Probiotics: The Genetic Component of Obesity

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[Please do read and integrate this, but here’s a thinking update, April of 2015: Gut Bugs, Probiotics, Prebiotics…And how our microbes make us who we are. This is a process.] In the obesity debate, you generally have:
  1. You eat too much, don’t move enough. Lack of discipline. Can’t resist reward.
  2. You eat too much fat.
  3. You eat too much carbohydrate.
  4. You eat animal-derived foods.
  5. It’s the toxins and/or anti-nutrients of various sorts. “Neolithic Agents of Disease,” in Paleospeak.
  6. It’s processed food in general.
  7. It’s all genetic and there’s little you can do about it…EXCEPT…one of the foregoing approaches might work for you, and it’s to you to find which one or something else, if any at all.
I’ve actually come to be most intrigued by number 7 and I’ll tell you why: I absolutely think, now, that the genetic component is the chief factor driving obesity, but I can almost assure you that most people, before reading on, would not guess what I have in mind. I’ll quote from a book in draft, to be published.
There’s about 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and about a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water. In total, there’s estimated to be about five million trillion trillion, or 5 × 1030 (5 nonillion) bacteria on Earth with a total biomass equaling that of plants. Some researchers believe that the total biomass of bacteria exceeds that of all plants and animals. Inside of every human organism are armies of microorganisms with entirely different DNA from our human cells. That microbiome not only outnumbers our human cells by a factor of ten to one but in total, outnumbers every individual human that has ever lived on the face of the Earth. Your intestinal microflora numbers 100 trillion! Compare that with the total estimated 110 billion humans who have ever been born. You’ve got 900 times as many microorganisms. Your internal civilization of microbiota is comprised of up to 1,000 different species with 3 million non-human genes, compared to your own 24,000.
See where I’m going with this? Do the math, and the genes that make up your gut flora outnumber your human genes by a factor of more than 100. And when you begin digging into it very deeply—such as drafting a book, perhaps :) —the discoveries mount by the hour in terms of all they do: from manufacturing species-specific antibiotics, to adjusting pH in the gut, to kamikaze warfare, to intra and inter-species bi-lingual communication, to enzymatic action to digest things—even anti-nutrients like phytate—to hormonal regulation, and many other functions…many heavily related to the brain-gut connection and by consequence, behavior. Think what you will about human genetics, but how about integrate an entirely new set of non-human genes 100 times greater? Factor in enormous variation—not only in numbers of species (500-1,000 per individual, on average), but population numbers of species per individual—and then, that any individual’s gut shifts in species populations seasonally, with different food intake, and you have a complexity that’s likely no match for all the supercomputers on earth operating in parallel. And that’s just for one of 7 billion individuals. I love complexity. Whilst virtually everyone is out trying to come up with plans and more plans; pat answers, sets of 10 rules, Bibles and manifestos, I have no plan! Rather, I enjoy best complicating the hell out of everything and showing how all such plans are just silly. Let’s consider just two animal examples.
  1. By now, most people have heard of how if you take an obese rodent and a skinny rodent, swap out their gut biomes, the obese one becomes lean and the lean one becomes obese. The rodent genes didn’t change, but genes did change: they were the far greater number of genes in the rodent microbiome exchanged from one to the other.
  2. How about the obese, heart diseased gorillas living in zoos, subsisting on gorilla chow? Turns out that if you double their calories, but give them their appropriate diet of tons of vegetable matter, they shed pounds and regain health. Did their genes change? Absolutely, but not in their own cells. “Their” genes changed dramatically by virtue of a radical shift in gut flora.
Now let’s consider the human animal, vis-a-vis genetic obesity. Everyone has seen picture examples from decades past, when everyone wasn’t fat. What was a common sight (not uniform by any means, but most common…exceptions exist)? Lean male, plumpish to fat female. And when offspring were in the picture, it was more common that the sons were twigs and the daughters showed signs of following in mom’s footsteps. Juxtapose that with “the perfect family,” where everyone is lean. Gotta be their genes, right? That simple? Pat answer? Or, is it the food they eat? It is both genes and the food they eat, all packaged with a cause & effect puzzle? Let me advance an alternate hypothesis, though you’re free to call it wild-ass speculation if you like: What if it’s genetic AND the food they eat, BECAUSE of “their” genetic makeup (take particular note of those scare quotes)?
  1. Consider where dad works. Interestingly, the further you go back, the more you find traditional roles where dad works outside the home—often enough, getting his hands, hair, face and clothes dirty. He’s exposed and ingests, daily, an endless supply of soil based organisms; a probiotic, and unlike common dairy-based probiotics, are spore forming; so, they can lie dormant for years or thousands of years, only to come alive again when conditions are ripe. Moreover, the spore actually survives the harsh environment of gastric juices that kill lots of live bacteria in your favorite yogurt or kefir—or even fermented foods.
  2. Where does mom work? Traditionally, at home, where cleanliness is next to godliness. The only good bacteria is a dead bacteria and nobody likes cleansers and disinfectants more than mom. Of course, she’s doing it out of an abundance of care for her family flock; and though she’s not to be faulted for her ignorance (her husband is too, but he’s getting them anyway, also through ignorance), ignorance is ignorance.
  3. Offspring are offspring. Traditionally, the boys follow in dads steps and the girls learn every conceivable thing about products upon products, piled on products—the vast majority designed to either kill or sweep away any hint of a bug.
  4. Wouldn’t it be interesting to compare the genetic sequencing of the gut bacteria for a traditional household with a lean dad who works in the dirt, a mom who keeps a clean house between baking cookies and pies, and the kids who, more or less, model their parental-gender examples?
