What is a healthy diet and why your weight is influenced more by your Microbiome than genes or how much you eat.

[CDreamer]

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Even though I know a lot of this stuff I am constantly reminded of how difficult it is to stay on track. I’ve been off track somewhat in the last few weeks and been through a tough time with my gut which led to a downward spiral. Back on track again and sticking strictly to my no processed foods of any kind, no added sugar, no meat, lots of olive oil and prebiotic fibre foods.

Takeaways:- ditch all artificial sweetners, sugar and everything which contains an emulsifier, all processed foods. Add back coffee beans, red grapes, a little cheese, lots of different forms of fibre, green tea and dark chocolate - and if you are overweight get on the trial for a poo transplant which contains the ‘skinny’ microbes.

[Kaz747]

Great video CD - thanks for sharing. I wish I had the “skinny” microbiome.

[Physalis in reply to Kaz747]

No good wishing, you need to build one.

[Kaz747 in reply to Physalis]

That’s what I’m working on 😉

[Auriculaire in reply to Kaz747]

Most of us were probably the posessers of microbiomes in our childhoods that if not "skinny" were not "fat" either. But overuse of antibiotics for trivial complaints have buggered them up. Getting back certain bacteria after they have been wiped out is very difficult and it could be that the only way is a fecal transplant.

[Kimmie4]

Thanks for sharing this. ☺

[jeanjeannie50]

Thanks for sharing this very interesting info CD.

I think I've mostly had the skinny microbiomes, but have lost my way a bit over the last few years and put weight on my stomach area.. So now I've got to change the black grapes I've been buying, that are said to be good for the heart, for red ones. The trouble for me is not being able to stop at eating a few, but I'll buy some today.

I hardly ever eat processed food, but must admit to buying both cheese and fruit scones lately, oh and there's also caramel digestive biscuits and the occasional bag of buttermint sweets. Ok, so they're out now! Let's not forget to report back on how we get on.

Jean

[CDreamer in reply to jeanjeannie50]

That’s more or less my problem Jean. I think I will stick to my black grapes and just add a few red ones in. It’s SO easy for the occasional ‘treat’ to become a habit isn’t it? I think anything with sugar in it should be labelled with the similar warnings as there are on tobacco as I am convinced it is addictive and just as dangerous for our health. It has to be all or nothing for me.

I like Prof Spectre - he does a weekly update on the Imperial COVID by Zoe App - which is how I found this video as he has been doing a study on diet & COVID.

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

I have always been a sucker for dried fruit. When I was an adolescent I used to pinch the sultanas my mum used for baking. I did use to walk part of the way to school to save the bus fare to replace them. Now I try to stick to 2 dried apricots ( the dark ones ) a day and one day in four when I have yoghurt and granola for breakfast I add a few raisins and 2 prunes to it. I do indulge in a couple of squares of dark chocolate every day though and often eat a pudding if we eat out. Until quite recently there was no obesity problem here in France but there have always been patisseries. The French did not regard fancy cakes as something to be indulged in everyday but as a treat on Sundays or for special occasions. I do not eat sweets at all or biscuits (unless as an ingredient in a dessert) as on the whole they are just not worth the calories tastewise and as I don't drink tea or coffee the temptation of biscuits is much less. I am not an all or nothing person, as I do not find it difficult to say no to a dessert. If there is nothing on the dessert menu that appeals or I feel too full after the main course I will not have one- unlike my husband who would never dream of not having a dessert when we eat in restaurants . He also sneakily buys pain aux raisins in the supermarket for a snack. But his sweet tooth was nurtured as a child by having a pudding everyday after his meal. His Ma made East European specialities like strudel, kugel cake and honey cake. He was a fat kid but is thin now!

[Physalis]

I really like this video. Good timing too as I have got a Tesco delivery coming tomorrow. I will add some red grapes and peanuts. I already have fibre with two Shredded Wheats, 2 Ryvita biscuits (better look to see what additives are in them), 9 almonds (as recommended), and peas daily and one square of dark chocolate. I've had a box of green tea in the cupboard which has been there for ages so today I will try it - don't think I'll like it.

