One of the issues that’s been in the background but more common recently is the issue of why resistant starch? What’s so special? We have other prebiotics and can’t we just use them?
Grace (“Dr. BG” Animal Pharm) answers that question in comments, edited below.
~~~
I’m not a physicist but RESISTANT STARCH are DNA shaped carbs. Does that make quantum sense? The energetics and molecular shapes are extraordinary. I don’t get it completely, but I know it’s inherently what sets it apart from ordinary non starch polysaccharides and obviously glucose, fructose, fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPS)…and our own endogenously produced fuctose which we make on the tips of our microvilli for the microcritters to graze on when food is lacking (between meals? when our genotypes fail to dictate like I’m FUT2(-/-) non-secretor).
The oligosacs prebiotics are NOTHING IN COMPARISON to double helices of amylose + amylopectin. And our co-evolved dirt based creatures that live in our gut know that. They ride these dirt-covered tubers and whole grains as spores or live bacteria; they traverse—protected like nomads on their camels or horses across the harsh desert terrain (pH2, gastric acid, pepsin, trypsin, enzyme breakdown, harsh bile acids, detergents threaten)—then finally arrive to the large intestines which, lacking in oxygen like the moon, is teaming with their desert tribes, synbionts, many lifeforms and co-feeders, grazing grounds, water and lush food everywhere…. After feasting, they go back to the soil, to their home, returning to their dirt tribes and land of roots, shoots, and moist dirt until the next generation’s journey. It’s a circle, no?
Resistant Starch—A Review
M.G. Sajilata, Rekha S. Singhal, and Pushpa R. Kulkarni
It’s a food science article with great visual diagrams. Richard put up an electron micrograph earlier of the bugs which ‘ride’ the starch granules, much like exotic Arabian knights…LOL. OK Lawrence of Arabia movie over.
~~~
Ok, go chew on that review and try to get over the notion that resistant starch can be replaced by just eating butter, or onions and garlic. They are very special.
Also, please check out Dr. BG’s 7-Step Protocol for curing Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO): How To Cure SIBO, Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth: Dr. BG’s 7-Steps Paleo* Gastro IQ SIBO Protocol. That’s the first post (Nov 9, 2013) and just keep moving forward. Step 7 was just posted on Dec 5, 2013).
Nenad Kojić 
Tatertot 
sootedninjas 
Bernhard 
gordy
Hey!
I’ve had trouble wrapping my had around this resistant starch thing for a while now… I mean, I did not doubt that it works, I just had a little trouble with questioning it why it would make sense from a evolutionary stand point… i mean… sometimes tubers were not so easy to find and were not around all the time and everywhere – also, some populations, like some of the Inuit tribes, get no fiber whatsoever and seem to be faring very well…
well, I’m not the smartest dude around, so I just stopped questioning and settled with the theory “that are microbiomes in modern times are just so out of wack because of the chems, antibiotics and other nasty stuff and RS is the fastest way to fix them”…
this means I’ll try with 1TBS first week, then 2TBS second and so one till 4TBS or maybe more… I kind of have history of experimenting with food and my body so I guess this will be fun… Will report my findings here! ;D
Oh… I also have one question now… I’m from Slovenia and d*mn – I just can not find “potato starch” anywhere… I found some thai-imported tapioca flour, but i guess this is not OK, as it probably went through same processing as potato flour? I don’t know… Also I am not very fond of paying 20 bucks for shipping of Bob’s Red Mill stuff to my godforsaken country… So any help here would be appreciated. Haha.
OK, that’s it. Thanks for the awesome blog! Keep it up!
Nenad Kojić
@nenad – Get in touch with these guys, they supply all over EU: http://www.organicpotatostarch.eu/kartoffelstarke/
As to your questons, it’s actually all about feeding gut bugs. Ancient man was a vacuum cleaner sucking up any food he could find–it was full of fiber and RS and his gut bugs evolved to require lots of food. Modern man is starving their gut bugs. Potato Starch will help supplement their requirements.
Inuit got tons of gut bug food from seaweed, stomach contents of animals, berries, and seeds. Don’t think for a minute they ate nothing but steak.
make your own potato starch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75BbSlXxF9M
Last link may not be good, try: http://www.organicpotatostarch.com
I’ve been taking 8tbs a day of Bob’s PS for about a week to try and resolve some skin issues and it’s making me break out. Does anyone with some microbial knowledge have a guess as to why this could be? The same thing happened when I tried taking prescript assist, I can’t figure out what is going on, or if there is some underlying pathology that would cause this.
Hey, Tim, a bit off topic, but I saw a reference to the fact that tapioca starch caused a spike in your BG levels but can’t for the life of me find it. Can you point me to the post? Thanks.
Nenad Kojić
Thanks for your thoughts~!
Certainly our ancient hominids consumed all types of tubers, roots, bulbs, rhizomes, corms and sedge/grass underground storage organs (USOs)! As Tim says I don’t also doubt any stone (or root) was left unturned.