Worthy of consideration, though very loosely outlined (I trust you to connect requisite dots)? So what’s the underlying mechanism, in my view? Let’s take it from the point where people are not getting the daily supply of bacteria: or—and this is super important—after a round of human antibiotic carpet bombing. Remember, the beneficial bacteria in the gut tend to be able to target pathogens through species-specific antibiotics, or creating a pH that’s inhospitable to them. Phages also play a role in keeping pathogens in check. Damaged Biome –> Malabsorption –> Toxic Overload –> Damaged Tight Junctions –> Immune Response –> Auto-Immune Disease –> Allergies To Everything –> Obesity and Other Health Problems. Time to come clean. Tim and I—already having read tons of studies on resistant starch that go back 30 years—were very damn confident that they improve the gut generally in a very special way, a “panacea,” as Dr. Art Ayers puts it. Moreover, we’d both seen a lot of recent stuff all over about prebiotics (feed what’s there) being more important than probiotics (get new stuff). Enter my longtime friend, Dr. BG (Grace), PharmD. She writes a blog in little tiny font—so you pay close attention—at AnimalPharm (link removed). In comments here, and emails you’ll never see, she got quite perturbed at us—especially after we downplayed probiotics on Angelo Coppola’s Latest in Paleo Podcast. I won’t tell you what she told us privately, but there may have been vulgarity involved. Then, serendipitously, Ameer Rosic published a podcast with me, where I think both my thinking had evolved and I explained myself better. Grace liked it. Long story short, she became science editor for the book Tim & I are co-authoring—now almost halfway through 16 chapters nearing 400 pages—and I ordered three SBO (soil-based organism) probiotics to try. I didn’t want to futz with “which is best” and was perfectly willing to confound variables and make the picture too complex to figure out, because it already is to begin with.
  1. Prescript-Assist
  2. AOR Probiotic-3
  3. Primal Defense Ultra
  4. (See this Update post of two additional probiotics I recommend, and why: Gut Bugs, Probiotics, Prebiotics…And how our microbes make us who we are)
The reason I went and did it was actually not because of Grace’s insistence per se, but because she’d been in comments for months already admonishing people: “you’re feeding empty cages!” In other words, if the organisms you need aren’t there, no amount of resistant starch or any other prebiotic is going to create them. RS is not Dog, after all. But I was torn. I had already experienced lots of benefits as I’ve outlined many times in my RS posts. But then I observed several people in comments having had problems with the potato starch seemingly clear them up after taking one or more of those probiotic recommendations. While I wasn’t having problems beyond the occasionally wayward fart, it made me wonder whether I was missing out on something. Indeed I was. Alright, quick list for me, all experienced by day 4 of one of each, twice per day, typically on an empty stomach.
  1. Awareness, calm. Nothing bothers me much unless I pretend it does (which I have to do for show & schtick, sometimes). It’s a kind of perspective I haven’t enjoyed having in a long time. Above the fray—with a little spicy sprinkle of hubris and pity. Mushroom cloud on the horizon? “Wow, glad it’s not closer.”
  2. 1/3 reduced need for sleep. I always wondered whether the paleo obsession with lots of sleep in very, very, very, very dark rooms with blackout shades for 8-9 hours wan’t sign of a bad condition. I can remember often bragging about 8-10 hours myself. Really? Are we really meant to spend half of our lives asleep? Potato starch actually exacerbated that a bit because the dreams (brain-gut connection, remember?) were so vivid and intense, it was like kinda going to bed to watch a show. Haven’t slept more than 6 hours in a couple of weeks. I’m now usually up and awake, rarin’ to go, typing away before Bea gets up at 5:30am. Used to be, I’d drag out at 6:45 or so, just to see her off.
  3. Not very hungry for much of anything, usually. This results in not eating much until really no-shit hungry. The potato starch did that too, but now even more pronounced.
  4. Best for last: all my life I’ve had sinus problems. Allergies, itchy nose, runny nose, itchy eyes. I once did the subcutaneous injections for a couple of years (French Navy). I once considered buying stock in paper towel manufacturers. Kleenex doesn’t cut it. I need Bounty! I was on prescriptions since college. paleo helped a lot with that, but I now suspect it was removing those things that most created auto-immune responses (grains, most likely), but not dealing with the underlying cause. Why?* Because after a few years, the problems crept back, such that even a slight indulgence over a burger or a beer would get me sneezing, running of nose, and chronic congestion necessitating habitual squirts of Afrin every night before bed, just so I could get to sleep and not mouth breathe all night. I noticed it immediately, like day 2. About 3 weeks in, I’m 80% plus. Rather than 100 nose blows per day, maybe a few. Don’t need Afrin 90% of the time. Don’t wake up in the middle of the night with desert mouth.
So wow. Number 4, above, is a relief I can’t even begin to express the value of for me personally. Makes me wonder how much of my rather vitriolic demeanor is really me, or simply an underlying pissed-offedness at my lot in life that manifests in ways I’ve simply learned to cope with by taking pride in it. …I’d have rather had a small penis. :) Seriously, I literally walk around in disbelief, shutting my mouth and taking deep breaths through my nose that was only possible drugged up, before, except for my paleo Honeymoon of a couple of years. I’ve evolved into a morning smoothie concoction that’s different about every day, and that I split with Beatrice before she heads off to the classroom. I’d advise pounding those 3 probiotics for a couple of weeks (1 of each, twice per day), then perhaps, to make them last longer, something like this. The gist of my morning smoothie recipe, split between 2 people, about 10-12 oz each (this is how I now get pretty much 100% of my Probiotic and RS supplementation—my dose being about 1/2 to 2/3 of this recipe): I tried to get Beatrice to take the probiotics about 4-5 days after I began taking them. No dice. That’s when I concocted the “evil smoothie” plan, and all she knew was that it was a fruit smoothie, and she loved the taste. Yesterday—this is a week or so of morning ritual, now—she comes to me saying “I feel fantastic and I think it’s that morning drink. Keep doing it.” So, I suppose that in the large scheme of things, if you’ve ever lived a sheltered life and/or taken a round of antibiotics ever, it’s entirely possible that your gut biome was damaged permanently, and much of what you experience is merely downstream effects too complex to fully understand (see the beginning section of the post). Or, perhaps you were a C-Section baby who didn’t get the benefit of the billions of bacteria you get in the process of a natural birth. And/or, you were not breastfed, and so didn’t get both the billions of bacteria with every feeding in mammalian milk, nor the probiotics that come right along with it in a nice & tidy package. Whatever the singular or multiple case, I’m here to say that I’ve bought a number of the dairy-based probiotics over the years and felt nothing I ever noticed. This has been way different than anything. I don’t see how it can hurt. It might help a lot. * I further speculate that the paleo LC approach, that removed the antagonists that gave me relief, also starved and perhaps extinguished gut microbes such that I became sensitize to far greater things in smaller doses, ultimately. Update: I had really intended to spend some space tying this back to #1 in the list of obesity, but things were getting long, so let’s explore that in comments if you like. In a nutshell: I think a bad gut = bad decisions on many levels via the brain-gut connection and hormone regulation, including food choices brought on by insatiable cravings. Perhaps the palatability/reward hypotheses would be better refined by finding out how food engineering is both exploiting and exacerbating the problem.
Elixa Probiotic is a British biotech manufacturer in Oxford, UK. U.S. Demand is now so high they’ve established distribution centers in Illinois, Nevada, and New Jersey.
Still, sell-outs happen regularly, so order now to avoid a waiting list.
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Fat Loss Blueprint

