Permaculturist Health

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

1)

Overall, dietary changes could explain 57% of the total structural variation in gut microbiota whereas changes in genetics accounted for no more than 12%. This indicates that diet has a dominating role in shaping gut microbiota : nutrition
https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/b1npoy/overall_dietary_changes_could_explain_57_of_the/?st=jtb2yqco&sh=d78effe2

Really great roundup of various studies re: microbiome here

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448089/

The influence of diet on the composition of the microbiota has been shown during the initial colonization phase: breast fed infants have higher levels of Bifidobacteria spp. while formula fed infants have higher levels of Bacteroides spp., as well as increased Clostridium coccoides and Lactobacillus spp. [44]. Beyond the postnatal period, the microbiota was suspected to be relatively stable throughout life.

However, several recent studies have shown that dietary factors alter the microbial community resulting in biological changes to the host (Table 1). In fact, the composition of the gut microbiota strongly correlates with diet as demonstrated by a study assessing the relative contributions of host genetics and diet in shaping the gut microbiota and modulating metabolic syndrome phenotypes in mice. In mice fed a diet high in fat, there are many key gut population changes, such as the absence of gut barrier-protecting Bifidobacteria spp.

Overall, dietary changes could explain 57% of the total structural variation in gut microbiota whereas changes in genetics accounted for no more than 12% [45].

This indicates that diet has a dominating role in shaping gut microbiota and changing key populations may transform healthy gut microbiota into a disease-inducing entity. For example, the “Western” diet, which is high in sugar and fat, causes dysbiosis which affects both host GI tract metabolism and immune homeostasis [46]. This was modeled in a humanized mouse model where adult human fecal microbiota was transplanted into GF mice. The mice were fed a low-fat, plant polysaccharide-rich diet and when switched to a “Western” diet, the microbiota composition shifted to an overgrowth of Firmicutes including Clostridium innocuum, Eubacterium dolichum, Catenibacterium mitsuokai and Enterococcus spp., as well as a significant reduction in several Bacteroides spp. [18]. In mice, carbohydrate-reduced diets result in enriched populations of bacteria from the Bacteroidetes phyla, [47] and calorie-restricted diets prevent the growth of Clostridium coccoides, Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacteria spp., which are all major butyrate producers required for colonocyte homeostasis [48]. Diets rich in complex carbohydrates show less pathogenic species such as Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Enterobacteriaceae [49] than diets higher in fat or protein [48,50,51,52].

Complex carbohydrates also increase levels of beneficial Bifidobacteria spp. such as B. longum subspecies longum, B. breve and B. thetaiotaomicron [53]. Refined sugars, on the other hand, mediate the overgrowth of opportunistic bacteria like C. difficile [54] and C. perfringens by increasing bile output [55].

Vegetarianism alters intestinal microbiota in humans because high amounts of fiber result in increased short chain fatty acid production by microbes which decrease the intestinal pH. This prevents the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli and other members of Enterobacteriaceae [56].

Interestingly, it has been found that European children have a microbiota depleted of Bacteroidetes and enriched in Enterobacteriaceae compared to rural African children which the authors attributed to low dietary fiber intake by Europeans

2)

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain--for Life

https://www.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/comments/b1gi4j/brain_maker_the_power_of_gut_microbes_to_heal_and/?st=jtb35ryi&sh=5286e7ed

I have finished reading Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain--for Life. I give it three out of five stars for being entertaining and accessible science writing. I give it four out of five stars for actionable, take-home points of probiotics in relation to cognition. I rate it highly because I am already a believer in the probiotic enema, and this book gives instructions for and a medical case study of probiotic enemas. This book was published in 2015, so the research is already dated.

I will walk through the book with you.

Page six says "We as neurologists are trained to focus on what goes on in the nervous system, and specifically in the brain, in a myopic way. We automatically end up viewing other bodily systems, such as the gastrointestinal tract, as discrete entities that have no bearing whatsoever on what goes on in the brain. After all, when you have a stomachache you don't call a cardiologist or a neurologist. ... This perspective is grossly out of touch with current science. The digestive system is intimately connected to what goes on in the brain."

Page 15 says "Although microbial testing kits are starting to emerge on the market, I don't think the research is there yet in terms of knowing what the results truly mean (healthy vs. unhealthy) and which risk factors you bear. In the future I have no doubt we'll be able to establish evidence-based parameters and defined correlations between certain microbial signatures and conditions. But for now this is tricky terrain; it's still too early ... That said, these kits can be useful for gauging the diversity and general composition of your microbiome."

