Any suggestions and ideas as to how we could find doctors who share common philosophies as Dr. Perlmutter in our respective neck of the woods?
I don’t have any suggestions to get more doctors participation here regarding the gut microbiome. I do think that those of us interested can continue to do our own study and experiments and report back.
What happens when you skip, forget, or are not able to take your resistant starch? Perhaps you forget to bring it when you travel? In addition to the benefit to the gut, do you notice any post prandial benefits from the resistant starch?
So far it has been about 3 days that I’ve been taking the resistant starch. 2 hour BG post meals have been pretty decent around 120. I cannot say for certain that it is entirely due to the resistant starch because my doctor started me on Glucophage immediate release 500mg/daily on 1/25/16.
The good effects on my digestive health seem sustained even if I don’t take the potato starch for a day or two. I haven’t let it go past that so I can’t say what would happen if I missed for a week or more.
I do not see any direct connection between my post meal BGs and taking resistant starch. Is your 2-hour post prandial number around 120 better than before?
I tried Metformin (Glucophage) for about a week and it upset my stomach and digestion so I stopped it.
Good to know about the sustained positive benefit for 1 to 2 days.
Yes, the 2 hour post prandial is much better than before because 1. I’m able to eat a little more carb than previously 2. I have reduced my insulin dosage slightly from previously - basal and bolus.
I specified Glucophage, and am on a small dosage to start and, there is small discomfort. But I am managing and am willing to give it time on the low dosage to acclimate. I split the 1 pill (not exactly in half), either by cutting or simply as best as I can biting it into 2 approximately equal parts. (I welcome any suggestion on pill splitting! TIA)
I’m taking 1/4 teaspoon of the potato starch. If good bacteria preferentially survive and the bad bacteria die off, I think that there could be discomfort associated with the bad bacteria die off. This is something that I recall from Candida die off symptoms.
The Jarrow probiotics may be providing good bacteria too. When the package of Jarrow probiotics is finished, I plan to switch to Primal Defense Ultra.
So far everything appears to be ok, except for the slight GI discomfort.
Is there a reason for taking such a small amount of the potato starch? I take about 3 tablespoons.
In case too many bad bugs die off in the gut?
If I understand correctly the potato starch feed the good bugs. If there is only limited space, then the bad ones die off. I didn’t want potentially too much upset from the starch, probiotic pills and Glucophage.
I am planning to increase the potato starch, but will work up to it. ( I weigh 90 pounds - I don’t know how much I’ll need
Has anyone had experience with inulin?
According to wikipedia - prebiotics:
" Roberfroid stated that only two particular prebiotics then fully met this definition: trans-galactooligosaccharide and inulin.[4] Other dietary fibers also fit the definition of prebiotics as developed by Roberfroid such as Larch arabinogalactin (LAG),[5] resistant starch,[6] pectin,[7] beta-glucans,[8] and Xylooligosaccharides (XOS).[9]"
Has anyone had more positive experience eating the RAW prebiotics (such as onion) instead of the COOKED, or vice versa? The wikipedia article would seem to suggest raw, rather than cooked. Dr. Perlmutter also seem to suggest mostly raw for prebiotics. Onion is the only one that seems ok either cooked or raw.
@Terry4, do you take the potato starch once a day? Have you found that it makes a difference if taken all at once or perhaps spread out over 3x/day? It is the production of the SCFA that are considered to be beneficial for us. Curious as to whether increased frequency of production of SCFA may make a positive difference.
I am taking 1 teaspoon with each meal. My gut feels better. My BG numbers are generally improved from previously. This is with reduced basal and bolus insulin and slight increase in carbs at meal time. I do take 500mg of Glucophage. I don’t experience the awful feeling of hunger that I had previously.
Continuing with the journey…tomorrow I will take 1 tablespoon AM and 1 tablespoon PM. I read on the Amazon.com review for the potato starch that two reviewers thought it helped them sleep better, or more deeply. Hey, I’ll take that!
A neighbor, who is a cook suggested this article Prebiotics & Probiotics - What Are They & How Do They Differ – Prebiotin ; just ignore the pill sales push at the end.
A general question for the group:
Kraut and kimchi are also considered to be beneficial for our gut health. Anyone care to share their experience? TIA.
I take the potato starch all at once within an hour of going to bed. I don’t time it that way for any special reason, it’s just part of my habit. The only symptoms that I can attribute to the potato starch and the probiotics is the good effect on my digestion. That’s what prompted me to do that in the first place.
The only effect that I’ve observed with sleeping is that I’ve experienced interesting dreams. This is something that I’ve read other people report. My dreams are often third person, like I’m watching a movie. They’re not upsetting or nightmarish.
Great that you’re seeing better blood glucose numbers. That’s always a good thing.
What I like about the potato starch is that there’s no downside risk or bad side effects to contend with like many medications.
I think there’s a better chance of seeing beneficial effects as you ramp up to the tablespoon doses.
