Skinny gut diet, thoughts?

DeniseLovesAvocados40

I have been watching the Nature of things doc and have been reloading at gut health and probiotics. Is anyone got feedback on dealing with gut health/balance

janejellyroll

What specific symptoms of an unbalanced gut are you having?

rosebarnalice

I had a serious intestinal infection that took more than 6 months to overcome. The conventional treatment is heavy doses of antibiotics to kill off everything in the gut followed by a probiotic regimen to foster the "good" gut bugs.

During that process, I became very focused on the intricacies of my "intestinal life" and its relation to my overall physical and mental well-being. I also did alot of research on the "bag of bacteria" view of the human ecosystem, and a lot of it makes sense, but is still somewhat young as a scientific field of study.

The infection is (most thankfully!) long gone, but I've incorporated homemade kimchi and kefir two to three times a week into my regular diet for more than two years and have no regrets about doing so.

ghudson92

I am halfway through the gut makeover by Jeanette Hyde and I'm 6lbs down, feeling much more energetic and focused. Also, no stomach complaints!

earlnabby

It is always interesting to hear what the newest woo is.

mortuseon_

The evidence supporting pro- and prebiotics is much weaker than most people think. The functional consequences of differing microbiomes is poorly understood. You can eat more fibre to support the growth of various groups of POTENTIALLY beneficial bacteria, but that's about all, and it depends on you having a diet low in oligosaccharides to begin with. I'm not sure that you can rely on microbes within fermented foods actually reaching your gut alive and flourishing there with competition from the existing flora. It's difficult to make a specific change to the microbiome at this stage, and honestly with the lack of functional knowledge we have, it's not even certain which kind of species or expression we would want to promote. Faecal transplants are the most successful option we have right now, but those are really for individuals with chronic C. difficile infections...maybe in future, for IBD too (there has been some very preliminary research in that field, nothing extensive or longitudinal). If you do have IBD, there are specific diets like low FODMAP for that, but you're far better off seeing a doctor and looking for tailored treatments. (Edit: I also just read the book synopsis and it smells like *kitten* to me. Nothing to do with calories? The claims of what the gut microbiota can do in that book are massively overblown or fictional. Don't bother).

TL;DR: Pro and prebiotics are mostly a waste of money, eat more veg if you want more SCFA-producing species which MAY be beneficial, eat yoghurts and fermented foods if you want to but the evidence is scarce, science doesn't yet know enough about gut flora's function let alone how we might sustainably change it in a beneficial manner.

JeromeBarry1

Indeed, the science on it is young. The history is long, though. Kombucha is easy. Kefir is easy. Kimchi is easy. Yogurt is easy. Just simply consuming prebiotics for the good bugs helps. That those are as simple as 'beans' with all the nutritional value therein is a bonus. I seem to manage to have at least one of my probiotic foods each day.

The reason the science is always young is as follows: The bugs cannot be patented.

If a big biz could come up with a patentable GMO bacterium that could cure IBS, bad breath, or acne you can be sure that peer-reviewed double-blind and all that stuff would be generated to 'prove' our need for it.

inertiastrength

Incorporate fermented foods. Take probiotics after a course of antibiotics... that's about as far as I go.

mortuseon_

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Indeed, the science on it is young. The history is long, though. Kombucha is easy. Kefir is easy. Kimchi is easy. Yogurt is easy. Just simply consuming prebiotics for the good bugs helps. That those are as simple as 'beans' with all the nutritional value therein is a bonus. I seem to manage to have at least one of my probiotic foods each day.

The reason the science is always young is as follows: The bugs cannot be patented.

If a big biz could come up with a patentable GMO bacterium that could cure IBS, bad breath, or acne you can be sure that peer-reviewed double-blind and all that stuff would be generated to 'prove' our need for it.

No, the reason the science is young is primarily that large-scale NGS approaches are only just coming into their own, so we need human longitudinal studies on massive metagenomic datasets to assess the interactions and functional consequences of huge communities...that takes lots of time and money. NGS is getting cheaper by the day, though, so it's becoming more and more feasible. The developmental microbiome stuff that has come out is really interesting...makes me wonder whether the guidelines on C-sections, breastfeeding etc will change as a result.

