We have a small sample of case studies which have shown us that just giving broad spectrum, good quality probiotics can help a range of conditions not instinctively linked to the gut.
One case was a 10 year old child with asthma. It was suggested that the dysbiosis in his gut was alerting the immune system to potential invaders, in lay terms, it had the immune system on "amber alert" as a baseline state. This meant that anything that came into his system was reacted to instead of tolerated, e.g. pollen, pet hairs etc.
After two months on daily probiotics (between 4 bn and 20 bn), his asthma attacks had dropped from two to three per week down to two to three per month. This was a very encouraging result but as a side effect, his behaviour was also much calmer and his attention span had increased.
His temper outbursts had dropped drastically and his mother reported that he did not "kick off" anywhere near as much as he had been doing prior to the probiotic treatment regime.
It is suggested by this treatment that the level of dysbiosis can greatly influence the state of reactivity generally of the whole body, physically, emotionally and mentally. With the less favourable kinds of bacteria colonising the bowel, the level of irritation and toxicity is greatly increased and the body is highly reactive to any other potential irritant.
Extrapolating from this, anybody experiencing any kind of intolerance, allergic reaction and behavioural disturbance (and this can include depression, anxiety, stress) should try a course of good quality high strength probiotics before they restort to other medicines to suppress the symptoms.
It is suggested that the seat of many problems is the gut flora - at the Taymount Clinic we have many good results from initially attending to the level of good bacteria in the gut. It is worthy of further study that some serious conditions like Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis can be affected positively by making sure the gut flora are the beneficial kind rather than the pathogenic strains.
Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most elegant and efficient.
Showing posts with label probiotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label probiotics. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Monday, 26 April 2010
Lactic Acid Pickles and Fermentation
I have now got loads of milk whey left from making kefir cheese. I have been reading up about pickling vegetables in whey instead of using vinegar. The Ancient Ones used to make preserved vegetables using whey - it is a nasty modern idea to use highly acidic pickling vinegar. The commercial manufactures use acetic acid instead of lactic acid with all its friendly bacteria. The old method meant that the foods were preserved using lactic acid and the acidophilus bacteria stopped any nasty putrefaction - they did the preserving. These days, the acetic acid kills everything - including your taste buds.
Seriously, if you eat too many pickles, it can lead to stomach ulcers. The Japanese are among the healthiest nations on the planet but they still have a very high incidence of stomach ulcers and this can lead to stomach cancer. The reason for this is the incredibly high number of pickles they eat alongside their very healthy sushi and sashimi.
So let's get back to the old methods and use whey (lactic acid teeming with friendly bacteria - especially when it is whey from making kefir), to preserve our vegetables. They are more fermented than pickled and this makes for a very gentle-on-the-tongue pickle that has an exquisite flavour and texture rather than an acid bite that the commercial pickles give you.
A mixture of shredded cabbage and carrot is called Kimchi and it is a lovely accompaniment to cold meats and fish. Cabbage alone is of course sauerkraut and we are all familiar with that. Red cabbage (Rot Kohl) is often used in Germany and Bavaria, served hot with all sorts of warm, filling winter dumplings and good stuff (remember I eat cooked foods in the winter so I do appreciate warm, rib-sticking knoedels and ham dumplings that the Austrians do so well!).
We eat a lot of sushi and sashimi (raw fish is an important source of vitamin B12 for raw foodies), at home so we often run out of the little packets of pickled ginger, so this was first on my list of new creations. I have found a lovely jumbo piece of ginger root and scraped and sliced it very thinly. I put this in a jar with whey which I have coloured using beetroot powder so it is the traditional pink colour but with no nasty chemical colourings. It is now sitting in the fridge muttering quietly. I will check it in two weeks to see if it is ready. I will let you know how it goes.