I broke the top off of one of my teeth last month and have been avoiding apples and carrots but today I will put one apple, one orange, one egg, one carrot and one beetroot (been in the freezer for ages) into the Nutribullet (underused). It probably won't taste very good but I will drink it on the basis that it is good for me. Maybe I should add in a green tea bag!

[Kaz747 in reply to Physalis]

I use my NutriBullet most days. I make drinks with Almond and Coconut milk, kale, spinach, blueberries, a banana (or 1/2 if it’s big), chia seeds, hemp seeds, psyllium husk and LSA (linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds). Full of goodness and fibre and delicious.

[Physalis in reply to Kaz747]

Wonderful I'll add some bananas, dark green leafy vegetables, perhaps blueberries. I've found some pumpkin seeds (best before 2017 but I don't take any notice of that) coconut milk (2016). I thought the pumpkin seeds were pretty horrid and I never quite knew what to do with the coconut milk. I'm not a foodie which is probably just as well.

The Ryvita biscuits give me 70mg of magnesium a day - I didn't know that - and iron and zinc too.

I've got four tins of mackerel in sunflower oil in the cupboard. I found the trouble there was the half tin of oil you were left with but I can add it to the rest of the mix.

My digestive system is going to be surprised, I hope it doesn't revolt.

[Auriculaire in reply to Physalis]

I love pumpkin seeds. My husband bakes our bread and puts them in the mix along with hazelnuts. I put them in south indian rice along with toasted mustard and sesame seed and asafoetida.

[CDreamer in reply to Auriculaire]

Sounds delicious - as once a week treat.

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

I doubt we eat the SI rice more than once every couple of months. Sweet tooth husband prefers Kashmiri rice with curries- with saffron , bits of dried pineapple, papaye and raisins! We were introduced to this at an Asian wedding we went to in Birmingham years ago and it has been a favourite of his since. I prefer the SI rice myself but it is more complicated to make.

[CDreamer in reply to Auriculaire]

I’ve now subbed bulgar wheat for rice - you can do the same recipes but has a much lighter taste and half the starch & calories.

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

I like bulgar wheat. Husband doesn't . I did read somewhere that it was goitrogenic. I find cooking difficult enough now as I cannot move around with my hips being so bad so there is no way I will cook different things for us . I eat very small portions of starchy stuff like rice or pasta or potatoes. I prefer to eat less of them than cut them out altogether. Even what I give my husband is less than what I have noticed most of our friends or relatives eat.

[CDreamer in reply to Physalis]

Sometimes it can - best to go slowly & introduce things gradually. I wouldn’t call Ryvita (it’s processed) fibre.

Probiotic foods are fresh, green & leafy.

If you eat potatoes ( we don’t). Cook them, cool them & then reheat. That process makes them starch resistant & microbes love that!

[Physalis in reply to CDreamer]

In my book, it's fibre. I eat the Multi Grain ones. Custard creams are processed.

Shredded Wheat is processed but still fibre, I have it with a teaspoon of sugar, it's the only sugar I eat.

[CDreamer in reply to Physalis]

I have confined all sugar, wheat, Most dairy unless fermented and anything with emulsifiers to room 101.

We don’t need them, we don’t thrive on them & they destroy our healthy microbes by encouraging the wrong sort of microbes to flourish.

[Physalis in reply to CDreamer]

Well, I wouldn't want to do that. I've eaten Shredded Wheat, or Weetabix or porridge oats since I was a child so it's a bit late for me to change now. Most dairy, heavens I drink two pints of milk a day! I don't eat cheese though. I may be wrong but I think my microbiome is quite healthy. No harm in trying to improve it though.

[Polski in reply to Physalis]

(Beware: Consumption of lots of dairy products can contribute to the development of breast or prostate cancer. You might want to replace some of that milk with one of the vegetarian milk substitutes)

[Physalis in reply to Polski]

I don't think that's true

academic.oup.com/ajcn/artic...

It's a bit late for me to change.

