8 ms·

What kind of changes? I have a hard time searching google about gut health without feeling like none of it's scientific, and all a scam for advertising or selli

What kind of changes? I have a hard time searching google about gut health without feeling like none of it's scientific, and all a scam for advertising or selling products.

rednerrus 9y ago
Get more fiber in your diet. Eat more vegetables. Eat less sugar and processed foods.
- saiya-jin 9y ago
  if all humans on earth heeded this advice, hospitals would be half-empty and health insurance systems would be in massive surpluses.
jpster 9y ago
Kimchi, sauerkraut and yogurt, among other things. https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/probiotic-foods-gut-bacteria/ https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/probiotic-foods-gut-bacte...
- Nomentatus 9y ago
  Careful - most of what you buy as "Kimchi", even from Korea, and most "sauerkraut"; is probiotic in no way whatsoever. That's because it isn't fermented as it should be, they've just poured in vinegar to make pickled vegetable matter. That won't help you at all.
  - stenl 9y ago
    On the other hand, making kinchi yourself is super-easy. it takes literally five minutes to set up and a few days to ferment, then just gets better over time (weeks/months).
  - jpster 9y ago
    Thanks for the heads-up. Would avoiding kimchi products that have vinegar listed as an ingredient be a good strategy? Or is some amount of vinegar also used in authentic kimchi?
    - Nomentatus 9y ago
      Good comment - the practical way is to avoid anything with vinegar added (no need, the bacteria make plenty.)
Mz 9y ago
That depends on a) what health issues you have and b) how you currently eat (and c) probably other factors, like genetics and other unknown unknowns). I do have a food blog if you want to follow my eating journey for some reason.
lrem 9y ago
I've recently watched a ton of Ted talks on the subject (thank you, autoplay), so you can call me a proper internet know-it-all. The consensus seems to be: nobody knows, but the SAD certainly is not the right answer. As diverse as you can get and as little processed as you stand seem to be popular ideas too. Dropping sugar and milk seem commonly recommended, but they can pry my ice-cream from my cold, dead fingers.
- colordrops 9y ago
  Small amounts of animal protein and lots of raw greens and vegetables, tubers and roots. Everything else is extra. Be careful though about making any specific recommendations here or else someone with a different idea will attack you for not backing it up with scientific data. Because you shouldn't try to figure out what to eat until you get a PhD.
  - shanev 9y ago
    What’s the value in raw vs cooked vegetables? I thought cooking makes their nutrients more bio-available. Do you really eat tubers raw? I can't imagine eating a potato raw. Our ancestors even always cooked them.
    - BurningFrog 9y ago
      Yeah, this books makes the case against raw diets very well: https://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/0465013627 https://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/0... That's the thing with diets. There is a real well reasoned argument for and against most anything...
      - shanev 9y ago
        You're the 4th or 5th person to recommend this book to me. Guess I have to read it now :)
        9y ago
zaptheimpaler 9y ago
There have been a few studies on probiotics. Besides that I think not much is known scientifically. But I think the best way is to realize you are free to experiment with your diet - with careful tracking of your diet, you may be able to find certain foods that work great or certain foods that make you feel worse etc. You can run an "n of 1" experiment on yourself and see what works. No need to wait for a study/evidence because its not coming anytime soon.
vanderZwan 9y ago
Well, in terms of general dietary knowledge, NutritionFacts.org[0] is great. When I first visited it I thought it looked a bit sketchy, but turns out to be a treasure trove. Yes, Dr. Michael Greger also sells books and DVDs through the site, but you need neither buy anything nor register to get access to all the material on the site. Most of the videos are basically him summarizing a large number of papers on a specific subject. Each video is accompanied by a transcript, and sources. [0] https://nutritionfacts.org/ https://nutritionfacts.org/
- vanderZwan 9y ago
  I would like to know why someone would downvote me for linking what is basically a vlog/podcast where each episode cites at least a dozen scientific papers. If the guy turns out to be a quack after all, I'd like to know why, not just be passive-aggressively told I'm wrong.
  - grzm 9y ago
    People often have strong opinions regarding diet and nutrition claims. For the shade of gray of your comment, I can't imagine you received more than a couple of downvotes. While I sympathize with your desire for responses, I wouldn't worry about it too much. From the Wikipedia article on Greger, it looks like he may be cherry-picking his evidence or overstating his claims in some cases. Speculation, but that might be a reason people would disagree that nutritionfacts.org is a good source: > Retired physician Harriet A. Hall, who is known for applying critical thinking to health claims, has written that, while it is well accepted that it is more healthy to eat a plant-based diet than a western pattern diet, Greger often overstates the known benefits of such a diet as well as the harm caused by eating animal products (for example, in a talk he claimed that a single meal rich in animal products can "cripple" one's arteries), and he sometimes does not discuss evidence that contradicts his strong claims. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger
    - vanderZwan 9y ago
      > People often have strong opinions regarding diet and nutrition claims. Well, I suppose. Ariely has a good video on that people getting irrational as the topic moves closer to the body[0]. It's still pretty ridiculous given that just about everyone else is replying with their unsourced opinions. And that's basically one guy whose critique is "he's a bit too enthusiastic about the plant-based diet." Given how attached people are to meat, that's hardly a strong counter-argument. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwOmNm9hk6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwOmNm9hk6w
toomuchtodo 9y ago
> What kind of changes? I have a hard time searching google about gut health without feeling like none of it's scientific, and all a scam for advertising or selling products. High fiber, high fat, moderate protein, as few carbs as possible. Water whenever you're thirsty.
travmatt 9y ago
In addition to what everyone else is recommending: fermented vegetables like pickles or sauerkraut, especially organic and homemade such that you can see the culture in the jar as well.
funwithjustin 9y ago
I did some research on this a few months ago and landed on this book, which is highly recommended by physicians with interest in the relationship between gut health and autoimmune diseases. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802745-the-immune-system-recovery-plan https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802745-the-immune-syst...
avip 9y ago
I think if you find a very healthy fellow human being, and eat him, you'll be in the sweet spot.
- alonmower 9y ago
  Assuming they don't contain any prions
autokad 9y ago
eat what your ancestors ate. in america, there is almost a shaming done if you do not eat other cultures foods, but other cultures mostly stick to their own food (and there is a good reason for that).

