5 ms·
Very interesting. I'm 45 and recently became chronically constipated. I determined that I had somehow killed off my gut bacteria and began a treatment of eating
by datavirtue 2y ago
Very interesting. I'm 45 and recently became chronically constipated. I determined that I had somehow killed off my gut bacteria and began a treatment of eating nothing but cruciferous salads each day, supplementing with probiotics (with as many bacterial strains as I could get). I was eating yogurts regularly, but none of those contained enough bacterial variety (you need many more strains to maintain health).
This restored me to perfect function and taught me that my gut microbiome was fucked up for years, even decades.
I cannot believe how good I feel and how perfectly my digestive system functions now. When the constipation hit I thought I was literally dying. Even a 100% raw vegetable diet was not digesting properly and would takes days to exit at first. Any carbs or bread at all would jam me up completely.
I have been maintaining perfect gut function since then by avoiding alcohol and eating a wide range of raw vegetables and cruciferous salads to feed the bacteria. However, I'm able to digest anything now, effortlessly. Remarkable.
- voisin 2y agoDo you intend to take probiotics forever? I understand (possibly incorrectly) that the microbiome shifts back quickly as soon as any of the interventions stop, and while the others seem like they should be sustainable (part of a good lifestyle) I always wonder about how realistic it is to keep taking probiotics for life.
- datavirtue 2y agoI'm not taking them now. I just try to maintain what is established. You shouldn't need to take them at all. The modern processed food diet, antibiotics, and other "toxins" cause our biome to die off. Some of the strains are not replaced by our food. There is a laundry list of strains in the high quality pills. Essentially, once you have it, you have it. Unless you fail to nourish it. It takes a while for the digestive track to rebuild itself after biome is restored. It has those cilia-like fingers that operate in a mucus layer, and those die back or recede as does the mucus layer. That takes a while to reestablish.
- Teslazar 2y agoHow long did it take to see significant improvement and how long did it take before you figured you had restored perfect function? Can you elaborate on what you ate?
- datavirtue 2y agoAbout 1 months for initial "OK, I'm not going to die" and about 3-4 months total. I would make a several pound salad as my first meal of the day using cruciferous mix from Trader Joes. Mixed with shredded iceberg, raw vegetables (peppers, broccoli), crumbled corn chips, and par-boiled Tempe, and maybe a bit of shredded cheese. Dressing of choice. For the first month I ate nothing but the salad(s) each day. Often Greek yogurt with hulled hemp seeds and flax powder or nuts for desert. Quick taibata session on the elliptical each day. Trained Krav-maga twice a week. The most interesting thing to me is that I don't know how it got so bad. I was not eating junk, drinking soda or alcohol. Was getting decent exercise regularly. Drank water religiously. I had no antibiotics. I was admittedly eating a lot of home made bread products and was not eating enough raw foods in the runup to this issue.
- Teslazar 2y agoThanks for the info!
- AbstractH24 2y agoWhat brand of probiotics? I have been chronically constipated on and off for 5+ years now along side a variety of diseases of the brain (ADHD, depression, and epilepsy). Even at points in my life where I wasn’t taking anything that increased serotonin in the gut like an SSRI the constipation has persisted. Have always felt like there was a link between my gut and brain but never been able to define it and my doctors brush it off. Now I’m starting to explore it on own alongside conventional treatments for my brain conditions. Currently I’m focusing on natural sources of probiotics like kimchi and kefir. Mostly because I’ve never been able to identify which supplement is worthwhile.