Antibiotics & Microbiome

Antibiotic Resistance: Obama White House Today Convenes First Antibiotic Summit

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SUMMARY:  This is an incredibly timely followup to my last post, ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND MICROBIOME COMPETITIVE CROWDING OUT CONCEPTS.  Copied below is the press coverage, issued just minutes ago, of:

 Today: Obama White House Convenes (one day) First Antibiotic Summit focusing on “Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship” .

I can’t say enough about the real risk for acquiring an antibiotic resistant infection as explained in my last post,  ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND MICROBIOME COMPETITIVE CROWDING OUT CONCEPTS, especially given that the average American has lost 1/3 of their diversity.  Another study estimates 1 in 4 have 40% less bacteria (see prior post link for references).   This post also provided maps that showed individual state antibiotic use and resistance risk:

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Antibiotics & Microbiome, Pillar: Toxins

US Antibiotic Resistance and WHO

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SUMMARY:  Antibiotic resistance is invisible to most of us until you, a family member, or an acquaintance acquires such an infection.  You can check out the slides below to see state by state, US Antibiotic Resistance Risk and state Antibiotic Use.  erhaps the most reasonable mechanism to prevent antibiotic need in the first place, is explained in the post PRESERVE & RESTORE LOSS OF MICROBIOME DIVERSITY IS AGGRESSIVE PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE.  These concepts are especially important given that the average American has lost 1/3 of their microbiome diversity, as estimated by Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello as seen on this interview for the film “Microbirth.”   Another study estimates 1 in 4 have 40% less bacteria (see This Danish study, or read the scientific article here).  

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Blog: Allergies and Asthma, Blog: Diabetes, Blog: IBD, Blog: Microbiome, Blog: Microbiome & FMT, Whole Food, WholeFood-SCD Yogurt,FermentedVegs

Preserve & Restore Loss of Microbiome Diversity is Aggressive Preventative Medicine

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SUMMARY:  Aggressive Preventative Medicine means preserving the microbiome you have and restoring any loss incurred.  See how far that thought goes with your doctor!  Diet really does work to alter the microbiome and can help to restore loss of microbiome; for example, fermented kimchi actually positively impacted metabolic syndrome factors including systolic and diastolic blood pressures, percent body fat, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol.  

⇒⇒  This post teaches how to reduce the loss of microbiome diversity and restore such – crowding out concept.

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Recipes: Breads, Crackers, Recipes: Nuts, Whole Food

Date Nut Bread, PALEO SCD GAPS

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SUMMARY:  The recipe, Date Nut Bread, PALEO SCD GAPS, UMass IBD-AID is a favorite of family and friends.  This is NOT a sweet bread per se although the dates do provide a tinge of sweetness.  Some enjoy this bread with a swirl of butter on top.  Double, if not triple, the recipe; it is that good.  No matter what diet you are targeting, this is a healing nutrient dense recipe if you tolerate nuts, and for AIP — nuts have been successfully reintroduced, and for low FODMAPs — substitute maple syrup for the dates and consume small portions due to almond restrictions. Tip:  Freeze extra mini loaves to always have this on hand.

The recipe is interesting since it uses several ingredients you may never have baked with — both almond and coconut flours, dates, and apple cider vinegar.  Just the combination sounds peculiar; but it is a winner!  The recipe also uses a food processor; I have had mine for 30 plus years — a bridal shower gift from my sister — though I honestly never really used it until beginning to eat SCD.

embellishment7Some thoughts on serving size:  One slice is actually enough even though it isn’t near the size you are use to, bread-wise.   Remember, with nutrient dense foods, you honestly eat less due to satiety.

embellishment7We have habits of eating a lot of something mainly because our body seeks nutrition, which the Standard American Diet is sorely lacking.  This recipe is nutrient dense thus you eat less to nourish your body.

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Recipes: Soup, Bone Broth, Whole Food

What’s in a Practical Whole Foods PALEO, SCD, Gaps Healing Fridge?

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SUMMARY:  Check out this healing, anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense fridge, and learn what is in a practical whole foods PALEO, SCD, GAPS Mediterranean diet type fridge, that also happens to be sustainable and family and friends friendly!  Also learn practical tips for transitioning (with recipe links) & quality food sourcing links.   Each of our microbiomes differ by over 99% and that means, there is no one right diet for all due to each of our unique physiologic and genetic (human and microbial) variability. This includes the trendy diets, like Ketogenic, PALEO, Atkins, Zone, as well as the popular, government-sponsored diets such as DASH (revised 2015) and TLC (2005, still needs updated).  The Mediterranean Diet continues to have evidence based benefit.  In fact, a diet called MIND, which combines Mediterranean, DASH, and aging brain literature, showed for strict follow, that brains functioned as if 7 years younger AND there was a 53% reduction of Alzheimer’s risk.   Moderate follow reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 35%!  MIND is currently recruiting 600 with a family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s, and a BMI 25 or over, for clinical trial at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and RUSH University Medical Center!  The top diets in each category share similar attributes including balance, higher vegetable and some fruit (especially low sugar like berries, avocados), wild caught fish, fermented food (see the 2017 D. D. Rosa et al for the benefits of kefir which are also listed below), awareness of EWG toxin recommendations, along with self awareness, finding a like minded tribe of experienced healing diet eaters able to support your learning thereby establishing Blue Zones within families, to friends, to communities (Dr. David Katz, Episode 11 of Awakening From Alzheimer’s, and monitoring of what you eat through journaling.  An emphasis on frequent, structured exercise and physical activity are also common themes.  With awareness of the many tenets of healing type diets and lifestyle impact on the microbiome, small diet and lifestyle changes result in big health improvement without the perceived rigidity of following a traditional diet plan, and these changes motivate you to your NEXT.   Eating microbiome gut supporting foods works.  Just check out my Testimonial page! 