…Hey, very soon I’m going to be blogging about how I’ve easily lost over 4 kilograms the last couple of months here in rural Thailand while building a house. You can get a jump start by checking out Fat Loss Blueprint.

But, I’ll give you a hint: I eat Thai food, except when I make my occasional western dish. The only fast food here in the deep rural within hundreds of miles is a few KFC. Here’s my rule of thumb with my take on the Thai eating way: half the rice, twice the protein.

Again: Fat Loss Blueprint.

Elixa Probiotic is a British biotech manufacturer in Oxford, UK. U.S. Demand is now so high they've established distribution centers in Illinois, Nevada, and New Jersey.

Still, sell-outs happen regularly, so order now to avoid a waiting list.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mister worms February 27, 2014 at 14:11

    This makes me wonder… how about digging up some veggies, brushing the dirt off and just chowing down as an alternative to expensive probiotics?

    It would be interesting to see the differences quantified to compare costs, number of species, number of organisms, etc.

    Even though I just shelled out $50 on prescript assist, I’m skeptical that we really get it right when we try to bottle up something as wild and wooly as this.

    Reply
    • Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:26

      Great post Richard, looking forward to trying some of these products out.

      Just want to say “thanks” for continuing down this path with your research. I’ve been following your blog for years now and it really has been life-impacting, both on my own health and occasionally for those around me, when I can give helpful advice about their various maladies and it turns out to work.

    • Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:27

      >This makes me wonder… how about digging up some veggies, brushing the dirt off and just chowing down as an alternative to expensive probiotics?

      Might work to an extent, but difficult to say for sure since we don’t know what sorts of soil is being used in commercial farming or how sterile it really is..

    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 19:07

      Thanks Dan.

      You’re one of the ones from way back so I always remember you. I think the first time I recall taking particular note of you was on some slam post on vegans and you said “well, Doritos and Mountain Dew are Vegan.” Still cracks me up.

    • Chupo March 6, 2014 at 06:50

      Mister Worms,

      Your name reminds be of when I was into vermicomposting (composting with earthworms) about 15 years ago. I remember reports of people whose autoimmune problems would resolve after they’d begun working with worms. Arthritis was a common one. Whether they realized they had to feed their new gut colonists, I don’t remember but they did make the connection between the worm germs and their improved health.

    • Lindsay March 29, 2014 at 03:36

      Grow your own or buy organic and ferment the veggies – surely cheaper and more sustainable?

    • JB May 1, 2014 at 22:57

      According to the folks at Prescript Assist, it is a selection of categorically ‘safe’ microorganisms occurring at different stages in productive organic tilth. This sounds better than eating dirt.

