Last Updated on December 4, 2017 by Patricia Carter
SUMMARY: SCD yogurt is lactose-free due to its processing. It can be grassfed if you choose to make it using grassfed milk. You can also use a milk from A2 casein cows to make the casein less inflammatory. Some use a milk alternative such as goat, coconut, or almond milk. Last, there is growing concerns about the MAP suriviving dairy processing. [Grant et al 2017] is study that published Dec, 2017 that raises growing concerns about MAP and the safety of dairy products. To ensure 100% kill of MAP, heat the milk to 194F (90C) for 60 seconds according to the author of the study. The classic SCD yogurt recipe required heating to 180F with a two minute hold. I’ve revised the recipe to require heating to 194F for two minutes to ensure MAP and other bacteria are killed. Below the recipe find details for: MAP implications for SCD yogurt processing temperature, What is the probiotic load of SCD yogurt, what probiotics can be in the starter and Lets talk about milk options, can I reuse my SCD yogurt as starter for another batch, and RECENT STUDIES FINDING PROBIOTIC YOGURT BENEFITS AND IT’S ANTI-INFLAMMATORY IMMUNE MODULATING PROPERTIES! It is no wonder that SCD yogurt is the foundation of the healing diets: SCD/GAPS and some PALEO camps, if tolerated.
SCD Yogurt
This recipe has been updated to heat the milk to 194F to ensure 100% MAP kill since recent studies see blog post SCD yogurt safety concerns – considering new MAP research have found viable MAP survives in a product fed calves. See my post for additional details. The classic SCD yogurt heat temperature was 180F held for two minutes.
Yogurt made using goat milk does not set like ordinary cows milk. Most just consume it in it's more natural liquid state though some do add gelatin.
Simply by dripping SCD yogurt, you can make delicious mild tasting Greek yogurt. This can even be used in place of sour cream and cream cheese! Note: you can not drip goat milk.
Notes
SCD yogurt lasts 2 weeks with mega probiotics and is lactose free. After this time the probiotic richness reduces somewhat. Some however find the transient nature of the probiotics are such that they gain benefit still from the third week consumption, and they make SCD yogurt only once every three weeks instead of every two weeks. No matter really though as this recipe is very easy to make and not time consuming actually as most of the time is involved in the baking.
During the third week, use the SCD yogurt for either baking (the probiotics will be killed due to heat) or making frozen yogurt (the probiotic richness is reduced but not totally eliminated.)
An Excalibur dehydrator maintains the tight temperature constraints wonderfully. Others improvise however and use an oven with it's light-bulb on but door opened, or place containers covered on top of a heating pad, or use a Styrofoam type cooler with light-bulb...
I prefer the Ervian over Dannon for starter since the quality of Dannon is likely CAFO and it is not organic. The Ervian is an amazing clean product but only contains L.acidophilus and multiple strains are best. Dannon is supposed to contain L.Bulgaricus, S.Thermophilus, and L.Acidophilus. You do not want to use a starter that contains bifidus due to concerns of it's overgrowth in a compromised gut. Be careful reading labels, it comes in a lot of name variations: Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus Bifidus, Bifidobacterium longum etc… Just avoid anything that has bifid in its name.
Author: Biome Onboard Awareness, LLC
Ingredients
For the SCD yogurt:
- 1/2 gallon of whole milk; preferably organic and grass-fed from Jersey cows (for easier to digest A2 casein protein.)
- 1/2 cup yogurt starter (use Dannon All Natural Plain yogurt or Erivan Acidophilus Yogurt for the starter. See notes for details.)
Tools you'll need sterilized (candy thermometers can be hand washed well):
- 1/2 gallon glass container for mixing milk and yogurt starter along with its lid.
- 1/2 cup stainless steel measuring cup.
- Pots that will heat milk.
- Large spoon to stir milk as it is heating.
- 2 flatware tablespoons to scoop starter yogurt into 1/2 measuring cup.
- Spoons and whisk to stir the starter into the cooled milk.
- Glass or ceramic plate to store spoons, whisk, and measuring cups on when they are removed sterilized from the dishwasher.
Instructions
- Sterilize all coming in contact with milk and starter. A dishwasher sterilizer cycle works. Note: should something become contaminated, you can boil it for 2 minutes in water to re-sterilize it.
- Heat milk to 194 degrees Fahrenheit stirring more frequently as the milk approaches 194 F so as to not burn the milk. Hold 194F for 2 minutes. If you are using goat milk, hold the temp to the classic 180F but watch the temperature closely and try not to allow the temperature to exceed 185 F since goat milk proteins are more fragile than cows milk.
- Cool to room temperature. Tip: use a cold water bath to speed time for cooling. Just place the pot within another container that is filled with cold water. As the water warms, carefully remove the pot containing the milk and replace the heated water with cold water. Be careful to not allow the cold water to accidentally splash into the pot containing the milk; just place the hot milk away and off to the side while emptying or refilling the water bath.
- Once milk is at room temperature, place 1/2 cup starter yogurt (per 1/2 gallon of milk) into the glass container. Stir in 1 cup of cooled milk; mix well.
- Pour in the remaining 1/2 gallon of cooled milk; stir well.
- Place lid on the container.
- Bake at 105 degrees Fahrenheit (110 F) for 24 to 30 hours; place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours to set the yogurt. Optional: drip whey out the next day to make Greek yogurt.
Nutrition Facts
SCD Yogurt
Serves: 1/2 gallon of yogurt; dripped Greek is ~half this amount.
|
Amount Per Serving: A few tablespoons is effective for probiotics.
