Gut Health
I want to first emphasize a comment post I made in 2015 about gut dysbiosys. I stumbled onto that post a few days ago (after I had unsuccessfully been trying to find it as I had remembered the linked blog posts in it but not the domain name of the blog), by accidentally incorrectly searching on site:bitcointalk.org Humanid TPTB_need_war instead of the correct site:bitcointalk.org Humaniq iamnotback. The linked comment post is on a page that has a comment from @generalizethis which has the word ‘humanoid’, so it was found by Google to match those incorrect search terms.
That linked comment post contains among several others a link to an astute and well researched technical blog post (also archived) which explains why unsaturated fats and most grains are likely to exacerbate leaky gut. And explains (with a link to another blog post) (also archived) how to this leaky gut stresses the liver (thus could explain a posited causal relationship in my case: leaky gut ➜ NAFLD aka fatty liver ➜ liver+spleen cysts). He explained for example, “unlike short- and medium-chain fatty acids, long-chain fatty acids do not go directly to the liver absent a leaky gut.” Which means saturated (i.e. long-chain) fats are (absent leaky gut) digested in the large intestine symbiotic with good microbiome/microflora in the intestine which aid in said digestion. The ancillary link even mentions “Euthyroid sickness” (which in my case was a developing hypothyroid, severe fatigue, and < 36 C body temperature) from fad diets such as ketogenic and fish oil supplements.
It was fortuitous timing that I stumbled back onto that dysbiosys research I had originally discovered in 2015 (at that time 3.5 years ago I was infected with Tuberculosis but didn’t know what illness was causing my symptoms), because I had (as I had mentioned with my pics upthread) recently gone to an extreme vegetarian focused, minimized carbs diet in a desperate attempt to lose weight, plus lessen my fatty liver and abdominal fat. The side-effect being I was so fatigued and low body temp, that is was nearly impossible to do any athletics. So I had increased my consumption of beans, being they’re higher in carbs but low in “net carbs” due to most carbs from fiber, but as the linked blog explains these are estrogenic— I was even growing droopy, female breasts like we see on old men. Worst was I wasn’t satiated fats-wise so other than avocados, I ended up binging/gorging on peanuts (even I had tried to stop them) and next day on the 26th I was very ill due to a flare-up of what I assume to be IBS from the leaky gut. I thought I was going to be hospitalized again. I even ran a fever. The peanuts had done the same to me in Singapore in 2017.
Fortuitous because that caused me to switch to a diet of saturated fats in moderation (grass-fed/finished butter, eggs, beef) combined with steamed (then chilled to maximize resistant starch) potatoes. I have felt wonderful since switching to this diet. Potatoes are awesome compared to processed grains. I’m also eating high-fiber red rice and baked Halibut for dinners, which tastes fabulous and makes me feel so healthy. Halibut is fatty enough (unlike Tuna except for belly being too lean to satiate) but not overloaded on the undesirable Omega-3 like Salmon (and no wild caught Salmon for sale in Philippines), plus high in Selenium. The red rice is perfect carb complement to the potatoes. Amazingly I lost more weight to 68 kg (150 lbs) on this new diet even while eating more! And my mental and athletic energy level skyrocketed. Also I felt all kinds of immune action going in my gut on the first days of this diet (starting to abate by now). I’m still eating raw veggies everyday, but they are in moderation, as an astute video suggests we need a balance of C, F, V, P (carbs, fats, veggies, protein). I’m also dicing tomato and white onions for my meals and using black pepper on my non-fish meals.
I’m also now again supplementing with 20,000 I.U. vitamin D3 daily (and full body sunshine exposure when not cloudy) and for extra energy boost then 300 mg CoQ10 on barbell days. So some of my improved feeling and weight loss may be due to these supplements.
The way I feel right now after only a few days of this, is I could potentially on the way to becoming cured, although note I still have low body temperature and some slight gut tightness (see also my EDIT at the bottom of this post). But I know I will probably relapse again. The only permanent/reliable cure for leaky gut appears to be a fecal transplant. Leaky gut appears to originate from for example chronic bad diet, stress, and antibiotic use. I have found numerous first-hand accounts of them being cured only by fecal transplant. But also apparently there is research that (c.f. also and also) supports that Bovine Colostrum may also be curative, so I will try this supplement.