So now I still have three litres of kefir whey still left in the fridge. I have a cabbage in the cooler that seems to want to be shredded up with a carrot to make some kimchi. Trouble is, I often go to the trouble of making all this stuff and then nobody wants to eat it. Perhaps I am not doing the sell bit very well....? The question is, am I going to get around to shredding it and putting it in a jar. We will see. I really need a very clever raw recipe for something delicious to make using the kefir whey. I wish I could find a Themomix recipe for making ice cream or sorbet of some kind with the whey. I will keep looking and experimenting.
I have visions of having gluts of vegetables which I dehydrate and bottle in oil or slice thinly and pickle in whey. I have these earth-mother hallucinations of cupboards stacked full of jars and bottles of nutrition-rich preserved (RAW) foods brimming with enzymes and probiotics which will see us through the winter - organic, wholesome and yummy.
Well - first, you have a dream, then you make a plan from the dream, then you make it happen. Watch this space.
Seriously, if you eat too many pickles, it can lead to stomach ulcers. The Japanese are among the healthiest nations on the planet but they still have a very high incidence of stomach ulcers and this can lead to stomach cancer. The reason for this is the incredibly high number of pickles they eat alongside their very healthy sushi and sashimi.
So let's get back to the old methods and use whey (lactic acid teeming with friendly bacteria - especially when it is whey from making kefir), to preserve our vegetables. They are more fermented than pickled and this makes for a very gentle-on-the-tongue pickle that has an exquisite flavour and texture rather than an acid bite that the commercial pickles give you.
A mixture of shredded cabbage and carrot is called Kimchi and it is a lovely accompaniment to cold meats and fish. Cabbage alone is of course sauerkraut and we are all familiar with that. Red cabbage (Rot Kohl) is often used in Germany and Bavaria, served hot with all sorts of warm, filling winter dumplings and good stuff (remember I eat cooked foods in the winter so I do appreciate warm, rib-sticking knoedels and ham dumplings that the Austrians do so well!).
We eat a lot of sushi and sashimi (raw fish is an important source of vitamin B12 for raw foodies), at home so we often run out of the little packets of pickled ginger, so this was first on my list of new creations. I have found a lovely jumbo piece of ginger root and scraped and sliced it very thinly. I put this in a jar with whey which I have coloured using beetroot powder so it is the traditional pink colour but with no nasty chemical colourings. It is now sitting in the fridge muttering quietly. I will check it in two weeks to see if it is ready. I will let you know how it goes.
So now I still have three litres of kefir whey still left in the fridge. I have a cabbage in the cooler that seems to want to be shredded up with a carrot to make some kimchi. Trouble is, I often go to the trouble of making all this stuff and then nobody wants to eat it. Perhaps I am not doing the sell bit very well....? The question is, am I going to get around to shredding it and putting it in a jar. We will see. I really need a very clever raw recipe for something delicious to make using the kefir whey. I wish I could find a Themomix recipe for making ice cream or sorbet of some kind with the whey. I will keep looking and experimenting.
I have visions of having gluts of vegetables which I dehydrate and bottle in oil or slice thinly and pickle in whey. I have these earth-mother hallucinations of cupboards stacked full of jars and bottles of nutrition-rich preserved (RAW) foods brimming with enzymes and probiotics which will see us through the winter - organic, wholesome and yummy.
Well - first, you have a dream, then you make a plan from the dream, then you make it happen. Watch this space.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Kefir cheese and dehydrators
Dehydrator experiment went a bit wrong; the kefir curdled quite alarmingly. It grew more but it made a very acidic yogurt that I didn't like much. So we have decided that we will not use the dehydrator but keep it at room temperature but slightly warm the milk before we put it over the grains, taking the fridge chill off really. That way, we don't retard the growth whilst the milk comes up to room temperature.
I am using the curdled kefir (now reconstituted) as part of a batch set aside for making some more probiotic cheese; I love that feta-style kefir cheese. I shall have to give it a name - any suggestions?
Kefa? Fetir?
I am using the curdled kefir (now reconstituted) as part of a batch set aside for making some more probiotic cheese; I love that feta-style kefir cheese. I shall have to give it a name - any suggestions?