[LaceyLady in reply to Polski]

I buy organic

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

I just don't believe that dairy is bad for you if it comes from cows or sheep or goats that are raised as they should be ie hanging around in fields eating plants. Cheese and yoghurt have been eaten for thousands of years and not all cheeses are fermented. There are plenty of plants that we do not thrive on as well containing compounds which have developed to deter predators since plants cannot run away. Eating any of the brassica family raw is dicey as they are goitrogenic. Cooking helps with this. Many plants are high in oxalates which can accumulate in tissues causing all sorts of problems .

[CDreamer in reply to Auriculaire]

Cheese & yogurt are cultured dairy - I have no problem with these but milk in any form I cannot tolerate. My sister went is very allergic to all dairy & carries an epi-pen which she last used when someone eating an ice cream sat next to her in a cinema, she went into anaphylaxis. I think we are all different & need to find our own best foods.

I’m good with raw brassicas, in small quantities but eat them mainly in a smoothie, otherwise lightly steamed.

The great thing about humans is we eat a wide range of foods & our microbiome has developed accordingly. It’s only in the las 75 years we have had larger quantities of processed foods & less diversity and our microbiome declined as a consequence.

I’m afraid I was brought up with highly processed foods in the 50’s & 60’s & lots of sweet ‘treats’ so no wonder I had ulcerative colitis by my 20’s.

[LaceyLady in reply to CDreamer]

I freeze left over mash, maybe I should just freeze it all and take out. Also I freeze bread which is supposed to do similar.

[CDreamer in reply to Kaz747]

I do similar & once you get the hang of it you just use whatever is in the fridge or freezer.

[Kaz747 in reply to Kaz747]

I forget to include Greek yogurt - fermented foods are important.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Physalis]

You've made me laugh. x

[CDreamer in reply to Physalis]

I’ve got some great recipes - they do taste good as well.

This morning:-

2 leaves of curly Kale

1 Apple

1 avocado

1/4 peeled lemon

1 inch fresh ginger

Coconut water

Apple juice

4 squares of water melon

1/2 tsp spiralalina

1/2 tsp matcha powder

Tblsp organic yogurt

Slug of home made water kefir

Enough for 2 generous portions - will keep 24 hrs in smoothie preserve mug or vaccine.

You can also add seeds or anything you want. Sometimes sub coconut cream for yogurt and often use frozen smoothie mixes if in a rush as a base.

[Physalis in reply to CDreamer]

Good heavens, I'm not that adventurous and my food has to be quick. I looked at the Nutribullet recipe book and that was all I did. I guess I'm lazy when it comes to cooking. Still first steps today, apple, orange, carrot, beetroot, pumpkin seeds and coconut milk. Tomorrow, banana, orange, apple, carrot, Savoy cabbage leaves, beetroot and apple juice. I've ordered some red grapes and peanuts but I'll eat those separately.

And I'll order some Organic Yogurt starter culture, freeze dried from Amazon. It contains lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus which hopefully will boost my Microbiome!

I'll let you know how it goes.

[CDreamer in reply to Physalis]

You are on the right track. Changing is difficult as we need to learn a completely different way & that means we spend more time because it’s much easier to do what we know & are used to. 1 step at a time.

[Physalis]

I'm not changing that much, just adding some things in. I was eating apples, oranges and carrots before bits came off one of my teeth. I've got an appointment at the dentist's in four weeks' time.

The yoghurt will be interesting, it makes 21 litres. Hope it works. You know, I made yoghurt when I was first married. It was a fad and didn't last long. Later on we had ginger beer plants bubbling away on the kitchen windowsill, that was when the children were young. I don't like ginger much, my neighbour gave me a pot of pumpkin and ginger jam a couple of years ago and I've never opened it. Then there was wine in demijohns and fermentation traps which bubbled too. That was jolly silly as I don't really like alcohol. It entertained me at the time.

[Paulbounce]

Hi CD.

Thank you for for sharing the video - some great info there and worth watching.

However - this is just my opinion. Weight loss is very important to us all - certainly with afib and other conditions. I think there are only two ways to lose weight - eat less and exercise more.

Diet though is very important and can / will make all the difference. Great video anyway I do think though that a mix of it all is very important.

Have a great Sunday.

Paul