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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think that gut health will become a huge focus in the next decade?

133 replies

KenAdams · 14/09/2023 00:18

I'm seeing more and more people looking for ways to improve their gut health.

I have endo and going GF has been one of the most helpful things pain wise.

AIBU to think we're on the cusp of a gut health revolution here? Fingers crossed that it will drive companies to come up with better tasting GF food as well as some of it is dreadful!

OP posts:
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Labbingtons · 15/09/2023 09:40

Of course gut health is important. But unless you have specific health needs, it's easy to eat a gut healthy diet. Much of the world manages it without the need for widgets stuck on their arms and endless tedious podcasts.

Do what Michael Pollan says: eat (real) food, mostly plants, not to much.

Unfortunately for the big brands and diet gurus, that's not going to make them any money. Big Brand food companies will have 'great for gut health!' plastered of every shitty space food they flog us. And because we have lost an understanding of what a simple, healthy diet looks like, we fall for it. And academics are no better. Tim Spector must be absolutely raking it in with his Zoe project. What started off as interesting, helpful research has becoming an absolute money-making racket, targeting the neurotic middle classes. His new book was such as joyless exercise in marketing and alarmism that I'd lost the will to live at the end, and had to read The Kitchen Diaries (Nigel knows how to eat) as therapy. While he sells his own brand of miracle cure, the real issues of food poverty and lack of education about health and nutrition are being totally ignored. Ultra processed food is obviously terrible for us in excess. What is alarming is that so many people need the next trendy guru to evangelise about it before the realise that.

In short: Want good guts? Ironically, don't eat shit.

justasking111 · 15/09/2023 09:54

A friend who buys that box of food that comes with recipes is enjoying the foods. The ingredients are simple, healthy. It's weekly I think.

Ginmonkeyagain · 15/09/2023 10:03

Gut heath is really important and is linked to mental health. Stress always gives me bad indigestion.

However you don't need all sorts of fancy stuff. Eat whole foods, don't over eat, exercise regularly, drink water. I have always eat a bit of live natural yogurt every day (started when I was young - my mum used to give us home made yoghurt at breakfast) it is great for keeping everything ticking over well.

Wanderingllama · 15/09/2023 10:04

There is a section for affiliate links and codes
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/promo-codes-bargains

InBedByTen · 15/09/2023 10:06

Ginmonkeyagain · 15/09/2023 10:03

Gut heath is really important and is linked to mental health. Stress always gives me bad indigestion.

However you don't need all sorts of fancy stuff. Eat whole foods, don't over eat, exercise regularly, drink water. I have always eat a bit of live natural yogurt every day (started when I was young - my mum used to give us home made yoghurt at breakfast) it is great for keeping everything ticking over well.

The most recent Zoe podcast is about gut health and the brain- really interesting (and no need to line Tim Spector’s pockets 😂)

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/zoe-science-nutrition/id1611216298?i=1000627859396

ZOE Science & Nutrition: The shocking damage ultra-processed foods cause to your brain on Apple Podcasts

‎ZOE Science & Nutrition: The shocking damage ultra-processed foods cause to your brain on Apple Podcasts

‎Show ZOE Science & Nutrition, Ep The shocking damage ultra-processed foods cause to your brain - 14 Sept 2023

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/zoe-science-nutrition/id1611216298?i=1000627859396

HumourReplacementTherapy · 15/09/2023 10:29

@TowerRaven7 that's really interesting as I haven't come across anyone who is celiac who has the symptoms I have.
I can't be diagnosed via endoscopy as I can't eat enough gluten for it to be picked up.
My symptoms are flashing lights/high pitched ringing or pulsing then I vomit.
So similar symptoms to a migraine but I don't get severe head pain
I have been told I am likely to be celiac as I also have colitis and Type 1
My immune system is fucked and I seem to clock up AI diseases since peri meno started age 45.
Going GF has pretty much resolved it although i still get these migraine type of events occasionally when Ive definitely not eaten gluten.

sleepwhenidie · 15/09/2023 11:07

OP you are right but I agree with PP that Tim Spector has conveniently turned this into a huge money making exercise.

