Would like to share my research with you...

songbyrdsweet

Glad you guys enjoyed it!

TadaGanIarracht

I love this! I'm a future nursing student (I start in the Fall) and of course info like this peaks my interest.

EAGINOCCHIO

Wow amazing reading! I have been looking all over the place for info on probiotics and helping normalize my digestive system. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 anal rectal cancer (Squamous Cell). I received radiation treatment for 5 weeks and 2 rounds of chemo, FU-5 and Myomiticin. I also had a high diverting colostomy for almost a year. It was just reversed 4 weeks ago. Thank goodness, as well no evidence of the cancer.

I am trying to figure my way back to some normalcy regarding my bowels. A quick question or two, that hopefully you can answer, or point me in the right direction. I am aware that the chemo basically stripped my GI tract to infancy stages (I remember the gut wrenching cramps too well). I am also aware my descending colon, rectum and *kitten* have not been used in over a year.

I eat Greek Yogurt with live cultures every morning. I also take acidophilis every day.

I'm having a lot of gas. What can I do, or take to reduce the amount of gas? I also want to know, what can I do to promote healthy "flora" in my gut? It is like I have the gastro intestinal tract of an infant...

Thanks for any help!

josephine_x

Bump...

Toddrific

So I poked around the supplement section of my local grocery store and found some probiotics that cost ~$1 a day. Being the cheap *kitten* that I am, I concluded that was silly.

Obviously the bacteria have gotten there naturally for millions of years. I know there was something about more fiber, which I assume pushes the bad bacteria out. I also assume fermented/cultured foods haven't always been a part of human diets.

So, basically, what are the normal sources for good bacteria?

songbyrdsweet

Wow amazing reading! I have been looking all over the place for info on probiotics and helping normalize my digestive system. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 anal rectal cancer (Squamous Cell). I received radiation treatment for 5 weeks and 2 rounds of chemo, FU-5 and Myomiticin. I also had a high diverting colostomy for almost a year. It was just reversed 4 weeks ago. Thank goodness, as well no evidence of the cancer.

I am trying to figure my way back to some normalcy regarding my bowels. A quick question or two, that hopefully you can answer, or point me in the right direction. I am aware that the chemo basically stripped my GI tract to infancy stages (I remember the gut wrenching cramps too well). I am also aware my descending colon, rectum and *kitten* have not been used in over a year.

I eat Greek Yogurt with live cultures every morning. I also take acidophilis every day.

I'm having a lot of gas. What can I do, or take to reduce the amount of gas? I also want to know, what can I do to promote healthy "flora" in my gut? It is like I have the gastro intestinal tract of an infant...

Thanks for any help!

You are amazing! Really incredible that you pulled through.

I would recommend that you take a mutli-strain probiotic...they generally have eight or so different kinds of bacteria. What you're taking now isn't bad, but each bacteria has a different purpose, like mucous production versus fermentation of fiber to methane or fatty acids. Have you ever heard of VSL-3? It is an FDA-backed clinical-strength probiotic. I can't say what I'm using in my research, but I will say I know a lot about VSL-3 and its uses. It's prescribed to people with severe inflammatory bowel conditions and contains 450 billion cells per pack. If you can get your hands on that, I think it will make a world of difference.

The gas is from the bacteria that you do have. So you do have some and they are functioning! They ferment fiber and make gas. You can take a gas-reducing pill with meals for now. As you enrich your gut with better bacteria, the gas should subside. Also try aiming for soluble fiber rather than insoluble. Soluble fiber is in oats and anything that becomes mushy when you add water. Insoluble fiber is found in apple peels and the outsides of beans.

I hope this helps!

treetop57

I would recommend that you take a mutli-strain probiotic...they generally have eight or so different kinds of bacteria. What you're taking now isn't bad, but each bacteria has a different purpose, like mucous production versus fermentation of fiber to methane or fatty acids. Have you ever heard of VSL-3? It is an FDA-backed clinical-strength probiotic. I can't say what I'm using in my research, but I will say I know a lot about VSL-3 and its uses. It's prescribed to people with severe inflammatory bowel conditions and contains 450 billion cells per pack. If you can get your hands on that, I think it will make a world of difference.

Would this VSL-3 be too "strong" for those of us with decent digestion already (and so I assume a fairly healthy zoo in our gut)? Or possibly just more expensive for what we need?

Toddrific

Trying to research this stuff.

Dunno if this lady is a snake oil salesman or not, but most of what she says concurs with what I've read

http://youtu.be/nB8Y5AgNQSs
(about the last minute of it sums it up)
I'm still thinking that if you collate the yogurt study with the idea of taking probiotics, you have to take them for
the rest of your life.

songbyrdsweet

So I poked around the supplement section of my local grocery store and found some probiotics that cost ~$1 a day. Being the cheap *kitten* that I am, I concluded that was silly.

