Do you have a green thumb when it comes to gut gardening.

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
Accumulating evidence suggests the brain, gut, and immune system are all linked. How you take care of the little bugs in your stomach will determine how they take care of you. It seems our gut microbes are intricately connected to our immune system, and even trains it. According to research, they can even affect brain health.

I guess the better you are at gardening that vital community, and supplying their needs, it can pay off big dividends. It's probably unwise to swallow fertilizer in the literal sense, but certainly in the figurative sense (Probiotics, fiber, etc...). Apparently taking antibiotics is like mass murder for them, but I guess sometimes that can't be helped.

Interesting revelations. It's food for thought anyway. šŸ™ƒ
 

No green thumb here.

That said, I was given a plant when leaving one job, and to my amazement it's flourishing. I put it down to the fact that it's resilient to being ignored (ie. Not given water and attention) when needed.
 

I eat yogurt and try to keep a good fiber intake, but that's all I do. I haven't paid much attention to the "pre" biotic and "pro" biotic stuff. It is my understanding those don't make it past the stomach anyway and our gut biome is the result of life long habits and not something a pill can affect. I have read recently however that they are trying "poop transplants" and those seem to be having a good success rate. Not sure I would want one of those! :unsure:
 
DebraMae said:
I eat yogurt and try to keep a good fiber intake, but that's all I do. I haven't paid much attention to the "pre" biotic and "pro" biotic stuff. It is my understanding those don't make it past the stomach anyway and our gut biome is the result of life long habits and not something a pill can affect. I have read recently however that they are trying "poop transplants" and those seem to be having a good success rate. Not sure I would want one of those! :unsure:
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Actually, the stomach was what I was referring to anyway, so if the pre and pro biotics get there, it should help the microbes there anyway. Sorry, I wasn't clear on what I meant.

As for the poop transplant, I had heard of those and the remarkable success with it. I know it sounds gross, but if nothing else is working, I think I would take the plunge. It's not crazy if it works, right?
 
I too have heard that there really is something to pro- and pre-biotics and even fecal transplants helping people but the reason that they donā€™t help more people is that they have to be kept refrigerated every moment before beng ingested. Iā€™ve seen documentaries of studies done where they helped a lot of the participants and every time, the participants went into a lab/hospital/doctorā€™s office where their dose was taken out of a refrigerator right before they swallowed it.

So trying any of it you bought online or even from a local store, how do you know if itā€™s been kept refrigerated till it got to you? It most likely hasnā€™t been. (I know darn well it wouldnā€™t be out there in my metal mailbox in this usually 100F weather.)

So till they can figure out a way to get it constantly refrigerated to people in an affordable manner, yogurtā€™s probably about the only reliable source for probiotics.
 
officerripley said:
I too have heard that there really is something to pro- and pre-biotics and even fecal transplants helping people but the reason that they donā€™t help more people is that they have to be kept refrigerated every moment before beng ingested. Iā€™ve seen documentaries of studies done where they helped a lot of the participants and every time, the participants went into a lab/hospital/doctorā€™s office where their dose was taken out of a refrigerator right before they swallowed it.

So trying any of it you bought online or even from a local store, how do you know if itā€™s been kept refrigerated till it got to you? It most likely hasnā€™t been. (I know darn well it wouldnā€™t be out there in my metal mailbox in this usually 100F weather.)

So till they can figure out a way to get it constantly refrigerated to people in an affordable manner, yogurtā€™s probably about the only reliable source for probiotics.
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I guess Kimchi, Sauerkraut, and the like are as well, but I can't say I am a big fan of either. However, I do like hard cheeses like cheddar and gouda, and I guess refrigerated pickles are even a good source, so that's a go-to as well.

I know some people take probiotics in the form of supplements, but I haven't gone that route. I guess you can use yogurt in cooking, but I have come to understand that heat can kill the beneficial bacteria, so not sure if it does much good. I'm not much of an authority.
It makes sense to just try to stay with the ones you will regularly eat, and for me that's hard cheeses, yogurt, and pickles.

I have read that 70 to 80% of our immune cells are in the gut, so it seems wise to keep that domain humming like a well-oiled machine. Neglecting it is just shooting yourself in the foot.
 