What kind of changes? I have a hard time searching google about gut health without feeling like none of it's scientific, and all a scam for advertising or selling products.

rednerrus 9y ago

Get more fiber in your diet. Eat more vegetables. Eat less sugar and processed foods.

saiya-jin 9y ago
if all humans on earth heeded this advice, hospitals would be half-empty and health insurance systems would be in massive surpluses.

jpster 9y ago

Kimchi, sauerkraut and yogurt, among other things. https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/probiotic-foods-gut-bacteria/ https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/probiotic-foods-gut-bacte...

Nomentatus 9y ago
Careful - most of what you buy as "Kimchi", even from Korea, and most "sauerkraut"; is probiotic in no way whatsoever. That's because it isn't fermented as it should be, they've just poured in vinegar to make pickled vegetable matter. That won't help you at all.
- stenl 9y ago
  On the other hand, making kinchi yourself is super-easy. it takes literally five minutes to set up and a few days to ferment, then just gets better over time (weeks/months).
- jpster 9y ago
  Thanks for the heads-up. Would avoiding kimchi products that have vinegar listed as an ingredient be a good strategy? Or is some amount of vinegar also used in authentic kimchi?
  - Nomentatus 9y ago
    Good comment - the practical way is to avoid anything with vinegar added (no need, the bacteria make plenty.)

Mz 9y ago

That depends on a) what health issues you have and b) how you currently eat (and c) probably other factors, like genetics and other unknown unknowns). I do have a food blog if you want to follow my eating journey for some reason.

lrem 9y ago

I've recently watched a ton of Ted talks on the subject (thank you, autoplay), so you can call me a proper internet know-it-all. The consensus seems to be: nobody knows, but the SAD certainly is not the right answer. As diverse as you can get and as little processed as you stand seem to be popular ideas too. Dropping sugar and milk seem commonly recommended, but they can pry my ice-cream from my cold, dead fingers.

