Did you know that so many products on the internet are crap. Okay, so many. I’ve had over the years, many people bring me in products, sometimes a few, sometimes bags, sometimes boxes full of stuff. So I’ve spent so much time over the years going into Google, looking at different dietary supplements, looking at formulations. I’m a product formulator, so I’ve worked for several companies until I set up my own business years ago formulating products for companies. Some of my products have been very successful. I made a vitamin C powder that’s very, very successful in Australia and New Zealand. It’s called Daily-C. I make many different types of things, but I look carefully at how things are put together, how they’re crafted.

And the sad thing is many colon products I’ve looked at, they’re basically crap. The formulations are not good. They have not got good combinations of ingredients they’ve put together. They haven’t got enough of what they need to put in there and they put too much of something that shouldn’t be in there at all. Right? And there are so many of them. Many of these products are formulated by people who are basically not clinicians, they don’t see people, they don’t work with people, they don’t use lots of different formulas in their practice to get a feel for these things. They just design stuff and dump it on the market.

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And usually they look for the cheapest raw materials they can find and they’ll put a premium on that. So there’s no interest really in how that product is going to work with people. It’s just churning out stuff and mass producing and pushing it onto the market. And you know what? It sells because people buy anything. I mean, people even buy Coca-Cola to drink. I mean, that’s how desperate people are for drinking. They drink the black death. So if they’re going to do that, well, they’re probably going to buy any kind of product, aren’t they? So just be careful about colon cleanse products because they’re not usually good on the market. All right? Be careful. There are many different ways you can clean your colon out at home.

Now, how can you tell if you’ve got a dairy allergy? All right, let’s not hurt. Let’s for example, see how much cow’s milk you’re drinking. When I think of dairy, I’m thinking about cow’s milk. I don’t care whether it’s green top, blue top, yellow top or whatever kind of top that you’re having, but it’s still going to have in it. Okay? Sugars, it’s going to have proteins in it, that can really affect you. So, there are various proteins in cow’s milk that really affect some people bad.

A lot of it’s got to do with tolerability and also your gut function. I’ll explain all this. So, the first thing you look for in the dairy allergy is you look for mucus, for snot. You look for saliva, excess saliva production, but particularly you look for phlegm. Okay, for coughing up. You can even see sometimes mucus in the stool if you have a look. Some people who’ve got a real dairy allergy, have lots of mucus in the stool. Mucus coming up from the throat. I don’t know where you guys live. If you live in New York City, you’ve probably never seen a cow before, but they’re big animals. They got four legs, they’re massive. Okay? If you see a cow, I want you to have a look at its face, all right? And what do you see hanging down here? Strands of mucus all hanging down.

Okay? So, this is a similar thing you’ll see with some kids with their allergies. Lots of mucus hanging down, not a good idea. And remember, mucus is a particularly good breeding ground for yeast and bacteria. And this is how people can get sinusitis and all kinds of problems. Not a good idea. The gut really doesn’t like too much mucus either because it precludes the ability of the body to break food down properly and absorb it. It pushes a person into leaky gut, it pushes a person into not absorbing many different nutritional properties from that food. So, how do you know? Well, you take it out. Okay? So you would take out all cheeses, all cow products. Butter is not a problem. So don’t think you need to take butter out of your diet. Okay? Butter is fat. I don’t usually see people having allergies or problems or intolerances to cows butter fat.

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And even better if you go for ghee, G-H-E-E, which is clarified butter. Okay? So, by stopping the dairy entirely, okay, watch the stool, watch the throat, watch the nose, watch the eyes. And particularly the gut. The gut should really start feeling a lot better within about 10 days, seven to 10 days when you stop that. That’s how you going to tell. But also remember the eyeball test. Look at the stool to see what’s going on there. All right? Have a good look. And if all of a sudden you see the mucus disappearing, you know you got a dairy allergy. Now, I’ve got dairy allergies, but I find that I can have one, two coffees a day, no problem with full cream milk. Okay? I make up a nice espresso, you grind the beans, put it in the group head and then, and then you get the milk shot, and then froth the milk up.