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | ||
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat Prefer grass-fed full fat milk for nutrients. | 0% | |
| Saturated Fat | 0 | |
| Trans Fat | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 | |
| Sodium | 0 | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 0 | |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 | |
| Sugars | ||
| Protein | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
BIOME ONBOARD AWARENESS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND FOOD, OUR MICROBIOME, AND DISEASE
MAP implications for SCD yogurt processing temperature
MAP findings [Grant et al 2017] means the classic temperature heat for SCD yogurt should be increased to 194F to ensure 100% kill of MAP.
I don’t know a lot about Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP), but there is a lot of literature on this and efforts are underway to come up with a human vaccine. MAP has been implicated in IBD. In sum, MAP can be transmitted in milk but until now, it has been difficult to prove. MAP is the cause of Johne’s disease (JD), bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine leukosis virus, Pasteurella multocida, Salmonella sp., and Mycoplasma bovis. MAP can be transmitted from cow to calf through feeding unpasteurized milk (Costello, 2012). JD control programs worldwide (Doré et al., 2012; Garcia and Shalloo, 2015; Pieper et al., 2015) recommend avoiding feeding waste milk and feeding calf milk replacer (CMR). As stated by Cooper and Watson (2013), the assumption has always been that the risk of viable MAP organisms in commercial CMR powders is negligible because CMR is invariably pasteurized and often highly processed.
The [Grant et al 2017] study found viable MAP is still detectable in CMR. Feeding CMR, as an alternative to feeding waste unpasteurized milk or farm-pasteurized milk, is a common practice in the United States. The latest statistics from the National Herd Monitoring Scheme indicate that 49.9% of all US dairy operations (of all sizes) fed some kind of CMR to pre-weaned heifers during 2014; 16.4% of operations fed nonmedicated CMR and 37.6% fed medicated CMR (USDA, 2016).
The source of the viable MAP detected cannot be verified, whether pre- or postprocessing contamination. It is unknown if the quantity of MAP detected in CMR would be sufficient to cause infection of a calf. However, the prospect that MAP has survived the manufacture of dried milk and whey-based products, which are destined for consumption by food animals could have far-reaching potential consequences; further testing of CMR collected directly at manufacturing sites using the PMS and liquid culture approach described above is warranted to verify our findings. The broader food safety implications of detecting viable MAP in this type of dried dairy product are not insignificant given that powdered infant formulae is consumed by young babies with immature immune systems.
From the GutHarmony Blog, SCD yogurt safety concerns – considering new MAP research, Dec 2017:
- One important conclusion for SCD dieters has to do with safe yogurt preparation. The classic SCD recipe calls for heating the milk to 180F when preparing yogurt.
- Professor Collins replied to our question on the subject: “The best data available suggests that the 90C (194F) for 60 seconds assures 100% MAP kill. So, simply recommending boiling will be the safest way to go. There is nothing else about yogurt making that will impact MAP viability much.
- Read more about this study here https://johnes.org/index.shtml
What is the probiotic load of SCD yogurt?
SCD yogurt is fermented 24 to 30 hours. This turns the product into a “raw milk” type beneficial whole food that is lactose-free, and loaded with probiotics and nutrients. The best part though… it’s EASY to make. “It gets easier each time I make it”… “It tastes so much better than any store bought yogurt”… “I really miss this when I travel,” sentiments from MM, RC, JM, and MP.
According to the BTVC website, 1 cup has ~708 Billion beneficial bacteria and that’s about 50 times more than that claimed for a typical 15 billion capsule), and nutrition (proteins vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fats, and others yet to be discovered).
But the actual probiotic load in SCD yogurt is controversial. Recent labs have reported the quantity of probiotics in SCD yogurt to be less that that cited on the BTVC website but well above quantities found in commercial yogurt. This testing is reported in the post, The power of SCD yogurt, dated Jan 9, 2017, which looked at the quantity of probiotics in SCD cow, sheep, and coconut milk yogurts. Cow and sheep milk yogurts were fermented at 40 degree Celsius for 26-28 hours. Coconut yogurt was fermented for 22 hours. The lab used, SQTS (Swiss Quality Testing Services), also tests commercial yogurts. Testing omitted Streptococcus thermophilus which means if the starter contained this probiotic, the probiotic quantities would be higher than reported below. Also, Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt as starter was not used. The report found:
SCD yogurt samples are between 2 to 30 times more potent than most commercial yogurt values. Commercial yogurt normally contains around 5,000 000-10,000 000 CFU/gram Lactobacilli and around 20,000,000 CFU/gram Streptococcus (according to SQTS).
SCD Cow and Sheep Milk. The post notes the GIProhealth starter was difficult to dissolve meaning the fermentation may be less effective.
- Yogourmet starter with cow milk: over 300,000,000 CFU/gram.
- Yogourmet starter with sheep milk: 200,000,000 CFU/gram.
- GIpro Start starter with cow milk: 20,000,000 CFU/gram.
- GIpro Start starter with sheep milk: 100,000,000 CFU/gram.
SCD Coconut milk. The post discusses contamination issues likely from the honey used and optimal ferment times being 12 hours instead of the 8 to 10 hours typically recommended.
- Coconut yogurt (made with homemade coconut milk , 2 tbs honey and 2 tsp gelatin per quart) with GIpro start (1/4 teaspoon per quart) : 76,000,000 CFU/gram.
- Coconut yogurt (made with commercial coconut milk without additives, 2 tbs honey and 2 tsp gelatin per quart) with GIpro start (1/4 teaspoon per quart) : 54,000,000 CFU/gram.
