Not Enough Good Gut Bacteria? Try Taking Some Poo

Think I am joking?

Watch this video :

According to Dr. Mark Mellow, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, fecal transplants lead to rapid resolution of symptoms in 98 percent of patients with Clostridium difficile who don’t respond to multiple previous treatments. C. difficile is a bacterial infection that is often resistant to antibiotics, is often debilitating, and can be fatal. Research has also found that fecal transplants show promise in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, with symptoms sometimes improving in mere days.

Luckily, if you look after your gut health from as early on as possible, this will really be a last resort but many medical professionals are telling patients to ditch the vitamin pills and concentrate on their gut health. Taking supplements is on way and can certainly kick start better gut health but the trick is to eat fermented foods and yogurt base products to ensure your gut is as healthy as possible.

Kombucha tea is also full of probiotic goodness (as if you didn't know).

While you could certainly use a high-quality probiotic supplement, fermented foods can supply your body with good bacteria FAR more effectively and inexpensively than a supplement. As an example, it’s unusual to find a probiotic supplement containing more than 10 billion colony-forming units, but when my team tested fermented vegetables produced using a probiotic starter cultures, they had 10 trillion colony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high potency probiotic!

Take note because gut health is linked to not only your body's health but also mental, skin and overall health. Processed foods and sugar is a big no-no as sugar feeds bad bacteria and yeast which is the cause of illnesses like candida. Rosacea is also linked to poor gut health and can be resolved with better gut management.



Read the entire article here. 

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The Triple Probiotic Whammy

I Love Your Guts Anatomy Embroidery Hoop Art (Photo credit: Hey Paul Studios)

So I have been taking the recent gut health news seriously and decided to do something about it. I really do think (after reading quite a bit about how the state of our gut directly affects not only our physical health but our mental health also) we all need to take some sort of action towards upping the good bacteria in our gut.

Eating yogurt and all is fine but I wanted to take it one step further whilst seeing if I can  incorporate kombucha tea into the equation.

I have been interested in the probiotic powder sachets from Japan call Threelac for a while now. The company blurb is :

Threelac is a lemon-flavored, nutritional food supplement composed of three live bacteria: bacillus coagulans, bacillus subtilis and enterococcus faecalis. Additionally, Threelac contains fiber, yeast (as food for the bacteria), and vitamins, all added to support your daily health and wellness needs. 

(you can buy Threelac on Amazon and read what others have to say about it)

Reading people's comments on various forums (mainly Candida sufferers) and reading up about it spurred me to give the stuff a try.

I started about two weeks ago and although I feel better myself, I actually had comments from friends to say my complexion looks better too. Maybe it was the lighting, but it did make me feel good and all I could think of was my new found probiotic powder friend Threelac.

Then one of my friends told me she took colloidal silver to maintain good health. Just a teaspoon a day of the stuff mixed in with a juice or some water and that's her done for the day. Now colloidal silver is quite controversial with articles in Mayo Clinic and Web MD saying no actual scientific proof has been established for it (warning : take it at your own discretion and be aware it may not be for you. I am not a doctor and you need to get this checked out with a medical professional before you take this or any other dietary supplements.) but there are testimonials of people who say they have benefited from taking it.

Anyway, I am taking Threelac and adding a teaspoon of colloidal silver into some juice. I am toying with adding kombucha tea but am not sure if it is a good idea - too much of a good thing could be a bad thing and all that. So I am drinking this mixture twice a day and so far so good. I feel more energized and my body feels less sluggish. I won't carry it on indefinitely, but I will do it for 2-3 weeks, give it a break,  and then carry on with kombucha tea.

Is this the answer to better gut health? Who knows? but it sure beats drinking sugary soda or some pre-fabricated 'health' drink that does more harm than good.

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Try This Indian Pro-Biotic Drink - Lassi

English: Mint Lassi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are in an Indian restaurant sometime in the future, see if they have the drink Lassi. Most good Indian restaurants will have this drink and even if they do not have it on the menu, they will be able to whisk one up for you in no time.

So what is Lassi?

Lassi is a watery yogurt drink originally from the Punjab region in India. It can be served sweet (mixed in with fruit for example) or salty (spices like cumin goes well with a salty Lassi) and it can come in a variety of flavors, not unlike smoothies.

The only difference is, Lassi is full of probiotic goodness that is essential for good gut health. It will increase the good bacteria in your intestines to help ward off illnesses and diseases. Many scientists are now linking gut health to mental health so it pays to drink up and a good Lassi is ideal.

A lesser known Lassi called the Bhang Lassi contains liquid derivatives from the cannabis plant. No doubt this Lassi will have the benefits of elevating your mood, relaxing your body and promoting happiness as well as great gut health. It is legal in India and drunk during the festive celebration of color Holi (which is great fun and a must see!)

I find a good mildly sweet Lassi (say with a touch of honey or mint) is a perfect accompaniment to a nice hot curry. It cools off your palate and it blends in so well with a curry - just make sure it is nice and cold!

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Kombucha and the State of Our Processed Food Bodies

Health (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

The general consensus is that you start losing your memory when you get older. You know, where are the car keys? what did I do with my book? where on earth is the cable for the camera that connects with the computer that connects with the printer etc... etc...

It's just the passage of getting old, right? Wrong.

Scientists are now linking gut floral or gut health with brain function. As we live more and more on a process food diet, and view fast foods as a staple - our gut health deteriorates to the extend it affects our brain function and our moods.

In fact, the further we move away from simple organic home cooked meals, fresh produce, fermented foods and good old fashion water; we are moving further and further away from good health.

Our gut health is also much more intrinsically linked with our weight. Don't believe me? just look at the rising obesity rate.

Read these excellent articles about food and how it affects our bodies and behavior here and here.

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