Posted on 10/05/2014 7:55:31 AM PDT by Marie
After a lifetime of antibiotic use due to issues that had to be corrected surgically, my mother, daughter, and I had the worst intestinal problems. My daughter began her life with two straight years of antibiotics and has never had normal bowel function. I did great until I got hit with chronic sinus infections in my late 20's and my belly hasn't been the same since. Any hope of recovery was destroyed by yet another round and then another, and so on.
I know that a healthy gut flora is necessary for immunity, so we find ourselves trapped in a nasty cycle or more allergies, more sinus infections, more throat infections, more antibiotics, increasingly worse IBS, intolerances to more foods, etc.
Worse, good bacteria actually produce vitamins for us (Thiamine, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyroxidine, Biotin, Folic Acid, Cobalamin) and, just by coincidence, there are a few of these that we are chronically low on, even with supplements. (Especially Thiamine. Nobody can get their Thiamine levels to normal. Even the teetotalers and the kids. One of our doctors is getting very alarmed by this.)
We all need to repopulate, but all of the store-bought stuff will only give you about 4 species. There are supposed to be closer to 400 species in a healthy gut. The regular stuff does not work. (And we've tried. Lord, how we've tried)
I'm looking for *the* *best* probiotics out there. I mean something with at least 100 species that doesn't arrive in the mail DOA.
I'm the guinea pig. First a week of colostrum, digestive enzymes, and L-Glutamine, followed by a week of the bacteria.
If anyone has any other suggestions, please add it to the list! We've got to fix this problem once and for all.
I'm so desperate that I'm considering Helminthic therapy and I wouldn't say 'no' to a fecal transplant. (I'll do ANYTHING at this point!)
Absolutely great sites... make your own full fat yogurt. Don’t feed the bad bacteria with any sugars. Yogurt has to be cultured for 24 hours to give the bacilli a chance to eat most of the sugars... commercial yogurts even unsweetened still have a lot of milk sugar. There are probiotic drinks in the refrigerated section of a health food store, including ones that are considered concentrates.. they are kombucha like, if you’re having sever distress and inbalance... I would take the concentrate and remove all sugars including simple carbs from your diet for at least four weeks. Switch to a paleo type diet, buy some raw fermented saurkraut... add to each meal. Do not heat the saurkraut! You can also make your own...but it takes at least 6 weeks to ferment.
Dead on accurate ...agree 100%
Been dealing with the same issue for a long time.
I have come to the conclusion that only real solution is a fecal bacteria transplant.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140617093814.htm
Unfortunately, the FDA has only approved it for clostridium difficile treatment.
Your only option is to do-it-yourself.
http://thepowerofpoop.com/epatients/fecal-transplant-instructions/
Good info young lady !!!
For leaky gut, my last suggestion may be the most important. That is, you want a much thicker mucin layer in your intestines, against leaky gut. Oligosaccharide-enhanced Inulin (at GNC called “Prebiotin”), should be consumed liberally. It dissolves in water and has just a slightly sweet taste.
Likewise, there is a root vegetable called Jicama, that is slightly sweet tasting, crunchy, and has a lot of “Oligofructose Inulin” (same stuff) in it, though it is very low calorie. It makes a fine snack, which encourages thickening of the mucin layer.
Other sources are less available or tasty, like chicory and Jerusalem artichoke.
Careful or you’ll turn blue. I used to get my colloidal silver from a woman I lost contact with, but I still have some and use it sparingly, usually to treat throat infections by gargling with it.
Miso will help build good stomach organisms. You can purchase it at Asian markets and make soup. Also you can purchase milled fennel seeds and add a teaspoon a day to yogurt or whatever food you choose.
Costco sells a probiotic that has 10 different organisms. Last a teaspoon of baking soda in a bottle of water every day. The taste is difficult to get used to but the benefits go beyond just helping with stomach problems.
PFL.
I am interested in this as well. Underwent surgery for intestinal cancer, and now have to deal with IBS and Gastritis, so I have been considering whether or not Probiotics would be helpful.
Not willing to undergo the “poop-transplant” method, and besides the VA will not do it so some manner of digestive assistance -and by that I mean REAL assistance, not the commercial quackery constantly blabbed about on the telly, is what I am after.
Besides, I’m poor and can’t afford expensive medications and exotic diets, especially since many items on those options are simply not available in this little town. We do have a small health-food store, but I’ve tried some of their ‘natural’ products and with very few exceptions the taste is ... “unique”, shall we say. To the point of instantly spitting it back out in some cases.
Some of the customers that purchase those items must be part cow, as it pretty much tasted like what cows normally eat.
Mark for later
Find somebody you like and eat their poop. It works for dogs.
just shop the perimiter of youe local supermarket...eliminate sugars and anything processed. Cook your own food made from recognizable ingredients. You can also learn to make all of your own probiotics at home...
It sounds like a candida overgrowth problem. Having this problem myself after rounds of antibiotics, it is not an easy or short term issue to fix. I also had sinus issues, digestive, etc.