- Coconut yogurt (made with homemade coconut milk , 2 tbs honey and 2 tsp gelatin per quart) made by adding 1 capsule of GIpro health SCDophilus 10+ to 100ml coconut milk and fermenting for 22h: 37,000,000 CFU/gram.
- Coconut yogurt (made with commercial coconut milk, 2 tablespoons honey and 2 tsp gelatin per quart) made by adding Kirkman Lactobacillus Duo to 200ml coconut milk and fermenting for 22h: over 300,000,000 CFU/gram.
What probiotics can be in the starter and Lets talk about milk options!
The short answer is: SCD probiotic starters can have Acidophilus, Thermophilus, Bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. You don’t want the bifidobacteria strain as it is understood to overgrow in compromised guts according to the tenets of Breaking the Vicious Cycle SCD, here and here, and GAPS guidelines: “In the case of bifidus, it has a tendency to overgrow. Each type of bacteria has different properties, different byproducts… I usually think of it in terms of different levels of tenacity and agression. Your gut is truly a multicultural society – some members are more altuistic, and others are criminal. Some are interested in improving the neighbourhood, and some are only out for themselves. L. Acidophilus is about as community-minded a bacterial strain as you will find, with S.Thermophilus and L.Bulgaricus running a close second. The others are either less friendly, or are unknown quantities. It gets even more complicated if you consider soil based strains. So we stick with Acidophilus in our supplements, and Acidophilus, Thermophilus and Bulgaricus in our yoghurt, because they are good neighbours.”
Be careful reading labels, bifidobacteria comes in a lot of name variations: Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus Bifidus, Bifidobacterium longum etc… Just avoid anything that has bifid in its name.
I want to note that Lactobacillus rhamnosus was recently included on the yogurt containing list due to dialogue with Lucy of Lucy’s Kitchen and the makers of the SCD LYO-SAN Acidophilus & Yogurt Capsules wherein it was confirmed that L.Rhamnosus has always been in this probiotic, though L acidophilus predominates at a proportion of 9 to 1 (mixture of the other three).
I want to mention that if one is using the LYO-SAN Acidophilus & Yogurt Capsules, Lucy’s Kitchen does recommend opening the capsule and stirring the powder into a little water or soft food since the capsule ingredients changed about a year ago; the LyoSan capsule now contains: Nonfat milk powder, mycrocrystalline cellulose, capsules (hypromellose, gellan gum) ascorbic acid. It is due to the new hypromellose and gellan gum ingredients that they suggest people on the SCD not consume the capsule itself.
For a safe commercial starter yogurt that SCD yogurt makers have classically used, choose the THE “Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt”. One drawback of this product is it’s likely a product of CAFO herds which have more reactive A1 casein protein. These herds are large volume producing milkers, and to add even more insult to injury, they probably eat a crummy GMO corn and soy (and who knows what else) diet. Are they Grass-fed???? I’d say absolutely, “No” after cruising through Dannon’s website which provides very little detail actually about this yogurt none the less milk source.
You can choose another starter if it has proper probiotics after checking with the manufacturer that it has no unlabeled additives.
I use Erivan yogurt for starter (it only contains the L. Acidophilus probiotic) because it is made using milk from primarily grass-fed cows (pastured sometimes up to 16 hour a day) and supplemental feed is grown on the farm where it is fertilized organically by returning liquefied manure to the soil. Calves are fed their mother’s milk and social contact within the herb is significant. This milk is hormone free, and the thin layer of cream on top proves the yogurt has not been exposed to the extra processing of homogenization. For clean-up, they avoid harsh chemicals and use instead vinegar and heat sanitation.
In simple English, this product is a very clean whole food source and because it is grass-fed, it has the added benefit of CLA and other micronutrients, minerals, and other compounds not even understood today. Ditto when using grass-fed milk in making SCD yogurt. Additionally, grass-fed milk likely is not from large volume producing herds which has the more intolerant A1 casein milk protein. So grass-fed milk very likely has the A2 casein which is more easily digested.
Can I reuse my SCD yogurt as starter for another batch?
If you are considering reusing prior SCD Homemade Yogurt as starter yogurt, the “Breaking Vicious Cycle” and GAPS camps would highly discourage this practice since the fear of contaminants is a real concern, especially for those with compromised gut microbiomes.
OK… NOW IT’S TIME TO SHARE SOME RECENT STUDIES FINDING PROBIOTIC YOGURT BENEFITS AND IT’S ANTI-INFLAMMATORY IMMUNOMODULATING FACTORS
This 2013 study, “Probiotic yogurt Affects Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Factors in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” is so loaded with meaty technicalities that you’ll need to read it many time to truly understand it’s immunomodulating insights of probiotic yogurt. To sum in simpleton: “Intestinal homeostasis is a balance between pro and anti-inflammatory responses of intestinal immunocytes and could be maintained by probiotics.” If you dare to read the study, you’ll learn that after probiotic yogurt intervention:
- Serum levels of PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES: IL-1β, TNF-α and also in CRP levels significantly decreased, and
- Serum levels of ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE IL-10 and IL-6 significantly increased.
- For clarity: subjects where supposed to eat probiotic yogurt containing 26,500 CFU of each Bifidiobacterium BB-12 and Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 daily for 8 weeks. NOTE: Bifidobacterium is NOT eaten for SCD/GAPS… matter of fact, it is “feared” as it is easily overgrown in a compromised gut thus specific bacterial legal starters containing: L.Acidophilus, S.Thermophilus, L.Bulgaricus and L. Rhamnosus are mandated.
AS IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH, LETS TALK ABOUT CONJUGATED LINEOLIC ACID (CLA).