I don’t have any kraut or kimchi experience but I did go out and buy four bottles of kombucha. Don’t know that I can report anything dramatic but they do have 4-8 grams of carbs per 8 ounce serving. I would think it’d be easy to ferment this stuff with just 1-2 grams of carbs per serving. I think they sweeten it up for the typical consumer’s sweet tooth.
“I don’t have any kraut or kimchi experience but I did go out and buy four bottles of kombucha. Don’t know that I can report anything dramatic but they do have 4-8 grams of carbs per 8 ounce serving. I would think it’d be easy to ferment this stuff with just 1-2 grams of carbs per serving. I think they sweeten it up for the typical consumer’s sweet tooth.”
Unfortunately, there is just too much unnecessary sugar in most everything! Even “healthy” stuff. My son had a recent experience of a bottle of kombucha that splattered everywhere when he opened the bottle. It was an isolated experience. Maybe too much fermentation?
There ought to be a political platform : There is too much darn sugar in everything!
I am waiting for my kefir “grains” so that I can make my own kefir.
Keep us posted of your kombucha experience!
I started paying attention to my gut when I learned in 2014 that autoimmune conditions are correlative–if not causative–to gut permeability and gut dysbiosis.
First, I started an elimination protocol; removing gluten, casein, legumes, and eggs from my diet. I have since added organic pasture raised eggs back in. I ate bone broth stews every other day for about 1.5 years… now more like two weeks per month. I took herbal anti-bacterial and anti-fungals for dysbiosis. Still working on candida and yersinia but cleared h pylori altogether.
I alternate probiotics and eat prebotics and resistant starch regularly.
My overall clarity and stamina are vastly improved. I’d say I’m about 2/3 of the way home to a healthy flora and strong, healthy lining
so is a, probiotic, a good, thing, to take, ?.
i did look it up, but did not find much, so i through i ask here,.
Reply as linked Topic
Ahnalira
3h
I started paying attention to my gut when I learned in 2014 that autoimmune conditions are correlative–if not causative–to gut permeability and gut dysbiosis.
First, I started an elimination protocol; removing gluten, casein, legumes, and eggs from my diet. I have since added organic pasture raised eggs back in. I ate bone broth stews every other day for about 1.5 years… now more like two weeks per month. I took herbal anti-bacterial and anti-fungals for dysbiosis. Still working on candida and yersinia but cleared h pylori altogether.
I alternate probiotics and eat prebotics and resistant starch regularly.
Which specific resistant starch do you consume?
Candida…I mentioned it to a doctor some years ago, let’s say he was a skeptic, to put it mildly.
What is the problem with eggs?
Why did you suspect that you had h pylori? It causes ulcer.
The right probiotic is a very good thing. I am a fan of both bacillus coagulans and a blend called Ortho biotics. Quality does matter. I like bacillus coagulans because it builds colonies that eliminate candida…and, let’s face it, high blood sugar supports candida imbalances in our guts
That said, before taking a probiotic, it’s important to heal the gut lining and reduce bacterial and viral imbalances… then, start seeding the gut with probiotics.
I use resistant potato starch. I make it myself by cooking potatoes at a low heat and then refrigerating.
Candida loves high blood sugar. Sometimes docs are skeptical, not because they are so wise, but because they know nothing on the topic, in my humble opinion Here is a very simple test to determine if you have a candida imbalance:
Using distilled water, spit into a glass of water in the morning before brushing teeth or eating or drinking anything. Watch over the course of an hour. If there is candida present, the saliva will begin to send trails down to the bottom of the glass. In my husband’s case, his spit just sank–completely. If you don’t have a candida imbalance, the saliva will wholly float at the top of the water. You can repeat this several times to further enhance the efficacy of the test
Eggs are one of the food types that commonly develop a food sensitivity. Especially if a person as gut permeability. I found I could tolerate eggs that didn’t come from commercial, gmo grain fed chickies pretty well, but the “regular” eggs served in most restaurants made my stomach hurt once I had eliminated them from my diet for awhile.
I knew I had h pylori because–due to a long standing undiagnosed hashimoto’s condition, I didn’t have adequate HCL in my stomach during digestion. HCL is what keeps h pylori from taking hold. By the time I “woke up” to it, it had traveled into my small intestines, too. Took awhile to eradicate.
thanks, for telling me that, something to look up,.
i did see some links, Terry4, have on here,.
Thanks. Very informative ;-). Love this group; I learn so much from these discussions.
It does seem like resistant potato starch has been beneficial for those of us who’ve taken it. I do seem to sleep better. Post prandial BG certainly has not been negatively affected. I can’t get over the nutrition label on Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch: 1 Tablespoon has a carb content of 10 grams. The dietary fiber is listed as zero. If it had not been for the discussions that have taken place here, I would have avoided the resistant starch altogether!
Yeah, I’m sure the nutrition labelling is based on the usual use which means adding to cooked meals.
I have gastroperisis also and can barely small a high fat food. If I eat it I’ll surely vomit soon after. Did you ever have a similar problem. I feel so limited in my diet. Plus anything fatty I eat will have my running to the bathroom soon after.