Obviously the bacteria have gotten there naturally for millions of years. I know there was something about more fiber, which I assume pushes the bad bacteria out. I also assume fermented/cultured foods haven't always been a part of human diets.

So, basically, what are the normal sources for good bacteria?

You can opt for prebiotics---fibers that the bacteria can ferment to make energy for your intestinal cells. We normally get our bacteria within the first two years of life from all natural sources--the vaginal canal/anal area of our mother, from breastfeeding, and from the dirty environment.

songbyrdsweet

I would recommend that you take a mutli-strain probiotic...they generally have eight or so different kinds of bacteria. What you're taking now isn't bad, but each bacteria has a different purpose, like mucous production versus fermentation of fiber to methane or fatty acids. Have you ever heard of VSL-3? It is an FDA-backed clinical-strength probiotic. I can't say what I'm using in my research, but I will say I know a lot about VSL-3 and its uses. It's prescribed to people with severe inflammatory bowel conditions and contains 450 billion cells per pack. If you can get your hands on that, I think it will make a world of difference.

Would this VSL-3 be too "strong" for those of us with decent digestion already (and so I assume a fairly healthy zoo in our gut)? Or possibly just more expensive for what we need?

I think it would be more expensive than what most people would need. But on the other hand it has gone through very rigorous research and clinical trials so it's guaranteed. Get what you pay for, know what I mean?

songbyrdsweet

Trying to research this stuff.

Dunno if this lady is a snake oil salesman or not, but most of what she says concurs with what I've read

http://youtu.be/nB8Y5AgNQSs
(about the last minute of it sums it up)
I'm still thinking that if you collate the yogurt study with the idea of taking probiotics, you have to take them for
the rest of your life.

No, we see measurable differences within 4 weeks. As long as you keep up good habits, your healthy bacteria will proliferate. Remember you're just enriching...adding good bacteria...not re-colonizing the whole gut.

autumnk921

I am looking at ways to make more healthy bacteria grow. You can do this by eating a high-fiber diet, flax seeds, preobiotics (like inulin fiber), and taking probiotics in very high doses (in the billions of cells per day). Avoiding a high-fat, high-sugar diet is a way to prevent harmful bacteria from growing.

Can you give ideas of how much of these things we need to take on a daily basis....Prebiotics/probiotics...Great read btw...Thanks for sharing...Love to learn, especially learning why I am overweight & how to fix it...

Just read the whole thread now & I think I already found the answer to this....

Please update us again on this when you can!! This is great!

ckmama

I agree with it all except the high-fat thing. I eat a high-fat diet and I have suffered digestive problems my whole life. Every doctor told me to eat more whole grain and more fiber. It never worked so I dealt with it. (stomach aches as a child, constant gas as a teen - embarassing at school. IBS, hiatal hernia, bloating, gas, stomach pain as an adult).

I followed a high-carb low-fat , calorie restricted diet. Made sure to get plenty of fiber. This didn't help.

I ditched grains, legumes, commercial milk, and sugars/flours and all that fiber every digestive issue I had went away within 6 weeks. When I went high-fat. I lost the bloat, I lost the belly. I have a flat belly for the first time in my life. I am the healthiest I have ever been. This is after switching to a high-fat diet (mostly saturated). I ditched processed crap. I ditched "heart-healthy" processed crap. Saturated fat is in mother's milk. Saturated is the most stable fat (less prone to oxidation). Nature didn't get it wrong.

But I am inclined to believe that most of todays chronic illnesses could be stemming from the gut.

Sometimes fiber is a bad thing, especially insoluble fiber and especially when your gut peristalsis is all messed up. I actually also eat a high-fat, low carb diet. I still eat some dairy though. The key is removing the sucrose. You can't have a high-fat, high-carb diet and stay healthy. ^_^

You sound like someone with Celiac, have you ever been tested for a gluten allergy?

anaussie

So I poked around the supplement section of my local grocery store and found some probiotics that cost ~$1 a day. Being the cheap *kitten* that I am, I concluded that was silly.

Obviously the bacteria have gotten there naturally for millions of years. I know there was something about more fiber, which I assume pushes the bad bacteria out. I also assume fermented/cultured foods haven't always been a part of human diets.

So, basically, what are the normal sources for good bacteria?

Yogurt is friendly bacteria.

Heartpath

Why isn't it possible to re-colonize the gut?

RachelsReboot

I agree with it all except the high-fat thing. I eat a high-fat diet and I have suffered digestive problems my whole life. Every doctor told me to eat more whole grain and more fiber. It never worked so I dealt with it. (stomach aches as a child, constant gas as a teen - embarassing at school. IBS, hiatal hernia, bloating, gas, stomach pain as an adult).