CLA is getting a lot of attention lately. CLA is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties. This pubmed 6/13 study and this accepted “The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry” (2014) pdf (print version can be found here) goes into much detail about the immune modulating effects of CLA for those desiring the technical.
Read on for simpleton summary of these two studies, though skip this paragraph if it bogs you down: CLA is known to suppress dendritic cell activation which is characterized by a decrease in IL-12 and an increase in IL-10 production [6]. Additionally, CLA can modulate dendritic cell cytokine production which plays a central role in initiating inflammation by directing T helper (Th) cell differentiation. Exposure of dendritic cells to CLA suppressed their ability to promote differentiation of naïve T cells into Th1 and/or Th17 cells. Th1 cells (heightened in Crohn’s Disease) are considered pro-inflammatory and are highly effective at clearing intracellular pathogens, whereas Th2 cells (UC is mediated by a predominant Th2 response [4]) are associated with the clearance of parasitic infections [8]. Th17 cells has been implicated for: rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis [7,12]. Additionally, treatment with CLA suppressed LPS-induced induction of circulating IFN-γ, IL-12p40 and IL-1β. CLA suppressed the ability of peripheral blood T cells to produce proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-17 and decreased disease activity. This is the first study to demonstrate that exposure of antigen-presenting cells to CLA can modulate the subsequent Th cell response, and the findings may explain some of the beneficial effects of c9, t11-CLA in inflammatory diseases mediated by Th1 and Th17 cells.
Glad you are still here… otherwise, suffice it to say that CLA is an antioxidant and unfortunately, it is sorely lacking in our diets today for two reasons:
- First, certain probiotic friendly gut bacteria strains produce CLA, but with the prevalence of altered microflora, many are missing or have reduced levels of bacterial strains. This study showed that “About a quarter of us have up to 40% fewer gut bacteria, reduced bacterial diversity, and harbor more bacteria causing a low-grade inflammation of the body which is reflected in blood samples that reveal a state of chronic inflammation, which we know affect metabolism and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.” In this VA Tech CLA trial, marked improvement using CLA supplement was achieved for 50% of those having Crohn’s Disease (one of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases).
- Though this may surprise readers, CLA is the only good trans-fat and it is naturally occurring in the lipid fraction of meat, milk, and dairy products. CLA contained in grass-fed meat and dairy products are greater than that contained in grain-fed, even if organic. Grass-fed beef contains an average of 2 to 3 times more CLA than grain-fed beef and is one of the best dietary sources of CLA. CLA is especially high during the spring and fall when pasture grass is rapidly growing. Grain-fed has lesser CLA since the pH in the ruminant digestive system is reduced and this inhibits the growth of the bacterium that produces CLA. CLA can be produced industrially by partial hydrogenation of linoleic acid [74,75]. CLA has been considered for the prevention and treatment of gut inflammation since 2002 [76]. The below slides depict how grass feeding is accomplished year round by my incredible farmer, Your Family Farmer.
Family Cow Grass-fed Cow Feeding Description. Slide source: biomeonboardawareness.com
Family Cow Grass-fed Cow Feeding Description. Slide source: biomeonboardawareness.com - Breast milk fatty acids are enriched in CLA compared to control within 28 hours after the ingestion of a CLA-rich food product. Note though, today’s Westernized diet contains low dose CLA containing foods and additionally, many do not breast feed in accordance with the recommended guidelines (see this post).
- Also worth noting, there is a micronutrient synergy impact involved with consuming grassfed products that is not well understood. Since many eat yogurt for bone health, I am going to go into this somewhat. Grass-fed or pastured butter, ghee, cheese, egg yolks, cream, some fermented foods like natto (but not sauerkraut), and liver is full of vitamin K2, a fat soluble vitamin, which works in tandem with calcium and vitamin D. It is not found in green leafy vegetables like vitamin K1. Vitamin K2 was first identified as ActivatorX by Dr. Weston Price. Dr Whitcomb describes the role vitamin K2 plays in the below YouTube. The short of it: Vitamin K2 controls your calcium metabolism directing where calcium goes in our body, and that is the bones and teeth and not in soft tissues like the arteries. or arthritic regions. Vitamin D makes calcium usable. I have heard some mention that the French may not have heart disease since cholesterol is not to blame, rather K2 clears out the plaque.
You can also check out this YouTube for a 3 hour lecture condensed into 38 minutes!
According to Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, Naturopathic Doctor and author of “Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox – How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life,” other health conditions associated with vitamin K2 deficiency include: osteoporosis, diabetes, cavities, kidney disease, kidney stones, varicose veins and wrinkles, Alzheimer’s, and Arthritis. In addition vitamin K2 helps control cell growth helping to prevent cancers such as: lung, prostrate, and leukemia. Fertility wise, vitamin K2 also boosts testosterone and aids in fetal skeleton and teeth formation.