Dental evidence for consistent consumption goes back to ~300,000 years if not earlier to Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus 2-3 MYA.
“Several studies have suggested that exploitation of energy-rich geophytes or underground storage organs (USOs) (bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes) represented an important adaptive shift in hominin evolution, especially as related to the transition to early Homo (e.g., 39–41). ”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3528505/
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/26/10495.full.pdf
Have y’ll seen the work of Dominy et al “Together these findings provide the first mechanical basis for discussing the adaptive advantages of roasting tubers and the plausibility of USOs in the diet of
early hominins.” Yien should love all the Hadza data!
http://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=bio_sciences_faculty
Neanderthal data exists too. Starch granules found in dental evidence.
http://www.nature.com/news/neanderthals-ate-their-greens-1.11030
If you need a then more than you ever want to know the latest 2013 PNAS ‘Early Hominin Diet Special Feature’
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/collection/early_hominin
Hey, maybe I should ask this while we have the two braintrust here together. Is it okay to consume RS from mung bean and other legumes? I notice that some people here are also eating BRM garbanzo bean flour, black bean flour, golden masa harina corn flour, etc. BRM makes all of these. Let’s say these are legit RS, i.e., you test your BG and it doesn’t move.
But these are legumes and RS is made by grinding legumes, just like you ground raw potatoes. But if you don’t soak legumes like black beans, wouldn’t you be getting some antinutrients? Isn’t the whole point of soaking to enliven lactobacillus, and neutralize antinutrients and raffinose? Also, supposedly the soak converts insoluble fiber to RS (RS2, I imagine).
Then, how is that possible by consuming raw legume flour? I know for a fact that mung bean starch is effective. I’ve tried it and I think it’s stronger than BRM PS. But how do you explain the RS effect since no conversion from insoluble fiber took place and raw legumes should have antinutrients galore? That could explain the allergic reaction I had with mung bean (but then I’m allergic to umpteen things, not just legumes).
I also think many of you are overlooking gluten-free oatmeal as a legit Rs food source. I’ve been putting about a cup of BRM gluten-free whole grain rolled oats into a glass of Almond Breeze, put some cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa powder, and 2-4 tablespoons of Barry Farm’s plantain flour, and some blueberries.
It’s a perfectly palatable breakfast. But your RS intake is considerable, too! Check it out:
Rolled Oats: = 1 cup = 90 grams = 10.2 grams of RS
Plantain Flour = 4 tbsp = 15.5 grams
Total = 25.7 grams in one sitting.
Chew on some fan-dried green plantains and green bananas the rest of the day, eat some retrograded beans, rice, and potatoes. And you’ll be going above 30 grams, half of that with food.
I know some of you guys are scared about oats. But BRM’s rolled oats are gluten-free and incredibly appetizing. I wouldn’t eat oatmeal after trying raw oats in almond milk. I think it’s the best food source of RS along with dried plantains. But much easier to prepare. Just open the bag.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-rolled-oats.html
Dave~
Have you heard of the gut-skin axis? Our skin/fingerprints totally reflects what’s going on in the gut. They’re like mirror reflections of external barriers. Our gut is open to the world (with 2 trap doors — mouth and butt).
Did you know if you fix sibo (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), then rosacea can disappear? The bacteria overgrowths from the gut can cross the one-cell layer thick membrane, breach into the bloodstream and translocate to the skin to set up shop. The toxins that bacterial overgrowths including H. pylori release damage and screw the skin integrity, just as they do to the small intestinal membranes. Look at the facial pictures of rosacea clearing up after SIBO is addressed
http://www.metsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Rosacea-SIBO.pdf
[by the way I don’t endorse that drug — there are frequent relapses reported (44% and higher in publications) and post-antibiotic fungal overgrowths and infections]
Symptoms of SIBO get worse with inulin, fiber, fodmaps, food, prebiotics… I think it may something to consider looking into!
Hi Spanish Caravan,
Thanks for your kind words — I think i’m more of a brain dump but Tim is the f*kcin Fort Knox of RS GOLD. ha aha lol. I’m a poop princess LOL.
Did you have a reaction to mung bean?
Yes I admit, I worry and get concerned with the use of raw legume, corn, grain and root flours/starches. We developed certain food technologies like fermentation, soaking and sprouting for many reasons! I know for a fact per Quaker oat studies that eating unsoaked olled oats may eventually lead to iron deficiency anemia for some (those without hemochromatosis?). Phytates can bind critical minerals like mag, zinc and iron making them non-bioavailable. Call me a WAPFer-freak~! Even Udo’s GF bread and products totally creep me out because of all the unsoaked brown rice and other flours they use, though they taste absolutely divino……..
Hey let’s say people add guar gum or other resin… OH BOY. Some people like guar gum as a prebiotic (UGH). These amplify the lectin damaging effects on the gut. This may not affect everyone and likely depends on the integrity and permeability of the gut. Some lectins like gliadin are completely heat-resistant meaning they stay intact despite cooking. For those with cross-reactivity between nuts, grains, dairy and other proteins, this may be more problematic for the digestion.