  3. Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:27

    Great post Richard, looking forward to trying some of these products out.

    Just want to say “thanks” for continuing down this path with your research. I’ve been following your blog for years now and it really has been life-impacting, both on my own health and occasionally for those around me, when I can give helpful advice about their various maladies and it turns out to work.

    Reply
  4. Phil Bennett February 27, 2014 at 14:29

    I have started mixing a spoonful of my garden soil in a pint of water with the RS. (Never put down pesticides and I’m fairly sure free from livestock or cats ;)

    My wife thinks I’m a fucking nut job but I’m experiencing the same symptoms as you since the dirt shakes

    Reply
    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 19:15

      You’re a Wild & Crazy guy, Phil.

      Yea, my concern would be that:

      1. We’re talking virgin ground (no pesticides, heavy metal contamination, etc.)

      2. That it’s on or near root storage organs.

      Other than that, don’t see a problem. Bottle it, sell it, make millions. After all, pet rocks only touched on emotions.

    • tatertot February 27, 2014 at 19:32

      I pull carrots straight from the ground that is fertilized with chicken shit and coop litter, brush the big chunks off and chow down. Never had an issue.

      Bacillus Lichenformis is an SBO, guess where it loves to grow–decomposing bird feathers, and Lactobacillus Plantarum, another SBO, is found in decomposing plant matter, especially compost piles. These are two of the best probiotics you will find, but they aren’t in every blend, you need to look for them, or eat dirt.

    • Nick February 27, 2014 at 19:48

      I also eat dirty carrots and have never had any problems.

      Eating tablespoons of dirt seems far riskier. It’s almost like a fecal transplant, at least in terms of the bacterial biomass ingested.

    • Kenny February 28, 2014 at 06:28

      To add, if you are just eating dirt, then a yearly (or more frequent) stool test for parasites and other nasties would be a requirement.

    • tatertot February 28, 2014 at 11:07

      Are you in a position to plant a garden? The bacteria surrounding root vegetables should actually be better quality than a random scoop of dirt from the middle of a lawn. The SBOs colonize the root veggies, creating an environment hostile to pathogens, that’s why I think eating dirt clinging to a healthy carrot is less harmful than eating dirt your neighbors diseased cat may have just pissed on.

      Lots of pathogens have a life cycle that relies on a hapless idiot (animal or human) eating it.

      I don’t know if I like you plan….but don’t let that stop you! I’d recommend some s. boulardii yeast probiotics along with the DE.

    • MycroftJones February 28, 2014 at 11:48

      This makes sense. Have you read the Humanure Handbook, by Joseph Jenkins? I had no idea that the microbial life of a compost heap contained so many miracles, including cleaning up nuclear waste, neutralizing heavy metals, and so on. What you are saying fits right in. He has also made his book free to read online. A good, finished compost should do exactly what you said, and may be even superior to regular dirt, because it has gone through the process of cleansing and purification and microbial alterations that neutralize all the nasties.

    • Ralnac February 28, 2014 at 12:45

      Tim:

      I have a big garden. I sprayed a very diluted microbial brew on it last summer made of molasses and sourdough starter and had amazing results from that. I’m all about the crobes.

      I’m just waiting for the ground to thaw so I can dig up some of last fall’s beets (I know I missed a few)… know basically where they are.

      I have actually been thinking about this for awhile since I don’t want to wait for the company growing oxalobacter formigenes to get FDA approval (I need some oxalate degrader for sure). Hoping something is growing on the beets that will help colonize my gut. I wouldn’t do this without being pretty dosed up with beneficial microbes first and start small. THanks for the advice.

      I have chickens too but I’m not ready to chow down on coop litter. I don’t wash eggs though, that’s just silly.

    • tatertot February 28, 2014 at 12:50

      You know, just being around those chickens, collecting eggs, getting poop on your hands and breathing a bit of that dust they create is a healthy experience.

      Lots of people love to dust their coops with DE, that’s OK, but DE dust breathed in by humans is very harmful, way more harmful than the chicken feather dust.

      A backyard flock of just 3-5 chickens is probably one of the best things people can do for getting a good mix of healthy eggs and beneficial microbes.

    • DWS February 28, 2014 at 21:07

      Bought 3 chicks 5 months ago and they’re laying now. My daughters always hug and kiss the chickens goodnight every night. I certainly don’t discourage it and have started doing myself!

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:47

      AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww………

      OMG. Tatertot finally speaks o the ‘dirt’ beneath his wings.

      That only took me 1/2 year dude of kicking dirt-filled rectum.

    • gabriella kadar March 6, 2014 at 07:34

      Ralnac, yes, I remember as a little kid (maybe 4 or 5 years old) I’d been heavily into the sandbox at the nursery school. Hm, then at some time I would not be able to get to sleep at night due to very itchy bumhole. PINWORMS!

      Was treated. I think I only got them once. Unforgettable.

      When I lived in Trinidad in the 1980s, it seemed to me that my friends were forever having to de-worm their kids. Pinworms and more pinworms. Who knows what all else the kids were picking up while playing outside.

      But don’t worry, at least those things are quite easy to eliminate. Just you’ll spend some serious time awake at night busy scratching while the pinworm adults crawl out of your bum in their optimism to spread their joy to others.

