Gut bacteria tests are BOGUS, according to major review - experts say the $200 tests are 'exploiting customers' and give 'misleading' results dailymail.co.uk/wellness-us...
The Daily Mail has a lot of details in their story. It is based on this article: The DTC microbiome testing industry needs more regulation, Tests lack analytical and clinical validity, requiring more federal oversight to prevent consumer harm science.org/doi/10.1126/sci... which is behind a paywall.
No idea what to believe anymore
I disagree - the article and the study (I am trying to get a copy) just could be a hit piece from Big Med and Big Pharma. As I went through the article I got the feeling they missed the main point - ARE THE TEST ACCURATE? I could not find them. What they hit on was the interpretation of the information and I agree with them. Connecting your gut to acne and diabeties could be a stretch (we know it is not) but in a commercial space you are promising alot. I take offence when they are critical about serious conditions and false hope. Everyone on this message board has a very serious condition even more so than chrones and IBS. If it was not for these report, I would not be as far as I am in my research. (Gut dysbiosis and Low SCFA are the gateway to PD and DLB) Big Pharma says 25% is a success in a drug so even is one was benefited by the placibo efferct that would be 30% - everyone needs hope. I spend very little on probiotics and expand their numbers by way of yogurts. I use the test but pay very little attention to their recommendations nor what they are selling. This article (and I am sure the study) is concerned with the growth of technical supplements as a threat to their RX model. I have used many test over the past 4 years and the consistency has been very good between them all (I can say no one has tried to say I have prodromal PD). I do all the rest on my own from my own research. I hope to put all together soon so I can share with all. Summary the test could be beneficial and scrap the rest.
Excellent point WhyRBD ! We all experiment (well, most of us) on the fringes of science. I myself try things that "Official Medical Science" would say are stupid and dangerous. I won't stop.
I guess the message is: Be careful. Make use of these companies, but DON'T let them make use of YOU.
says the national institutes of health who brought you covid vaccine approvals within a few months... wonder what motivates THEM.
Saving lives?
I'm sure there are many there who truly are motivated by that. Sadly the overall institution has quite firmly proven otherwise to anyone who is willing to look beyond the hype.
You are right. Those mrna vaccines are experimental and caused a lot of damage to many people. More and more news is coming out
medicalxpress.com/news/2024...
EDIT: Thanks Boscoejean for sharing more details on this. Reading through the details, I am not cool with this paper at all.
Researchers call for regulation of direct-to-consumer microbiome tests medicalxpress.com/news/2024...
"We're calling for federal regulators with oversight of these testing companies to set standards for the analytical validity of their tests and require them to report on their performance," said Hoffmann. "Additionally, the FDA needs to determine if DTC microbiome tests are general wellness tests or if they make diagnostic claims that could harm consumers. If it is determined that these are diagnostic tests, then FDA regulation will be required."
This is total BS. Power to the people! If I want to pay a person to examine my poop, that is between me and my poop examiner!
I am not advocating this position. I was just trying to find out what was being said without having to go behind the paywall
Doh! I did not mean to imply you were supporting it. My bad. I will edit!
I'd bet this is why it was so hard for me to find a testing company that would send the test to NY!!! Glad you looked it up Bolt_Upright I have huge respect for anyone willing to question their sources and resulting beliefs.
I am sure that the treatment of many diseases including Parkinson's is possible, but because of the huge income from the sale of medicine and treatment, they do not allow it.
😉 Well, if there's a secret club of doctors and pharmaceutical companies trying to hide the cure for Parkinson's, I imagine they have some pretty intense board meetings. Just picturing them in a secret underground lair, plotting to keep us all in the dark, while sipping fancy drinks with tiny umbrellas. But hey, let's not lose hope! With advancements in medical research and the brilliant minds working tirelessly, who knows what breakthroughs are just around the corner? So, let's stay optimistic while we wait for the evidence to dance its way into our lives!
For over 50 years they are still giving pd patients levodopa. It doesn't stop progression, it doesn't treat the underlying condition. As long as they are interested in money making they will keep giving you hope until forever.
What I do know for sure is that conspiracy theories are bad for your PD symptoms, and that Carbidopa/Levodopa can at least help you to some extent. 🍀
I agree. I don't think for the most part it's individuals conspiring in secret ( your image is hilarious), but the industry is structured and motivated by $$$. Not health. Politicians need money to retain their usually well paying jobs, $$$ comes from these and other industries. Thats why so little research is done on inexpensive solutions. The folks at the top "have a responsibility to their shareholders", usually they have lots of shares. As with others in jobs who end up doing damage, like production of toxic chemicals and petro products, mostly they rationalize the good outweighs the bad, want to keep their jobs, and probably some cynical bad apples in there.