THE IMPORT OF FINDING NUTRITIVE ALTERNATIVES FOR CHRONIC DISEASE, WITH A FOCUS ON IBD, BUT PLEASE RECOGNIZE THE LIKELY EXTENSION TO OTHER INFLAMMATORY CHRONIC DISEASES:
This review excerpt: “[We} summarize the status of innovative nutritional interventions against gastrointestinal inflammation, their proposed mechanisms of action, and their preclinical and clinical efficacy, and present novel computational modeling approaches that can be applied to accelerate knowledge discovery in nutritional and mucosal immunology research. IBD affects up to 0.5% of the human population in developed countries, and numbers are increasing in the developing countries [5]. The total number of IBD cases in the United States is estimated to be around 1 to 1.5 million [6], which results in annual direct health costs of $6.3 billion, with pharmaceutical claims accounting for ~30% of those expenses [7]. Current treatments for IBD include corticosteroids (i.e., 6-methylprednisolone and budesonide), aminosalicylates and immunomodulators (i.e., azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine, cyclosporine and methotrexate) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, anti-TNF-α humanized antibodies [8]. These therapies ameliorate IBD by inducing and maintaining clinical remission, but cannot be considered for the long-term management of the disease due to their significant adverse side effects, which include immune suppression, enhanced susceptibility to malignancies and suppressed resistance against infectious diseases [9]. In addition, none of these approaches has been approved as a prophylactic. Dissatisfaction with current traditional therapies has resulted in increased use of complementary and alternative medicine approaches such as prebiotics and probiotics, with an estimated incidence of 49.5% among IBD patients [10]. Thus, exploring novel therapeutic and preventive approaches for IBD and their mechanisms of anti-inflammatory activity is both novel and important.“
Conclusion: I hope you learned more about the immune modulating effects of CLA and in particular, that SCD yogurt, besides being probiotic and nutrient rich, can also be made to be CLA rich. Perhaps this is one part of the puzzle behind the anecdotal evidence of SCD success for remission or management of IBD and other chronic disease.
In good health through awareness,
Last updated: December 4, 2017 at 16:23 pm: Post was re-written due to recent MAP — dairy studies and to delete mention of using Whole Food Plain yogurt since it seems to never be returning to the shelves.
Update Jan 14, 2017 added the reported results of recent testing performed to learn the quantity of probiotics in SCD cow, sheep, and coconut milk yogurts as documented in the Jan 9, 2017 post, The power of SCD yogurt. The prior update March 22, 2016 was for SEO optimization.
References in order of appearance:
- [Grant et al 2017] Viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis isolated from calf milk replacer
- Blog SCD yogurt safety concerns – considering new MAP research, Dec 2017. Ensure 100% kill of MAP, heat the milk to 194F (90C) for 60 seconds. Professor Collins replied to our question on the subject: “The best data available suggests that the 90C (194F) for 60 seconds assures 100% MAP kill. So, simply recommending boiling will be the safest way to go. There is nothing else about yogurt making that will impact MAP viability much.
- I’ll continue to add to this list at a later date…
June 2020 [Luo et al 2020] Association between yogurt consumption and plasma soluble CD14 in two prospective cohorts of US adults, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-020-02303-3
N=1076 men and women: “higher yogurt consumption (at least 2 cups/week) was associated with lower plasma sCD14 (a marker of gut barrier dysfunction) concentrations compared to non-consumers, especially in men.”
According to the academic paper, “Our findings suggest the strengthening of gut barrier function as a plausible mechanism for the observed inverse associations of yogurt consumption with gastrointestinal diseases and disorders involving other systems.”
This may be part of the mechanism behind evidence suggesting an inverse association between yogurt consumption and the risk of disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
SCD Yogurt is lactose-free and for good reason. This study finds 39% of kids between ages 1-18 are lactase deficient, and the IBD population has the same rate. The researchers recommend routine disaccharidase testing beginning at 1yrs in pediatric GI clinics!
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Annual Meeting, November 1 – 4, 2017, Las Vegas, NV
Scientific Abstracts, Vol. 65, Supplement 2, November 2017. https://www.naspghan.org/files/documents/pdfs/annual-meeting/2017/Abstracts%20for%20JPGN%20FINAL.pdf
Abstract 78, [Goodwin et al 2017] SELECTIVE LACTASE DEFICIENCY IS COMMON IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS UNDERGOING
UPPER ENDOSCOPY
Background: Lactase deficiency can lead to significant symptoms in the pediatric population, which in the IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) patient can mimic a disease flare. To date, few studies have examined the prevalence of enzyme testing based lactase and other disaccharidase deficiencies (DDs) in pediatric patients undergoing upper endoscopic evaluation.
Aim: The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of selective lactase and other DDs amongst a large cohort of pediatric patients with and without IBD.
Results: A total of 560 underwent mucosal enzyme testing at the time of their EGD. The overall rate of lactase deficiency was
39% (ages 1-18yrs). Lactase deficiency positively correlated with age (p=0.00017), but there was no significant difference
between age matched IBD and non-IBD patients (45% vs. 42% p=0.68). Four patients (0.17%) were found to have selective
maltase deficiency. No selective sucrase or palatinase deficiency was identified. Statistically significant differences occurred
in lactase deficiency amongst patients of different races.
Conclusions: Lactase deficiency is a relatively common finding in pediatric patients undergoing EGD though at no increased
rate amongst the IBD patient population. Routine testing for disaccharidases is recommended in pediatric gastroenterology
practice, beginning at 1 year of age.
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Annual Meeting, November 1 – 4, 2017, Las Vegas, NV
Scientific Abstracts, Vol. 65, Supplement 2, November 2017. https://www.naspghan.org/files/documents/pdfs/annual-meeting/2017/Abstracts%20for%20JPGN%20FINAL.pdf
Abstract 87 [Hofstaedter et al 2017] INVESTIGATION OF THE PRESENCE OF MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM SUBSP. PARATUBERCULOSIS IN CHILDREN WITH CROHN DISEASE USING QUANTITATIVE DNA SEQUENCE-BASED APPROACHES.
Aims: To determine if endoscopic assessment of bowel inflammation correlate with Magnetic resonance enterography. Determine if levels of fecal calprotectin assess disease burden or location of colonic inflammation.
