Friday, October 17, 2014

The Gut Guardians Podcast: Episode 02 – GETTING DOWN WITH INULIN

Second Episode of The Gut Guardians Podcast: GETTING DOWN WITH INULIN

In this episode, Grace and Matt talk about Inulin. With all the buzz around Resistant Starch, not much love is being thrown around about Inulin. By the end of this episode you’ll learn about inulin, why we can become intolerant to it, and why it’s key for feeding the right strains in our gut. Inulin proves to be key for maintaining and keeping a good flora!

Matt says that the static is still lingering in this episode, but the issue has been resolved for future episodes. Please comment or post up reviews on iTunes, we’d really appreciate it!

Enjoy the episode!


SHOW NOTES:

59 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the podcast. Do you have an opinion on Acacia fiber vs. Inulin? Thanks.

Dr. B G said...

Wonderful, thx!

yes they feed different bugs. Acacia appears to improve IBS flora profiles and Inulin actually temporarily (like potato starch) worsens IBS flora profiles... Does that make sense?

Mitch W. said...

Hey Dr. B I seen that Ryan mentioned a specific probiotic I think it was this one:

Renew Life Critical care 50 billion

I have been seeming to have some nausea when taking green banana flour with inulin+FOS as well as mild constipation. I also eat plenty of RS3 foods and try to get in some fermented ones as well. It seems I could be overwhelming my gut and should slow down a bit.

I tried the renew life and it really helped do you think the 50 billion is a good dose? I am a bit scared still of SBO supplements. I have anxiety and John Brisson over at fix your gut seemed to rail against them because of safety concerns. It seems like a lot of people see good results and it logically makes sense but can't get past the fear. It is a bit ironic because anxiety/depression can be caused by gut problems and I am afraid of something that will likely help me.

Dr. B G said...

MItch

Who is RYan (SEacrest? u mean MATT? lol)

JUst call me Grace!

The dose is what makes the cure/poison. What gut testing have you done?

I love Brisson seriously and he is right some people shouldn't take SBOs, lacto or other probiotics. Testing will tell a lot. Experimenting is good but often people waste their time and don't get down to the root causes (which may not even be gut related, instead it is toxins toxins toxins and hormone deficiencies (progesterone, testosterone, thyroid T4 T3, etc).

What fermented RS3 are you getting? Do you make yourself? Are you talking about African foods like stale fermented maize porridge or fermented teff bread? That is cuul

Anonymous said...

Inulin! I love this stuff. I eat some much foods with it, have it as a powder that I add in yogurt and some baking recipe of my own.

I don't know how much I eat but it is no bother at all. I even have some chocolate with inulin and FOS, stevia, erythritol. My kids love it :)

Dr. B G said...

Inulin is the staple food of the gut (next to RS3) and super immunoprotective even in isolated form. Awesome! What baking recipes do you have? Kids probably enjoy the flavor. I give inulin to my daughter and it has helped her acne/skin; she says it tastes like gluten free vanilla cookies! lol

Mitch W. said...

Bahaha, yes I meant Matt. I have a cousin with the last name Pepin same as Matt's but his name is Ryan.

I really should get some gut testing done before more experimenting *Slaps hand*. Poor college kid...but I know I could afford it if I chose to.

My RS3 is not fermented sorry for the confusion. Mostly doing cooked and cooled heirloom potatoes and cooked and cooled parboiled rice. My fermented foods are kefir and raw saurkraut. Sadly I have not made my own kefir yet...but it is in the plans. I am Just starting to get into the whole fermentation thing. I was always a picky eater but once I got around to trying some fermented foods I liked them so I am going to try to be more diversified.

"Are you talking about African foods like stale fermented maize porridge or fermented teff bread?"

That would be cool.

As for thyroid testing when I got some blood work done a week ago my TSH W/RFLX TO FREE T4 was 1.58 mU/L. I should get some more testing done especially with testosterone and progesterone as I have never had those looked at. I haven't really thought much about being 23 years old but it seems something is out of wack. Environmental toxins seem like a real bitch to pinpoint. I do have things like amalgams which likely are not doing me any good but I cannot afford to get them taken out properly at this time.

As far as gut testing. It seems from some previous posts that you use a few that practitioners can order called metametrix I am assuming my insurance would not cover such a thing so it seems ubiome or American Gut project will likely be my best bet. Thoughts?

Also, thanks for all your hard work. I really appreciate your blog . It is full of information.

Unknown said...

My symptoms are all over the place, so, it's hard to pin down triggers. Extensive testing is planned, after I get rid of a badly infected tooth.

That said, I seem to tolerate Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra. I bought a bunch of Prescript Assist, but, I might not tolerate that as well. I'm inclined to take a bit of a "brute force" approach, since flares are mild (yet demoralizing).

I noticed a frozen dessert I recently ate contained inulin (not to mention, cane sugar).

I think I like Matt even better than Ryan Seacrest. The RSS feed is working great, and the Artist tag of the audio file was properly used, which is more than I can say for several mainstream podcasts.

Anonymous said...

Always wondered what fermenting did to inulin and starches? Is the inulin content of fermented onions and garlic lower than raw? Is the residual benefit in the bacteria that are breaking down the foods? Same questions about fermented RS.

J

Craig R. said...