      It’s only fair to the rest of us if you let us know if any of this enhances your experience of dirt eating. :)

    • Bjornsdotter March 10, 2014 at 20:59

      Every sentence in that post made me laugh out loud! I would love to be married to a guy like that one day!!!

      Maria

    • John Thompson April 22, 2014 at 14:08

      Would it be ethical to eat earthworms?
      They would carry a payload of bacteria infested soil

    • Jennifer June 25, 2014 at 08:17

      When I was a toddler (many moons ago!) my Mom found me in the yard spooning dirt into my mouth on many occasions. She consulted our pediatrician who told her that there must be something lacking in my diet that caused me to crave dirt. His advice was to let me eat it if I wanted.

      I always assumed there was some trace mineral I was lacking that lead me to supplement with soil. As a child, and later adult, with many digestive issues – beginning with a severe allergy to breast milk – or to whatever my mom consumed that made me allergic to it, I wonder now if it wasn’t an attempt to help out my gut that made me crave dirt.

  5. john February 27, 2014 at 14:30

    Dear Richard,
    My only claim to fame will likely be, that a long time ago, I introduced a certain person in Shanghai to the t-nation website, not for eye candy, :-) but for science sake, as the bodybuilders are the only ones who have to take off their clothes and walk their talk (of the result of foods and exercise precision) for all to see.

    The other item that has sat in a crevice in my aged brain is that the bush Africans likely defecate in a squat position in the bush. It is likely at this stage some of the important termite biofilm bacteria ( and termite outputs, which have been to shown to fertilize crops and vegetation) would transfer to the host. These bugs would be candidates to handle the RS and fiber of the African diet . maybe my next trip to northern Australia will be to find some termites, and try the abdomens as fecal bacteria in a capsule…

    Reply
    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 20:46

      “My only claim to fame will likely be, that a long time ago, I introduced a certain person in Shanghai to the t-nation website, not for eye candy”

      Can I get a clue? :)

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:53

      Well John was being all scientific and biohacking. I went to t-nation for the EYE CANDY

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:56

      Termites are the most ancient probiotic our earliest hominin ancestors co-evolved with

      Sponheimer, Matt et al. “Hominins, sedges, and TERMITES: new carbon isotope data from the Sterkfontein valley and Kruger National Park.” Journal of Human Evolution 48.3 (2005): 301-312.

    • KAWAM May 1, 2014 at 12:29

      I’m a total pyro, heating (almost) solely with a wood stove. FAVORITE before-bed entertainment: good audio-book in the earphones while staring into the fire. Sigh. Makes you hate summer . . . video lacks the smell and the crackle and the all-out sensuousness of it all.

  6. WW February 27, 2014 at 14:34

    “I always wondered whether the Paleo obsession with lots of sleep in very, very, very, very dark rooms with blackout shades for 8-9 hours wan’t sign of a bad condition.”

    I also have come to disagree with this Paleo obsession of darkened rooms. For millions of years, our fore-critters have slept under the moon and stars. And once the cooking and safety benefits of fire was discovered, sleeping in front of campfires.

    I configured my laptop to turn to a very reddish color cast at dusk. You know what is the quickest way for me to fall asleep? Being in a darkened room laying down with that laptop on my tummy – falling asleep in front of the campfire so to speak. I am out within 5-10 minutes.

    To me, there is nothing more Paleo than a cast of yellowish/red light at night.

    Reply
    • Alie February 27, 2014 at 18:08

      Thank you for this! I always fall asleep to favorite shows on netflix or amazon, and assumed it was probably a bad thing. This is a different spin on it, though, and it is very much like listening to a much loved story in front of a fire. Interesting. Of course, then I wake up laying on my tablet tangled up in headphones.

    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 21:01

      “Of course, then I wake up laying on my tablet tangled up in headphones.”

      Most nights, I have to come in the bedroom, remove Bea’s glasses of her face, set the devices aside and turn off the TV.

    • John February 28, 2014 at 07:49

      I picked up some of those Orange safety glasses. I seem to fall asleep slower watching t.v. with them on. Maybe its because I associate them with skiing and paintball, as in, I’ve conditioned myself to associate tinted lenses with increased perception during highly active (mentally and physically) times.

    • Cathy February 28, 2014 at 16:25

      OMG!!! Thank you for this! I have always fallen asleep to tv and while reading. There is a station that plays retro tv and I fall asleep part way through Perry Mason and wake up during the Untouchables. When my husband travels I always have a night light. I have never needed total darkness to go to sleep. And I don’t need that much sleep either.

    • Misterian February 28, 2014 at 19:11

      I’ve wondered about this light thing too when backpacking not very many nights are pitch dark with the moon shining! And I’m about as far into nature as can be. Perhaps we have other hormonal cycles relating to the moon and even the seasons, when the days get shorter and longer?

    • Sally Oh March 2, 2014 at 09:11

      how did you program it to do that? I had that f-? program on there for awhile, but it always seems to crap out. Thanks!

    • Sally Oh March 2, 2014 at 09:41

      This explains a lot to me, just as a bio-hacker, testing on myself. Three years ago I was in the hospital for 3 weeks loading up on strong antibiotics to save my life from a third world bacterial pneumonia. I have lasting gut issues that nothing seems to touch.