Page 55 says "Dr. Alessio Fasano of Harvard ... [identified] the now-established relationship among gluten consumption, increased gut permeability, and widespread inflammation throughout the body. .... [New] science is telling us that the inflammation brought on by a loss of gut integrity can lead to leaky brains. ... You've probably heard about the highly protective, fortified portal keeping bad things out of the brain: the blood-brain barrier. ... It has just recently become clear, however, that many substances can threaten the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, letting inside various molecules that may spell trouble, including proteins, viruses, and even bacteria that would normally have been excluded. ... What's even more alarming is Dr. Fasano's recent discovery that not only is there increased gut permeability when the gut is exposed to gliadin, a protein found in gluten, but in fact the blood-brain barrier also becomes more permeable in response to gliadin exposure. It's as if one door mistakenly opened leads to the opening of another door. Intruders galore."

Page 56 says "How can you test for a leaky gut? Every day I perform simple blood tests on patients to help me get a sense of their gut lining's integrity. I use what's called the Cyrex Array 2, which offers the most sophisticated screening tests on the market today. The array, by Cyrex Labs (www.CyrexLabs.com), measures antibodies produced by the immune system when it is confronted by a molecule called LPS, short for lipopolysaccharide. No conversation about the microbiome, inflammation, and brain health can exclude the impact of this molecule."

Pages 72-74 say "Depression is now the leading cause of disability worldwide, impacting more than 350 million people (according to the World Health Organization, depression will displace heart disease in terms of cost of caring for patients by the year 2020.) ... Whether it's Prozac, Cymbalta, Zoloft, Elavil, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, or any of the other commonly prescribed antidepressants, these medicines simply treat the symptoms, and only minimally so. ... I am saddened by the fact that the billion-dollar psychotropic pharmaceutical industry is predicated on the idea that people will take a pill to treat symptoms, while the underlying disorder is ignored. ... And you know where I am going with this[.] The research exploring the connection between the gut and psychiatric issues is now narrowing in on the microbiome. ... [G]round zero for all things mood-related is the gut."

Page 76 says "Today, much of the focus is on studies that show a link between gut dysfunction and the brain, and, more specifically, the link between the presence of inflammatory markers in the blood (indicating that the body's immune system is on high alert) and risk for depression. Higher levels of inflammation dramatically increase the risk of developing depression. And the higher the levels of inflammatory markers, the worse the depression. ... Some of the studies have been downright eye-opening. For example, when scientists give healthy people with no signs of depression an infusion of a substance to trigger inflammation, ... classic depressive symptoms arose almost instantly. Similarly, it's been shown that when people are given interferon for the treatment of hepatitis C, which increases inflammatory cytokines, a quart of those individuals develop major depression. ... What's even more compelling is new research demonstrating that antidepressant medications may work in some people by virtue of their ability to decrease inflammatory chemicals. Put another way, the actual mechanism for modern antidepressants may have nothing at all to do with their effect on serotonin and everything to do with decreasing inflammation."

Page 81 says "Although the studies showing the gut-brain axis and the relationship between the intestinal microbiome and mental health do go back many years, it seems that only recently have scientists really begun to dig deep into studying this connection and how one can manipulate gut bacteria to improve mental health. ... In another study, this one published in Gastroenterology, the researchers showed that they could switch a mouse's gut bacteria with that of another and significantly alter behavior. They transplanted microbes from a timid group of mice into the guts of risk-taking mice and watched their personalities change. The shy mice became outgoing; the brazen mice become apprehensive. In the words of the study's lead author, Jane Foster: 'It's good evidence that the microbiota houses these behaviors.'"

Page 82 says "A team of UCLA researchers conducted a nifty little experiment published in 2013[.] ... Thirty-six women were split into three groups: Group 1 consumed, twice daily for four weeks, a yogurt mixture containing several probiotics; Group 2 ate a dairy product that looked and tasted like yogurt but didn't have any probiotics; and Group 3 ate no specific product at all. ... At the four-week point, participants were shown images designed to induce an emotional response. Specifically, they viewed a series of pictures of angry of frightened people and matched them to other faces showing the same emotions. ... What scientists found was remarkable. The women who ate the yogurt that contained the probiotics showed decreased activity in both the insula and the somatosensory cortex during the emotional reaction task. ... These women also had less activity, or excitability, in the brain's widespread network related to emotion, cognition, and sensory processing. The women in the other two groups, on the other hand, exhibited stable or increased activity in this network, indicating that they were emotionally impacted and disturbed by the images."