Thanks for bringing more knowledge and focus on gut health. Your blog and podcast is a fantastic source for people like me, trying to understand and heal our guts.

I just have to share my quick story about Inulin:

Inulin and FOS makes my immune system go absolutely nuts. Prostatitis flares, body rashes and aching wrists.

If I stay absolutely clean from Inulin, FOS and fructose for a couple of weeks and try to re-introduce it, I can tolerate some onion, garlic or other inulin sources. But after just eating it 2-3 times my problems comes back and then I can't tolerate it a all of another month.

My own belief is that I have an overgrowth of some bacteria that thrive on Inulin, FOS, and fructose, and staying of that for a period of time decreases the overgrowth.

Other prebiotics like RS2, RS3, and beta-glucans from Oats are no problem at all.

Any clues?

Anonymous said...

Grace, here is a baking recipe that I use for cakes, muffin, or even some sort of bread, but it can't really pass for one. I used the recipe from some website. You can tweak it to taste.

- 1 dl coconut flour (deciliter, yes)
- 4 eggs
- 1 dl whipping cream
- 50g melted butter
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 Tbsp psyllium husk powder
- some sweetener of choice (honey, sugar, xylitol, erythritol / stevia)
- inulin (as much as you like, but it should not overrule the rest)
- hydrolysed gelatin powder (same here, add some but don't overdo it)

Preheat oven at 175 C (350 F)

In one bowl, whisk the eggs until you get a very airy mixture.
Add the cream and melted butter and mix well with the eggs.

In another bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix well (no clumps).

Add dry mix to egg mixture and mix well with a fork until you get a rather homogeneous dough
(the psyllium powder will quickly turn the liquid mix into a dough as you mix).

Grease a bread loaf form, pour dough in it and roughly even it up.
With a brush, humidify the top of the dough (not too much but enough)

Bake for ~ 30mn, check that the bread is dry when you probe it with a thin stick or sharp knife

Remove from oven when done and let it cool on rack.

you can add cacao powder, cacao nibs, or vanilla, apple chunks (sauté in butter prior to adding them to the egg mix), or berries, etc.

The apple variation is just great. Add a Tbsp of Calvados if you have, it will enhance the whole thing :)

That stuff conserves very well and a couple of slices every day keeps the doc away, he! :)

Anonymous said...

I forgot : add a little salt as well.
Don't use any sweetener or extra flavor if you want to make it more like a bread. I am not a big fan of it so i use it mostly for cakes and muffins.

Anonymous said...

Re: Acacia, thanks, Grace.

I followed your advice to try to cure constipation and infrequent movements. Started with Prescript Assist & Primal Defense Ultra, added 40g/day RS. Still didn't do much for me until I stopped the RS & switched to Inulin+FOS & Renew Organic Triple Fiber. The probiotic plus Inulin/Renew combo 2x/day works! Had to step it up to 2x/day though. Guess I was lacking in insoluble fiber as well. Tried Psyllium as well, but it seemed to cause more gas than the Renew.

Not wanting to mess with a working protocol, I'd considered switching from Inulin to Acacia as I'd seen it recommended in several other places as a slower-digesting prebiotic.

Dr. B G said...

Anon~

That is the most divine low carb, DIVINE GUT FOOD cake or bread recipe I've ever seen~!!!!

You must email me so that I may thank you personally (click on my name)!



John Seberg,
What flares?

Jo tB said...

I listened to your podcast. The static wasn't too bad, at least not for me. I had more trouble with the echo on the line. Your voice gets softer towards the end of the sentence and with the echo I can't hear what you are saying, which is a shame. Matt's voice was much more even, so I'm assuming it was recorded at his end. It could be that the microphone doesn't pick up sounds too well when you turn your head.

Anonymous said...

Wow, the cake recipe looks amazing. Thank you.
I wonder if you could use GBF instead of coconut flour?
And, gosh, I'd never heard of a deciliter... not that that means anything!

Dr. B G said...

Anon

deciliter = 100ml = approx 1/2 cup (which is ~120 ml)



Jo tB
Thank you -- yes I think Matt worked his MAGIC. I'll try a better mic and keep the intonation strong.

Dr. B G said...

Anon,

I loved hearing: 'I stopped the RS & switched to Inulin+FOS & Renew Organic Triple Fiber. The probiotic plus Inulin/Renew combo 2x/day works! '

That is awesome. Every gut is the same in that we are all missing SOMETHING unless getting broad spectrum happy-dirrrrrt exposures. Find what your missing and fill it in. Sounds like that is working super for u. Please keep me updated!

Dr. B G said...

Craig

WHO KNOWS. Please get a gut test...

"Inulin and FOS makes my immune system go absolutely nuts. Prostatitis flares, body rashes and aching wrists.

onion, garlic or other inulin sources.

My own belief is that I have an overgrowth of some bacteria that thrive on Inulin, FOS, and fructose, and staying of that for a period of time decreases the overgrowth."

I have suspicions but testing is far better than guessing. What was the RS2, potato starch? high dose??? IMHO (like many and Tim Steele's PS-guts) You have probably shifted the gut in a very bad way and lost/starved many ancestral symbionts. Sorry. Get the ancestral symbionts UP. Test dont guess....

Please see what is creating the overgrowths and what is missing. What probiotics have you done?

Aegirsson said...

Hi Grace, I'm the cake guy from above. I sent you an email as you asked.