To fix this, you will need to not only take probiotics, but drastically change your diet so as not to “feed” the candida which thrives on sugar in all forms.
I would advise contacting a naturopathic doctor in your area that has dealt with this health issue. They will be able to point you and your family in the right direction. Most medical doctors will not recognize this as a “problem” and will shove more pharmaceuticals at you.
I’ve noticed you shine whilst discussing intestinal flora.
I dont think yogert has enough probiotics in it to make any difference. I use the liquid stuff from Whole Foods refrigerated section. I take some every day. If I have eaten something that lets say, went bad - I am sure it works very well. [I dont have any problem this way - now]
About FMT - fecal stuff - I heard one or more interviews, one by the first dr who did it - very interesting how that happened.
My reaction: it worked INSTANTANEOUSLY for the lady - what a relief for the poor woman who suffered so long. After the dr did the procedure, she went home and later that day CALLED THE DOCTOR TO SAY SHE WAS BETTER !!
What could be SIMPLER, MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD, NO SIDE EFFECTS, NO MEDICINES, FIXED LIKE NOW! practically a do-it-yourself job !
(this was a C2C show - not all that long ago)
I would eliminate all sugar from my diet. All, as in all. Also eliminate all artificial sweeteners. Also, all canned food. Also, all bread of every kind. Get rid of all dairy and soy products. Stay away from packaged foods, including pasta. Quit caffeine if you possibly can.
Meat, fish, veggies, fruit, oatmeal should be fine. Eat all you want. Cut down on salt, season with herbs. Steam or bake stuff rather than frying, keep oils to a bare minimum.
Try this diet for at least two weeks and see what it does. It cannot hurt and might help you enormously. It’s not about weight, it’s about gut flora. If you feel better, add in things that you miss slowly, one at a time, and see how it goes.
I eat this way all the time. I KNOW that you lose your taste for sweet stuff within a week or two. And that your health and energy levels will improve along with your gut flora.
Good luck on your quest for health:)
>> Switch to a low net carb, low inflammatory, higher RS fiber diet: increase n3 fats, zero grains, zero added simple sugars, zero grain oils ... the new book “Wheat Belly Total Health” (Davis) seems to be the state of the art on how to eat (and is about vastly more than just the hazards of the novel grass seed sold to us as “wheat”).
> Can you give some examples of resistant starches, n3 fats, and higher-RS-fiber diet?
I’m posting this response here, as it’s getting a bit off-topic where the question was asked.
The blog post that really brought gut biome front and center in the paleo/primal/LCHF communities is this one on FTA*
http://freetheanimal.com/2013/12/resistant-primer-newbies.html
It has a list of RS foods, with much discussion in the comments.
* FTA contains a lot of material that is apt to offend FR readers, but the science is the science, and Richard (the blogger) goes where he thinks it leads.
For western humans, the gut biome situation is three separate problems, that must all be addressed at the same time:
1. get more favorable bugs working down there
2. eat foods that make it that far and feed them daily
3. stop killing them with gratuitous antibiotics, hostile foods (esp. wheat, sugars, maybe rice#) and pesticides (glyphosate, Bt GMOs, several popular artificial sweeteners) etc.
Davis (Wheat Belly) seems to have the best handle on the big picture, although only his latest book gives gut biome the prominence the topic requires.
_____
# Some rices, including California wild brown, contain disturbingly high levels of inorganic {natural} arsenic, for the US presently has no limit set.
I’m laughing so hard right now. I’ve been researching the first couple of dozen posts on the thread for hours. I just came back to FR and found the MOST private messages that I have *ever* had in my life! lol!
I want to thank you all for your responses. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m especially grateful for resource info and product recommendations.
It’s going to take some time, but there is hope for an answer out there. :)
Just to let you guys know where I’m at right now.
I’ve recently revamped my diet to a adrenal support/hypoglycemia diet. It’s basically modified paleo. (Paleo plus tiny portions of amaranth and quinoa and some dairy. My daughter has developed a problem with dairy, so she’s doing pure paleo)
DIET RULES
Eat every 2-3 hours
Each ‘meal’ must contain:
- 10-15g carbs
- >5g fat
- Some protein (not limited)
FOOD LIST
- All meats
- Fish
- Eggs
- Seeds/nuts
- Fruit (small amounts)
- Unlimited veggies (low carb)
- Unlimited spices/seasoning
- ¼ C of cooked wild/brown rice mix is a serving of carbs
- Amaranth
- Quinoa
- Butter
- MCT oil
- Coconut oil
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Milk
- Peanut butter
- Cottage cheese
- Bullion
THE ‘ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKING WAY’ FOOD LIST
- Wheat, oats, rye, barley
- Processed foods
- Sugar
- Anything fried
- No transfats (gives me severe tachycardia)
I’m adding diatomaceous earth, a good probiotic, colustrum, digestive enzymes, and L-Glutamine, and a good anti-inflammatory fiber drink that I’ve had good luck with in the past.
If anybody thinks that I’m starting out *wrong*, please stop me! lol!
That’s my beginning.
(I wish... really)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.