I wrote the following before I got so ill on the 26th, after which I added back the saturated fats and increased my potatoes. I’m now leaning away from the alkaline fad diet based on the aforementioned cited blog post. I also reduced my consumption of beans. Stopped the coconut milk, because butter is superior and the canned stuff has bad additives (the cited blog post mentions thickeners as being bad). I can buy fresh coconut milk in the Philippine market, but it will become rancid after a day or so (even refrigerated) if I don’t eat it all. I also stopped taking the apple cider vinegar, in case maybe that had contributed to my bad flare-up.
I doubt that plausibility of a psychological basis (sorry but frankly sounds like hippie meditation nonsense to me), other than the psychological fortitude to make the necessary physical changes if they can possibly be made.
That made me smile. Yeah, I realise it sounds flaky. But not everything that works can be measured in a lab. Even if it's some kind of placebo effect or self-delusion, if it does the trick then I'm fine with that.
Cortisol-inducing stress impacts the immune system and 70% of the immune system originates in the gut and spleen. But I distinguish this from for example a theory that depression, negative attitude, or meditation can make a significant impact. Stress is physically manifested such as raised cortisol levels. Avoiding stress doesn’t require yoga or a psychiatrist. The point I am trying to emphasize, is to not chase unlikely or superstitious posited causes for this can become wasteful (and even evasive) self-deception.
I eat quite a range of vegetables, including broccoli. And that was to try and maintain my cholesterol levels in the normal range. I walk about three miles a day and am reasonably fit, normal weight, but not athletic; some jogging along with our greyhound. Pretty good immune system; rarely catch colds etc. Tuna or salmon about once a week; meat only about twice a week. Room for improvement here in experimenting with new regimens and diets. I'll take on board some of the ideas and suggestions from the various links you provided - still a couple to read. Some I'm familiar with, like the American and British gut projects, and others I've not. It's a fascinating subject; I only wish I could devote more time to it.
But you didn’t mention what I’m suspecting may be the elephant in the dining room: grains.
I’m starting to see a very pronounced difference when forsaking all grains for instead getting my main supply of carbs from cooked legumes and (steamed or baked, then chilled for maximum resistant starch) potatoes with the skin included.
I steam my potatoes by dicing them, then cooking them on an very heavy stainless skillet covered with water sprinkled no top. After reaching maximum temperature of the skillet, I turn off the flame and let them sit until cooled. Then chill in the refrigerator, before eating with warmed legumes. I top my legumes with diced tomato, white onion, avocado, and lime juice (all spiced with cumin, chili powder and black pepper).
So the key appears to be alkaline fiber. This means fiber from unprocessed plants and not grains. And fiber from certain raw vegetables such as celery (including eating the bitter leaves) and a green leafy vegetable such as mustard greens or pechay. I’m munching on these all day. I’m also including raw, unskinned carrots (even I eat the dirty nub and do not wash) and cucumbers.
You may be eating the wrong vegetables and grains. I also want to ask if you are getting 10,000 IU vitamin D every day with exposure of all your body skin to the sun or supplementation? I thought that of because I know it's so important for gut health and you’re in the cloudy UK.
Note I have taken nuts out of my diet. They seemed to be counter productive. I am consuming some coconut milk cream (sometimes with a tablespoon of turmeric/curcumin extract with Piperine).
Yesterday I added to my daily regimen: unpasteurized, unfiltered, organic 100% apple cider vinegar “with the mother” bacterial culture.
EDIT: Possibly I have hypothyroidism, although it could just be my body intentionally down regulated my metabolism due to diet and intermittent fasting. I notice my body temperature is lower in the morning(35.8 C) until after I’ve eaten carbs and fats (then up to as high as 36.7 C but drops again). I’ve been experiencing dry mouth when I sleep for months now, although I thought this might be due to breathing through my mouth due to inflammation in my nasal pathway. The dry mouth abates when I am awake. But now that I’m noticing that I have persistently low body temperature (~36 C), I’m suspecting a problem with my thyroid. I wasn’t checking my body temperature until I started the diet experiments in December 2018, so I don’t know when this low body temperature started. Something I need to test especially if my basal body temperature doesn’t return to normal soon.
EDIT#2: my body temperature reached 36.8 C this evening right after heavy meal, even though I ate very little until evening because I was so engrossed in working. I’ve been supplementing with iodine and at a lot of Cod last night which is very high in iodine. I’m really liking this new diet regimen I am on since the 27th. Also eating two raw carrots per day and apparently vitamin A is one the vitamins needed to control decrease the TSH.
EDIT#3: My body temperature peaked at 37.0 C yesterday evening.