in the same boat.
Thank you for your insight, and for your kind words.
Tex
I'm pretty safe out here, because government programs designed to squeeze out the family farm (and small dairies), and economy of scale, put all the small dairies around here (and across the entire country) out of business decades ago, and none of those that I remember from my youth have survived around here. Virtually all production dairies now are huge operations, many of them incorporated. The dairy industry is a different world, and it's pretty much industrialized, in comparison with the grass-based world of ranchers who run cow-calf operations out on rangeland. They provide all the calves that end up in feedlots, or in organic grass-fed finishing programs.
Regarding my own issues, there's nothing like a few good incentives to inspire one to seek solutions and develop empathy for others in the same boat.
Thank you for your insight, and for your kind words.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Not everyone has your capacity for generosity.Regarding my own issues, there's nothing like a few good incentives to inspire one to seek solutions and develop empathy for others in the same boat.
The farms in my community are now housing developments and malls. Kids coming out of college would not know that this was a community of farms. They also wouldn't know how the quaint, but labor intensive, small farm operated with the whole family pitching in. Those folks went belly-up or did the math and decided they were much better off with the large sum of money they would receive for their land.
I also grew up in the day of locally-owned businesses of all types. They are gone.
In my opinion, everyone who posts here rocks, because virtually everything posted here is helpful in one way or another.
Speaking of nostalgia, as I was growing up, most of the old farmhouses around here were slowly emptied out and abandoned, and the remaining farms absorbed the land. Now, 40 or 50 years later, new homes are popping up (even though this is still farming country). But they are owned by people who work in distant cities, and who are only home at night and sometimes on weekends. We used to know every neighbor for miles around, but that's no longer true.
And yes, even in the small towns around here, locally-owned businesses are rather rare these days.
Tex
Speaking of nostalgia, as I was growing up, most of the old farmhouses around here were slowly emptied out and abandoned, and the remaining farms absorbed the land. Now, 40 or 50 years later, new homes are popping up (even though this is still farming country). But they are owned by people who work in distant cities, and who are only home at night and sometimes on weekends. We used to know every neighbor for miles around, but that's no longer true.
And yes, even in the small towns around here, locally-owned businesses are rather rare these days.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex,
This post should help get you on the right track in appreciating our very essential microbial inhabitants. Yes, they may not digest our food, but they do secrete substances that can either help or hurt our overall digestive function, not to mention our inflammatory responses.
http://humanfoodproject.com/can-parasit ... -diabetes/
Incidentally, I'd suggest it's impossible for doctors to kill off every single microbe in your GI tract with antibiotics. First of all, we know many bugs are drug resistant (c-diff and the like), and you'd need quite a mix of antibiotics to kill off everything, not to mention a major antifungal to kill off yeasts and other bugs. Yes, the populations surely went down, but they were not eradicated, especially since we know they reproduced and eventually came back.
This post should help get you on the right track in appreciating our very essential microbial inhabitants. Yes, they may not digest our food, but they do secrete substances that can either help or hurt our overall digestive function, not to mention our inflammatory responses.
http://humanfoodproject.com/can-parasit ... -diabetes/
Incidentally, I'd suggest it's impossible for doctors to kill off every single microbe in your GI tract with antibiotics. First of all, we know many bugs are drug resistant (c-diff and the like), and you'd need quite a mix of antibiotics to kill off everything, not to mention a major antifungal to kill off yeasts and other bugs. Yes, the populations surely went down, but they were not eradicated, especially since we know they reproduced and eventually came back.
1987 Mononucleosis (EBV)
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
MCers should be trying to grow our resident Bifido bacteria!!
http://humanfoodproject.com/can-a-high- ... -diabetes/
Lack of gut microbe biodiversity in the USA and other "over clean" societies is probably what started the leaky gut problem, which led to the gluten intolerance epidemic in those genetically at risk...It is well established that byproducts associated with the fermentation of the prebiotics by Bifidobacterium, such as short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, propionate and lactate) positively effect gut barrier (reduce leaking) and improve tight junctions between gut epithelial cells.
http://humanfoodproject.com/can-a-high- ... -diabetes/
1987 Mononucleosis (EBV)
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
Hi Zizzle, I eat a whole medium onion a day and take two Kyolic garlic capsules a day. Always have a craving to eat onions. I read a research report about a year ago that mentioned the benefits of the prebiotics that feed the good bacteria. Thank you for the website, that helps confirm my research. I found research on a "Bifidobacterium infantis 35624" . Ordered it online and within two weeks it cleared up the skin condition around my ears. It is sold under the name of "Align". It does contain milk but most probiotics are made from dairy. Jon