Conclusion: MRE had only moderate agreement (Kappa=0.4) with endoscopic findings in detection of small bowel inflammation in diagnosis of pediatric IBD. MRE failed to detect pancolitis or inflammation of segmental colon in majority of patients with IBD. At
diagnosis of IBD, CRP was normal in 50% of patients and ESR were normal in 30 % of the patients. All the patients who had FC >250 had pancolitis.
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Annual Meeting, November 1 – 4, 2017, Las Vegas, NV
Scientific Abstracts, Vol. 65, Supplement 2, November 2017
Abstract 87 [Hofstaedter et al 2017] INVESTIGATION OF THE PRESENCE OF MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM SUBSP. PARATUBERCULOSIS IN CHILDREN WITH CROHN DISEASE USING QUANTITATIVE DNA SEQUENCE-BASED APPROACHES.
Aims: To determine if endoscopic assessment of bowel inflammation correlate with Magnetic resonance enterography. Determine if levels of fecal calprotectin assess disease burden or location of colonic inflammation.
Conclusion: MRE had only moderate agreement (Kappa=0.4) with endoscopic findings in detection of small bowel inflammation in diagnosis of pediatric IBD. MRE failed to detect pancolitis or inflammation of segmental colon in majority of patients with IBD. At
diagnosis of IBD, CRP was normal in 50% of patients and ESR were normal in 30 % of the patients. All the patients who had FC >250 had pancolitis.
From Eric Alm’s lab: [Levkovich et al 2014] Probiotic Bacteria Induce a ‘Glow of Health’, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547054/
L. reuteri animal study from Eric’s lab.
Eating probiotic yogurt triggered epithelial follicular anagen-phase shift with sebocytogenesis resulting in thick lustrous fur due to a bacteria-triggered interleukin-10-dependent mechanism.
We examined pH levels in C57BL/6 mice consuming probiotic yogurt by sampling their skin, oral cavity, vaginal mucosa, and rectum upon necropsy. We found these tissues were significantly (p<0.001) more acidic in females consuming probiotic yogurt, when compared with animals eating normal mouse chow alone (Fig. 1C). Only the female animals exhibited significantly lower pH after eating probiotic yogurt.
Surprisingly, differences in fur luster were observed within as few as seven days after feeding of probiotic yogurt to inbred C57BL/6 mice (Figure 1A). In contrast, age-matched animals receiving control chow alone had dull fur and suffered from occasional alopecia and dermatitis. These differences in fur luster were highly significant in female animals. However, a similar trend toward probiotic-induced shininess was not statistically significant in males (data not shown).
We postulate that probiotic-triggered glowing skin and hair typical of youth recreated in our aged animals likely arises from microbe-triggered effects on inflammation within skin. Indeed, mice lacking anti-inflammatory cytokine Il-10 failed to exhibit integumentary benefits after eating probiotics. Inversely, systemic treatment with anti-IL17A antibody mimicked animals feeding on yogurt or L. reuteri, supporting an immune-mediated mechanism. This anti-inflammatory effect may emerge systemically from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract [26] impacting both systemic and local immune health [2], [3], [24]. Ingestion of Lactobacillus sp was previously shown to dampen stress-related inflammatory responses in the skin through a gut-brain-skin axis [15], at least in part by regulating emotions via the vagus nerve [27].
It is a well-established paradigm that Il-10 serves to down-regulate pro-inflammatory cytokines such as Il-17 within bowel and skin [6]. To test whether lowering systemic Il-17 levels may produce similar outcomes to effects of eating probiotic bacteria, we depleted Il-17A in otherwise untreated aged wild type C57BL/6 mice and discovered blocking Il-17 recapitulates the effects of eating probiotics: including significantly increased skin thickness (440.3±76.24 vs 335±145.7, p<0.01), increased hair follicles in subcutis (24.5±26.99 vs 9.1±16.55, p<0.05), hair follicle anagen phase predominance (68% vs 42%) and total sebocytes (51.05±14.51 vs 33.15±10.24, P<0.001) (Fig. 6D), along with increased sebocyte proliferation index (0.427±0.061 vs 0.309±0.079, p<0.001).
Help! My friend finally agreed to try the SCD yoghurt but she ate some before COOLING, and she says she woke up with stomach ache and her throat hurts! I couldn’t find anything online about the effect of eating it ALIVE right away before cooling! Any ideas/suggestions what’s going on in her gut? Thank you!
Hi! First, many beginners to SCD do not tolerate SCD yogurt, and that is OK! Children eating GAPS (a diet based on SCD) do NOT begin with the SCD yogurt. They begin with fermented vegetables which are a completely legit way one can ingest probiotics. SCD hard cheeses also contain probiotics. For some, even fermented vegetables should be introduced VERY slowly (for example, only a strain of real sauerkraut, or a bit of the brine). That said, there are MANY ways to tweak SCD yogurt to be much more tolerable and less reactive! Those are too many to list in this reply, but if you’d like, we can coordinate a convenient time to talk and I’ll share insights! I emailed you. Hoping to hear from you soon. Best, Patty
SCD yogurt, http://scdwiki.com/index.php?title=Yogurt
Using the Whey from dripped SCD yogurt:
Fermented vegetables is an advanced food but our SCD veterans love them. Save the whey in the refrigerator. To make sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, cut up or shred the vegetable, put it in a jar, add salt and whey with water to cover (leave some space at the top). Leave on the kitchen counter for two days, maybe giving it a little stir or shake now and then. Refrigerate and store in the refrigerator. To give you an idea of the quantity of whey needed, a half a cup of whey will process a small head of cabbage and a tablespoon will process a carrot.
Great information! Thank you. Can you confirm that a dripped SCD yoghurt still contains all the good bacteria or is it lost in the liquid?