There are several good books out about gut health.
Dr. William Davis has one called ā€œSuper Gutā€, which explains all about probiotics, prebiotics, and what actually helps to heal our GI tract. He has several good books, but this is an excellent one to start with.

Kefir is another good probiotic, and is easier to make than yogurt and has more probiotics in it. I do not use it enough that I do well with the kefir culture, so I make mine with the little tablets, and each one of those will make several batches (quart sized) of kefir, which is similar in consistency and taste to buttermilk that you buy at the store.
Kefir cultures at room temperature, so you just mix one of the tablets with a quart of milk, and let it sit overnight on the kitchen counter, and the next day, you have a drinkable probiotic. (It can take more or less time, depending on the temperature of your house)



IMG_6841.jpeg
 
I work up the soil, then put down more soil and then ground cover. Plant what I am planting and then go get
a Red Mulch cover for the plot, sometimes I use pine straw. Depends on the type of plant I try to grow. Lately
It's been roses of varieties. Lots of watering and more plants put in later of certainty. A little always becomes a lot. Haha
A project to big for both of usually becomes. Most all of our foods are fresh, nothing canned or prepped.
 
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bobcat said:
Accumulating evidence suggests the brain, gut, and immune system are all linked. How you take care of the little bugs in your stomach will determine how they take care of you. It seems our gut microbes are intricately connected to our immune system, and even trains it. According to research, they can even affect brain health.

I guess the better you are at gardening that vital community, and supplying their needs, it can pay off big dividends. It's probably unwise to swallow fertilizer in the literal sense, but certainly in the figurative sense (Probiotics, fiber, etc...). Apparently taking antibiotics is like mass murder for them, but I guess sometimes that can't be helped.

Interesting revelations. It's food for thought anyway. šŸ™ƒ
Click to expand...
Such a cute way you have with this post. Good advice.
 
The company I worked at before I retired had an employee benefit of a Gut health company. It was interesting, had to send in a poop sample, and they ran a report on the different microbe DNA in the sample. Most of my results were normal except I was low in one of a good type, and too high in one of a bad type (a literal stinker! ha).
And they had a weekly one-on-one coaching session to gradually encourage adding more fruits and vegetables, and things like kefir and the live culture naturally fermented sauerkraut (or kimchi etc) that stores sell in the refrigerated section.

The good microbe that I was low in wasn't in the usual probiotic pills or yogurt, but I found it in a probiotic pills on Amazon.

Unfortunately since I retired I wasn't able to get the follow up poop sample test to see what the results after the changes were. But my gut is much better behaved so I think it worked great.
 
I just ordered two months supply of probiotics, I've been taking them for about 4 months after my doctor's advice....they really do work wonders..and they do not have to be refrigerated. I've read that researchers now believe that there are many new benefits that they did not know before...including weight reduction...šŸ˜
 
Happyflowerlady said:
There are several good books out about gut health.
Dr. William Davis has one called ā€œSuper Gutā€, which explains all about probiotics, prebiotics, and what actually helps to heal our GI tract. He has several good books, but this is an excellent one to start with.

Kefir is another good probiotic, and is easier to make than yogurt and has more probiotics in it. I do not use it enough that I do well with the kefir culture, so I make mine with the little tablets, and each one of those will make several batches (quart sized) of kefir, which is similar in consistency and taste to buttermilk that you buy at the store.
Kefir cultures at room temperature, so you just mix one of the tablets with a quart of milk, and let it sit overnight on the kitchen counter, and the next day, you have a drinkable probiotic. (It can take more or less time, depending on the temperature of your house)



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I remember reading sometime back a similar book called: "I Contain Multitudes", and it laid out in detail how connected we are to the flora in our gut, and the implications it has for a healthy life.

My mind often wanders, and like a child, it tends to get lost. I was left wondering where all these bugs came from, and how come we have lost some of the ones that might have been worth keeping. It seems that the mystery goes back millions of years, and as diet changes, so does the culture of bugs within us. The great apes, and the apes who weren't so great, share a common ancestor with us, and as one might imagine, today's grocery store diet wasn't their dining experience.