Pages 143-44 read "In a beautifully written and well-cited review of what we know so far about he complex diet-gut-microbes-health equation, Canadian researchers stated the following: "Overall, dietary changes could explain 57% of the total structural variation in gut microbiota whereas changes in the genetics accounted for no more than 12%. This indicates that diet has a dominating role in shaping gut microbiota and changing key populations may transform healthy gut microbiota into a disease-inducing entity. ... Let me repeat: Diet has the dominant role in shaping gut microbiota, and changing key populations may transform healthy gut microbiota into a disease-inducing entity."

Page 145 reads "Fructose has long-term effects when it's consumed in large quantities from unnatural sources. Numerous studies have shown that fructose is associated with impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, high blood fats, and hypertension. ... [N]ew research shows that obesity might be a reflection of changes in the microbiome brought on by fructose exposure."

Page 146-47 read "Professor Eran Segal, a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, led his team on a series of experiments to answer one question: Do artificial sweeteners affect healthy gut bacteria? Segal and his colleagues started by adding the fake sugars saccharin, sucralose, or aspartame to the drinking water of different groups of mice. They gave other mouse groups the real sugars glucose or sucrose ... in their water. Their control group drank plain, unsweetened water. Eleven weeks later, the mice that received the artificial sweeteners exhibited signs that they weren't able to process real sugar well, as measured by higher levels of glucose intolerance compared with the others. To see whether gut bacteria had anything to do with the link between drinking fake sugar and developing glucose intolerance, the researchers gave the mice antibiotics for four weeks to essentially exterminate their gut bacteria. Lo and behold, after the annihilation all the mouse groups were able to metabolize sugar equally well. ... Next, the researchers transplanted gut bacteria from mice that had consumed saccharin into germ-free mice with no gut bacteria of their own. Within just six days, the tainted mice had lost some of their ability to process sugar. The genetic analyses of the gut colonies spoke for themselves, revealing a shift in composition of the gut bacteria upon exposure to the artificial sweetener. ... Research is now underway on humans, and so far preliminary results indeed show that ... gut bacteria of people who regularly consume artificial sweeteners look different from gut bacteria of people who do not."

Page 149 reads "[W]hile a small percentage of the population is highly sensitive to gluten and suffers from celiac disease, it's possible for virtually everyone to have a negative, albeit undetected, reaction. Gluten sensitivity--with or without the presence of celiac--increases the production of inflammatory cytokines, which are pivotal players in neurodegenerative conditions. And as I've been implying, the brain is one of the most susceptible organs to the deleterious effects of inflammation."

Pages 150-51 read "Gluten is made up of two main groups of proteins the glutenins and the gliadins. You can be sensitive to either of these proteins or to one of the twelve different, smaller units that make up gliadin. ... It's quite possible that the entire cascade of adverse effects that take place when the body is exposed to gluten starts with a change in the microbiome--ground zero. Before I explain this cascade, let me remind you of a few important facts. ... Gluten's 'sticky' attribute interferes with the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, which leads to poorly digested food that can then sound the alarm in the immune system, eventually resulting in an assault on the lining of the small intestine. ... This process can damage tissues, leaving the walls of the intestine compromised,a condition that you know by now is called 'leaky gut.' According to Harvard's Dr. Alessio Fasano, exposure to the gliadin protein in particular increases gut permeability in all of us. ... In fact, the same company--Cyrex Labs--that does the blood screening tests for LPS also performs high-tech tests for gluten sensitivity (go to www.DrPerlmutter.com/Resources for more about these important tests."

Page 153 reads "[R]esearchers also noted a measurable impact of the gluten on the bacterial flora of the mice, leading the scientists to conclude that 'the presence of gluten is directly responsible for the pro-diabetogenic effects of the diets and it determines the gut microflora. Our novel study thus suggests that dietary gluten could modulate the incidence of [type 1 diabetes] by changing the gut microbiome."

Page 153 also reads "Research shows that modern wheat is capable of producing more than 23,000 different proteins, any one of which could trigger a potentially damaging inflammatory response. While we know the harmful effects that gluten can have, I predict that all future research will reveal more injurious proteins that travel with gluten in modern grains that have equally, if not more, deleterious effects on the body and brain."