So, and there’s nothing in my opinion is as nice as a really well made espresso in the morning. I love it. So small amounts of milk, I’m fine with. I don’t really otherwise have cows milk in the diet. But I do love nice cheeses, different cheeses. But again, small amounts in moderation. No problem. So, should you avoid dairy? Should you not avoid dairy? I don’t believe that dairy should be avoided. I don’t see it as being, like nuclear waste in the body. And everyone freaks out about gluten and dairy at the moment. Like they’re almost like the Darth Vader’s of the dietary world. Don’t think like that. It’s all got to do with quantity and quality. All right? If you look at some cultures, some patients I’ve worked with, their parents, their grandparents, their great grandparents had cows milk, they had goats, they had sheep, they had cattle. And some people have had dairy in their lives for generations.

Other people, if you go to Japan for example, where you don’t really see a lot of cows. And people don’t really drink milk and of course those people genetically are not really good with cows milk. Many Asian people cannot tolerate dairy for that reason. It’s not part of their makeup. Whereas if you go to other countries like Holland, where they’ve had cows a long time, they can tolerate generally milk a lot better. But it’s up to you. It’s up to you to determine what you like. I personally prefer a nice … we’ve got a company here in New Zealand called Jersey Road, I think it’s called and they make a delicious Jersey cow organic milk that’s, I don’t even think it’s pasteurized. I think it’s homogenized but not pasteurized. But the nicest milk I’ve ever had is the one straight from the farm, that full cream milk from the cow that makes the best coffee ever, and also the best porridge. Okay? That’s untouched milk and from grass fed cows, it’s absolutely beautiful. You’ve got no idea what milks like until you’ve had real milk. And I’m sure I’m going to get some comments on that from people who understand that. It’s a massive difference between having proper milk as opposed to crap out of a plastic bottle. All right?

There are a lot of things we know about the gut microbiome, but there’s also a lot of things that we don’t know yet. A study that is providing us more knowledge about the gut is the American Gut Project (AGP). One of the chief researchers on this project is a gentleman named Dr. Daniel McDonald, Ph.D.

This project has come up with some fascinating information so far. Here are some of the highlights of the discoveries coming out of the AGP, other research, and my clinical experience:

1. People who predominantly eat a plant-based diet tend to have a far more diverse microbiome than people who eat a diet high in processed foods.

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2. People who eat a “Standard American Diet” are at higher risk of having inflammatory compounds in their gut. These compounds increase the chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. The Standard American Diet includes foods like processed meats and cheeses, high-fructose corn syrup, candy, processed carbohydrates like donuts and frozen waffles, and deep-fried foods.

3. A diet that is dominated by fruits, vegetables, and proteins, such as the Mediterranean diet, is a good starting point. When you use common sense and balance your diet and make sure you eat plenty of fresh food, the large intestine will produce large amounts of short-chain fatty acids because of the diversity of the gut microbiome. These acids help establish excellent digestive health, which translates into a healthier body overall.

Diet is everything. Nevertheless, I’m not going to tell you to follow this or that exact diet. Everyone should customize their diet based on their culture, their environment, their genetics, and their likes and dislikes.

All the things I have been saying for thirty-plus years are now being confirmed by scientific research. Science is finally validating the fact that the microbiome shapes health. Your diet and how it interacts with the bacteria in your gut can make or break your health. What you eat can influence the way you think, the way you feel, how long you’re going to live, and the quality of your life.

Sources:

• https://msystems.asm.org/content/3/3/e00031-18
• https://anesthesiology.duke.edu/?p=846744

A lot of my patients get diarrhea, and it can be a huge problem for them. Many people associate diarrhea with parasites like Blastocystis and Dientamoeba fragilis. However, there are also food and drinks that can trigger very loose bowel movements. Some of the items in your diet and lifestyle that can cause diarrhea are:

1. Alcohol: For many people, alcohol can trigger diarrhea. If you’re a regular drinker and your bowel movements are becoming overly loose, you may want to back off a bit. Cut back on the wine, the beer, and the hard liquor. You might not have to stop entirely, but definitely cut back to see if there is a cause and effect.