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Blog: Microbiome on drugs, Blog: Microbiome_Vaginal, Pillar: Toxins

16S rRNA challenges healthy vaginal microbiome; ferments & coconut oil rock!

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SUMMARY:   Incredulously, the latest 16S rRNA research now challenges what was thought for years to be a ‘protective,’ ‘normal,’ and healthy vaginal microbiome. Our many microbiomes ideally are “inherited” and originate from our passage through the vagina, and yet it seems a ‘healthy’ and ‘normal’ vaginal microbiome has been elusive; in fact, many women have a compromised vaginal microbiome and many are asymptomatic, or perhaps not… 

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Blog: Cancer, Blog: Diabetes, Blog: Microbiome, Pillar: StressMeditatonAffirmation

We see & perceive things differently; Neither is superior to the other

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SUMMARY:  The ‘blue/black white/gold dress‘ incident is a really good way of acknowledging that people see and perceive things differently and one way is not necessarily superior to the other.  I see and appreciate this in every diet conversation I have.  I focus a lot on diet; but lifestyle tweaks help many achieve wellness when clean diet isn’t enough.  Initial microbiome studies show that stress can result in changes to the gut microbial community, specifically bacteria in the genus Lactobacillus are consistently reduced.  If clean diet isn’t enough, move onto stress busters that data shows literally reduce inflammatory markers — affirmations and meditation do such.

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Blog: IBD, Blog: Microbiome & Butyrate, Whole Food

Nice, SCD increased F. prausnitzii… hugh?!?

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SUMMARY:  This post is a followup to the post, IBD CROHN’S: SCD INCREASED MICROBIOME DIVERSITY BUT LOW RESIDUAL DIET REDUCED DIVERSITY.  It discusses the significance of the finding that SCD increased F. prausnitzii within the microbiome for Crohn’s patients eating SCD.  I’d suspect however, that similar results occur even for non-Crohn’s SCD consumers, which would be a good thing. For details of the microbiome changes due to SCD (microbial diversity increased to include 134 bacteria belonging to 32 different classes (Figure 8), the bacterial families over represented in the increase included over 20 species of the non-pathogenic clostridia family and more) read the post IBD CROHN’S: SCD INCREASED MICROBIOME DIVERSITY BUT LOW RESIDUAL DIET REDUCED DIVERSITY.  Think about the 3.5 to 5 pounds of bacteria that lives on and in us: what are they, how did they get there, and what does their mix mean for our health?  Ends up, F. prausnitzii is a major player in gut health and those having more of it fare better, at least for IBD where F. prausnitzii seems to be reduced.  In summary, F. prausnitzii protects against pathogen invasion, modulates the immune system, is an acetate consumer, and is a producer of substantial quantities of butyrate as well as high amounts of antioxidant compounds.  Some call F. prausnitzii a keystone peacekeeping microbe.  

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Blog: Alzheimer's, Blog: Autism, Blog: Diabetes, Blog: IBD, Blog: Microbiome, Blog: Microbiome & Butyrate, Blog: MS, Blog: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Blog: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Blog: Thyroid, Whole Food

IBD CAM, LDN, probiotics, SCD… & Integrative Medicine benefits gut health

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SUMMARY:   IBD CAM “Probiotics, Special Diets [SCD], and Complementary Therapies:  We Know Patients Want Them, So What Do We Tell Them?“ was presented at the Dec. 2014  Advances in IBD conference, by Dr. Sandra Kim, MD, who noted, “SO CERTAINLY THERE IS SOME PROMISE IN AT LEAST THINKING ABOUT THIS.”  Now that’s a first!!!  At least one conventional doctor is encouraging her peers to  seriously educate themselves about IBD CAM, LDN, probiotics, SCD… and  Integrative  Medicine and to ask their patients if they are interested in them, using them and if so, what do they use, and to actively seek funding for further study of them!  And… Dr. Kim has disclosure of conflicting interests — Speaker: Nestle Nutrition, Abbott Laboratories and Consultant: AbbVie Pharmaceuticals!

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Blog: IBD, Blog: Microbiome, Whole Food

IBD Crohn’s: SCD increased microbiome diversity but Low Residual Diet reduced diversity

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SUMMARY:   Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) increased microbiome diversity in Crohn’s patients. The pediatric and adult IBD clinics at UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento, CA) conducted the study,  Analysis of Gut Microbiome and Diet Modification in Patients with Crohn’s Disease, and here, found:  

  1. SCD increased microbiome diversity whereas the low residual diet (LRD) decreased microbiome diversity.  Interestingly, the SCD diet included an increased microbiota representation of F. prausnitzii, an anti-inflammatory commensal.
  2. Patient diet COMPLIANCE was about 80%, and
  3. The SCD MICROBIOME DIVERSITY REMAINED despite a 30 day washout between diets.  

Given that it is now understood that IBD is associated with reduced microbiome diversity, perhaps this aspect of SCD (increasing microbiome diversity) explains the success many find using SCD to manage IBD as well as heal other illnesses.  The followup post, NICE, EATING SCD INCREASED F. PRAUSNITZII… HUGH?!? explains the significance of F. prausnitzii in the microbiome.

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