Acta Cient Venez. 1992;43(5):312-4.
Vegetable gums modify lectin hemagglutinability.
Melito C, Levy-Benshimol A.
Arabic gum enhances lectin hemagglutinability. The more glycosylated the lectin, the greater the stimulatory effect of the gum. Evidence presented suggests that the interaction between gum and lectin is of a carbohydrate-carbohydrate nature.
Nenad have you tried this? http://www.peki.si/trgovina/ostale-jedilne-surovine-in-dodatki/krompirjev-skrob
Not sure it is excatly the same thing, but should be.
@Spanish Caravan
Add some xylitol to your oat breakfast => more butyrate in your colon :)
I’ve had an experience with RS that I find extraordinary. Back when I ate a typical American diet the greatest damage (I could see) was to my dental health. Plaque would build up so quickly that I needed four cleanings a year and I would occasionally need novacaine for the cleanings because my teeth were so sensitive. As I improved my diet (thanks Doc Eades for setting me on the right path) my dental health also improved greatly. I lost the sensitivity, and eventually got down to needing a cleaning only every six months, though, the plaque was still prominent. It was particularly thick behind the six front teeth of my bottom jaw. My US dentist said that some people just have a disposition to getting plaque in that location, and there wasn’t much that could be done except to scrape it off. I now live in Thailand and the first time my dentist here saw my teeth she said, “Much stone.” The four front teeth would darken along the gum line, also. About six weeks ago, which was four months out from my last cleaning, I started taking tapioca starch after reading Richard’s posts. I changed nothing else. One day, after about a month of eating it, during my routine morning flossing ALL the plaque came off to my complete surprise. The stuff had always been tough and would fill the gaps between my lower teeth during the six months between cleanings no matter what I did, but on that morning it just slid off in pieces. It’s absolutely incredible. My teeth now look and feel like I just walked out of my dentist’s office. The dark line along my gums is also gone. Obviously, whatever happened down in my colon with the RS had a tremendous and almost immediate impact on what was living in my mouth. I can’t thank Richard, Tatertot and Dr.BG enough. To have a clear sign of ill-health disappear like that is a great thing. I would imagine that there are other unseen improvements going on also. Thanks again. I’m really looking forward to going in for my next cleaning. I want to see the look on my dentist’s face. There will be no ‘stone’ at all. I’m not sure how she’ll react, though, it should be interesting.
Caravan, methinks you are working too hard at this. That cup of oatmeal’s RS is about that of one tablespoon of PS. So, why inflict your body with grain lectin’s? And similarly, why legume flours? Just eat some properly prepared beans………which I’ll be doing in the next few minutes.
And while I’m on an “I just don’t get it,” rant, I’m almost daily perplexed with this Waring Blender Paleo culture, the love of “smoothies.” Did I miss the archaeological discovery of Grok’s blender? If one believes in replicating paleolithic eating, “predigested” pulverized food stuffs is not part of the program. Like juice vs. whole fruits, it’s not how we designed ourselves to eat. As Stephansson (??) reported, even the meat the Inuits ate was minimally chewed.
Not sure what hemeagglutination has to do with toxic effects of lectins. I very much doubt any lectin from food is gonna make it into the blood stream, at least in appreciable amounts
Thank you for the response,
To make sure I’m reading this right, an initial worsening of symptoms could be expected/temporary if I adhere to the protocol you set up at animal pharm and thus treat the underlying problem?
Grace —
Any insight into RS/gut health as they relate to psoriasis? I went through one bag of potato starch and noticed a dramatic worsening of my psoriasis almost immediately.
Pzo , I’m allergic to PS because of my RA. So my choice is limited to plantain flour. Plus I react to all legumes, properly prepared or not, except lentils. So rolled oats are an option for me as I don’t react to them and widen my RS food choice. But even if you properly prepared legumes, you really can’t consume that much RS. 100 grams of cooked black beans, e.g., equal to 10g of RS. 100 g of rolled oats which is less dense and much easier to consume = 12grams. There’s almost nothing in cooked oatmeal. Hence I’m on the raw oats bandwagon. Will watch for phytates and absorption problems, however.
Here’s my input on the skin/cuticle issue. My skin is definitely smoother. Since I have dry skin, I usually have to put on skin lotion but my skin managed to be smooth without it.
I used to have fungal toes and they improved dramatically when I started consuming RS. However, they seemed to worsen somewhat when I started taking some strong probiotics (SBOs and Prescript Assist). I just checked now, however, and it’s been 3 weeks. It seems to be clearing out again. In other words, I can see the white fungal spot as a clear demarcation line so when I clip my toenails I’ll be fungus-free. Perhaps too early to tell.
Have heard lots of skin but not about fungal toes. Who else got their toe fungus cleaned up?