Kefa? Fetir?
Kefir and home-made feta-type cheese
Kefir
We are growing our kefir on at astonishing rates at the moment. I have sourced unpasteurised milk from Hook and Son (thanks for that link, Janie Turner of Thermomix) and now I am happily slurping 6-8 ozs of gorgeous creamy kefir each morning.
The kefir cheese is just an amazing success. I am so proud of myself! After several revolting and probably health-risking attempts at making a probiotic cheese, I have perfected the method.
You need a large bowlful of kefir - whole milk is best but the raw milk people seem to only sell semi-skimmed, so we are making do with that. Put the whole bowlful in a cheesecloth (this is best done by simply lining a large bowl with cloth and then filling it with kefir. When it is all settled, gather up the corners of the cloth and pin them together and lift gently, hanging the whole thing just above the bowl to drain. After 24-36 hours, you will have a bowl of thin whey and a cloth full of what looks like Philadelphia cheese. The whey is great added to fresh fruit and veggie juices or used in bread making or to make the crackers mentioned below. It is also fab for enzyme-rich pickles- more about that another day.
Scrape the soft cheese into another bowl. I found that you can almost mould the cheese in your hands through the cloth, picking up all the bits stuck to the cloth as you go. Put the cheese ball into the bowl and add salt and mix well. I bought a couple of cheese moulds from the internet, there are several cheese making suppliers on ebay. I line the cheese mould with fresh clean cloth and then pop the cheese into the mould. Cover with the cloth and put the press lid in place. Then I put a heavy weight on top and watch the last of the whey start to ooze out of the holes in the mould. I leave it to compress for a couple of days.
Turn it out of the mould - then a couple more days in the fridge and you will have a large lump of what looks and cuts like white Wensleydale and tastes like a slightly beery Feta cheese. It is just wonderful.
I put this on my dehydrated raw crackers (my version of Scan bran - email me if you would like the recipe: enquiries@taymount.com) and I feel so virtuous, it is a scandal.
Love and kefir grains to the world.
Oh, if you want some kefir grains, you can buy them on the taymount website: www.taymount.com - products - digestive aids
We are just experimenting to see if the kefir grows faster in the dehydrator - in a sealed Kilner jar to keep it from drying out of course. We already found that if you are making bread, the dehydrator is incredible for speeding up the proving and rising process. Just put a shower cap over the bowl to keep the bread dough moist.
We are growing our kefir on at astonishing rates at the moment. I have sourced unpasteurised milk from Hook and Son (thanks for that link, Janie Turner of Thermomix) and now I am happily slurping 6-8 ozs of gorgeous creamy kefir each morning.
The kefir cheese is just an amazing success. I am so proud of myself! After several revolting and probably health-risking attempts at making a probiotic cheese, I have perfected the method.
You need a large bowlful of kefir - whole milk is best but the raw milk people seem to only sell semi-skimmed, so we are making do with that. Put the whole bowlful in a cheesecloth (this is best done by simply lining a large bowl with cloth and then filling it with kefir. When it is all settled, gather up the corners of the cloth and pin them together and lift gently, hanging the whole thing just above the bowl to drain. After 24-36 hours, you will have a bowl of thin whey and a cloth full of what looks like Philadelphia cheese. The whey is great added to fresh fruit and veggie juices or used in bread making or to make the crackers mentioned below. It is also fab for enzyme-rich pickles- more about that another day.
Scrape the soft cheese into another bowl. I found that you can almost mould the cheese in your hands through the cloth, picking up all the bits stuck to the cloth as you go. Put the cheese ball into the bowl and add salt and mix well. I bought a couple of cheese moulds from the internet, there are several cheese making suppliers on ebay. I line the cheese mould with fresh clean cloth and then pop the cheese into the mould. Cover with the cloth and put the press lid in place. Then I put a heavy weight on top and watch the last of the whey start to ooze out of the holes in the mould. I leave it to compress for a couple of days.