This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the subject - and provides no magic solution to buy. Some of the recommendations include things like regularly kissing your partner so it’s not just about diet!

Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome https://amzn.eu/d/bWj1HbG

medianewbie · 15/09/2023 11:29

I'd be interested to know ow of there is yet any research on the long term effects of gastric surgery (including 'failed' surgery where the patient regains considerable amounts of weight). Imo GS is brutal for gut health.

Wanderingllama · 15/09/2023 11:33

medianewbie · 15/09/2023 11:29

I'd be interested to know ow of there is yet any research on the long term effects of gastric surgery (including 'failed' surgery where the patient regains considerable amounts of weight). Imo GS is brutal for gut health.

It's a money maker so might be hard to find independent studies imho.
I know 3 people with gastric surgery and each has aquired food intolerances, digestive issues, vitamins and minerals deficiencies etc. Things like now cannot eat tomato based food, no spicy food, and so on. Small sample, I know, but very much made me decide that diet was the way, not surgery. I love food and spices.

justasking111 · 15/09/2023 12:17

Wanderingllama · 15/09/2023 11:33

It's a money maker so might be hard to find independent studies imho.
I know 3 people with gastric surgery and each has aquired food intolerances, digestive issues, vitamins and minerals deficiencies etc. Things like now cannot eat tomato based food, no spicy food, and so on. Small sample, I know, but very much made me decide that diet was the way, not surgery. I love food and spices.

Not had gastric surgery but developed all those intolerances. Thanks menopause. Now the other side of that roller coaster can tolerate a little more if cooked. But chilli off the menu permanently.

Friend had gastric band. Vitamin deficiencies, hair loss which is common. BUT having a bad diet can cause those things too.

Our surgery do a lot more blood tests these days, more comprehensive too. Found my folate deficiency.

Notpooryet · 15/09/2023 12:29

thebellagio · 14/09/2023 21:38

@Stupendousseptember with Zoe, they monitor your blood sugar over two weeks, take a blood sample and a stool sample so they can accurately assess how your body reacts to different foods, from the perspective of blood sugar, blood fat and gut micro biomes. So everyone’s results will be different.

to make it easy to understand, foods are given a score of between 0-100. The higher the score, the better they are for your specific body,

so taking fruit as an example, you would generally think any fruit is good if your trying to eat healthily. But for me, Avocado is a score of 100, passion fruit is a score of 93, strawberries and raspberries are 83, yet a banana is 47 and watermelon is 22- huge differences,

in terms of oil, I’d been using coconut oil thinking it was a healthy choice, but that gives me a score of 26 while xtra virgin olive oil is 92.

id swapped my rice for Cous Cous, but for my body, rice is a score of 5 (yikes!) and cous cous is 25. But bulger wheat is 71. So simply by swapping my grains, I’m making better choices.

I wonder if cheap stuff ever ends up being better for you

KnittedCardi · 15/09/2023 12:52

It's been around for several years actually. Lots of the doctor/health type programmes were all over it as more research came out. Also see poo transfers for C Diff, and vaginal secretions for C Section babies. I think originally it came out of Israeli research.

Doggydarling · 15/09/2023 12:53

Anyone buying kefir instead of making it themselves please be careful and check what you are buying. Some commercial produced kefir is not actually fermented in the tradional manner but has probiotics added artificially. It's incredibly easy to make at home, all you need is milk, kefir grains, a glass container and a fine sieve. Most people who make it are very happy to pass on grains to anyone interested in starting. By the way it's really good for dogs particularly if they're on medication, my dogs queue up for their daily dose.

Wanderingllama · 15/09/2023 12:59

Kefir is deiving me crazy. I ferment veg, but failed at kefir. My friend excelled in kefir, failed at sauerkraut 😂

InBedByTen · 15/09/2023 14:00

Notpooryet · 15/09/2023 12:29

I wonder if cheap stuff ever ends up being better for you

Beans,, lentils and chickpeas tend to score high for everyone.

HundredMilesAnHour · 15/09/2023 14:07

Louise303 · 15/09/2023 01:15

We use symprove a probiotic liquid and find it great it may be a coincidence but my sons immunity is great.