I'd like to mention something about raw PS and inulin. I started to remove crap from my diet almost 3 years ago. I started because I wanted to lose some weight, I am not big by default but over the years, I looked puffed up and my love handles grew too much ... Enough with that, I went on a meat + veggies diet for like 1.5-2 months (can't remember exactly). From there, I added back fermented dairy, butter, so-called safe starches. I also started to fast intermittently and experimented with all sorts of stuff (including the potato hack diet). I lost the fat fairly quick and maintained my weight for all this time. But boydy comp changed as well as I started working out much more, respected my circadian rhythm, etc. I also upped my vitamins A, D and K2. Today, I am on a sort of WAPF diet, with emphasis on starchy stuff of all kinds. The one constant throughout all this is the quasi absence of gluten bearing grains, refined sugar, andso-called vegetable oils.

Then early on, I had seen the stuff about RS and raw PS at FTA. I thought: heck, why not ? ... My wife almost left me as a result :D My farts were really bad and quite frequent ... so I stopped. I did not like the state of raw PS anyway so that was not a big deal. After some time, I started inulin. Same thing: farts, really smelly, bouts of diarrhoea, etc. Something was screwed up in my guts. So I stopped for a while and increased prebiotic foods as varied as possible. I also started to fast longer on specific times (not every day, but about once a week I would not eat for like 1.5-2 days). Then I introduced hydrolzied gelatine and much much more bone broth (about every day). After that I reintroduced inulin powder (I eat a lot of onions, garlic, leeks, etc but cooked - so some inulin is degraded). This time: no farts, no weird bowel movements, perfect digestion. It's been about 1 year now, and my gut has been very stable. Among the foods I eat, I have a daily portion of yoghurt with inulin, gelatine powder, psyllium, dried rosehip powder, vit D drops either at breakfast or early dinner. Seems like it makes my gut happy :)

Dr. B G said...

Hi Anon!

Thanks for your email, will reply soon.

I appreciate your story -- each gut is different but it sounds like you have reset and restored the flora! Congratulations! It appears you listened to a deep gut intelligence.

I am not surprised at all. I have tried to balance the insano overuse of potent raw potato starch but hopefully the science now will speak for itself. We can see the changes in a few studies and in Tim's poor, low diversity, 20-40g/day potato-starch-dominant gut:
http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/2014/09/dont-take-resistant-starch-alone-part-2.html

(chart comparison PS v. non-PS gut)

I'll let you know how the recipes go over soon! Your children are so lucky to feast so well even with hidden 'gut goodies' in their food and baked foods! lol ur are so funny Glad your wife stuck it out! And that you shifted gears...

Have you had some good garden/farm exposures? Raw cheeses and dairy? What probiotics have you tried? WAPF has promoted soil probiotics far longer than my efforts these past few years. For me, these didn't work until I ate RS3 (steamed mountain yams and purple potatoes).

Salad dressings, balsamic vinegar, and sour kombucha all have the benefits of make the starch in the meal super RS3. Hence the Jacque Pepin and French way of consuming salads at the END OF THE MEAL IS INTENSELY GUT INTELLIGENT, no??

I concur -- gelatin is awesome stuff -- sticking it in to all kinds of foods outside of broths might be key also for many. Thanks for sharing your ideas! Nothing beats eating TONGUE-TO-TOES!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Anonymous,

When you say don't overdo the gelatin in your recipe, about how large would you say your max amount is? 1 dl? Thanks! Looks like an awesome recipe!

Anonymous said...

For the cake, try half a cup of each powder. I am sorry I never really measured that part because I tend to do things a little improvised. The rest of the base recipe was not from me, but I can't remember where I got it from.

Anonymous said...

Erratum: 1/2 cup is maybe too much for the original recipe's absolute amount of ingredients. I tend to multiply all amounts by 1.5 or 2. In this case, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of inulin / gelatine powder would do. But try it for yourself and adjust. I am just baking the chocolate version of this cake. I multiplied all ingredients by 1.5 and added maybe 1/3-1/2 cup of gelatine and inulin.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for putting this podcast together! I'm looking forward to future episodes.

I had no idea Dandyblend had these prebiotics. I always figured the powder didn't have much of anything to it but some flavor left over from however it's processed. I'll keep using it as it's much kinder to my body than coffee.

I'm kind of new at tinkering with this stuff specifically. So far, various combos of potato starch, glucomannan/shirataki noodles and beans have been great for achieving more normal fasting and post-meal blood sugars (without the extra effort they tend to be in pre-diabetic ranges). And resistance exercise is great in that regard as well. Together, they seem to have a synergistic effect.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I am a huge fan of your work and supplementing with potato starch for quite some time but with your new information I am thinking on switching to RS3+inulin, so 2 questions please:

1.How much inulin should I aim for daily?

2.It seems the easiest way to get enough RS3 are roasted and cooled potatoes but I am not sure what "roasting" actually means, how is it different from simply baking in an oven?

Thank you very mush for all your help!

Dr. B G said...

Anon,

Thank you so much for all of your baking tips!! Yes inulin does break down some. I wish I could find somewhere which isolates and quantifies the amounts and different factors (temp, salt, fats, etc). I know higher temp and longer will breakdown to simple sugars (hence caramel look and flavors).



ANON~!