Btheodore138

Anything that has me eat more sauerkraut, I'm down for. I can easily go through a jar twice a month.

Nikion901

Prime for gut health is to eat fermented food ... natural fermented and not preserved with either chemicals, canning or vinegar. ...

Also Prime for gut health is to not overfill it.

And a third Prime for gut health is to get enough roughage into it.

earlnabby

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

Incorporate fermented foods. Take probiotics after a course of antibiotics... that's about as far as I go.

This is me too. I also try to get a combination of raw and cooked veggies.

xchocolategirl

I stay away from probiotics eating food that is nutritious helps me out. I personally don't see the point of actually ingesting bacteria. However, to each their own. Probiotics started out being given to patients who were going through GI problems as other diseases associated with it. I'm pretty healthy, so that's why I see no reason for me to use it. I tried it once had a yogurt to see what the hype was all about ended up giving me a stomach. I do stay away from yogurt.

robertw486

It seems that the medical community is still all over the map about gut health, with some extreme views here and there. I personally feel that for most it's not really an issue we have much input with, but in some cases probiotics and certain foods really will help clear up certain digestive issues.

rainbowbow

What I can tell you based purely on my experience is... I have had significantly better digestive symptoms since incorporating more fiber, fermented foods, and if I need it (after antibiotics, after food poisoning, or after any meal where I've accidentally ingested dairy) a general broad spectrum probiotic.

I used to deal with pretty bad gas, bloating, nausea when walking after eating, H. Pylori infection that didn't respond well to antibiotics as a result of GERD, bad reflux in the morning or any time laying down, etc.

I do still get reflux but my bloating and gas and nausea are almost completely gone unless I (as stated) accidentally eat lactose/dairy.

mortuseon_

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I stay away from probiotics eating food that is nutritious helps me out. I personally don't see the point of actually ingesting bacteria. However, to each their own. Probiotics started out being given to patients who were going through GI problems as other diseases associated with it. I'm pretty healthy, so that's why I see no reason for me to use it. I tried it once had a yogurt to see what the hype was all about ended up giving me a stomach. I do stay away from yogurt.

Yeah, it's a completely different ballgame giving probiotics to someone who does have a digestive disorder/coming off antibiotics, who might need their gut repopulated (or 'repoopulated' as so eloquently described in this study, haha) to other individuals for whom those bacteria may not take effect, as they would have to a) survive the journey to the gut and b) establish a community when competing with the existing microbiome. Eating more oligosaccharides is pretty much the best way to enact sustained change, but it's not going to make you any thinner.

AnnPT77

mortuseon_ wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I stay away from probiotics eating food that is nutritious helps me out. I personally don't see the point of actually ingesting bacteria. However, to each their own. Probiotics started out being given to patients who were going through GI problems as other diseases associated with it. I'm pretty healthy, so that's why I see no reason for me to use it. I tried it once had a yogurt to see what the hype was all about ended up giving me a stomach. I do stay away from yogurt.

Yeah, it's a completely different ballgame giving probiotics to someone who does have a digestive disorder/coming off antibiotics, who might need their gut repopulated (or 'repoopulated' as so eloquently described in this study, haha) to other individuals for whom those bacteria may not take effect, as they would have to a) survive the journey to the gut and b) establish a community when competing with the existing microbiome. Eating more oligosaccharides is pretty much the best way to enact sustained change, but it's not going to make you any thinner.

I dunno, the foods with plenty of 'em do tend to be filling for lots of us.

P.S. I agree with mortuseon_ here, pretty much 100%, so I'm just kidding around above. That said, I do eat fermented foods - people have been eating them for hundreds (thousands?) of years, and they're darned tasty IMO. So why not? Taste good, nutritious, probably safe, and might be good for me. And I do love my oligosaccharides!

jgnatca

I would believe a happy gut diet. I have a compromised stomach from Bariatric surgery. Thickened milks (yogurt, kefir) help my digestion.