@LA Frite
Xylitol and Butyrate
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17995737?report=abstract
Today’s moment in raw tuber-eating history comes to us from the Maories of New Zealand where the prized Kumara, a tuber that is very close to a sweet potato, was apparently grown with great care and consumed raw:
It seems that researchers took great care to adapt tubers to modern societies and then researchers and chefs mostly discarded the traditional preparation in favor of tastier, fully cooked and more digestible preparations. Silly natives.
@DuckDodgers
Your report on Irish potato eating habits, this may be interest to you:
Potatoes fight bacterial infections
http://miamioh.edu/news/article/view/2816
Tried raw today, peeled potato plus unpeeled Jerusalem artichoke, simply grated;
Tastes interesting even without any dressing or salt.
Peace.
SC, you might want to soak your oats over night before consuming them (I understand soaking overcomes the phytate and absorption problems you refer to).
I typically soak mine in a water, kefir mix and throw in some raw honey before consuming uncooked.
Dave, Eric
WEED and no not talking Richard’s favorite perennial. LOL.
The fertilizer for microbes is inulin, FOS/GOS, fodmaps, NSP and resistant starch, no? RS is the bionic fertilizer!
I suspect and believe that you guys are feeding the good and nasties but they’re in the wrong place, the small intestines instead of the large intestines (caecum, appy, colon).
Consider WEEDING out the small intestines a little. Personally I used clay, charcoal, a few rounds of botanicals whilst continuing prudent meals, fermented foods, RS enriched meals (whole tubers, whole ancient grains etc) and SBO probiotics.
http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.jp/2013/09/feeding-microbiota-non-starch.html
The small intestines are very long 20 to 30 FEET LONG and only one single layer of cells compose the barrier between blood and its contents…… Beautiful models with glowing, vibrant skin are evolutionarily desirable because their overall hormones and health can be reflected on their skin as the skin can be often the ultimate mirror for the GINORMOUS GUT. Screw late night acne informercials and PROACTIV; the gut requires attention.
Look at ‘microbiome colonizations’ below slide 4.
http://www.aicr.org/assets/docs/pdf/research/2010pdfs/MilnerJohnClosingComments.pdf
The SI is practically 10X the length of the LI. Therefore, IMHO it is quite vulnerable to assault, gut disruption, gliadin damage, toxins (mercury), parasites, protozoa, fungal and other overgrowths. The gut truly is the most best reflection of an ecosystem like a garden. If weeds establish and becom pervasive, then what do gardeners do? Start with the foundation, safely remove the weeds without killing your crops and flowers, then rebuild and maintain the soil and symbionts, right? (actually I’ve never had a garden — LOL let’s consult Timmy boy).
Caravan, I forgot that fact, sorry.
Also to Caravan, my toenail fungus cleared up 90-95% when I cut grains out of my diet four years ago. I don’t know if your toe fungus is this or athlete’s foot type.
Spanish Caravan,
How awesome — I’ve noticed better cuticle and nails too!
When there is a shifting in all the gut-skin-HPA ecosystems as microbial/fungal populations get replaced or crowded out, I think there are shifts in many niches and crannies. The toenails however takes months to turnover (onychomycosis — nail fungus — antifungal drugs like Lamisil embed in the toenail and still work bioactively until the nail is shed — 9-12 months, slower in diabetics and slow circulatory issues). The gut about 3 wks so can often see faster results depending.
DuckDodgers
SOOO CUUUUUUUUL ;) Love heirloom tubers and USOs
@Bernhard, Great find! Now my idea for a potato-based mouthwash and anti-dandruff wash isn’t so far fetched! :)
@Grace, more to come (hopefully!)
Grace, it is possible is it not that there are people without SIBO. I don’t seem to have gut issues so I’m assuming I don’t have SIBO. I haven’t taken antibiotics in several years. Been eating Kefir, yoghurt, kimchee, natto and sauerkraut.
If a person does not have discomfort, bloating, or any of the IBD things, would just RPS be enough?
Only low T3 which I will find out about on Monday. I’m not too optimistic because I don’t know for how long someone else was taking it and had better thyroid function. But even though it hasn’t been perfect sticking to protocol except for the past few weeks, even any improvement will be lovely.
Gab,
Honestly I’m such a skeptic now. I don’t know. The HPAT axis is pretty tightly linked to the gut however OTOH it independently irrespective of the gut can be have dysfunction just as our ovaries decline somewhat with age and menopause. As you’re probably aware the gut can be broken without zilcho discomfort, bloating, or any IBD things. It can be skin only, or mind only, or whatever organ only.
Here I have a sort of ‘spectrum’ of gut severity problems. Would love your thoughts.