colordrops 9y ago
Small amounts of animal protein and lots of raw greens and vegetables, tubers and roots. Everything else is extra. Be careful though about making any specific recommendations here or else someone with a different idea will attack you for not backing it up with scientific data. Because you shouldn't try to figure out what to eat until you get a PhD.
- shanev 9y ago
  What’s the value in raw vs cooked vegetables? I thought cooking makes their nutrients more bio-available. Do you really eat tubers raw? I can't imagine eating a potato raw. Our ancestors even always cooked them.
  - BurningFrog 9y ago
    Yeah, this books makes the case against raw diets very well: https://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/0465013627 https://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/0... That's the thing with diets. There is a real well reasoned argument for and against most anything...
    - shanev 9y ago
      You're the 4th or 5th person to recommend this book to me. Guess I have to read it now :)
      - 9y ago

zaptheimpaler 9y ago

There have been a few studies on probiotics. Besides that I think not much is known scientifically. But I think the best way is to realize you are free to experiment with your diet - with careful tracking of your diet, you may be able to find certain foods that work great or certain foods that make you feel worse etc. You can run an "n of 1" experiment on yourself and see what works. No need to wait for a study/evidence because its not coming anytime soon.

vanderZwan 9y ago

Well, in terms of general dietary knowledge, NutritionFacts.org[0] is great. When I first visited it I thought it looked a bit sketchy, but turns out to be a treasure trove. Yes, Dr. Michael Greger also sells books and DVDs through the site, but you need neither buy anything nor register to get access to all the material on the site. Most of the videos are basically him summarizing a large number of papers on a specific subject. Each video is accompanied by a transcript, and sources. [0] https://nutritionfacts.org/ https://nutritionfacts.org/

vanderZwan 9y ago
I would like to know why someone would downvote me for linking what is basically a vlog/podcast where each episode cites at least a dozen scientific papers. If the guy turns out to be a quack after all, I'd like to know why, not just be passive-aggressively told I'm wrong.
- grzm 9y ago
  People often have strong opinions regarding diet and nutrition claims. For the shade of gray of your comment, I can't imagine you received more than a couple of downvotes. While I sympathize with your desire for responses, I wouldn't worry about it too much. From the Wikipedia article on Greger, it looks like he may be cherry-picking his evidence or overstating his claims in some cases. Speculation, but that might be a reason people would disagree that nutritionfacts.org is a good source: > Retired physician Harriet A. Hall, who is known for applying critical thinking to health claims, has written that, while it is well accepted that it is more healthy to eat a plant-based diet than a western pattern diet, Greger often overstates the known benefits of such a diet as well as the harm caused by eating animal products (for example, in a talk he claimed that a single meal rich in animal products can "cripple" one's arteries), and he sometimes does not discuss evidence that contradicts his strong claims. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Greger
  - vanderZwan 9y ago
    > People often have strong opinions regarding diet and nutrition claims. Well, I suppose. Ariely has a good video on that people getting irrational as the topic moves closer to the body[0]. It's still pretty ridiculous given that just about everyone else is replying with their unsourced opinions. And that's basically one guy whose critique is "he's a bit too enthusiastic about the plant-based diet." Given how attached people are to meat, that's hardly a strong counter-argument. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwOmNm9hk6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwOmNm9hk6w

toomuchtodo 9y ago

> What kind of changes? I have a hard time searching google about gut health without feeling like none of it's scientific, and all a scam for advertising or selling products. High fiber, high fat, moderate protein, as few carbs as possible. Water whenever you're thirsty.

travmatt 9y ago

In addition to what everyone else is recommending: fermented vegetables like pickles or sauerkraut, especially organic and homemade such that you can see the culture in the jar as well.

funwithjustin 9y ago

I did some research on this a few months ago and landed on this book, which is highly recommended by physicians with interest in the relationship between gut health and autoimmune diseases. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802745-the-immune-system-recovery-plan https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802745-the-immune-syst...

avip 9y ago

I think if you find a very healthy fellow human being, and eat him, you'll be in the sweet spot.

alonmower 9y ago
Assuming they don't contain any prions

autokad 9y ago

eat what your ancestors ate. in america, there is almost a shaming done if you do not eat other cultures foods, but other cultures mostly stick to their own food (and there is a good reason for that).