I read a tech blog that reports on science news, and this has come up a few times. Here's some links:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/freeze-dried-poop-pills-being-tested-for-obesity-treatment/
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/635-poop-pills-cure-deadly-gastrointestinal-infection/
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/fecal-transplants-in-puppies-cure-93-of-recurring-diarrhea-cases/

Certainly very interesting, and something to keep an eye on.

Dr. Perlmutter has clinical experience in this field and talks about it in his book "Grain Brain".
The field of microbiome is an emerging one, hard to find blanket conclusions, I think...given the unique environment in every gut.

But studies so far on germfree mice has shown that if you give a skinny mouse gut bacteria from an obese mouse, it gains fat. But if you give the same mouse gut bacteria from another skinny mouse, it loses fat again. Fascinating!

Moreover, an obese mouse gets pudgy offspring. I don't know whether this is about gene expression or inheriting mum's gut bacteria at birth.

Personally, I avoid antibiotics like the plague and try to avoid meats that are often treated with antibiotics.

I'm eating lots of kimchi, fibers and vegs to feed the right gut bacteria. I've also dabbled with inulin and Resistant Starch, but frankly there has been too many variables at once, so there's no definite conclusions for my N=1. The only thing that stands out is that it seems I can tolerate a lot more carbs and stay in a keto adapted state (stacked with IF and exercise) than many in this group, based on postings. My guess, all that I do contribute to a healthier metabolic state for ME. BUT, I can eat more doing 70g and not gain fat. When I increase fast acting carbs, fat does seem to accumulate easier. I'm an apple and my tummy gains first. In the future I'd be interested in doing the liver tests while doing different eating protocols. Overall I can eat a lot more now and maintain or slowly gain, than when I did 1200 kcal gaining fat on a high carb diet. This tells I've somewhat been able to repair metabolic function or hormones that regulate energy OUTPUT. It might not work for everyone, but I'm throwing it out there as an idea to test out for someone else.

Edit: There's also a famous case of a mum who got transplant from her obese daughter...and started gaining fat. I'm not quite sure what to make of very sensational cases like this.

There are lots of vids on Ytube about the Microbiome, but I like Rhonda Patrick a lot cause she's vetting info quite strictly:
https://youtu.be/gOZcbNw7sng

They are used for c diff infections to re-populate the "good" bacteria in the gut. I have never heard of them for weight loss. My mother actually had to have this done after 4 years of chronic c diff infections.

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Gross but reasonable.

We should all be so lucky to earn that epitaph!

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Great insight @Foamroller
I know I first heard about it in Grain Brain and I've also heard Dave Asprey talk about and I think I've even seen that video of the mother/daughter before.
It honestly sounds completely logical to me. If your system is lacking something beneficial and you can acquire it safely, why not? I assume there would have to be some measures taken to not just kill off the good bacteria again.
Sounds like a reasonable thing to consider to me. Gross, but reasonable.

It was a life saver for my mother, and yes, she had to avoid all antibiotics for a long, long time. She is still very careful. She also still takes pretty heavy doses of probiotics. It was after this she developed celiac, and later SIBO. There is no doubt that gut flora is very important. And yes, it is gross! She tried home treatment for a while..eventually we had to talk a surgeon into doing it during a colonoscopy after I read about it in a journal.

landiodo wrote: »

Has anyone heard of fecal transplant to reduce obesity? I just saw something on public tv about someone who got a fecal transplant to reseed her gut.

Treatment for C.diff. Had a friend who had to go through this twice, specimen came from his healthy wife. You really don't want to do this unless it is life threatning as it was in his case. He still has to take probiotics and avoid added antibiotics.

It is extreme to say the least, he and his wife wrote a book about the experience it is on Amazon;
C. diff: Our Gut-Wrenching Road to Recovery by Glenda Weathers and Ralph Voss. https://amazon.com/C-diff-Gut-Wrenching-Road-Recovery-ebook/dp/B00V7DZHLQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1485191829&sr=1-1&keywords=c.diff

mandycat223 wrote: »

Oh swell, just what America needs: Yet another attempt to deal with obesity that doesn't entail giving up Cheetos and hauling our rear ends up off the couch. This sounds like one of those medical procedures appropriate for 0.0001% of the population that Dr. Oz and Oprah will hail as the Next New Thing.

I couldn't agree more @mandycat223 whilst it clearly has some medical value for people with real gut issues, I think far too much time is spent trying to make excuses for obesity. I'm quite sure I have many genetic factors contributing to my obesity, but I could overcome all of those issues by not using food as my emotional crutch and learning to cope with stress and anxiety in a different way.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's super lame that the government has supported the growth and development of all these processed foods filled with soy, wheat, corn and sugar... I'm very much an advocate for clean eating as much as possible, and I believe that eating crappy food proliferates the desire to eat more crappy food... but the buck stops here... my actions, my health are my responsibility, pointing fingers at gut bacteria and genetics and dozens of random questionable health quirks won't change the fact that I gained weight because I overeat.

What excited me most about it is that it's one step closer to really being able to tailor the human health experience exactly like we want it to be. I love the sci-fi aspect of just being able to program our bodies. I think in the future it will be cool to not even have to give nutrition and health a second thought. Like if in 500 years we end up with solar-powered skin or something.

Actually, I just saw a news report over the weekend about using fecal transplant of gut bacteria to help with autism and sensory spectrum disorders. The institution promoting the study showed that the average "needs" child was missing around 200-300 individual types of gut bacteria, which affected IBS/gut/digestion issues, conversion of neurotransmitters, widespread nutrient deficiencies, and all other manner of issues which directly correlated to the mental minefield. They said that the majority of patients, 80% they said, that had completed this experimental procedure in their trials showed average improvements in all spectrum related side effects, up to and exceeding 75% in many cases. I didn't catch too many details, but as many of us know personally how important this all is, it doesn't surprise me one bit that it can help people proven to be lacking proper gut bacteria balance...

It's also incredible to hear about someone upon whom this has been performed where it legitimately, and I imagine measurably helped!!