I love biohacking blood sugars. "potato starch, glucomannan/shirataki noodles and beans" that may or may not work. The microbiota of T2D and obese still show many disturbed flora which benefit the most from non-potato starch fiber sources imho. RS3 like your beans are the most powerful to reverse insulin resistance! Actually I believe potato starch hinders it and that's why we rarely here of fat loss or diabetes reversal in this whole potato starch 'fad diet' (unless they are on a non-paleo high fiber diet which is almost never).

Glucomannan is awesome. Have you tried inulin for your BG yet? Please read the show notes -- I've updated a few links couple days ago.



Anon~

Yes baking like 350-400F. I don't like eat burnt foods as this raises the carcinogenic AGEs RAGEs but getting a nice brown on foods is fine I think. I don't know what is more ancestral, boiling on fire or fire? We've evolved so much the last 50k years!!

I like 10-30 g/day inulin

But 5-10 g/day is hard on broken guts and 25% or more of healthy controls in studies lack the flora to indeed break it down!

Unknown said...

Dear Dr. BG,

Wow! Now you have a podcast! I am becoming addicted to your blog!

I have a few questions related to the podcast and I think you may be the only person in the world capable of answering all of them.

1) You and Matt mentioned dandelions. Which part, the root or the leaf, contains the most inulin?

2) You mentioned kudzu. What fiber(s) is/are present in kudzu?

3) You mentioned mountain yams. I love yams, but I love my testicles more. Are phytoestrogens to be avoided the same way xenoestrogens are? i have read contradictory statements some saying phytoestrogens are good as they compete with endogenous estrogen for uptake at receptor sites and that phytoestrogens are weaker than endogenous estrogens, I have also heard it will melt my muscles and shrivel my thing-a-ling. What is the deal? Would mountain yams and fermented soy and such be safe for me and my boys downstairs to eat say once a week?

4) You mentioned that stress lowers gut levels of bifido. Very interesting. Are all bifido lowered? DO you not what strains?

5) What would you think about rectal probiotics? Theoretically I think it makes sense, it would bypass the mouth, stomach and small intestine where it could be damaged/destroyed and be right in the large intestine, or more specifically the distal colon. It seems to work for FMT. I understand that actual fecal matter is much different than an over-the-counter probiotics in many ways. But I am curious if this is possible and if there has been any research on say a rectal synbiont (pre+probiotic). I read of someone on on the FTA blog comments using PS rectally with "success" (whatever his measure of that was).

Thoughts?

Here is an interesting article entitled "Fecal Transplant Eases Parkinson's Symptoms".

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0262407911601243

The Microbiota-gut-brain axis is so very interesting. I have a whole series of studies starting from about 13 years ago that really paint a picture of how the research on PD has unfolded to reveal the probable gut origin of PD and the solution likely being FMT. If this rings your bell I can send you the studies. Very nice stuff.

Thanks for all your hard work and invaluable information. I learn something new every time I come on this site!

Tyler.

Anonymous said...

Hi Grace, anon baker from France :)
Well, about exposure to soil, raw products, etc, we eat about exclusively organic and local. We have outdoor markets where we deal directly with the local producers. Our various veggies come with soil and I don't mind leaving some when I cook or have a couple of raw carrots with a bit of grits :)

We also have a dog at home, and my kids are playing with him all the time. They roll around, kiss him, etc. A few years back I would have been reluctant to let them but I know better today ;)

And their hygiene habits are also a little loose on purpose (no soap, no bath every day, and I let them eat with their fingers full of dirt :) ).

I noticed that they don't fall sick very often, unlike their little pals :) So all is good at home on a health level.

Dr. B G said...

Anon,

Your children as so lucky to have all the type of exposures that are considered ancestral and very beneficial for longevity, happiness and health! Excellent!! Love the dog slobbers, esp if your dog has the same diet philosophies and no-antibiotics/pesticides rules!

France like most of Europe are much more conservative with pesticides and antibiotics for livestock. When we were in Germany and Switzerland last year, I just felt like we were eating so much cleaner. Very few obese, unlike America.




TYLER~

MY DEAR SIR, one question!! just kidding. Actually let's do the AMA (ask-me-anything) with the AmGut reserachers, game? I'll submit your questions

I asked a kuzu researcher (akak kudzu) and he had no idea!! well not RS2 for certain but probably a host of wonderful things.

The root is the renewable life/baby of the plant -- so usually the inulin which can serve as anti-freeze is in the root to protect from cold and frostbite. I've not seen the numbers for dandelion leaves or roots, sorry.

This has but I don't have acces
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15567259

Unknown said...

Dear Dr. BG!

I am the Hydra of gut questions! You answer one question and two more pop up! And you are my valiant Hercules, you know how to go straight to heart the heart of my curious suffering...or rather my gut.

Love all the work you do.

Thanks for the kudzu and dandelion info.

There is a local wild plant here that the locals (mainly indigenous) pick and eat raw after after a sprinkle of salt. It looks and tastes like a cross-breed between garlic and green onion. You can eat the whole thing but the locals particularly covet the root bulb. I have only heard it referred to as "loh-ghee-oh" which is my terrible transliteration of the Taiwanese. You must look for it the next time you are here. I am sure it is actually a cleverly disguised inulin bomb.

I am scared to ask, but more scared not to know:

what do you think of phytoestrogen rich foods for men and or young boys? mountain yam?

