Prynhawn da my friends🫶
Just got recommended to take some kind of cultures as a way to help heal whatever weirdness is going on with my gut absorption....
....with the caveat that most commercially-available gut capsules & powders & liquids are inert and dead, unless they come refrigerated from depot to door. Is this true?
Which brands do you buy that are effective? (and affordable please) Is live cryogenic pro/pre biotics the only way to go?
Then the best way is to take naturally occuring probiotics that occur in natural products like Kefir . Kefir contains the most diverse probiotics. It is reasonably cheap and nourishes you at the same time . The cheapest way is to make it yourself of course . You can buy kefir grains. If you are allergic or do not want to drink milk , you can try water kefir , and make it part of your diet .
Otherwise , Symprove is an excellent , water based probiotic , but expensive
. Real yoghurt sauerkraut and kimchi are good probiotic suppliers . But kefir is best .
You get prebiotics from vegs that contain inulin . Leeks , onions ,mushrooms , nuts , oats and flaxseeds . and many more . I always find it best to use naturally occurring remedies where possible . It’s cheaper , and you get the benefit of all the other vitamins , mineral and trace elements that come in the food . Best wishes .
Brilliant answer as ever wedgewood !
Quick follow-up: does Symprove have to be kept in the fridge? And does it have a long shelf life?
Also, if anyone has a good recipe for kefir or yoghurt sauerkraut, I'm eager to hear it🫶
once opened it is kept in the fridge . I think it has a shelf life of about 3 months .
Kefir is the easiest to make and has the largest amount of Probiotics . Buy some kefir grains online and it is quickly made using organic full fat milk . Has a greater amount of more varied probiotics than yoghurt .
I do not make my own kefir or real yogurt as its too much for me to do - Sainsbury Kefir & Real yogurt not as good have to serve. I do serve them as part of a substantial breakfast.
My Mmmmm Muesli Meal.
The first 3 ingredient from Holland & Barrett mixed carefully.
20g. “Mixed Nuts & Raisins”. very finely chopped
Almonds (15%), Cashew nuts (15%), Walnuts (15%), Brazil nuts (15%), Flame Raisins (13%), Red Raisins (13%), Golden Raisins (13%), Sunflower Oil.
40g. “4 Grain Muesli Base.” Jumbo oats, usual size oats, Wheat Flakes, Barley Flakes, Rye Flakes.
10g. “Wheat Bran.”
Add 70 grammes half skimmed milk and stir in the stuff above. Add half a satsuma or similar. Add a finely sliced small banana which can be slightly green if the calorie count needs to be kept down.
Add 20 grammes runny homey which is sweet yet not that fattening.
Add 40 grammes of real yogurt and 40 grammes of real kefir.I also take an Omega 3 oil capsule and a capsule of lactobacillus to back up the other mixed good bugs in this lot.
That sounds like a first -rate breakfast ! That will set you up ! Thanks for that recipe !
Oh this is brilliant and looks delicious, thank you! I love the name especially, you ought to copyright it🫶
Thanks for asking this; I am also a gut abosption issue victim but at the very beginning of my treatment so at this point "just" knocking gluten and lactose on the head. Further down the line, I am sure I'll need to know this. Good luck! Keep us posted with what works!
Sounds good! You're really taking positive, pro-active steps. Out of interest, how are you replacing wheat & dairy? And are you getting any physical or mental die-off reactions so far?
Cutting out gluten & lactose would probably really help me, too, but I undereat naturally (no appetite/energy/interest) and find it hard to get enough calories or nutrients in a day if I cut things out.
I am very much at the beginning of the process, first week in! Specialist advised bloating etc. would perhaps take 3 months to reduce 😬 so I assume that will be when my stomach will begin to improve it's absorption?! I will need to see a nutritionist at some point but only once the bloat has subsided I believe.
I mostly dropped lactose years ago so have soya milk, plant butter (Flora is really good), proper Greek feta (sheep's milk)...so many alternatives now, even Lacto-free milk which is cow's milk without the lactose. That part it easy!
Gluten...more of a challenge, especially when combined with lactose. I am currently in Spain and it's a challenge to have a tasty dinner that is lacking in both! However, I plan to stock up on gluten free flour and batch bake loaves for the freezer, switch to GF pasta and I have seen "raw" quinoa which looks like a good replacement for cous cous which I eat a lot of. Rice is fine 🎉 I don't eat too many processed foods anyway and I enjoy cooking so it's not too difficult at home...just when eating out.
Were you told you can't absorb B12 due to your gut, no other issue? I truly hope that once I'm on top of the issue with my diet changes and months of EOD B12 jabs, I'll be better than ever!
Spain...so envious rn haha. For the food and the heat alone🏖️
Hopefully these changes are a roaring success for you!🫶 Agree proper feta is lovely, as is goat milk & cheese (if you can get past the smell haha). Rice ftw. They put gluten in absolutely everything these days, though. GF friends have a mare of finding safe foods and not restricting too much.
Tbh my GPs have been worse than useless at helping with the deficiency/absorption issue I'm having--they only caught the B12 problem by fluke. So I haven't a clue why, best guess from my own (non-Sciencey) reading is some kind of dysbiosis or damage to vili? After years and years, doctors still tell me I shouldn't be SI or self-treating in any way, and they won't test me or refer me as long as I do, even though I have to for mobility and mental health (according to loved ones, I end up a hissing bedridden vegetable who's about 50% more autistic when I don't take it weekly). So I've given up for now. Would go private but I can never afford it.
Anyway, that's enough moaning and enough about me, you soak up that Spanish sun😎
It makes me so angry that so many of us are in a position without help from GPs. You know your body, your symptoms, but you're not being listened to! I did see the private GP and was fortunate to have savings to do that. Now, I'm going to try and get a referral to a nutritionist on the NHS as that will be the next cost. We'll see. I also don't yet know the exact reason for my dubious but I've been extremely bloated for probably a decade and I've read that an intolerance to gluten, milk etc causes bloating and then prevents absorption of other nutrients so I am hoping this is the problem as it can be cured then (or at least managed with less frequent injections in the long term).
A few days in to no gluten/milk I definitely feel less "stuffed to burst" after meals. Too soon to tell, but I definitely feel less like a balloon already! 🤞🏽 Keep in touch, and good luck x
I would echo everything that wedgewood says about kefir. I have been taking it for a year now and it’s improved my digestion no end. I am going to get some grains and make my own too, it’s much cheaper and you can use glass bottles instead of plastic ones.
Really good shout with the glass containers, BPA is no joke!
vitamin C really great for the gut. Very soothing and helps with absorbtion.
Can you tell me how much you take and the type of Vitamin C it is?
I take 2,000 mg but only becuase I get constipated and it helps with this otherwise I would take 1,000mg. I buy new leaf vitmain C enriched with bioflavanoids and rosehip.
Thank you! I have trouble with constipation as well. Even with being on a probiotic.
I agree with wedgewood about kefir - I particularly like kefir yoghurt. I was recommended this daily shot to help a severe bout of gastritis, and it seemed to help:-
I took the Restore formula, they also do Maintain, and they give a lot of info about their manufacturing process. Hope you find something that helps.
Have you found sub-lingual B12 tablets or sprays effective?
Sauerkraut users
New diagnosis and wanting to understand
I’m confused if I have a deficiency or not?