Page 155 reads "Let's get a little closer to the science of what else threatens your gut's community from the perspective of drugs and environmental chemicals:" antibiotics, the birth control pill, NSAIDs, environmental chemicals, and herbicide-laden GMO foods.

Antibiotics - the studies cited seemed commonsense about the long-term deleterious effects of antibiotics on gut flora.

The birth control pill - This does not apply to me

NSAIDs - Page 168 reads "In the past, multiple studies dating as far back as the 1990s have shown that people who have taken non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as Advil ... and Aleve ... for two or more years may have a 40% reduced risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. This makes sense when you consider that these are principally inflammatory diseases, so when you control inflammation you control risk. ... But newer studies are now emerging to reveal a twist in the story. It's been shown that these medications can increase the risk of damage to the gut lining, especially in the presence of gluten."

Environmental Chemicals - Pages 169-70 read "For example, take the ubiquitous compound bisphenol-A (BPA). More than 93 percent of us carry traces of this chemical in our bodies. ... The BPA found in plastic food containers has been shown to generate hormonal imbalances in both women and men."

Page 171 reads "Chemicals found in our water supply, principally residual chlorine, can also be destructive to the microbiome. Chlorine is bactericidal; it effectively kills a large variety of microbial waterborne pathogens."

Herbicide-laden GMO foods - Page 173 reads "The two top GMO crops in the U.S. are corn and soy (and, by extension, all the products that contain these ingredients; it's estimated that GMOs are in as much as 80 percent of conventional processed food.) ... America's farmers now spray a weed-killing chemical, glyphosate (RoundUp), on their crops. The harvested crop is prevented from also being targeted by the herbicide because the seeds used are genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide's effects. It the world of agriculture, these seeds are known as 'RoundUp ready.' ... It is estimated that by 2017 farmers will apply an astonishing 1.35 metric tons of glyphosate to their crops. But here's the problem: Glyphosate residues represent a threat to human health. In the wheat industry in particular, farmers saturate the fields with RoundUp a few days before harvest to generate bigger and better yield. This suggests a new perspective on gluten sensitivity: It just may be that the rise in gluten intolerance and celiac disease is largely due to the increased use of RoundUp. When you chart the incidence of celiac and the levels of glyphosate applied to wheat over the last 25 years, a stunning parallel pattern emerges." On page 174 there is a chart mapping Celiac incidence nearly 1:1 with glyphosate on wheat.

Feeding Your Microbiome: Six Essential Keys to Boosting Your Brain by Boosting Your Gut

Key #1: Choose Foods Rich in Probiotics

Key #2: Go Low-Carb, Embrace High-Quality Fat

Key #3: Enjoy Wine, Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate

Key #4: Choose Foods Rich in Prebiotics

Key #5: Drink Filtered Water

Key #6: Fast Every Season

Key #1: Choose Foods Rich in Probiotics - Pages 179-80 read "For much of the world, fermented foods provide probiotic bacteria in the diet. ... Civilizations didn't understand the mechanism behind the fermentation process for centuries, but the health benefits associated with fermented foods were well recognized. ... Kimchi, a popular and traditional Korean side dish, is considered the national dish of Korea. ... Sauerkraut, another form of fermented cabbage, remains popular throughout Central Europe. Then there are fermented milk products like yogurt that have been consumed for centuries around the world."

Pages 181-82 - read "Elie Mechnikov ... [recognized] a correlation between the longevity of Bulgarian peasants and their consumption of fermented milk products. ... He was a prolific writer, authoring three groundbreaking books [including The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies], ... which documented in detail the unusually lengthy life spans of several populations that regularly ate fermented foods and bacterial cultures called kefirs. He made numerous observational records of centenarians who were still leading active and healthy lives. And it was he who coined the term 'probiotic' to describe beneficial bacteria."

Page 182 lists foods rich in probiotics: live-cultured yogurt; kefir; kombucha tea; tempeh; kimchi; sauerkraut; pickles; pickled fruits and vegetables; cultured condiments; fermented meat, fish, and eggs.

Pages 182-83 also read "Kefir. This fermented dairy product is very similar to yogurt. It is a unique combination of kefir 'grains' (a combination of yeast and bacteria) and goat's milk that's high in lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. It is also rich in antioxidants. For those who are sensitive to dairy or lactose intolerant, coconut kefir, a non-dairy version, is also delicious and equally beneficial.

Kombucha tea. This is a form of fermented black tea that has been used for centuries. Fizzy and often served chilled, it's also believed to help increase energy, and even help you lose weight.

