MORE INFORMATION ON GUT HEALTH &
FMT AS RELATED TO OVERALL HEALTH
“Repair of gut flora is, in my opinion, the most important public health issue in medicine today. Unfortunately, no one has found a way to make money using freeze dried feces to cure disease. It is literally possible to replace a million dollars in medical treatment with a hundred dollars worth of poo pill. The medical industry essentially refuses to study it and without study there is no regulatory approval. In the mean time, I think that we have to get beyond the pill and start thinking again about the normal course of gut flora acquisition. Normally we get a starter set of “dairy” probiotics with mother’s milk and when we have teeth, we start to eat crushed veggies. Many mothers continue the time honored practice of pre-masticating food for toddlers. That chewing transfers the mothers gut flora to the kid with the result that a new adult gut flora gradually takes over. Starting as an adult with damaged gut flora, it is harder to fix. It is just as difficult starting with formula, which systematically produces an inflammatory gut flora. Fixing requires continual exposure to new bacteria that can take up residence in the gut. Most of the bacteria that grow on simple sugars, e.g. lactic acid bacteria, that are present in fermented foods, can provide some of the benefits of a healthy gut flora, but the desirable bacteria are those that grown on soluble fiber. So what is needed are the bacteria that would digest the soluble fiber of fermented vegetables into mush. So we need some fermented food recipes that are therapeutic for gut flora.“ DR. ART AYERS in a reply on the same post mentioned above.
“Eat Sh_t.“ The tattoo of an individual I knew years ago while in college (he played in a band). It was on his outer, upper shoulder, and he loved pulling up the sleeve of his T-shirt to tell you what he was thinking.
When Naaman was told by Elisha that all he needed to do in order to be healed of his leprosy, was to bathe seven times in the Jordan River, he balked. He was incensed that someone would as much as ask a dignified person of high social standing such as himself to stoop so low as to even think of such a thing. That is, until a young servant girl convinced him otherwise. “
My father; had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (HERE is the complete story). That’s how it usually is when I talk about some of the published research on the relationship between AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES (HERE is a list), INFLAMMATION, and GUT HEALTH. Where am going with all this?A patient of mine was recently diagnosed with one of the numerous Autoimmune Diseases. It’s a progressively degenerative joint disease that is terribly painful. When talking to them (husband and wife) about the topic of Fecal Material Transplants (FMT) mentioned in the top quote, the idea was essentially waved aside in favor of those things that have been scientifically “proven” to work. Things like Immuno-suppressive Drugs (many of THESE are chemotherapy rejects), CORTICOSTEROIDS, and ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES.
Oh; don’t get me wrong — this approach certainly has the ability to ease the symptoms and make life tolerable again. The problem is that the side effects can be severe, and the underlying problems are not being dealt with. A failure to address the underlying Autoimmunity means that you are likely to end up with multiple Autoimmune Diseases because they tend to travel in packs —- like wolves (HERE). Once the Immune System is messed up (and remember — 80% of your Immune System IS IN YOUR GUT), your health can rapidly become a Pandora’s Box that is essentially a grab bag for Autoimmune Diseases du jour. Bottom line; even if you decide to take their drugs, you absolutely must get serious about fixing your Gut! Although there are many ways to go about doing this (HERE is some information), one of the hottest new topics of research involves FMT.
POOP PILLS OR FECAL MATERIAL TRANSPLANTS?
Secondly, why take Fecal Material orally, when you can simply “inject” a few ounces into your colon with a device that essentially looks like a glorified turkey baster? I would be concerned that people with this sort of DYSBIOSIS could potentially develop SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Obergrowth) due to the route that the pills must take to get to their target area (the Colon). Thirdly, the study itself sums it up pretty well by telling us that while, “
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to be effective, practical barriers and safety concerns have prevented its widespread use.”And lastly, in a study from last an issue of Discover last October
(Poop Pills’ Could Replace Fecal Transplants of Gut Bacteria) we know that it takes a lot of pills to do the job. How many pills constitute “a lot”? Take a look. “Donor stool, usually from a relative, is packed into triple-coated gel capsules so they won’t dissolve until they reach the intestines… It takes 24 to 34 capsules to fit the bacteria needed for a treatment, and patients down them in one sitting.” Gulp! Not sure about you, but if there were a simple way to avoid downing 36 capsules of anything at one sitting — let alone 36 capsules of my kinfolk’s dukie — count me in.But before I move on, let’s take a moment and look at the results of the JAMA study mentioned earlier. According to the
study’s Design, Setting, and Participants section, the study was done on 20 patients between the age of 11 and 89, who had suffered through at least three episodes of C. Diff requiring 6-8 weeks of Antibiotic Treatment each, or two episodes of C. Diff requiring hospitalization.“
No serious adverse events attributed to FMT were observed. Resolution of diarrhea was achieved in 14 patients (70%) after a single capsule-based FMT. All 6 non-responders were re-treated; 4 had resolution of diarrhea, resulting in an overall 90% rate of clinical resolution of diarrhea (18 of 20).“All I can say is “dang“! If that does not at least pique the interest of those dealing with severe and chronic diseases, then I’m not quite sure what might. Maybe another drug that was advertised on TV last evening (HERE)? Oh; but you’ve tried that route over and over again. What makes you think that the next “big thing” is going to work any better than the last “big thing” — or for that matter, the “big thing” before that?
Let’s go back to Second Kings 5 for a moment. The neat part of the story of Naman is that he finally saw the light. After “dipping” in the Jordan seven times, the Lord cured him — just like Elisha prophesied He would. Could a “cure” be that close at hand for you? I honestly don’t know (and remember, we can never use the word “cure” with the FDA watching us). But really; what have you got to lose? I get it — it sounds icky. But what’s worse; debilitating pain and dysfunction or squirting a few ounces of liquified “stool” into your rear end in the privacy of your own home?
As always, never take my word for anything. Do your own research. Not only is the internet loaded with information on this topic, I have yet to see a “HORROR STORY” associated with DIY FMT. By the way, my best guess is that there are people out there who absolutely could not LOSE WEIGHT until they underwent FMT (HERE is the thought process behind this statement). Would love to hear from someone regarding this.