I retract my Probiotic suppositories questions. They are already clinically in use

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/10/13/

http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(03)01829-8/abstract?hl=zh-TW&btnG=&as_sdt=0%2C5&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com.tw%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Drectally+administered+probiotic

Thanks for being you!

Tyler

Dr. B G said...

Thanks Tyler~ U crack me up, okay let's talk about how to protect your testicULES. You asked: 'what do you think of phytoestrogen rich foods for men and or young boys? mountain yam?' I have no idea but from my point of view in Asia, only HK had decent muscles on men (besides my muscular hubby and F-I-L who probably have genetic myostatin deficiencies, don't need to workout).

The men in Asia are completely sarcopenic and super femmy... and I suspect it's all the freakin soy they eat all day and drink all day!!! It's the national past time. So I do believe you should be concerned by the phytoestrogens in yams is very low compared to soybeans. Soy can cause ER dependent proliferation in animal models (eg cancer). It's not always 'bad' but we get too many xenoestrogens from PCBs, plastics, mercury, and pthlates.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15513824
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19222119


Yams actually have progesteronic activity (good for guys -- sex drive and muscle making): 'Botanicals with reported progestogenic activities are red clover, hops, yam, and chasteberry. ' Progesterone is anabolic and anti-cancer (in the right conc of course)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3800090/

It may depend on flora as well -- our Eubacteria transform many of these food based steroids. Maybe they become less estrogenic? I dunno.

Unknown said...

Dear Dr.BG,

Thank you wise Doctor! That is a great answer with great cites.

"tesiicULES" THAT IS AWESOME! HA!

Great article on menopause. I see kudzu in there as being both estrogenic and serotonergic. Must read further.

I am vanquished. I have no further questions this time...Oh wait!

Do you think fermentation alters the estrogenic properties of soy in any significant way? Inhibit or enhance?

Your observation is very astute. I too have noticed that in general younger men (not the old stout generation of 60+) are quite effeminate here. Did you know that Taiwan has the lowest birth rate in the world? There have been a few scandals in the last years over plasticizers being used in common food and drink as cheap alternative additives. Formula use for babies here was and still is endemic. A friend of mine was exclusively fed a popular baby formula growing up that was later found to have toxic levels of heavy metals. The investigation revealed the contamination came from the faulty machinery in the processing plant. How many poor little boys and girls still suffer from that? Not to mention, of course, the GMO soy which I am sure a young Taiwanese person is 30% of by total body weight.

You guys are churning out the articles! I see a new one by Keith Bell up. I have to get to reading before I fall behind!

Thanks again,

Tyler.

Anonymous said...

Hi Grace,

You really have an awesome blog! I just started reading it about a month ago and i am totally addicted to it.

I have a question about inulin: Is dried fruit a good source of inulin? I specifically mean dried apricots. If I eat a few of them I produce a lot of gas. My guess is that the gassing is caused by the inulin. Is that correct?

Cheers from Holland,

Daniel

Anonymous said...

Hi Daniel,

It could be the natural amount of polyols in apricots. If you eat quite a few in a row and your gut is not used to polyols, you end up gassy for sure.

Unknown said...

Hey Grace,

I'm enjoy the podcast so far:)

I sent you an email @ ramaramax, just checking to see if it went through...

If I can help with the podcast in any way, please let me know!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr. B.G.,

I've seen you mention that heavy metals can contribute to damaged gut flora. Can you provide a protocol for chelation?

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Anything one can do to prepare for a course of antibiotics or do you just have to wait until after? I'm about to have gum surgery. I've been following your 7 step 'recovery' (I'm a former ultra low carber) with great results. I fear I'm about to ruin all my progress!!

Dr. B G said...

Anon,

I think concomitant use w/abx and probiotics/prebiotics seems better than AFTER the course of antibiotics, because the damage is done. To protect native flora, something as simple as Lactobacillus, bifido, S boulardii, soil probiotics and sufficient fiber/RS3 work in clinical studies.

Bionic fiber doses should be enuf. PS doesn't feed sadly any of the ancestral core except Bacteroides.

Sometimes antibiotics are needed (I would say rarely) but if so, it's the precious ancestral core which are worth guarding against their loss.
http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/2014/08/ahs14-my-talk-is-up-re-savaging-gut.html

Have you and ur surgeon considered Argentyn to use as an antimicrobial?

For pain and inflammation I used ice ice ice, enzymes and ARNICA. ARNICA IS AWESOME

For my titanium implant extraction and gum surgery, I threw away the Rx for abx, ibuprofen and vicodin. I did have laughing gas -- that was funny and worked. Otherwise no pain meds and my recovery was better than any other surgery or procedure I've ever had. The surgeon had never seen a better recovery and healthier gums at the 1 week followup. It was a tuff extraction as I grew bone well (again, SHOCK) which had to be cleared out.
http://www.iherb.com/Allergy-Research-Group-Argentyn-23-Professional-Bio-Active-Silver-Hydrosol-8-fl-oz-236-ml/31320

Dr. B G said...

RICHARD~!!!
I'll search -- I'm sorry I missed it


Anon
Chelation is kinda dependent on many factors -- try to seek a provider
--liver health
--gut health
--metal burden
--etc

Dr. B G said...

Tyler~!