      I’ve never done pro-biotics because it was all just so confusing to figure them out. I eat sauerkraut and drink beet kvass, kombucha, sometimes kefir, all home made. But I think I need the overload-the-gut to get the ball rolling again protocol. Thank you for this — I’m going to give it a try with my RS.

      Btw, I bought some psyllium husk powder… how do you get that shit down? Disgusting. I notice it’s not in your smoothie. Thank goodness, lol.

    • gabriella kadar March 2, 2014 at 09:51

      Sally, don’t know why f.lux would crap out. Have had it on all my laptops for years. Just set it right. The programme even added very low temp lighting at some time in the recent past.

      Just delete the programme and re install.

    • A July 8, 2017 at 18:27

      Dr. Kruse would very much disagree with having that EMF all over you even if its tinted orange/red

  7. Sidney Phillips February 27, 2014 at 14:35

    Been reading all the great work you’ve been doing with resistant starch. It’s made a big difference for me in helping heal my leaky gut. Heisenbug’s also doing good work in this area. He had a recent post touting the benefits of L. plantarum and B. infantis (align).

    May I suggest a cheaper alternative for the soil based probiotics. I’ve taken the following from Swansons with good results, and its pretty cheap at $9.99: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-soil-based-organisms-90-caps

    Reply
    • T-Nat February 27, 2014 at 16:10

      Sidney,
      It does not look like this Swanson product contains any soil-based organisms.
      I just Googled all the listed strains of this product and none of them are soil based.
      I think Swanson just labeled this product cleverly or should I say deceptively.

      Tell me if I am missing something here.

      T-Nat

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  1. mister worms February 27, 2014 at 14:11

    This makes me wonder… how about digging up some veggies, brushing the dirt off and just chowing down as an alternative to expensive probiotics?

    It would be interesting to see the differences quantified to compare costs, number of species, number of organisms, etc.

    Even though I just shelled out $50 on prescript assist, I’m skeptical that we really get it right when we try to bottle up something as wild and wooly as this.

    Reply
    • Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:26

      Great post Richard, looking forward to trying some of these products out.

      Just want to say “thanks” for continuing down this path with your research. I’ve been following your blog for years now and it really has been life-impacting, both on my own health and occasionally for those around me, when I can give helpful advice about their various maladies and it turns out to work.

    • Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:27

      >This makes me wonder… how about digging up some veggies, brushing the dirt off and just chowing down as an alternative to expensive probiotics?

      Might work to an extent, but difficult to say for sure since we don’t know what sorts of soil is being used in commercial farming or how sterile it really is..

    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 19:07

      Thanks Dan.

      You’re one of the ones from way back so I always remember you. I think the first time I recall taking particular note of you was on some slam post on vegans and you said “well, Doritos and Mountain Dew are Vegan.” Still cracks me up.

    • Chupo March 6, 2014 at 06:50

      Mister Worms,

      Your name reminds be of when I was into vermicomposting (composting with earthworms) about 15 years ago. I remember reports of people whose autoimmune problems would resolve after they’d begun working with worms. Arthritis was a common one. Whether they realized they had to feed their new gut colonists, I don’t remember but they did make the connection between the worm germs and their improved health.

    • Lindsay March 29, 2014 at 03:36

      Grow your own or buy organic and ferment the veggies – surely cheaper and more sustainable?

    • JB May 1, 2014 at 22:57

      According to the folks at Prescript Assist, it is a selection of categorically ‘safe’ microorganisms occurring at different stages in productive organic tilth. This sounds better than eating dirt.

  3. Dan Linehan February 27, 2014 at 14:27

    Great post Richard, looking forward to trying some of these products out.

    Just want to say “thanks” for continuing down this path with your research. I’ve been following your blog for years now and it really has been life-impacting, both on my own health and occasionally for those around me, when I can give helpful advice about their various maladies and it turns out to work.

    Reply
  4. Phil Bennett February 27, 2014 at 14:29

    I have started mixing a spoonful of my garden soil in a pint of water with the RS. (Never put down pesticides and I’m fairly sure free from livestock or cats ;)

    My wife thinks I’m a fucking nut job but I’m experiencing the same symptoms as you since the dirt shakes

    Reply
    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 19:15

      You’re a Wild & Crazy guy, Phil.

      Yea, my concern would be that:

      1. We’re talking virgin ground (no pesticides, heavy metal contamination, etc.)

      2. That it’s on or near root storage organs.

      Other than that, don’t see a problem. Bottle it, sell it, make millions. After all, pet rocks only touched on emotions.

    • tatertot February 27, 2014 at 19:32

      I pull carrots straight from the ground that is fertilized with chicken shit and coop litter, brush the big chunks off and chow down. Never had an issue.

      Bacillus Lichenformis is an SBO, guess where it loves to grow–decomposing bird feathers, and Lactobacillus Plantarum, another SBO, is found in decomposing plant matter, especially compost piles. These are two of the best probiotics you will find, but they aren’t in every blend, you need to look for them, or eat dirt.

    • Nick February 27, 2014 at 19:48

      I also eat dirty carrots and have never had any problems.

      Eating tablespoons of dirt seems far riskier. It’s almost like a fecal transplant, at least in terms of the bacterial biomass ingested.