The spectrum of gut permeability and sensitivity ranges:
(a) Mildly intolerant (gas, bloating, heartburn, ulcers, mental fog, cavities, enamel defects, nutritional deficiencies, anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, hair loss, low thyroid)
(b) Moderate (constipation, diarrhea, depression, anxious, allergies, ADHD, autism/spectrum, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, bone fractures, PCOS, fibroids, miscarriages, nerve pain, seizures, thyroid or hormone replacements)
(c) Severe (failure to thrive, weight loss, weight gain, rashes, mood swings, infertility, migraines, bloody stools, bipolar, psychiatric disorders, cancer, autoimmune diseases, celiac).
Hi Grace,
What is the best way to get tested for SIBO? Is the hydrogen breath test the only way and is it accurate?
If I am planning to get my GI Fx test soon, is a breath test necessary to dx SIBO? Or can I figure it out based on the GI Fx results? Is breath test really accurate?
Like GabKad, I don’t have any symptoms except a slightly elevated FBG (97 last time I checked) and mild dandruff (SIFO?).
Also, I sent you an email a week or so ago about the GI Fx test? Would you please please get back to me?
Thanks
T-Nat
Grace, I don’t know. My assistant is Hindu, not quite vegetarian but definitely, according to protein requirement is low. Cognitive, interactive, attention span is at her own rate. She is a very kind person and gentle with the patients. 40 years old and post menopause (chronic borderline malnutrition based on recommended protein requirements, marshmallow belly, thinning hair on top, stretch marks that are horrifying from having 2 kids, anemic with microcytic hypochromic RBCs with high count, facial skin looks fantastic, nails are hard, fibroids, cystic breasts. Has digestive issues (of course)…… but her damn T3 is 5.3! I’d kill for that. Mine is only 3.1. How the hell is that?
She’s all set to become type 2 diabetic but her damn thyroid is working better than mine. Everyone else in her family has type 2 at a certain age. She is modifying her diet to include more animal protein, fish and eggs but for these people, 1 chicken liver is IT. Roti, rice, chana dahl, green vegetables as garnish, yoghurt are the staples. I’d DIE eating that. I feel sick if I go vegetarian for a week. She’s not particularly peppy but her damn thyroid is doing way better than mine.
I even did the fingerprint test on the staff today. They were all wondering what their crazy boss was up to yet again………… they all passed. None had the horizontal creases.
It reminds me really, this fingerprint test of palm readers. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Dervla Murphy. She’s now in her 80s but she’s an incredible Irish traveller and writer. Her mother was living in England at the time and had a Romany woman read her palm. Told her that she would have a daughter who would become famous, but that afterwards she (the mother) would become very ill and that would be her life. The mother developed RA a couple of years after Dervla was born and after age 14 Dervla dropped out of school to care for her mother until the mother died when Dervla was 30 years old. Makes me wonder if these palm readers see more than just life line, fate line etc.
You’re skeptic? I’m flummoxed.
Hey, braniiacs, what do you all think of Resistant Maltodextrin? This seems to be synthetic Type 3 Retrograded Resistant Starch (RS3), just like Hi-Maize Corn Starch is synthetic RS2.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17253707
The benefits are very similar to what’s claimed for RS: lower blood sugar, lower triglycerides after a meal, regularity, help release satiety hormones like PYY and GLP-1, increased SCFA and butyrate.
Here’s Fibersol-2, which is a commercial Resistant Maltodextrin (RM) brand. It seems to be widely used in Japan. Available from Amazon as well.
http://www.amazon.com/FiberSol-Digestion-Resistant-Pre-Biotic-MaltoDextrin/dp/B00BPVFF58
There is also a body of work on RM which echoes similar claims made on behalf of RS:
Aids the absorption of calcium and magnesium:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19937042
Similar delays in glucose absorption and lower post-prandial triglycerides:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17385061
So RM is synthetic, not natural. But it’s nonetheless RS3, which is hard to get from food. The only way you can get it is if you freeze, unfreeze, and repeat. You can do this to legumes but it’s cumbersome. So is RM (i.e., RS3) worth consuming?
Is RS3 superior to RS2? How on earth could any human consume RS3 before the industrial age, before a mini freezer was invented? Well, they could have by living in cold climates. But still a bit difficult and you have to go out of your way. Interesting that no one mentioned RM as an RS3 with similar properties.
@Spanish Caravan
…” Well, they could have by living in cold climates.”…
Well they have, f.i. Chuño :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%C3%B1o
Peace.
Martin,
WOW that’s tremendous~ and congratulations! I see all kinds of recovery with improved gut health and your story is in my top 20 now. It sounds to me like you’ve shifted the oral cavity microbes to a better profile which may reflect improved enteroprofiles and poop. The butyrate is probably outta this world now — flooding your butt and your whole body. WHAT A SPECTACULAR JOB.
Gabriella,
Have you heard of auto-antibodies? many of these inactivate enzymes in the whole thyroid-receptor-hormone assembly. Does your assistant have high auto-antibodies? What is the Free T3, free t4, reverse T3 and TSH? The T3 to me is irrelevant given her MetSyn symptoms. T2DM is becoming more and more evident to be an intestinal permeability condition…. !!
