Microbiome Testing and Education

A while back I started using an over-the-counter probiotic supplement, sourced from Walmart. After all, my wife was taking a significantly more expensive one, even had a subscription, and it seemed like a low-risk health insurance policy. If you aren't familiar with probiotics, this Wikipedia article will get you up to speed.

Then more recently I made changes to my diet in an effort to better manage blood sugar as reflected in the A1C test. Presumably this "cleaned up" diet would result in a healthier me, right? Only what if my dime store probiotic was not effective and I wasn't getting all the nutrients? And what evidence was there that probiotics were even usable by the body in my case? I knew that people who had to take heavy antibiotics were at risk of damaging their microbiome, that crucial collection of microorganisms in the gut, but where was the external metric of gut health? I had only gotten diagnostic blood workups that said zilch about that party going on downstairs. Plenty of people "feel better" after taking OTC (over the counter) supplements but between the placebo effect and confirmation bias, my comfort level is higher with quantitative measurement.

So I went to my favorite collection of opinion pieces these days, Medium.com. Searched on "probiotics." Found a 2017 article where the guy had run DNA tests on his own microbiome both before, during and after a course of probiotics. How was this magic performed? Did he have a gene sequencer in his townhouse? Unfortunately this aspect of the experiment nuts 'n bolts was not forthcoming.

Over to DuckDuckGo (a search engine that purports not to track or steer your searches) where I looked for microbiome testing. I mean, we run DNA analysis on dogs that we adopt and our human ancestry, surely an apparently critical component of one's health can be examined in a similar fashion. Bingo! Such a thing does exist. I share this now in advance of ordering a test kit (but coordinating with my doctor so he can assist in result interpretation). If you have already done this testing or decide in the future to do so, please chime in.

Not the only company but seems to be well established:

uBiome Microbiome Testing

[not well reviewed by all users: DNA Testing Choice review, uBiome]
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chipgallo
Internet user since 1989, computer IT specialist on the contracting and acquisition side nowadays, HD music and video enthusiast, enjoys the company of canines. Self-exiled, born-again Facebook user; blogger and writer/documentary producer. Olympus OMD E-M1 Micro Four Thirds camera
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Hey Chip, check out this podcast. It's from a show called Impact Theory. All the shows are awesome, but this one references some of the testing you are interested in. The interviewee, Dr. Zembroski, had a 5" cancerous tumor growing in his chest. He believes, that besides his genetic markers, which could have been some of the cause, he blamed himself and the stress levels in his life; personal relationship crumbling, work related stress, eating garbage... All culminated in his cancer, or so he believes. The podcast discuses all the things he did to rid himself of cancer and all the things he did after; mental and physical to ensure he remains cancer free. He talks about blood test and stool tests, what to look for in them, supplements to take, whether exercise will help and what kind. It was amazing! What he talks about was not specific to cancer, but general to all peoples' health. I found it quite educational.

Link: https://impacttheory.com/episode/robert-zembroski/

Tom Bilyeu, who does Impact Theory, has a ton of amazing people on his podcasts. They all revolve around health and well being, especially body and mind hacks, entrepreneurship, etc. He has people from neuroscientists to hip hop artists on his show. All amazingly motivational podcasts.

Here is the website synopsis of the podcast: "This week’s guest on Health Theory is Dr. Robert Zembroski. He is a physician, nutritionist and cancer survivor. From his experiences rebuilding himself after a cancer diagnosis, he wrote the book, Rebuild: Five Proven Steps To Move From Diagnosis to Recovery And Be Healthier Than Before. In this episode he talks about why most diseases are self inflicted and how to start looking for answers outside the traditional medical system."
 
Hey Chip, here is another great Impact Theory podcast, specifically on the microbiome. It is an interview with Dr. Stevem Gundry, who believes the source of our health begins in the gut. There are so many amazing tidbits in this podcast. I need to listen to it again and take notes. He believes aging, among other things, is due to the mircobiome breaking down. A lot of actionable advice, supplements, and such. Really amazing discussion.

 
Hey Chip, here is another great Impact Theory podcast, specifically on the microbiome. It is an interview with Dr. Stevem Gundry, who believes the source of our health begins in the gut. There are so many amazing tidbits in this podcast. I need to listen to it again and take notes. He believes aging, among other things, is due to the mircobiome breaking down. A lot of actionable advice, supplements, and such. Really amazing discussion.

Does Dr. Gundry include his apparently controversial views on lectins in this? 'Cause I like my tomatoes.

 
Yes he does. Here are the show notes:

SHOW NOTES
The myths of aging [01:52]
Why aging starts in the gut [03:28]
How to gut actually works [07:55]
Why glyphosate is everywhere [10:18]
Why we're thinking about heart disease all wrong [12:18]
What are lectins and why are they so dangerous? [16:49]
The role of fat in areas of inflammation [19:32]
How your immune system reacts to misplaced bacteria [22:59]
Why amyloid plaques aren't the cause of dementia [26:09]
What is the APOE-4 gene mutation?[29:04]
How fecal microbial transplants may fix your gut [30:39]
Is the key to health in the holobiome? [35:12]
Why women are more able to listen to their gut [37:03]
The potential causes of autism [38:15]
Foods that can improve your gut health [41:57]
Why exercise can prevent Alzheimer's [44:05]
The importance of "washing" your brain [46:10]
Why olive oil is miraculous [49:35]
 
I'm hearing from many friends about doctors restricting people's diets that are in support of some of Dr. Gundry's claims. In particular, no more whole grains as it scratches your gut. A family member of mine has RA and diverticulitis and is not allowed whole grains or nightshades (lectins). I started talking to folks more about gut health and I find that most folks I talk to know at least one person or more who have had doctors strongly pushing probiotics, no more whole grains and several nightshade restrictions. I think history shows that we have not improved our nutritional health in general, as a society.
 
Trying out the whole 30 diet is a great idea. For 30 days you eat pretty much a paleo diet for a month, then add each type of restricted food back into your diet one at a time and see if your body has a reaction to that food. It's a great system.

A major problem is that glyphosate, an herbicide, is in nearly all foods that aren't organic. And research is showing that glyphosate ravages the microbiome.

Nutrition hasn't improved because the government has used nutrition guidelines, not to make sure people are healthy, but to bolster agriculture products that the market has been flooded with or to increase the consumption of products that no one is buying.

The perfect example is the food pyramid, which clearly has less to do with health and much more to do with getting folks to consume those agricultural products that have flooded the market at that particular time. As the agricultural market has changed its most grown and productive crops, so to has the government's guidelines changed to reflect agriculture's desire to make higher profits.
 

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