Turn it out of the mould - then a couple more days in the fridge and you will have a large lump of what looks and cuts like white Wensleydale and tastes like a slightly beery Feta cheese. It is just wonderful.
I put this on my dehydrated raw crackers (my version of Scan bran - email me if you would like the recipe: enquiries@taymount.com) and I feel so virtuous, it is a scandal.
Love and kefir grains to the world.
Oh, if you want some kefir grains, you can buy them on the taymount website: www.taymount.com - products - digestive aids
We are just experimenting to see if the kefir grows faster in the dehydrator - in a sealed Kilner jar to keep it from drying out of course. We already found that if you are making bread, the dehydrator is incredible for speeding up the proving and rising process. Just put a shower cap over the bowl to keep the bread dough moist.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Antibiotics - the good guys
Anti-biotics - what exactly are they and why do we need Probiotics?
Anti- means against and bio- means life so they are literally "against life". They kill bacteria. They don't kill fungus and they don't kill yeast or viruses but they kill bacteria. If you have a raging infection, this can be life-saving. However, antibiotics will usually kill most of the bacteria they come into contact with and this can mean your friendly gut bacteria (the good guys) as well as the bad guys doing all the infectious damage.
We have trillions of bacteria inside our digestive system - our bodies have adapted to the presence of beneficial bacteria over the ages and some organisms make things for us like vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in our colons. This is obviously a good thing. We like that.
So when you knock them all out with antibiotics, you need to put them back in again, or else the yeasts (untouched by the antibiotics) will take over the show. Hence - candida overgrowth (Candida Albicans is not a pop star's name - it is a very unpleasant yeast if it is allowed to get too dominant - another blog on that coming soon). People can go for years feeling less than great because of this nasty little opportunistic organism.
Acti-yog, Yoccult, Acidivia....? Are manufacturers making monkeys out of us?
People respond to advertising and think that if they drink a cute little bottle of sweetened yogurty stuff every morning, or scoff down a pot of fruity creamy sweet yogurt, they are getting their daily good guys. Well these products are not bad; they are not harmful (apart from all that sugar and the "lite" ones have aspartame - don't even get me started on that neuro-toxin!!!), but they don't have the muscles to re-populate your good guys in enough quantities.
Immediately after a course of antibiotics, send in the cavalry!!
Immediately after a course of antibiotics, bring in the cavalry!! Doses of antibiotics are measured in the numbers of live organisms per dose that you are taking. Don't ask me who counts them all, perhaps they use a computer or something.... ? We are talking about an ideal post-antibiotic or post-cleanse dose of around 100 BILLION live organisms in one shot, maybe for two or three days in a row. Here at the Taymount clinic, we use Replete Intensive sachets to deliver just this dose in one pleasant tasting drink taken at bedtime. Thereafter, a daily dose of around 20 BILLION will keep the cavalry topped up. We use our own branded ProBioMAX but we are always looking for the best products to bear our label. This is the best one we have found at the moment.
Frankenstein bacteria...?
Probiotics are subject to the same genetic engineering as larger beasts, sadly. Be very suspicious of anything which offers a strain of bacteria mentioned on the label with a little "R" in a circle, or a patented or unique bacterium inside. You do not want to populate your bowels with GM bacteria. Things in nature cannot be patented; only Frankenstein bacteria genetically modified in a lab can be patented. There may only be the tiniest little change necessary to make it unique and patentable.
...only the tiniest little change but...our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make?
But think on this - our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make? Do you want natural human-symbiotic good guys or are you prepared to take a risk on the GM probiotics that might behave like chimps in your gut??!!! Might appeal to you-ooo-ooo-ooo but it's not for me-eee-eee-eee. I prefer to drive to work rather than swing from the lampposts!