Yes — I don’t think the fingerprint analysis is quite a science yet. That is the first I’ve heard of Dervla Murphy. What I do know is that we are all ENERGY. Some people have more 6th or 7th senses that attune them to energy differently. Did you know that dogs and bears smell for miles? My kids can hear frequencies that I can’t…. these change with inflammation I suspect, not aging! Energy is captured in bonds and chemicals… Definitely I believe those who are spectrum (Aspie, ADHD, autistic, etc) have better intuition compared to non. Birth order and the hormonal mileau in utero affects the brain receptors and their maturation and development… Someday we will understand all this more but for now they are interesting card, palm and tea leaves reading tricks, no?
Spanish,
BLOW ME away. UR SO BRILLIANT!
T-Nat,
Did you write? I’m so sorry. Have to unbury. Give me a minute.
I hate the SIBO test. It’s kinda f*kctarded if ‘negative’ which it will be half the time.
These researchers say it more politely “The hydrogen breath test depends on the presence of hydrogen producing bacteria. However, a considerable proportion of non‐hydrogen producing bacteria, which can yield false negative results, has been observed in some but not all studies…”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856094/
Also the H2 breath tests fail to account for fungi, parasites or protozoa. Someday we will be hopefully able to test for other lifeforms — viruses, bacteriophages, spirochetes, etc. Now it’s only bacteria and archae. With the GDX testing however — GI fx stool 2200 panel and the urine ONE organic acids — it’s possible to test fungi, bacteria and archae. Much more sophisticated and well rounded. I’m so glad you’re considering it soon. Results take 4 wks approx.
Gab
Autoantibodies precede disease by 4-5 years. Did you see these?
http://www.direct-ms.org/sites/default/files/Autoantibodies_.pdf
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/14452/version/1/files/pdf
Bernhand, thanks, that’s intriguing! So these Andean Indians have been eating Chuno by freeze-drying potatoes for over 7,000 years. I think their habitat at that high an altitude has something to do with it. But check this out: it takes 50 days to make Chunos. You alternately freeze dry and melt for 5 days. Then for 30 days you submerge them in a river. Then freeze again. Then you stomp on them like you stomp on cranberries. Then dry them again for 10 days. Prepared thus, Chunos remain edible for 3 years. Wow, somene should do an analysis and see how much RS3 is in there. It’s probably good to consume both Rs2 and Rs3.
I wonder if they taste like dried green plantains. When Tatertot first said they taste like Ritz crackers I thought, what has he been smoking? Well, you need a fan to dry them properly! Get a fan and you’ll end up with a carton of Ritz crackers. Actually, I think dried green plantains taste more like tea biscuits.
Here are the links to making Chunos. Apparently there are 2 different ways of making Chunos. The longer 50-day method is described above and is outined here.
http://enperublog.com/2008/09/01/the-chuno-dehydrated-potato-of-the-andes/
http://archive.peruthisweek.com/gastronomy/features-1046
But you can also make them over 5 days. Freeze, unfreeze and dry. Repeat.
http://www.limaeasy.com/peruvian-food-guide/typical-potatoes/chuno
http://aztecfoods.weebly.com/
I’m gonna try that and see if I react to them or not. I have a feeling when potatoes are frozen/unfrozen repeatedly like this they might lose their alkaloids which cause nightshade reaction.
Gabriella, those numbers seem to be FT3, not T3. You’re right at midpoint whereas your colleague is above most reference ranges. What I’ve realized over the years is that the low FT3 syndrome (euthyroid if TSH <3) does not affect many SAD dieters as we think. That low FT3 seems to be triggered often in low-carb cases. I know people will argue but look at it this way.
Hardly anybody ever become hyperthyroid on a low-carb diet. I know this for a fact. I worked with a naturopath who prescribes a VLC almost ketogenic diet; his practice is full of low FT3/T3 and subclinically thyroid patients. But he's never had a single hyperthyroid patient who followed his diet. Kind of odd, huh, when both are primarily autoimmune diseases? I know 2 other low-carb endos who say exactly the same thing. None of their patients ever show symptoms of hyperthyroidism or high FT3/T3.
Being hyperthyroid is characterized by excessive FT3. Your colleague has FT3 that's too high (but probably not enough to be hyperthyroid) and it's probably due to her diet that's carb heavy AND excess in calories. And a typical Bengali diet is very carb-heavy. High T3/Ft3 increases glucose transport into cells, resulting in glycolysis, which increases chances for infection and cancer. But it's also raises FFA, which seems to be the real driver behind diabetes. So it's no surprise that she's diabetic and has high FT3.
In terms of FT3, between 3.2 (midpoint) to 4.4 (high) seems ideal but not too above the upper bound. By some count, up to 90% of people on low-carb diets have low FT3 (between midpoint and 2.0), many of them with sub-3.0 TSH; they also tend to be seronegative for TPO &TG. But they show hypothyroid symptoms nonetheless. RS should raise FT3 and rid of some of these hypothyroid symptoms; I'm eagerly awaiting my next blood test.