    • Kenny February 28, 2014 at 06:28

      To add, if you are just eating dirt, then a yearly (or more frequent) stool test for parasites and other nasties would be a requirement.

    • tatertot February 28, 2014 at 11:07

      Are you in a position to plant a garden? The bacteria surrounding root vegetables should actually be better quality than a random scoop of dirt from the middle of a lawn. The SBOs colonize the root veggies, creating an environment hostile to pathogens, that’s why I think eating dirt clinging to a healthy carrot is less harmful than eating dirt your neighbors diseased cat may have just pissed on.

      Lots of pathogens have a life cycle that relies on a hapless idiot (animal or human) eating it.

      I don’t know if I like you plan….but don’t let that stop you! I’d recommend some s. boulardii yeast probiotics along with the DE.

    • MycroftJones February 28, 2014 at 11:48

      This makes sense. Have you read the Humanure Handbook, by Joseph Jenkins? I had no idea that the microbial life of a compost heap contained so many miracles, including cleaning up nuclear waste, neutralizing heavy metals, and so on. What you are saying fits right in. He has also made his book free to read online. A good, finished compost should do exactly what you said, and may be even superior to regular dirt, because it has gone through the process of cleansing and purification and microbial alterations that neutralize all the nasties.

    • Ralnac February 28, 2014 at 12:45

      Tim:

      I have a big garden. I sprayed a very diluted microbial brew on it last summer made of molasses and sourdough starter and had amazing results from that. I’m all about the crobes.

      I’m just waiting for the ground to thaw so I can dig up some of last fall’s beets (I know I missed a few)… know basically where they are.

      I have actually been thinking about this for awhile since I don’t want to wait for the company growing oxalobacter formigenes to get FDA approval (I need some oxalate degrader for sure). Hoping something is growing on the beets that will help colonize my gut. I wouldn’t do this without being pretty dosed up with beneficial microbes first and start small. THanks for the advice.

      I have chickens too but I’m not ready to chow down on coop litter. I don’t wash eggs though, that’s just silly.

    • tatertot February 28, 2014 at 12:50

      You know, just being around those chickens, collecting eggs, getting poop on your hands and breathing a bit of that dust they create is a healthy experience.

      Lots of people love to dust their coops with DE, that’s OK, but DE dust breathed in by humans is very harmful, way more harmful than the chicken feather dust.

      A backyard flock of just 3-5 chickens is probably one of the best things people can do for getting a good mix of healthy eggs and beneficial microbes.

    • DWS February 28, 2014 at 21:07

      Bought 3 chicks 5 months ago and they’re laying now. My daughters always hug and kiss the chickens goodnight every night. I certainly don’t discourage it and have started doing myself!

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:47

      AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww………

      OMG. Tatertot finally speaks o the ‘dirt’ beneath his wings.

      That only took me 1/2 year dude of kicking dirt-filled rectum.

    • gabriella kadar March 6, 2014 at 07:34

      Ralnac, yes, I remember as a little kid (maybe 4 or 5 years old) I’d been heavily into the sandbox at the nursery school. Hm, then at some time I would not be able to get to sleep at night due to very itchy bumhole. PINWORMS!

      Was treated. I think I only got them once. Unforgettable.

      When I lived in Trinidad in the 1980s, it seemed to me that my friends were forever having to de-worm their kids. Pinworms and more pinworms. Who knows what all else the kids were picking up while playing outside.

      But don’t worry, at least those things are quite easy to eliminate. Just you’ll spend some serious time awake at night busy scratching while the pinworm adults crawl out of your bum in their optimism to spread their joy to others.

      It’s only fair to the rest of us if you let us know if any of this enhances your experience of dirt eating. :)

    • Bjornsdotter March 10, 2014 at 20:59

      Every sentence in that post made me laugh out loud! I would love to be married to a guy like that one day!!!

      Maria

    • John Thompson April 22, 2014 at 14:08

      Would it be ethical to eat earthworms?
      They would carry a payload of bacteria infested soil

    • Jennifer June 25, 2014 at 08:17

      When I was a toddler (many moons ago!) my Mom found me in the yard spooning dirt into my mouth on many occasions. She consulted our pediatrician who told her that there must be something lacking in my diet that caused me to crave dirt. His advice was to let me eat it if I wanted.

      I always assumed there was some trace mineral I was lacking that lead me to supplement with soil. As a child, and later adult, with many digestive issues – beginning with a severe allergy to breast milk – or to whatever my mom consumed that made me allergic to it, I wonder now if it wasn’t an attempt to help out my gut that made me crave dirt.

  5. john February 27, 2014 at 14:30

    Dear Richard,
    My only claim to fame will likely be, that a long time ago, I introduced a certain person in Shanghai to the t-nation website, not for eye candy, :-) but for science sake, as the bodybuilders are the only ones who have to take off their clothes and walk their talk (of the result of foods and exercise precision) for all to see.