The hydra is temporarily distracted lol.

Oh yes I forget all about plasticizers -- that is sad about Taiwan birth rates. I thought families just were to busy or decided against more children.



Daniel
Fructose? That's the F in FODMAP. I'm not sure what could be causing it but polyols (the P).

Inulin is not in fruits that I'm aware, however they are in grains (wheat), leaves and roots of over 36,000 plants on earth. It's the second most abundant 'fiber'! When inulin is cooked, we get small bits and frags -- 'oligos' and these are similar to the immunoprotective oligos in mom's milk. The analogy with eukaryotic plant-animal immunology never ceases to astound me.

Oliogs are found also plentifully in legume babies, RFOs (raffinose family oligos) eg beans.

Obviously people with broken guts sadly have problems with these too, the 'O' in FODMAP.

Anonymous said...

Hey Grace,

What's you overall take on titanium implants in general? Obviously it was a major contributing factor in your dysbiosis considering your symptoms peaked upon insertion and your healing took off upon removal. You mention some may just be pre-wired to be effected while others may not.

That said, do you believe it to be an essential component to evaluate if the individual is working aggressively to fix their dybiosis, but continuing to have issues? In my case I've had the implants for roughly 15 years and severe dysbiosis took off last year after antibiotics. Yeast is a major issue now with consistent inflammation while tweaking the 7 steps (currently no bionic fiber which causes more yeast).

Removing implants (as you know) is a big decision. I've consulted a couple dentists thus far and looking into all options of replacement. Did you go with the bridge or are you just using a flipper?

If you have more details on your overall healing strategy (as you mentioned above) for avoiding drugs during the procedure, best alternative implant options, etc.....please pass along. Thank you for all the information you share.

Dr. B G said...

Anon

I'm like an old lady! Big gap!

Definitely there are so many options. At the time none of the experts I consulted could help my gut. It was pathetic and almost hopeless. Titanium isn't always a problem but until the yeasts and opportunistic growths are better, it was like the circus of idiots

Good luck

MsMac said...

Thanks, Grace! I'm the anon that posted question about antibiotics and gum surgery.

So would the Argentyn be used as a rinse or ingested or both? I have used Sovereign Silver (10 ppm)for plethora of issues from minor skin infections to sinus infections (using nasal spray bottle). I'm assuming Argentyn's 23 ppm is better in some cases? My surgery is not nearly as serious as an implant extraction. It is just a tissue graph.

Also, I use arnica gel quite often for muscle aches and pains but I did not have much luck with it when I took it orally one time. It could have been because I let the pain get ahead of me (sinus infection headache before I discovered Sovereign Silver).

Love your blog! I have learned a lot but have much more to read! I will try to avoid the antibiotics after my surgery, but if my surgeon insists I will continue my regimen of prebiotics/probiotics. I've implemented everything you recommend including the SBO's and multiple varieties of fiber including bionic fiber. Only thing missing has been inulin (other than the onions, garlic and leeks I consume) but just ordered organic Jerusalem artichoke powder.

Anonymous said...

Grace,

Thanks for your feedback! I'll go looking for some wild Dandelion roots (and leaves).

Daniel

Dr. B G said...

MsMac ~you're so far ahead of the game! Good for you ! Yes I prefer argentyn. Personally I only held and swished for one minute then swallowed. I try to limit disruptions so didn't use systemically otherwise. For me I am into probiotics so I held these after opening the cap and after brushing at night. I think personally it's an exposure that we don't get enuf and new wound care data with SBOs probiotics is starting to yield confirmatory data.

Hope you have a rapid and fantastic recovery!

Anonymous said...

Tyler - I spent 3 months in Taiwan and was struck by how effeminate the men were and how there seemed to be quite a few women in same sex relationships.
I was also struck by how much bubble tea they all seemed to drink (possibly the most sugar loaded drink of all time!), and how much bad oil they used for cooking. I vaguely recall even fresh fruit juice bars putting white sugar in their juices - but maybe I remembered that wrong!
Anyway, just anecdotal and has nothing really to do with the discussion! :-)
The Taiwanese were also the most friendly and nicest people I've ever come across. Amazingly helpful!

Dr BG, thanks for the silver link on iherb.
Do you think nano silver is ok? There are some who believe it is bad because the particle size is so small that the cells can't control it. But I dunno!

Unknown said...