Grace and Spanish, correction: it is fT3. The lab range here is 4.0 to 7.1 pmol/L (just checked the photocopy of the last set of test results.)
Mine has been consistently 4.1. Hers is 5.3.
I haven’t had time to read in detail the comments above but will later today.
I strongly suspect that I was given a bad batch of Synthroid last year. I developed myxedema, serious cardiac palps and general deadness with unrelenting back pain. When I increased the dose by adding a 25mcg tablet to what was supposed to be 112 mcg one month on I began to have some energy. Then when I changed up to 137 mcg assuming that 112 plus 25 was actually 137, I ended up with anxiety, diarrhoea, and rapid heart rate. So came to the conclusion that the 112 mcg tablets were from a bad batch. But even after 1 month of 137, both the fT4 and fT3 were low. So was TSH.
The endo put me on 125mcg in Jan. By July the fT3 had not budged. So I started to take 4.5 mg Naltrexone and then the raw PS. Got blood drawn on Monday this week. We’ll see. But I think 125mcg is too low. If so, I’ll be lobbying for a higher dose and if she won’t do it, I’ll find someone else. I feel better but not ‘stellar’ by any means. Back 25 years ago I was on 150mcg and motoring around like a normal person. For whatever reason, the new GP lowered the dose to 125mcg back in 1994. An endo lowered it again in 1999 to 112 mcg. Have not felt all the great since but last year was really horrible. I hate going to doctors but I’m getting tenacious about this now. Being labeled as CFIDS when the problem was low thyroid levels pisses me right off.
@ Spanish Caravan
Let us know your production procedure.
How will you go about the trampling part,
will you do this with bare feet?
Peace.
Grace, just for shits and giggles because some of my patients are game, we did the fingerprint test on a patient who has Rosacea. He’s taking low dose doxycycline. And guess what? He’s got lots of these horizontal lines on his fingerprints. We really didn’t even need to do fingerprinting. They are visible.
He’s game. Since he’s already on doxy, SIBO is ‘under control’ because the Rosacea is not flaring up now. I suggested he try the RPS. He was not all that forthcoming about his bowels (although he is from Berlin) and he does have nasal congestion (somewhat chronic).
I won’t be able to follow up on this for a while though. Just thought I’d chime in here after you posted that link.
Hey Gab,
There is even a link between the white lines, # whorls, and # loops on fingerprints in people with cavities (eg SIBO/SIFO) and those without cavities. Check these out. This is why I have a love affair with Weston A Price. What a brilliant gentleman. Where are you again? Do you have access to any of the soil based probiotics or iherb.com?
I was just in Boden See and Munich. Had the best 4 carrot and beet (fermented) root vegetable salad by the lakeside hotel. I don’t know if it was organic but I bet there were a few soil organisms. The carrots were all different colors including red!
A cross sectional study of dermatoglyphics and dental caries in Bengalee children.
Sengupta AB, Bazmi BA, Sarkar S, Kar S, Ghosh C, Mubtasum H.
J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2013 Oct-Dec;31(4):245-8.
Dermatoglyphics in patients with dental caries: a study on 1250 individuals.
Abhilash PR, Divyashree R, Patil SG, Gupta M, Chandrasekar T, Karthikeyan R.
J Contemp Dent Pract. 2012 May 1;13(3):266-74.
The relation of bruxism and dermatoglyphics.
Polat MH, Azak A, Evlioglu G, Malkondu OK, Atasu M.
J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2000 Spring;24(3):191-4.
OMG Grace. Bruxism and breathing problems: can be anatomical but oftentimes also congestion related…..acid reflux, blah and blah.
I’m just talking to a friend of mine. Told her I’ll just look at patients’ fingers and tell them they have dental caries. Don’t know how the licensing body like this.
But really, one of the things that affects what people eat is ‘can they masticate’? There are so many people with deformed dental arches and malpositioned teeth, they gravitate to foods that are easy to get down the gullet. Most of these foods are either super overcooked or foods that do not require chewing. It’s a really bad cycle of disaster. One thing I’ve noticed is the incidence of obesity among those with an anterior open bite. They’ve got a traumatic occlusion so avoid anything that accentuates function.
Spanish,
Ancient freeze dried Chunos sound delicious! Talk about labor intensive.
What was the purpose of the VLC diets for the naturopath and low carb endos? I recall that Broda Barnes used a low gluten/starch diet with orange juice for hypothyroidism with good success. Richard Bernstein uses a similar diet then has individuals titters up carbs to tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
Most VLC diets used for anti-candida regimens do a disservice to the individual over the long haul because of the absence of fiber and RS that feed the sentinels and immunoguards of the gut, the commensals and soil based strains. It’s true carb and refined starch/sugar heavy diets are very adverse to the gut flora, selecting for fungi, proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and enteric pathogens like Salmonella and E Coli which are species that know how to exploit simple sugars for survival — glucose fructose and sucrose.