    The other item that has sat in a crevice in my aged brain is that the bush Africans likely defecate in a squat position in the bush. It is likely at this stage some of the important termite biofilm bacteria ( and termite outputs, which have been to shown to fertilize crops and vegetation) would transfer to the host. These bugs would be candidates to handle the RS and fiber of the African diet . maybe my next trip to northern Australia will be to find some termites, and try the abdomens as fecal bacteria in a capsule…

    Reply
    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 20:46

      “My only claim to fame will likely be, that a long time ago, I introduced a certain person in Shanghai to the t-nation website, not for eye candy”

      Can I get a clue? :)

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:53

      Well John was being all scientific and biohacking. I went to t-nation for the EYE CANDY

    • Grace/Dr.BG March 2, 2014 at 17:56

      Termites are the most ancient probiotic our earliest hominin ancestors co-evolved with

      Sponheimer, Matt et al. “Hominins, sedges, and TERMITES: new carbon isotope data from the Sterkfontein valley and Kruger National Park.” Journal of Human Evolution 48.3 (2005): 301-312.

    • KAWAM May 1, 2014 at 12:29

      I’m a total pyro, heating (almost) solely with a wood stove. FAVORITE before-bed entertainment: good audio-book in the earphones while staring into the fire. Sigh. Makes you hate summer . . . video lacks the smell and the crackle and the all-out sensuousness of it all.

  6. WW February 27, 2014 at 14:34

    “I always wondered whether the Paleo obsession with lots of sleep in very, very, very, very dark rooms with blackout shades for 8-9 hours wan’t sign of a bad condition.”

    I also have come to disagree with this Paleo obsession of darkened rooms. For millions of years, our fore-critters have slept under the moon and stars. And once the cooking and safety benefits of fire was discovered, sleeping in front of campfires.

    I configured my laptop to turn to a very reddish color cast at dusk. You know what is the quickest way for me to fall asleep? Being in a darkened room laying down with that laptop on my tummy – falling asleep in front of the campfire so to speak. I am out within 5-10 minutes.

    To me, there is nothing more Paleo than a cast of yellowish/red light at night.

    Reply
    • Alie February 27, 2014 at 18:08

      Thank you for this! I always fall asleep to favorite shows on netflix or amazon, and assumed it was probably a bad thing. This is a different spin on it, though, and it is very much like listening to a much loved story in front of a fire. Interesting. Of course, then I wake up laying on my tablet tangled up in headphones.

    • Richard Nikoley February 27, 2014 at 21:01

      “Of course, then I wake up laying on my tablet tangled up in headphones.”

      Most nights, I have to come in the bedroom, remove Bea’s glasses of her face, set the devices aside and turn off the TV.

    • John February 28, 2014 at 07:49

      I picked up some of those Orange safety glasses. I seem to fall asleep slower watching t.v. with them on. Maybe its because I associate them with skiing and paintball, as in, I’ve conditioned myself to associate tinted lenses with increased perception during highly active (mentally and physically) times.

    • Cathy February 28, 2014 at 16:25

      OMG!!! Thank you for this! I have always fallen asleep to tv and while reading. There is a station that plays retro tv and I fall asleep part way through Perry Mason and wake up during the Untouchables. When my husband travels I always have a night light. I have never needed total darkness to go to sleep. And I don’t need that much sleep either.

    • Misterian February 28, 2014 at 19:11

      I’ve wondered about this light thing too when backpacking not very many nights are pitch dark with the moon shining! And I’m about as far into nature as can be. Perhaps we have other hormonal cycles relating to the moon and even the seasons, when the days get shorter and longer?

    • Sally Oh March 2, 2014 at 09:11

      how did you program it to do that? I had that f-? program on there for awhile, but it always seems to crap out. Thanks!

    • Sally Oh March 2, 2014 at 09:41

      This explains a lot to me, just as a bio-hacker, testing on myself. Three years ago I was in the hospital for 3 weeks loading up on strong antibiotics to save my life from a third world bacterial pneumonia. I have lasting gut issues that nothing seems to touch.

      I’ve never done pro-biotics because it was all just so confusing to figure them out. I eat sauerkraut and drink beet kvass, kombucha, sometimes kefir, all home made. But I think I need the overload-the-gut to get the ball rolling again protocol. Thank you for this — I’m going to give it a try with my RS.

      Btw, I bought some psyllium husk powder… how do you get that shit down? Disgusting. I notice it’s not in your smoothie. Thank goodness, lol.

    • gabriella kadar March 2, 2014 at 09:51

      Sally, don’t know why f.lux would crap out. Have had it on all my laptops for years. Just set it right. The programme even added very low temp lighting at some time in the recent past.

      Just delete the programme and re install.

    • A July 8, 2017 at 18:27

      Dr. Kruse would very much disagree with having that EMF all over you even if its tinted orange/red

  7. Sidney Phillips February 27, 2014 at 14:35

    Been reading all the great work you’ve been doing with resistant starch. It’s made a big difference for me in helping heal my leaky gut. Heisenbug’s also doing good work in this area. He had a recent post touting the benefits of L. plantarum and B. infantis (align).

    May I suggest a cheaper alternative for the soil based probiotics. I’ve taken the following from Swansons with good results, and its pretty cheap at $9.99: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-soil-based-organisms-90-caps

    Reply
    • T-Nat February 27, 2014 at 16:10

      Sidney,
      It does not look like this Swanson product contains any soil-based organisms.
      I just Googled all the listed strains of this product and none of them are soil based.
      I think Swanson just labeled this product cleverly or should I say deceptively.

      Tell me if I am missing something here.

      T-Nat

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