Good luck to you who are so optimistic and gullible, no medicine and no doctor has cured the disease until now and they have no intention of curing it, otherwise so many sick people would not have sought alternative treatments, now after fifty years they said that the treatment of Alzheimer's is wrong. and all related medicines were useless and even harmful. The main problem is money. The most difficult diseases are treated with a lot of money
So which "alternative treatments" have provided a cure? Or a better symptom relief than pharma?
No Esperanto , no conspiracy theories here ,there is an oligopoly of pharmaceutical companies that defend their profits at all costs and are not sitting in secret underground, but in their respective boardroom meeting rooms. After all, they have many employees with families to support and above all generous bonuses to pay themselves. They spend enormous amounts on propaganda to pay their advertisers, but frankly they could save this expense, given the return of total public distrust towards their products. After all, public relations entrusted to incompetent people has always caused serious damage when the product is terrible. The risk is that it is a short step from a “good product that promotes itself” to a “bad product that is falsely advertised “.
See covid vaccines, that is, a vaccine that does not immunize, but is also imposed by law on those who have recovered from the first variant of covid like myself. No scientific basis justifies this and it is probably dangerous for a PWP, but they did it anyway by lying about the immunizing capacity of the vaccine.
No ,they were not motivated by saving my life.
They are no longer credible, starting from the control agencies that write in their statutes to assume responsibility for protecting the health of citizens, they have not done so and for me this is called betrayal..
Take care of yourself, no one can do better than you.
Un saluto dall'Italia.
This picture you paint seems like a "conspiracy theory" picture that does a great job of averting our collective eyes from the reality of the institutions and systems that were DESIGNED around an outdated Darwinian money making goal. Even Darwin realized at the end of his life that we humans are actually proof that collaboration and cooperation are the skills necessary for survival. And those who followed him, didn't listen and instead continued building everything on their ""survival of the fittest" message. They contributed to the current state of our institutions; Everyone meant well, but when they could not admit or accept that their underlying understanding could be wrong, they built a foundation that is currently crumbling... I hope we survive that fall.
The headline drew my attention and then two words stopped me in my tracks: Daily and Mail!
I love the Daily Mail! What they lack in accuracy they make up for in volume!
Yeah. but its the content of the volume that's concerning. The paper is strong and fully absorbent I've found however.
Why do people always want to see things in black or white? Is it because they don't want to think critically, preferring instead to join a tribe who tells them..."this is bad and this is good, and that's that?" Opposing views can both have elements of truth, but it seems nuance has no place in the age of social media. Everything's an advertisement, "for" or "against."
Covid vaccines are a case in point. Anti-vaxers vilify them because they don't prevent disease, refusing to acknowledge that they kept many out of the hospital and some from dying. Maybe we should ask those who survived because of the jab if they resent the manufacturers for making money on their invention. On the other hand, it's important to recognize that vaccines may have harmed a small subset of people, so that steps can be taken to minimize future harm. Both things can be true!
Direct to consumer microbiome tests have great potential to help people in their quest for health, as well as great potential to allow unscrupulous companies to make unfounded claims and sell products. Both things can be true.
I think it's ludicrous to propose that industry is purposefully sabotaging efforts to cure PD. Millions upon millions of dollars are invested each year into researching and trialing treatments that go nowhere. Where's the profit in that? Would I like to see more money being made available for research into natural substances? Of course! But the fact that that's not happening doesn't invalidate the research that's going into drug development. Both things can be true.
The fact that no gigantic strides have been made in the PD field speaks to the complexity of the brain (and perhaps the microbiome) but it doesn't mean none will ever take place. Look at the advances that have been made in the treatment of cancer, once a virtual death sentence. Chemotherapy has given extra decades of life to millions. Can it sometimes cause residual effects that are very unpleasant? Yup. Both things can be true.
In the absence of a cure, it seems to me the most important thing we can offer each other is hope. So thank you to those who have not lost faith in science and keep posting ideas, suggestions and the results of those researchers who are truly trying to make a difference. I feel certain there are many.
Yes AND the chemo industrial complex is vast and both curative and harmful, very harmful. All of this can be true all at once.
I think the main complaints against the vaccine were: 1) The lies, and 2) Making them mandatory.
I think curing Parkinson's is like having a diseased apple in a sealed jar and then being asked to cure the apple. It will be quite a challenge. But I do think there is hope.
In emergency break glass!
I changed my gut health without a fancy expensive tests. I went from semi chronic constipation for 10 years to absolutely zero constipation . I’ve been drinking Raw Milk for 16 months in my coffee daily. That’s it ! Took about a half year to become consistently regular. Now I never struggle, easy.
Know your local farmer!
Specific gut bacteria may reduce severity of Parkinson's disease 
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Can Levodopa Contribute to Gut Dysbiosis via Increased Gut Inflammation and More Dysbiosis? The Study Below Suggests It Can
