Tag Archives: Yeast Infection Diagnosis

Questions & Answers

What You Can Do If You Have Clostridium Difficile

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a bacteria that lives in the gut.

Some people can get a very serious C. diff infection after using antibiotics such as clindamycin. In one study, clindamycin was shown to wipe the gut almost entirely for two years. One dose.

Most cases of C. diff occur in hospital. One of the biggest causes of this infection is antibiotic use.

Conventional medical websites will say that the cause of C. diff is antibiotics and the cure is antibiotics.

To me, that’s like saying, “Watch out for handguns. They kill people.

By the way, if you carry a handgun, it’ll help you not get killed.”

If you’ve got a clostridium difficile infection, the concern is that you’ve got a 20% chance or recurrent C. diff infections.

If you have C. diff, my recommendation is to get a comprehensive stool analysis. The stool test will tell you if you also have problems with yeast, parasites, or other harmful bacteria. It will also indicate your levels of beneficial bacteria.

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I highly recommend you use a proper lab like Genova Diagnostics or Doctor’s Data for your stool test.

Some people recover quite quickly from C.diff. For others, it becomes a chronic infection. Some will have relapses and recurrences. Unfortunately, some people have a very poor recovery from C. diff.

Fecal microbial transplants are recommended in some cases. Some people have to be hospitalized and have surgery for C. diff.

As far as diet goes, if you have C. diff, you should avoid aggravating foods.

To keep a long story short, with C. diff, it’s definitely an advantage to be alcohol, coffee, and caffeine-free for at least three to six months.

I would recommend including steamed vegetables and other easy to eat foods in your diet. You’ll have to monitor what does and does not agree with your GI system. For example, some people with C. diff have quite bad diarrhea and abdominal pain when eating salads. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar may also be poorly tolerated on the presence of C. diff.

Yogurt is often fine, but be cautious with kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut.

For protein, emphasize lean protein without too much fat. Fish and eggs are usually perfectly fine.

Proceed with caution when it comes to fruit. I don’t think bananas or oranges are great foods for people with gut problems. I think the same about white bread.

Drinking water is essential because C. diff causes diarrhea.

As far as supplements go, grapefruit seed extract works quite well for C. diff.

Try not to take antibiotics if you want to prevent clostridium difficile infection, especially if you’re older. I suggest avoiding antibiotics unless it’s a matter of life and death.

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Questions & Answers

Sleep And Gut Flora: What’s The Connection?

Recent research conducted on mice has demonstrated a significant effect on gut flora in response to sleep deprivation. The impact was particularly strong with circadian rhythm disruption, which would be similar to shift work.

In the same study, intestinal permeability increased in response to sleep deprivation. The take-home message is that if you want a healthy bowel flora, you need to have a good sleep.
Sleep, or the lack thereof, is linked with several different health problems. So, it’s no surprise that sleep deprivation has also been linked to alterations in the gut flora and intestinal permeability.

My recommendation for people who do shift work is always, try and get out of that crazy situation. If you can’t avoid doing shift work, you find a way to ensure that you get sufficient sleep on a daily basis.

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For those people working irregular hours for the long-term, I recommend having periodic stool analyses. The stool tests will document changes to gut flora over time.
Genova diagnostic offers a good stool test, which shows all the different types of classes of gut bacteria.

The answer to the question of whether sleep deprivation has an effect on the gut micro biodynamic is a resounding, “Yes!”.

No doubt, over time, there will be even more studies that validate this finding. Hopefully, research will be able to tell us which strains of bacteria are being affected and the subsequent impact on human health.

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Questions & Answers

How Your Gut Flora Can Improve Your Health

The Gut Health World Summit is a conference that highlights the latest in microbiota research.
This conference always highlights interesting findings. One of the recent presentations was about a new glycoprotein called P-glycoprotein.

P-glycoprotein helps stop the infiltration of neutrophils (white blood cells) into the gut. Certain antibiotics destroy the bacteria that produce glycoprotein, opening the door for increased gut inflammation.

This is an example of the research that validates my concerns about antibiotic use. I suspect that research like this will help experts design antibiotics that are better than the loose cannons that are currently available. We need to get a lot better at placing antibiotics exactly where they need to be, so they cause minimal collateral damage to beneficial bacteria.

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Other interesting research from this conference focused on the gut health of mice. When mice are given prebiotics, it stops their gut from being damaged by radiation exposure. Mice given prebiotics had better bowel flora and suffered a lot less damage than mice who not given prebiotics. This research again demonstrates how important it is to have good numbers of beneficial gut flora.

It’s essential to keep an eye on the research about gut flora as it helps inform decisions about diet, supplements, and lifestyle choices that are gut-healthy.

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Questions & Answers

Alcohol And Your Gut: What You Need To Know

Will alcohol affect your gut health?

Yes. Alcohol will affect your gut in several ways.

If you’ve been struggling with a health problem for some time and you drink alcohol regularly, it’s time to put that drink aside.

If you have been going to different doctors trying to find out what’s wrong with you and still no answers, then giving up alcohol is an important step. This is particularly true if you have histamine issues, allergies, or recurring digestive issues.

I don’t care how much or what kind of alcohol you drink. Whether it’s glass or a bottle or it’s red wine or gin, regular drinking is going to impact your gut health.

Alcohol impacts the four basic groups of bacteria that live in your gut. The bacteria populations are altered and moved around.

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You’ll only truly know to what extent your gut has been affected by alcohol by giving it up for at least six months. That may seem like a crazy thing to do if you drink regularly, but the difference between drinking and not drinking is profound when it comes to gut health.

Some people claim that red wine is better for your gut due to the polyphenol content. And red wine can indeed increase the amount of certain beneficial bacteria. But that benefit is offset by the impact of alcohol on the gut and liver.

Alcohol slows metabolism down. It affects hormonal health and increases the activity of inflammatory pathways.

Denial about the impact of alcohol on your gut won’t help anybody.
I recommend giving up alcohol for a significant amount of time and observing what happens to your digestive health.

A healthy gut microbiome will improve the physical and mental aspects of your health.
In my experience, bowel movements nearly always improve when people give up alcohol. In most cases, health improves across the board when alcohol is eliminated from the diet.

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Questions & Answers

Your Gut And Exercise: What You Need To Know

Exercise can impact your gut and digestive health in several different ways.

One study I read compared the bowel flora between people who were exercising and those who were not. Over the six week study, exercisers dramatically increased the amount of short-chain fatty acids in their bowel. Increased SCFA is associated with lower rates of inflammatory diseases like heart disease, cancer, and metabolic syndrome.

The researchers also found that after the six weeks when people stopped exercising, the short-chain fatty acid population slowly dropped and went back to the pre-exercise baseline. In other words, the impact of exercise may only endure for as long as the exercise. Nevertheless, this study certainly provides another reason for incorporating regular physical activity into your life.

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The mechanism for the positive effect of exercise on gut flora hasn’t yet been determined. But, I can tell you from my clinical experience that people who exercise a lot tend to rarely get constipated. They also don’t get gas or bloating that much as people who sit around all day watching Netflix or TV.

Active people have better digestion, better appetite control, and better bowel movements. They also tend to eat more reliably and regularly on time. I’ve also noticed that my physically active clients don’t have the same rate of fatigue and sleeping issues as sedentary people.
I believe that exercise has a massive influence on overall health and well-being, not just on the bowel flora.

Exercise improves blood, stool, and other medical test results. The tests also improve with more exercise.

Whether it’s being active around the house or going to the gym or walking or cycling regularly, the benefits of physical activity are clear.

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