The inulin is mostly in the roots of dandelion. The leaves have trace amounts. Same with chicory/Whitlof - roots more than leaves. There are a few fruits with oligo fructose - persimmon and nectarine come to mind. I use the fodmap guides to assess FOS/inulin levels. They list the dandelion/chicory leaves as "safe".
Dr Grace, where I am from (Melbourne, Australia) a huge amount of research is being done into the fodmap diet for IBS. Its been one of the most effectively studied interventions for IbS symptom relief.
Of course the main problem with this is that its starving off important microbes. At a research event I was at last year a researcher presented her study that showed even with resistant starch supplementation that people on a low fodmap intervention had far lower butyrate levels than controls.
This worries me as (a) i still cannot tolerate many fodmaps (especially the FOS/inulin ones) and (b) Ive found the fodmap approach so useful with patient relief.
I've considered slowly slowly adding back pinches of inulin at a time plus SBO and bifido. It kinda scares me though, symptoms get nasty when I add back inulin.
Second question at another even I got the notes from they discussed that excess lactic acid bacteria in gut can produce D-lactate instead of just lactic acid. This has a multitude of effects including interfering with mitochondrial function and liver function (brain fod, fatigue), adding to subliminal metabolic acidosis draining bicarbonate and mineral stores, and this acidosis effects muscle contraction in the small intestine leading to SIBO leading to a vicious snow ball effect.
Have you heard of this? They suggested that this is why you often need to starve off the bacteria initially to get rid of the d lactate bugs (low fodmap plus gaps they suggested) then supplement with lactic only producing bugs, mag/potassium citrate to restore metabolic pH and slowly re introduce fermentable fibres.
There was a whole bunch of stuff they talked about in regards to this process effecting serotonin signalling in the gut and permeability that I forget the details of.
Have you come across much of this line of thinking ?
Long question sorry! I can scan and copy the notes if you like....
Anyway so glad I have finally put aside some time to delve into your blog - I work mostly with digestive issue and mental health issue patients so I am soaking up all the blog pieces and comments I can here.
Thank you for your sharing of knowledge.
Jad

Unknown said...

Oops just read one of your ibs articles that seems to cover some of what I asked. Fills in a few gaps (ha ha) in regards to why low fodmap/gaps may (initially) be needed. I think I need to try out the SBOs and a high strength bifido. They are soooo expensive in Australia too (as is the testing ) :-/

Dr. B G said...

Jad

'vicious snow ball effect' actually that is what resistant starch (both cooked and raw) does to many conditions -- have to test not guess.

You're wrong -- rifaximin is hugely effective for IBS per Pimental studies (he's UCLA -- therefore more pharmaceuticals, abx damage, PPI, etc). There is a downstream consequence of using rifaximin which course involves making MORE EXTINCT all of the ancestral core microbiota species. this is why all the current modalities are IBS/GERD care are short term band aids -- none addresses or fixes the root problem (yeast in the upper gut) and actually each modality makes IBS/GERD infinitely worse unless someone is just blessed and God d*mn lucky!

Each modality that worsens the baseline problems of IBS/GERD:
--high fiber diet (of course!)
--high inulin diet
--fiber/inulin etc
--RESISTANT STARCH
--Bob's red mill potato starch!!
--starchy foods, sugar, refined carbs, grains
--antiobiotics (increases yeasts and further wipes out our human ancestral microbiota)
--rifaximin (ditto -- and this is worse because it eradicates both G- and G+ .... W T F )

Please give me buzz, click on my name -- yes would love your notes and chat

Dr. B G said...

Add'l SCD, GAPS, Gotschall, FastTract, VLC and any starch-limited diets -- these all are ineffective longterm as well. Yeasts bypass and adapt to ketones (beta hydroxy BUTYRATE) for nourishment quickly. The 'vipers' in the uppergut still live and go dormant as well. The diversity of the gut further plummets and will decrease overall immunity (risk of cancers, autoimmune disorders and chronic diseases will rise)

Cat said...

I typed up a comment and it showed up, but then disappeared later: what happened there? New try:

Dandelion leaves actually do have inulin, according to this study: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/129/7/1407S.full See Table 1.

What do you think of mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), Dr. BG? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannan_oligosaccharide-based_nutritional_supplements

There are people who don't tolerate lacto-fermented foods or lactobacillus-containing probiotics. I've seen this issue connected to d-lactate in anecdotes. It also crops up in people with histamine intolerance issues. So to address it, people actually avoid those lactobacillus species while doing the other steps of seeding with SBOs and weeding the overgrowth/dysbiosis. You can't pinpoint the actual problem without some testing though: overgrowth of what exactly?

This is a subset of people who don't really have much literature addressing their problem, and will probably be told to eat more lacto-fermented foods, which makes it worse, unfortunately. The low histamine diet is the only thing that has helped my acne, incidentally. Even the typical gut-healing foods like gelatin/bone broth are a trigger. I'm not sure if d-lactate is actually causative or just a marker for the underlying issue. Have you had any experience with this type of histamine intolerance/problem with lacto-fermented foods, Dr. BG? At this point, I just use yeast-fermented foods (the MOS thing I mentioned above is from a yeast, which I thought was a curious coincidence, but it may not mean anything).

Dr. B G said...

Cat,

Did you get my email -- hope it didn't disappear like your comment!

You know I consider several things just indicators of gut dysbiosis:
--lactate (either D L or both)
--excess histamine (it is an important signalling molecue)
--gas
--no gas LOL
--skin/brain/gland/gut issues (all the same to me)
--cancer (ditto)

Yes testing helps but not always. Haven't discussed here yet but viruses out# our microbes by 10:1 so we are 100 trillion microbes then add 1000 trillion viruses/phages! Many factors that our peeny technology have yet to master and it will require experts in systems biology or smart networking engineers, not old school retarded physicians or baseline engineers.

I concur lacto fermented foods are problematic for some but more for the mycotoxins than the lactic acid typically. Have you tried MOS? there are several commercial OS's but most are derived from yeasts so I'm a bit leery since yeasts and candida are 100% commonly tied to gut dysbiosis/immunity and antibiotic overutilization.

Cat said...

Dr. BG,

Are you sure you emailed me? I haven't actually subscribed, and don't use a google account to comment here, so I don't even know which account you could have emailed . . I will email you, though, if you have been trying to contact me!