As people moved toward industrialization and more of a packaged, preserved, and processed method of filling the void, you lose a lot of nutrients that help to support a more diverse microbiome, and ultimately the G.I.G.O. truism comes knocking at the door. Our tight-knit community of critters in our gut-domenium do their level best to manage and adapt, and often the good, the bad, and the ugly movie that is going on down there doesn't have a happy ending. The immune system army is just equipped with stone knives and sling shots and sent off to battle.

Anyway, I think, as much as possible, it's best to adopt a more farm-to-table sort of diet, and try to avoid "foods" that have an ingredients label that resembles a novel in length. I'm sure all the pesticides aren't going to win any awards either from our tiny friends within us as well, so if one can choose the organic variety of edibles, it is likely to be the wiser choice.
 
You are completely right about the changing diet affecting our gut biome, @bobcat. Dr. Davis explains that , and that most of the sugar-eating bugs (which are a large part of peopleā€™s diet now) are not healthy for us, and they make us crave sugar-foods so that they can keep eating and reproducing.
One of the beneficial bacteria, called L. Reuteri , is one that most of the people still have that eat basic foods, but which most of us that have processed foods diet, no longer have. He has found a way to add it back into a specific yogurt, by using the probiotic capsules with the L. Reuteri strain and culturing it at a lower temperature than most yogurt is made.

I have also added more prebiotics into my diet. Prebiotics are the foods that the probiotic bacteria and yeasts need to live on, and most of it is fiber that our body does not even digest, but the bacteria does digest it, and then makes vitamins (like the B vitamins) for us as out benefit for consuming the prebiotic.

I think we might have a thread about the gut biome somewhere in the health section of the forum.
 
I eat fruits and vegetables everyday. Most of the fruits I eat are tomatoes and cucumbers and are eaten with daily salads. In the summer most of our fruits and vegetable are taken right out of the garden . We also can and freeze any excess supply, making things like spaghetti sauce, salsa, pickles and soups.

I also take a bio complete 3 which is a prebiotic and total restore which is a probiotic I have no problems eliminating nor do I have stomach problems so I assume Iā€™m doing ok in this department.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
One of the beneficial bacteria, called L. Reuteri , is one that most of the people still have that eat basic foods, but which most of us that have processed foods diet, no longer have. He has found a way to add it back into a specific yogurt, by using the probiotic capsules with the L. Reuteri strain and culturing it at a lower temperature than most yogurt is made.
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This is great news! I hope: so many yogurts also have pectin which I can't handle. Then again, the only form of pectin I've eaten is fruits and fruit jam/jelly so maybe it's more the acid in the fruits I have a problem with. So I'm definitely going to try yogurt with the Reuteri if I can find it. Thanks for posting. :)
 
officerripley said:
This is great news! I hope: so many yogurts also have pectin which I can't handle. Then again, the only form of pectin I've eaten is fruits and fruit jam/jelly so maybe it's more the acid in the fruits I have a problem with. So I'm definitely going to try yogurt with the Reuteri if I can find it. Thanks for posting. :)
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That is a special kind of yogurt that you have to make at home, and Dr. Davis explains all the information in his book. I have done it, but making regular yogurt is much easier.
I decided that once I had the L.Reuteri back in my system, as long as I ate right, it should reproduce on its own, and I stopped making the special yogurt. It has to culture at 100 degrees for about 30+ hours, so needs a special yogurt maker that you can set time and temp to culture.

However, ANY yogurt or kefir that you make at home will have LOTS more probiotics in it, and never has any kind of additives like the pectin they use to thicken commercial yogurt.
What I read is that instead of fully culturing the yogurt, they only do it for a few hours, then they add powdered probiotics and pectin to thicken up the yogurt, and usually artificial flavors and sugar to sweeten anything except plain yogurt.

Yogurt is easy to make at home with a yogurt maker, and if you want it thicker, you can culture longer, and/or let it drain some of the liquid off to make a Greek yogurt.
Kefir is even easier, you just need a kefir culture tablet (amazon) and add a quart of milk and let it sit at room temperature overnight. Kefir is kind of like a drinkable yogurt, tastes similar to buttermilk, and can also be used in a smoothie with fruits, or as part of a ranch salad dressing. Then, you can use a starter from that kefir to make the next batch, just like making yogurt.
 
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