I followed a high-carb low-fat , calorie restricted diet. Made sure to get plenty of fiber. This didn't help.

I ditched grains, legumes, commercial milk, and sugars/flours and all that fiber every digestive issue I had went away within 6 weeks. When I went high-fat. I lost the bloat, I lost the belly. I have a flat belly for the first time in my life. I am the healthiest I have ever been. This is after switching to a high-fat diet (mostly saturated). I ditched processed crap. I ditched "heart-healthy" processed crap. Saturated fat is in mother's milk. Saturated is the most stable fat (less prone to oxidation). Nature didn't get it wrong.

But I am inclined to believe that most of todays chronic illnesses could be stemming from the gut.

I had to check and make sure I was still in my seat, I could have written this exact post.

celesteflenory

In terms of fat and sugar, how high is "high?"

I often have this same question. It is easy for people to say cut out sugar alltogether, but that is not ok for all the time. I would like to modify how much sugar I take in on a daily/weekly basis. but how much is too much sugar? What is considered too high?

cheshirechic

SO interesting! This post was informative and your answers to other posters were likewise thoughtful, informative, and research-based. I'd like to dream that in another life I'd do research that involves biology and nutrition.

Thank you, too, for validating my obsession with goats' milk yogurt, ableit indirectly, haha.

songbyrdsweet

Why isn't it possible to re-colonize the gut?

It's not impossible, but you'd have to be totally bacteria-free first. You can get close to that if you have a long session of serious antibiotics, or like one of the above posters who experienced cancer and then didn't use part of her intestine for a long time. No food going through the intestine means the bacteria have a hard time living. At that point you can add bacteria (and food) and you'll re-colonize.

But trying to recolonize 100,000,000,000,000 bacteria with even 10,000,000,000 per day would be REALLY hard. There's a lot of competition between bacteria--probiotics just help to increase the good guys so, in time, they can reduce numbers of bad guys. That's why we call it enrichment rather than colonization.

songbyrdsweet

I agree with it all except the high-fat thing. I eat a high-fat diet and I have suffered digestive problems my whole life. Every doctor told me to eat more whole grain and more fiber. It never worked so I dealt with it. (stomach aches as a child, constant gas as a teen - embarassing at school. IBS, hiatal hernia, bloating, gas, stomach pain as an adult).

I followed a high-carb low-fat , calorie restricted diet. Made sure to get plenty of fiber. This didn't help.

I ditched grains, legumes, commercial milk, and sugars/flours and all that fiber every digestive issue I had went away within 6 weeks. When I went high-fat. I lost the bloat, I lost the belly. I have a flat belly for the first time in my life. I am the healthiest I have ever been. This is after switching to a high-fat diet (mostly saturated). I ditched processed crap. I ditched "heart-healthy" processed crap. Saturated fat is in mother's milk. Saturated is the most stable fat (less prone to oxidation). Nature didn't get it wrong.

But I am inclined to believe that most of todays chronic illnesses could be stemming from the gut.

I had to check and make sure I was still in my seat, I could have written this exact post.

Ckmama brought up a good point-- have you been tested for celiac? (gluten intolerance)

songbyrdsweet

In terms of fat and sugar, how high is "high?"

I often have this same question. It is easy for people to say cut out sugar alltogether, but that is not ok for all the time. I would like to modify how much sugar I take in on a daily/weekly basis. but how much is too much sugar? What is considered too high?

We will use a 45% fat (all saturated), 40% sucrose, 15% protein diet and that does a good job of causing metabolic problems.

songbyrdsweet

SO interesting! This post was informative and your answers to other posters were likewise thoughtful, informative, and research-based. I'd like to dream that in another life I'd do research that involves biology and nutrition.

Thank you, too, for validating my obsession with goats' milk yogurt, ableit indirectly, haha.

Thank you for the lovely compliment!

Toddrific

Thanks for the info and all the replies.

songbyrdsweet

Thanks for the info and all the replies.

You're welcome!

ninerbuff

This is why licking your hands after sanitizing them isn't recommended..........................

fisherlassie

I'd like to hear about the hormones next please!

songbyrdsweet

I'd like to hear about the hormones next please!

Sure thing! I'll work on that today. Takes a little bit more time when there's a lot of biochem and such involved.

utes09

You mention quite frequently the capsules you take. Can you share what that is songbryd? I wouldn't have any idea where to start looking for this type of pill. Or I guess could you give some examples of brands out there we may now of?

scottc561

bump for later reading.

Mommyofseven

You might add that over-use of antibiotics can also kill the 'good' bacteria in your body and cause a lot of harm. Should only use as absolutely necessary and as low 'strength' as possible.

You are so right! I get so many patients from the hospital who have destroyed their good bacteria by taking so many antibiotics. The result is a nasty intestinal infection that is frighteningly contagious!