I also take Symprove every morning and it's made a huge improvement to my immunity (which used to be poor despite a healthy diet). Amazing stuff! Symprove is one of the only two probiotics that GPs recommend (the other one being VSL# powder).

Combusting · 15/09/2023 14:30

lljkk · 14/09/2023 20:55

Meh. All I hear in recent years about gut health and wellbeing is lots of speculation, speculative correlation & speculative mechanisms leading to speculative outcomes. Precious little proof about which actions lead to specific benefits, beyond the extreme situations (eg., people who need fecal transplants).

I find it hilarious every time I hear kefir talked about as superfood. It's obvious sugary junk food to me.

What the fuck? Where’s the sugar in natural kefir?! It’s made at home with milk and kefir grains or water and kefir grains. Or bought in its natural form from shop.

are you confused? Are you perhaps getting confused with flavoured/sugary kefir type drinks sold under various brand names? Are you confusing these with actual raw kefir ?

SadnapTwapples · 15/09/2023 14:40

BingBongDingDong · 15/09/2023 06:32

This is depressing. All that good gut health needs is a really simple diet of simple whole foods and fermented food like whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts & seeds, beans & lentils, and things like simple kefir milk, kimchi etc.

Food manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon will do completely the opposite - flooding the market with highly ultra-processed "foods" with exciting labels claiming bacteria have been added to suck people into believing they're being healthy, when in fact they'll be eating a pile of utter crap, and the process of ultra-processing will in fact have rendered any added bacteria utterly useless.

Yes

Notlaughingalot · 15/09/2023 15:52

I've started cutting out all the ultra processed food that I can, and I've lost 4lb without doing anything.

I bought a bread maker to avoid shop bought bread, and I make wholemeal bread with added seeds.

For pasta I make my own with Einkorn flour, which is apparently better than modern wheat.

I cook from scratch, or DH does as we both like cooking

If I could just crack the wine habit...

Notlaughingalot · 15/09/2023 15:54

I'd like to try the Zoe programme but it's too expensive.

HalfSpoon · 15/09/2023 15:58

Wanderingllama · 15/09/2023 12:59

Kefir is deiving me crazy. I ferment veg, but failed at kefir. My friend excelled in kefir, failed at sauerkraut 😂

You don't need to do anything special.

Just buy Kefir from the shops and some milk. Remove a glass of milk from the milk you just bought, pour some of the kefir you just bought into the milk bottle - wait a day. You now have lots more Kefir!

It makes the kefir you buy much better value as milk is so inexpensive by comparison:

thebellagio · 15/09/2023 17:54

@Notlaughingalot i can give you a referral code that makes if cheaper if that helps?

but really just focus on getting 30+ different plants into your diet every week

Puffling235 · 15/09/2023 20:58

Agree OP. Gut health isn't a fad diet. Poor gut health really is the root of the declining health in the western world, including mental health. It's not just down to diet, but clearly that's a huge factor.

of course there will be people just jumping on the bandwagon that don't really know what they are talking about. I include Tim Spector in this. He probably believes what he says, but I honestly think he's massively behind the curve, pushes a vegan agenda (dreadful for good health) and I've just learned Zoe recommends rapeseed oil 🤦‍♀️

Seeds oils are literally poison to the human body, (excess of omega 6, not enough omega 3), hence the major decline in health since their introduction.

The latest 'fad' diet is carnivore/animal based. Look at Paul Saladino MD. However it actually makes a lot of sense, follows an ancestral diet (well raised meat/eggs/fruit/raw dairy/ raw honey). This guy hates vegetables 😂 (fermented are better of course). he is a little extreme. But I think the basics are there.

See also Weston A Price foundation, and Lily Nichols RDN. Dr Nemechek 's gut health protocol.

Although there are differences of opinion, for me, there is enough agreement on certain principles ( eliminating seed oils, reducing carbs, benefits of good olive oil, benefits of animal based foods, etc) to know it isn't just a fad. The vegan movement is not great for human health. But if done without seed oils then still better than a standard modern diet.