Hi! Thank you for your kind words! I apologize for the delay in response as I’ve been off the grid for a bit!
Regarding your question: I have not seen any studies that document how much probiotics remains within the dripped vs the “liquid of hydrolysis” SCD yogurt. But, Greek Yogurt is ordinary yogurt that is additionally dripped, and we know probiotics do remain in Greek Yogurt. Additionally, Greek Yogurt has higher protein and lower calcium content compared to ordinary yogurt. [2018, Medical News Today, Everything you need to know about yogurt, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295714.php%5D
I ALWAYS recommend dripping yogurt in the refrigerator because the study [Scharl et al 2011] showed that living probiotic quantities of commercial yogurts reduce significantly when left at room temperature. The researchers questioned whether commercially purchased yogurts even have enough living probiotics to effect the microbiome positively. But then again, it seems even the cell walls and dead probiotics are beneficial. [Scharl et al 2011] Dying in Yoghurt: The Number of Living Bacteria in Probiotic Yoghurt Decreases under Exposure to Room Temperature, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46255981_Dying_in_Yoghurt_The_Number_of_Living_Bacteria_in_Probiotic_Yoghurt_Decreases_under_Exposure_to_Room_Temperature (you can download full-text for free here at ResearchGate).
In sum, lots more study is needed to better understand all these yogurt questions. I actually am working on gathering a cohort of real ferment consumers for microbiome testing through Dr. Rob Knight’s lab with hopes of gaining more insights into some of these questions.
The SCD Yogurt Wiki mentions that you can use the dripped liquid portion for making fermented vegs, and I listed that source below. I don’t know if they are suggesting that because probiotics are in that whey but actually, you don’t need any probiotics to make fermented vegs! It is the beneficial bacteria on the fruit and vegs themselves that ferment the sugars within the produce. You can read all about that in a website that Ubiome recommended in an email, “How To Make Homemade Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar”, https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124?utm_source=Master+Newsletter+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=47ee8ae993-Monday_email_sauerkraut12_14_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b8c28de774-47ee8ae993-373799913&mc_cid=47ee8ae993&mc_eid=7dc68a311d
The SCD yogurt wiki website that included instructions for making fermented vegs using the liquid from the dripped SCD yogurt is http://scdwiki.com/index.php?title=Yogurt. It says: “Save the whey in the refrigerator. To make sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, cut up or shred the vegetable, put it in a jar, add salt and whey with water to cover (leave some space at the top). Leave on the kitchen counter for two days, maybe giving it a little stir or shake now and then. Refrigerate and store in the refrigerator. To give you an idea of the quantity of whey needed, a half a cup of whey will process a small head of cabbage and a tablespoon will process a carrot.”
Hope my thoughts are helpful! Thanks for stopping by! Best to you, Patty
NEW SCD yogurt preparation guidelines due to newly discovered MAP safety concerns – Dec 2017, http://gutharmony.net/index.php/2017/12/04/scd-yogurt-safety-concerns-considering-new-map-research/#more-2026
The study finding MAP in powdered milk: [Grant et al 2017] Viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis isolated from calf milk replacer, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030217309062?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb&ccp=y#!
“The research was conducted by Michael Collins, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in cooperation with Irene Grant from the Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, shows a high survival rate of MAP bacteria in powdered milk products.”
The study authors concluded: “the broader food safety implications of detecting viable MAP in this type of dried dairy product are not insignificant given that powdered infant formulae is consumed by young babies with immature immune systems.” [Not to mention anyone with leaky gut or predisposed to MAP allergen immune system reaction, or what the heck is going on at the gut lining level relative to impact to microbiome and inflammation.]
Sot here is now NEW guidelines for safe SCD yogurt preparation with focus on MAP. The classic SCD recipe calls for heating the milk to 180F when preparing yogurt.
Professor Collins replied to our question on the subject: “The best data available suggests that the 90C (194F) for 60 seconds assures 100% MAP kill. So, simply recommending boiling will be the safest way to go. There is nothing else about yogurt making that will impact MAP viability much.”
Professor Collins added: “There are no concrete guidelines about limiting the risk of MAP exposure. There simply is not enough quality data on MAP in foods to offer any rational risk assessment, i.e. is milk more risky than yogurt or red meat or tap water. This is further complicated by the fact that dead MAP bacteria could act as an allergen in the gut of selected susceptible individuals. So knowing where we find live MAP in food may not be sufficient.
As a very general guide, the more steps in the processing of food the better: e.g., raw milk is riskier than HTST pasteurized milk which is probably risker than UHT or boiled milk. Soft, fresh, high-moisture cheese is riskier than aged hard cheese… Beyond that it is all guess work (until further research provides more data).”
Maple Hill Creamery Plain Greek Yogurt is a brand of Greek yogurt that is not lactose free since it is not baked 24 to 30 hours. It is however 100% grass-fed, organic and not loaded with stabilizers and other unnecessary ingredients.
Ditto for Traderspoint Creamery Plain Whole Milk Yogurt… yet another grass-fed Greek yogurt.
More info:
–> http://maplehillcreamery.com/products/5.html
–> http://www.traderspointcreamery.com/products/yogurt/
Amy Nett
APRIL 29, 2015 AT 5:09 PM
There are a number of wonderful probiotic sources that can be well tolerated by people who are allergic to dairy. For example, you can try eating sauerkraut or other lacto-fermented vegetables. You can also take a probiotic supplement such as Prescript Assist (http://store.chriskresser.com/products/prescript-assist-probiotic).