Tempeh. Many people, especially vegetarians, eat tempeh as a substitute for meat. Tempeh is fermented soybeans is a complete protein, with all of the amino acids. Overall, I'm not a big fan of soy products for a number of reasons, but small amounts of tempeh are acceptable."

The rest of the list of probiotic foods is common sense commentary.

Key #2: Go low-carb, embrace high-quality fat. Page 188 reads "If you haven't been able to connect the dots between low-carb, high-fat, high-fiber, and the microbiome, let me spell it out for you. This particular diet supplies the ingredients to nourish not only healthy biology (and thus a healthy microbiome) but also a healthy brain. A diet that keeps blood sugar balanced keeps gut bacteria balanced. A diet high in sources of fiber, which you'll get from whole fruits and vegetables [Editor's Note: Tablespoons chia seed are high in fiber, at times too much. It, too, shall pass.], feeds the good gut bacteria and produces the right balance of those short-chain fatty acids to keep gut lining in check. A diet devoid of injurious gluten with further tip the scales in favor of healthy gut ecology as well as healthy brain physiology. And a diet that's intrinsically anti-inflammatory is good for the gut and brain."

Page 189 lists "Brain Maker foods:" vegetables, low-sugar fruit, fermented foods, healthy fat, protein, and herbs, seasons, and condiments. The commentary seemed to be very common sense.

Key #3: Enjoy Wine, Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate. Page 191 reads "In multiple studies, adding polyphenols to the diet has been shown to significantly reduce markers of oxidative stress, which in turn reduces the risk of neurological ailments. The main dietary sources of polyphenols are fruits and vegetables; plant-derived beverages, including coffee, red wine, and tea; and chocolate. ... In one one particularly prominent four-week study, subjects received either a high or low dose of flavonoids from the cocoa plant. ... The group that consumed high doses of flavonoids had striking increases in bifidobacteria as well as lactobacilli species, along with pronounced decreases in Clostridia counts. These changes in gut bacteria were accompanied by an unmistakable reduction in C-reactive protein, that famous marker of inflammation associated with risk for disease."

Key #4: Choose foods rich in prebiotics. Page 194-96 read "It has been estimated that for every 100 grams of consumed carbohydrates that qualify as prebiotics, a full 30 grams of bacteria are produced. ... Below is the list of top food sources of natural prebiotics. Acacia gum (or gum arabic), raw chicory root, raw Jerusalem artichoke, raw dandelion greens, raw garlic, raw leek, raw onion, cooked onion, raw asparagus."

Key #5: Drink filtered water. Page 196 reads "To avoid the gut-busting chemicals like chlorine that are found in tap water, I recommend buying a household water filter."

Key #6: Fast every season. Page 198 reads "One critical mechanism of the human body is its ability to convert fat into vital fuel during times of starvation. We can break down fat into specialized molecules called ketones, and one in particular -- beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-HBA) -- is a superior fuel for the brain. ... Researchers have determined that beta-HBA, which is easily obtainable just by adding coconut oil to your diet, improves antioxidant function, increases the number of mitochondria, and stimulates the growth of new cells."

Pages 199-200 read "But intermittent fasting--a complete restriction of food for twenty-four to seventy-two hours at regular intervals throughout the year-- is more manageable and can achieve the same results as calorie restriction. ... My fasting protocol is simple: No food but lots of water (avoid caffeine) for a twenty-four-hour period. If you take any medications, by all means take them. ([P]lease consult your physician first.) When you've established this Brain Maker diet for life and want to fast for increased benefits, you can try a seventy-two hour fast. ... I recommend fasting at least four times a year; fasting during the seasonal changes (for example, the last week of September, December, March, and June) is an excellent practice to keep."

Page 202-06 read "Go Pro - The Guide to Supplements" "Before I get to the details of shopping for supplemental probiotics, let me share a story drawn from my own patient files. ... Christopher came to se me when he was thirteen years old. He had been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at age 6 ... [I]ssues commonly seen in Tourette patients include the following: ADHD 63 percent, depression in 25 percent, autistic spectrum disorder in 35 percent, and anxiety in 48 percent. There's also a profoundly increased risk of Tourette syndrome in children with allergies. And allergies are a hallmark of an imbalance in the gut bacteria and an increased risk of leaky gut." "Back to Christopher." He had been put on antibiotics several times as a child, in addition to being allergic to certain foods. A diet to eliminate those foods seemed to make progress at first, but the promise quickly faded. "I recommended to Christopher and his mother that instead of taking probiotics orally, that they consider using a simple drug-store enema enriched with six capsules of a probiotics supplement. ... She told me that they did administer the enema and that within hours 'his body had become calm.' She immediately asked me if they could increase the dosage. I gave her the go-ahead, and she began administering 1200 billion units of the probiotics daily by enema. Christopher's Tourette symptoms virtually disappeared. ... I present this story not to offer up a 'cure' for the disorder, for every individual's case is different. Rather, I use it to illustrate the fundamental role of gut bacteria and the intricate connections between a mysterious brain disorder -- in this case, Tourette syndrome -- and the immune system."