Did you know that fungi like low body temps and simple sugars to thrive? They secrete chemicals that propagate their ultimate survival — blockers to thyroid receptors, deiodase inhibitors and byproducts that glue shut insulin receptors. What I abhor about standard lab testing is that they don’t account for what’s going on at the biochem/cellular and receptor levels but are obvious at the macro/animal level.
Gab if you did an ONE and GI FX stool on your assistant, I would not be shocked at all if you find rampant SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth) and some sibo. Have you read GAPS? mcBride-Campbell finds prolific yeast in all her spectrum and mental/mind cases. why? I think we a too disconnected from the soil and the soil based commensals that we’d normally consume abundantly if we were sustained on local, small farms where chickens and ducks run freely, chemical-free vegetables are safely eaten straight from the ground and dairy flowed from antibiotic-free cows and goats.
The soil based commensals control and limit fungi and entero pathogens — seriously they’re like the f*kcing NAVY SEALS amphibious and silently lethal. They produce biofilm busters, antimicrobials and antifungals that only touch the pathogens, leaving the bystander commensals unharmed.
When there are bountiful butyrate from both RS and a decent microbiota, did you know that butyrate has selective antimicrobial activity against fast-growing pathogens?? Butyrate is a bad-ass in so many many many wicked ways.
Spanish and Gab,
I love u guys and I love ur poopy adrenals. Gab were you ever VLC/ketotic like Spanish and I? Are you a dentist or what field in medicine? Was your post grad training rigorous with brutal mental stress and crazy long sleepless hours? If yes to any, like 99% of physicians that I know, you probably have a speckle of adrenal dysregulation.
The low T3 syndrome is tightly associated with compromised adrenal function. The adrenals provide the cortisol and EPI/NE to elevate and maintain adequate BG and liver gluconeogenesis. Low T3 is the compensation as Spanish noticed for the LC endos and naturopath practices. I wish I had known this before I got so spastic about paleo IF’ing, Stephen Phinney, and PaNu long time ago. It took a few months but I fried my adrenals pretty well done doing those, then it took literally years to get out of the metabolic hole. Fucked up adrenals also made me into a chronically fatigued and cold eunuch.
I put out adrenal health as Step#7 because when there is parasites and SIFO/SIBO going on breaking down the digestion and the gut integrity without impunity, the release of cortisol and EPI/NE to sustain gut function (all 20-32 feet of the small intestines for each meal and snack) strains and further damages those poor, sad little adrenals. The gut will never heal unless adrenals are addressed concurrently. I’ve found that simultaneous attention to both organs is in order for quick and fast recoveries.
As my endo says “your cortisol is not stellar”.
I changed my diet over the past 6 months. Increased my salt intake (Apparently according to people who eat my cooking I don’t add enough salt. I’d never noticed. I have no salt cravings.) Plus I make sure I’m getting ready to sleep by 9:30 p.m. I am great when I wake up in the morning. No problem with that. These days when I drive home from work I am not feeling so exhausted as if I were a drunk driver. I used to be so exhausted I was crying in the car.
I’m not surprised that the adrenals are crapped out. Won’t ever go into the life story in public. It’s horrifying. But my thyroid went goiter while in dental school. I have pictures and in retrospect am in a quandary as to why, considering I was in the medical faculty and the dental faculty all the time NO ONE ever said anything except my med school boyfriend. And of course we never listen to the boyfriend. He’s a really excellent physician. Not mine though and that’s a shame. My father was a prof in the medical school and HE didn’t notice either!!! As a faculty brat, I was around doctors all the time and no one except the boyfriend ever said a damn thing.
Interesting fact though: I moved to the Caribbean after I finished school. Passport photo in April 28, 1981 showed big goitre. International driving license photo end of June: no goitre, totally different face. I carry these pictures around in my wallet because it’s such a huge change over a very short period of time. Doctors aren’t interested. But to me it means that things can be hugely better given changed circumstances. Living in the West Indies and working my butt off wasn’t less stressful. It was very hard work. But whatever difference between Toronto and Trinidad, it was beneficial for me. Toronto is just slowly killing me. This place is unhealthy.
I contracted malaria (because I lived in the countryside) and ended up fine. (The U.S. military are the best for real info on places. Forget WHO. There is malaria in Trinidad and the Trinis know it. For some reason WHO doesn’t. Duh.)
I think the dose of Synthroid is too low. I’ll find out on Monday. It’s problematic these days because I can’t just ‘serve myself’ at the pharmacy. Otherwise I’d just slowly increase the dose until I know it’s doing what it’s supposed to do. The old doctor who worked with me to get to 150mcg based things not only on blood tests but on goitre and how I felt. Doctors are diagnosing based on blood tests only and TSH isn’t valid for everyone. Toronto is shit. That’s all. It’s in the goitre belt.