2. Caffeinated beverages: Caffeine stimulates the bowel for some people. Other people can get constipated from caffeine. I’m not opposed to a cup of coffee in the morning, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend having three, four, five, or six cups a day. If you’re drinking excessive amounts of coffee or caffeinated tea, cut back an see if your diarrhea diminishes.

3. Smoking: Nicotine has been linked with diarrhea. If you’re vaping, smoking, or chewing tobacco, you may want to cut back for several reasons, not just gut health.

Further readings:

• Why Some People Are More Prone Autoimmune Disease?
• Treating Anxiety and Depression By Fixing Your Gut Flora
• The Management of Chronic Bloating Due To Candida
• Metabolites, Mycotoxins, and Acetaldehyde – What Are They?
• The Bowel Purge Protocol

4. Brassicas: If you have a really messed up gut, including low levels of beneficial bacteria and imbalanced flora, brassica vegetables can lead to gas and loose bowel movements. Brassicas include broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, and Brussel sprouts, to name a few.

5. Spicy foods: Chid, cane pepper, too much garlic, too much cumin, or far too much turmeric can all cause digestive problems including diarrhea.

6. Fatty foods: Fatty foods can cause loose bowels, particularly in people with pancreatic dysfunction. Be careful about eating anything deep-fried. The pancreas can get overloaded and diarrhea is the result. Even healthy people will get diarrhea if they eat too much fatty food. I used to love deep-fried foods, but I gave them up entirely a few years ago. Since I did that, I’ve had perfectly formed bowel movements.

7. High sugar foods: High sugar foods, even “healthy” foods like grapes and melons, can precipitate diarrhea.

So that’s a bit of a list of foods that can cause diarrhea. I hope it’s helpful.

Sources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31973090
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29335277
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23295280

I’ve researched all kinds of diets over the year. I’ve looked at the Gaps diet, the Body Ecology Diet, the Paleo Diet, the Vegan diet, the Fodmap diet, and on and on.

I’m not a fan of diets. I’m not even a fan of the diet that I recommend to people. The reason why I have concerns about diets, is that the best and worst foods are very individual. What if a person has severe leaky gut or a massive allergy to one of two of the key foods recommended by a diet? What if a person has Blastocystis hominis or Dientamoeba fragilis? How does having IBS affect a diet’s recommendations?

There are many other factors that can influence health. What if a person is in an abusive relationship but thinks the Fodmap diet is going to fix their gut? What if antibiotics have wrecked someone’s gut flora, and now, they’re trying to fix it with Fodmaps? I’m sure you get my point. There are too many “what ifs’ for any one diet to be “the answer.”

Diets don’t cure people. They temporarily remediate. That’s why I get concerned when everything is food-focused. There are a billion different “foods to eat” and “foods to avoid” checklists on Google. We’re told not to have excess fructose. Avoid high-fructan foods. Avoid high-poly foods. Avoid high lactose foods. After a while, there’s not much left to eat.

For example, goat’s milk is high lactose, yet it’s fine for most people. Does it really make sense to avoid apples because of their fructose content?

The best diet for anyone is a fluid, dynamic thing. What upset your gut today may be perfectly fine in three weeks. If you stick to a diet for months, or even years, you become rigid and limited.

Just because a piece of paper tells you to avoid all these foods, do you avoid all those foods? I don’t think so. I think you need to avoid what aggravates you at the time, and that’s a very fluid, dynamic thing.

I’m not a fan of any particular diet. I’m a fan of people avoiding foods that give them trouble. I’m not going to say follow the Candida Crusher diet for the rest of your life. I’m not going to tell you that the Paleo diet is the answer to your health problems.

You need to follow a diet that is customized to your circumstances. You can narrow down the best diet for you by incorporating healthy food and observing which ones aggravate your gut.

Many diets don’t take into consideration factors like lifestyle, relationships, being kind to others, and your sleep habits.

I hope my perspective has been a wake-up call for people out there who follow strict diets and get limited results. I hope this perspective will also reach those people who surf from one diet to another. Some of my clients have followed fifteen to twenty diets and are worse off than when they started.

It’s not all about what you eat. It’s about been how you live and how you incorporate the right foods into your life.

Sources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28244666
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31947991