Pages 206-07 read "Probiotics: Five Core Species" "To make the task of finding and purchasing the right formulas as easy as possible, I've simplified my recommendations to just five core probiotic species that are widely available: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Bifidobacterium lognum. Different strains provide different benefits, but these are the ones that will, as we've been discussing since the beginning of the book, best support brain health in these ways:

-Fortifying the intestinal lining and reducing gut permeability

-Reducing LPS, the inflammatory molecule that can be dangerous if it reaches the bloodstream

-Increasing BDNF, the brain's growth hormone

-Sustaining and overall balance to crowd out any potentially rogue bacterial colonies"

Page 208 reads "It's critical to take probiotics with filtered water, otherwise you'll defeat their purpose. Chemicals, such as chlorine, that are added to many sources of water to kill bad bacteria will also kill good, probiotic bacteria."

Pages 211-12 read "Try a probiotic enema, with permission." "This won't be for everyone, but I can't tell you how many patients have benefited from this at-home procedure. It's the best way to introduce the probiotic bacteria directly into the bowel. Enemas, one of the oldest remedies on the planet and dating back to the ancient Egyptians and Mayans, are used to flush out the lower bowel by injecting fluid into the rectum. (The word enema is Greek for 'inject.') They are also used to administer certain medicinal therapies directly into the colon. It's imperative that you get clearance from you doctor before using an enema so that you don't harm yourself. Once you've gotten the go-ahead, here's what you'll need:

-enema bag

-3-6 probiotic capsules or 1/8 teaspoon powdered probiotic (Make sure they include bifidiobacteria, as these are the dominant flora in the colon, whereas acidophilus prefer the small intestine.)

-filtered (chlorine-free) water

-Lubricant (optional)

-Privacy

Plan to perform your enema in the morning after having a bowel movement. Fill a large cup with 12 ounces of lukewarm, filtered water. Break open the probiotic capsules and empty the probiotics into the water, stirring to dissolve. Fill the enema bag with probiotic mixture, and close the bag using the clap that comes with the device. Lie down flat on your side (either side is fine) on a towel or in the bathtub. Instet the nozzle tip into your recutm (use a lubricant if that helps). Holding the bag higher than the nozzle, release the clamp so that the water flows into the colon. Try to hold the enema for 30 minutes if possible.

How often I recommend this procedure depends on the specific needs of the patient. In someone who has had aggressive antibiotic therapy, for example, I'd prescribe probiotic enemas as often as three times weekly for 4 to 6 weeks and then reassess the situation. Your personal treatment plan will depend on your own situation; ask your healthcare provider for a recommendation."

Pages 214-15 read "Additional Supplements to Consider" They list DHA, turmeric, coconut oil, alpha-lipoic acid, and vitamin D. Except for vitamin D, none of their commentary is especially insightful when compared to Google as an encyclopedia. I am already on all of them except for turmeric.

The exegesis on vitamin D stands out as exceptional, however: We "know there are receptors for vitamin D throughout the entire central nervous system; we also know that vitamin D helps regulate enzymes in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid that are involved in manufacturing neurotransmitters and stimulating nerve growth. Both animal and human studies have indicated that vitamin D protects neurons from the damaging effects of free radicals and reduces inflammation. And here's a most important fact: vitamin D performs all of these tasks through its regulation of the gut bacteria. Only in 2010 did we find out that gut bacteria interact with our vitamin D receptors, controlling them to either increase their activity or turn it down."

Page 217 is the Brain Maker 7-Day Meal Plan with recipes. It is a reason to purchase the book.

Editor's conclusion: I started out to study /r/nootropics for clarity of mind. What I needed was a total health program of action. I ran the gauntlet of complementary healthcare. If you will please pardon my soapbox, it would be my privilege to share with you the best of what I learned: https://docdro.id/yEo9oWY