Eep, my understanding of virology is even sketchier than what I know of the microbiome lol. It will be interesting to read your take on it. I've basically left that at the level of supporting the immune system, so that any viruses stay dormant (like herpes: not a big deal if you're always in remission).

No, I had to hold off on adding new interventions for a bit. I have been on the dl, dealing with real life crap recently . . not much time to research things in depth or comment here, unfortunately. But still reading! Proper functioning of bile, HCl, etc, has really been bothering me though. Here's a connection between bile and clostridia: http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/10/bile-making-microbe-fights-germ-behind-chronic-diarrhea
Hola mechanism!

Dr. B G said...

Hey Cat

Sorry -- I think I got you mixed up!

I concur:
healthy immunity = healthy viral/phage community

Immunity is the SI community. So bile, acid and enzymes will impact that. Stress disturbs it!! We are all zoo zebras ;)

RE: C diff, lacto and bifidobacteria do the same -- our most human and ancestral strains are bile tolerant and prevent C diff. We need however SYNBIOTICS (oligo/inulin + bifido). Usually in trials (like PLACIDE) the probiotic alone was helpful for some but not enuf for the majority.

Group B strep in mommas? Same thing. Probiotics make a diff!

Synbiotics are ancestral -- feed the microflora and breed the microflora (grit + plant/root vegetable).

Anaerobe. 2012 Oct;18(5):489-97. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2012.08.005. Epub 2012 Aug 24.
Prebiotic-non-digestible oligosaccharides preference of probiotic bifidobacteria and antimicrobial activity against Clostridium difficile.
Kondepudi KK et al

Bifidobacterium breve 46, Bifidobacterium lactis 8:8 and Bifidobacterium longum 6:18 and three reference strains B. breve CCUG 24611, B. lactis JCM 10602, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum JCM 1200 were examined for acid and bile tolerance, prebiotic utilization and antimicrobial activity against four Clostridium difficile (CD) strains including the hypervirulent strain, PCR ribotype NAP1/027. B. lactis 8:8 and B. lactis JCM 10602 exhibited a high tolerance in MRSC broth with pH 2.5 for 30 min. B. breve 46 and B. lactis 8:8 remained 100% viable in MRSC broth with 5% porcine bile after 4 h. All six strains showed a high prebiotic degrading ability (prebiotic score) with galactooligosaccharides (GOS), isomaltooligosaccharides (IMOS) and lactulose as carbon sources and moderate degradation of fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) was metabolized to a greater extent by B. lactis 8:8, B. lactis JCM 10602, B. pseudocatenulatum JCM 1200 and B. longum 6:18 (prebiotic score >50%). All strains exhibited extracellular antimicrobial activity (AMA) against four CD strains including the CD NAP1/027. AMA of B. breve 46, B. lactis 8:8 and B. lactis JCM 10602 strains was mainly ascribed to a combined action of organic acids and heat stable, protease sensitive antimicrobial peptides when cells were grown in MRSC broth with glucose and by acids when grown with five different prebiotic-non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs). None of C. difficile strains degraded five prebiotic-NDOs. Whole cells of B. breve 46 and B. lactis 8:8 and their supernatants inhibited the growth and toxin production of the CD NAP1/027 strain.


Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014 Jul;98(13):6051-60. doi: 10.1007/s00253-014-5712-9.
Influence of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis against group B Streptococcus on the early newborn gut composition and evaluation of the anti-Streptococcus activity of Bifidobacterium strains.

Anonymous said...

Follow up on Acacia (to help with regularity/constipation):

Short story, I should have just listened to Grace and stuck with Inulin :-)

I posted about the (SBO probiotic + Inulin + Renew Triple Fiber) regimen earlier, which worked very well and was even down to 1x/day from 2x/day.

I tried an experiment switching from Inulin to Acacia for 5 days, keeping other variables constant, and had a noticeable deterioration in regularity. Not nearly as bad as before the regimen, but definitely noticeable. Switched back to Inulin and voila! This is just after 1 day - does it even work that fast? :-)

Anyway, thank you again, Grace, for all your work and podcasts!

Dr. B G said...

Hey ANON!~

Yeah inulin is awesome. It feeds all the ancestral 7 core microbiota and then some...

Acacia is more specific -- at least for B longum.

Did you know that the Renew triple fiber is part acacia? You are getting some!

Thx for your progress and experimentation. Every gut is SO UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT. I love the 7 steps but for healing it is very individual for the flora in your gut, the vipers and the symbionts there.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr Grace!

After a year or so doing zero fodmaps thinking I was helping my sibo, I've become even more intolerant to fructans.

I've found some great results with banana flour(thank you!), but reacted awfully to potato starch and inulin powder(tested both separately).

If I have pathogenic bugs fermenting the inulin, then shouldn't I just stay off it until the good RS eating bugs crowd them out?

I got some SBOs so maybe I'll try mixing that with the inulin, maybe they'll ferment it before the overgrowth in my SI does.

Dr. B G said...

Anon

What is your gut testing results? Inulin feeds a wider range than potato starch so it can feed vipers if present (but it doesn't feed many of the alcohol and toxin producing ones that potato starch feeds).

I think probiotics are a great way to do both weeding and seeding, but it is helpful to know what you're dealing with first