Alternatively, if you can tolerate goat dairy, you can try making homemade yogurt or kefir from goat milk.
About Amy: Amy Nett, MD, graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2007. She subsequently completed a year of internal medicine training at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, followed by five years of specialty training in radiology at Stanford University Hospital, with additional subspecialty training in pediatric radiology. Excerpt from http://chriskresser.com/heal-your-gut-heal-your-brain/
The liquid resulting from dripped SCD yogurt, is it “whey”?
“Actually Elaine says it’s water of hydrolysis. You could water plants with it, feed it to pets or throw it out along with putting it in ferments.
The water is not whey, per se. Whey contains lactose is usually the word used when you separate milk into curds (protein) and whey just like Little Jack Horner. There is no culture involved, just separation which I believe is done by using rennet when making cheese. The water we get in our lengthy fermentation is actually the “water of hydrolysis” which forms when the culture splits lactose which yields two monosaccharides and H2O. It varies often with temperature variations as well as when you use milk with varying amount of fat. Skim milk would yield the most water as it has more lactose than whole milk and, therefore, there would be more water of hydrolysis when this increased amount of lactose is split.” -BTVCyahooblog
They supplement CAFO chicken feed with probiotics… shouldn’t you? “Direct fed microbials and probiotics are used to promote health in livestock and poultry; however, their mechanism of action is still poorly understood.…data indicate that supplementation with the direct fed microbial resulted in energy re-partitioning to the immune system and an increase in antibody production… There was also an increase in ATP consumption and changes in the cytokines in the gut…. the interaction… results in a change in the energy consumption in the small intestine. This leads to an increase in the amount of energy available to the immune system… under disease stress, the bird would be able to get back to optimal growth in fewer days than birds not fed microbials.” -Direct fed microbial supplementation repartitions host energy to the immune system, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367073 and Feeding microbials to chickens leads to mysterious immune response. Such livestock and poultry studies fuels human probiotic studies today, https://www.asas.org/membership-services/press-room/press-release-interpretive-summary-archive/feeding-microbials-to-chickens-leads-to-mysterious-immune-response see Role of endogenous microbiota, probiotics and their biological products in human health, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3571638/ Which by the way, has a TON of probiotic human health ramifications including mucin layer, TJs, immunity… .
Randomized Open-Label Pilot Study of the Influence of Probiotics and the Gut Microbiome on Toxic Metal Levels in Tanzanian Pregnant Women and School Children http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/5/e01580-14: Exposure to environmental toxins is a 21st century global health problem that is often the result of dietary intake. Although efforts are made to reduce dietary toxin levels, they are often unsuccessful, warranting research into novel methods to reduce host exposure. Food-grade microbes that can be delivered to the gastrointestinal tract and that are capable of sequestering toxins present a safe and cost-effective intervention.
Yogurt containing 1010 CFU Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 per 250 g was administered; control groups received either whole milk or no intervention. Changes in blood metal levels were assessed, and the gut microbiomes of the children were profiled by analyzing 16S rRNA sequencing via the Ion Torrent platform.
The children and pregnant women in the study were found to have elevated blood levels of lead and mercury compared to age- and sex-matched Canadians.
Consumption of probiotic yogurt had a protective effect against further increases in mercury (3.2 nmol/liter; P = 0.035) and arsenic (2.3 nmol/liter; P = 0.011) blood levels in the pregnant women, but this trend was not statistically significant in the children.
Elevated blood lead was associated with increases in Succinivibrionaceae and Gammaproteobacteria relative abundance levels in stool.
Further research and field trials are warranted to explore this approach in countries where communities are located near mining sites and agricultural areas, two types of areas where toxins are likely to be elevated.
“Probiotic yogurt Affects Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Factors in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease” Intestinal homeostasis is a balance between pro and anti-inflammatory responses of intestinal immunocytes and could be maintained by probiotics. This study, showed after 8 weeks of probiotic yogurt consumption in IBD patients, there was a significant decline in serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1β and also in CRP levels, compared to their baseline values and intervention groups. In addition, an increase was observed in serum levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and also in serum levels of IL-6. The probiotic yogurt contained strains bifidobacterium and lactobacillus, having mean concentration of 106 colony forming units (CFU) per each gram of yogurt. All yogurts had 1.5% fat.
CRP: results indicated a decline in CRP levels in IBD patients who consumed probiotic yogurt, but not in other two study group. Measurement of CRP in IBD patients for evaluation of the efficacy of treatment on inflammation is a good criteria, such that its decline showed positive effects of therapies and increased values are due to failure in immuno-regulation (24).
The IL-1β and TNF- α are two key pro-inflammatory CKs (26, 27).The serum levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in healthy controls in our study were below the sensitivity levels of our assay, but other studies have reported an increase in their levels in IBD patients in comparison with healthy people especially for TNF-α levels (26, 28). TNF-α level in IBD patients showed 390 folds higher levels compared to healthy group. In this study there was a significant difference also in TNF-α concentration between active and inactive IBD courses.This difference was stronger for UC patients. TNF-α concentration in active UC patients was 1.7 fold higher than inactive UC (28).
Participants: 210 IBD patients in remission phase and 95 healthy people, mean age of 37.69 years (ranges 26 to 59 years). They were divided randomly into two groups, one received 250 grams of probiotic yogurt and the other received 250 grams of plain yogurt daily for 8 weeks. The healthy control group (n = 95) received 250 grams probiotic yogurt for the same duration. Excluded from admission are those consuming supplements including omega-3, antioxidant vitamins (vitamin A, E, C), and probiotic and prebiotics products 3 months preceding the study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3920683/ dtd 2013