Go for the natural and the unpatented - avoid the Biffidumb Digestidumb and Acidophilus Chimera and stick to taking a simple and high-dose good quality probiotic capsule or powder daily. A good brand will list the natural organisms by name on the side; I will post a list of the best and most useful good guys in another blog. And Google up "kefir" - more about that another day.
Eat organic veggies and don't scrub them very hard - just wipe off the visible dirt and grit and don't peel unless you really have to - some of the dirt contains great SBOs - Soil-Based Organisms which we really need to keep the bad guys at bay.
The old adage about eating a pound of dirt before you die may have had some truth!!!
Anti- means against and bio- means life so they are literally "against life". They kill bacteria. They don't kill fungus and they don't kill yeast or viruses but they kill bacteria. If you have a raging infection, this can be life-saving. However, antibiotics will usually kill most of the bacteria they come into contact with and this can mean your friendly gut bacteria (the good guys) as well as the bad guys doing all the infectious damage.
We have trillions of bacteria inside our digestive system - our bodies have adapted to the presence of beneficial bacteria over the ages and some organisms make things for us like vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in our colons. This is obviously a good thing. We like that.
So when you knock them all out with antibiotics, you need to put them back in again, or else the yeasts (untouched by the antibiotics) will take over the show. Hence - candida overgrowth (Candida Albicans is not a pop star's name - it is a very unpleasant yeast if it is allowed to get too dominant - another blog on that coming soon). People can go for years feeling less than great because of this nasty little opportunistic organism.
Acti-yog, Yoccult, Acidivia....? Are manufacturers making monkeys out of us?
People respond to advertising and think that if they drink a cute little bottle of sweetened yogurty stuff every morning, or scoff down a pot of fruity creamy sweet yogurt, they are getting their daily good guys. Well these products are not bad; they are not harmful (apart from all that sugar and the "lite" ones have aspartame - don't even get me started on that neuro-toxin!!!), but they don't have the muscles to re-populate your good guys in enough quantities.
Immediately after a course of antibiotics, send in the cavalry!!
Immediately after a course of antibiotics, bring in the cavalry!! Doses of antibiotics are measured in the numbers of live organisms per dose that you are taking. Don't ask me who counts them all, perhaps they use a computer or something.... ? We are talking about an ideal post-antibiotic or post-cleanse dose of around 100 BILLION live organisms in one shot, maybe for two or three days in a row. Here at the Taymount clinic, we use Replete Intensive sachets to deliver just this dose in one pleasant tasting drink taken at bedtime. Thereafter, a daily dose of around 20 BILLION will keep the cavalry topped up. We use our own branded ProBioMAX but we are always looking for the best products to bear our label. This is the best one we have found at the moment.
Frankenstein bacteria...?
Probiotics are subject to the same genetic engineering as larger beasts, sadly. Be very suspicious of anything which offers a strain of bacteria mentioned on the label with a little "R" in a circle, or a patented or unique bacterium inside. You do not want to populate your bowels with GM bacteria. Things in nature cannot be patented; only Frankenstein bacteria genetically modified in a lab can be patented. There may only be the tiniest little change necessary to make it unique and patentable.
...only the tiniest little change but...our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make?
But think on this - our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make? Do you want natural human-symbiotic good guys or are you prepared to take a risk on the GM probiotics that might behave like chimps in your gut??!!! Might appeal to you-ooo-ooo-ooo but it's not for me-eee-eee-eee. I prefer to drive to work rather than swing from the lampposts!
Go for the natural and the unpatented - avoid the Biffidumb Digestidumb and Acidophilus Chimera and stick to taking a simple and high-dose good quality probiotic capsule or powder daily. A good brand will list the natural organisms by name on the side; I will post a list of the best and most useful good guys in another blog. And Google up "kefir" - more about that another day.
Eat organic veggies and don't scrub them very hard - just wipe off the visible dirt and grit and don't peel unless you really have to - some of the dirt contains great SBOs - Soil-Based Organisms which we really need to keep the bad guys at bay.
The old adage about eating a pound of dirt before you die may have had some truth!!!
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