rebalancing the gut

[Polly-PV]

After a winter of course after course of antibiotics coupled with daily use of 2/3 inhalers (I do gargle afterwards) it seems I have a hefty fungal infection internally. The back of my throat isn’t a pretty picture and it goes right down to my toenails which are just yuk! Heaven knows what’s happening in between. Can I get your recommendations what can be taken to redress the gut imbalance and get rid of this infection? Diet tips? What should I be drinking? Tia you wonderful people x

[BenHall1]

Hiya Polly-PV,

Quite some years ago I was diagnosed with a heart arrythmia. There were (still are ) ways of dealing with this and I chose medication for life. Many months after starting my journey I was advised to consider the impact of a dysfunctional vagal nerve - which I did. This is a significant nerve in the central nervous system which acts like an information superhighway between brain - heart - and gut.

After getting nowhere via conventional, NHS medicine, I elected to consult a Nutritionist. I had a consultation with her and some minor tests. She put it to me that the gut is the body's second brain and a vital bit of good, sound, body health. Following this she got me going wheat free, oats free and gluten free. She taught me to run a food diary and later, progressively taught me how to expand and adjust my diet.

Warning ! this journey is not a fast process and it requires patience and dedication .......... but for me it produced amazing results. No more heart issues as such, no more gut issues as such, in fact some foods I gave away I've been able to return to. Some I have not .......... 😒

So, for my money, wherever you are in UK there will be a Nutritionist somewhere who should be able to help/advise re diet. Warning ! a GP is not necessarily equipped or trained, or experienced enough to help.

You could start with getting onto the BANT website, somewhere there will be a search box where you can start your enquiries. Hope all this helps.

John

[Polly-PV in reply to BenHall1]

Thank you so much John….will research

[knitter]

My tongue and toenails …not a pretty sight .

I have used stuff from the chemist to try and get rid of oral thrush , works for a short time only .

Plain yogurt I find helps with my oral thrush . Which reminds me , before the introduction of private bays in pharmacist , someone asked for advice on thrush and the rest of the customers joined in ….yogurt recommended for different places !

No sugar plain yogurt, and not Keffir . I tried Keffir once big mistake , very poorly .Then read it can affect people with depleted immune systems .

[Alberta56]

I'm trying Kefir at the moment and it seems to be helping. I will bear Knitter's warning in mind however. I tried probiotics, but they must have been the wrong sort- my gut definitely didn't like them. It seems to be trial and error to find something that helps.

[Turnipgirl in reply to Alberta56]

I had kefir a few weeks back and found it OK.

[islande]

don't buy anything on amazon that claims amazing results and are very expensive most are a waste of money

[Polly-PV in reply to islande]

oh no! I’ve just bought some probiotics!

[Fircone in reply to Polly-PV]

I take optibac everyday probiotics every day and have done for years. Since September last year up to last week I have had 8 courses of antibiotics. My toenails are a mess! I don’t have thrush but I do eat sauerkraut, kimchi and Greek yoghurt. I’ve stopped eating oats and replaced them with flaxseed. Definitely helped me.

[islande]

oh I'm sorry some prebiotic are very good though next time stick to well known brands and shops like Holland and barrett. hope they work

[janedivney]

Hello Polly 👋 I take antibiotics daily & used to get thrush a lot. Five years ago I consulted a nutritionist & on her advice have since taken Optibac Everyday (probiotic) and Bimuno (prebiotic). Bimuno was also recommended by Michael Mosley. Amazingly, I’ve not had a thrush problem since! I usually manage to get them on a 3-for-2 deal. I also have a daily pot of natural live organic yogurt

[Polly-PV in reply to janedivney]

Thank you Jane

[rosco59]

I have ulcerative colitis aswell as Bronchiectasis and I was told much the same John - the gut is key to so many illnesses. I also ended up seeing a nutritionist who made a diet sheet for me which I followed to get my UC under control. I have now reintroduced most foods but the most important stress was put on balancing the gut’s biome by ensuring good levels of friendly bacteria. These can be encouraged through kefir and plain live yoghurt - I tolerate both well - eating a diverse range of plants and seeds, in addition to your choice (or not) of meat/fish. I do take a probiotic everyday. Since trying to follow this, I have largely stayed thrush-free, something that did occasionally trouble me because of multiple antibiotics. It’s not a quick solution and may cause your tummy to protest a bit before things improve. I do feel for you. It’s a balancing act, but you are starting in the right place by getting probiotics. I do hope this helps and wish you well.

[Izb1 in reply to rosco59]

I totally agree that the gut is responsible for keeping all of your body healthy. I watched a programme years ago on this and couldn't find it afterwards, it was based on health experts opinions and was really encouraging x

[B0xermad]

Hi I take lots of antibiotics and use biokult everyday probiotic to counteract the effects they produce it was recommended by my respiratory nurse

[Phill1]

Thrush thrives on sugar so you need to cut it out… as much as you can … to starve it out

Feel for you .. I’ve had oral thrush it’s not pleasant 🥹

[Izb1]

I always take probiotic after antibiotics, but would speak with your gp re the fungal infection x

[PaperQueen]

I've had so many courses of antibiotics this winter so I take Prebiotic Inulin (for gut health) and probiotics daily. I'm not entirely sure if they help but they haven't done any harm. The prebiotic inulin was recommended by Dr Michael Moseley in one of his (unscientific) trials. I get them online from Golden Greens. Hope you find something that works for you.

[peege]

I've been using probiotic capsules for years (from Healthspan, good quality, come through the letter box & they have different strengths) I also eat pre & probiotic foods (lists on line) plus about 200grams plain live yogurt daily (with blueberries raspberries, seeds including ground flaxseed, sugar free granola & flaked almonds). Cutting out sugar got rid of candida/thrush years ago - as sugar feeds it - worked fantastically. Lots of other posts on this recently, just write thrush in the search bar. Good luck. P