Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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i have to write a research paper for my biology class on probiotics more specifically, b. thetaiotaomicron and b. longum, and their effect on polysaccharide metabolism, when mutually colonizing the cecum or co-colonizing the cecum. this is the study i refer to if you are interested. [1]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1661682/

Anyways, it got me thinking that our gut flora is an extremely important in a lot of metabolic functioning and signaling especially when dealing with carbohydrates. our residential bacteria make up 90% of the cells in our body. so shouldn't we be looking at gut microbiota more closely? it doesnt seem to gain as much attention in our paleo world and i wonder why?

As we have gotten more sterile as humans we have seen a rise in a number of disorders including IBS and IBD (diseases a lot of people come to paleo to fix). anyone out there an expert on gut flora? any recommendations we haven't already heard?

This study tends to make me think that it's a very individual thing. could there be a day in the future where doctors make individual probiotic cocktails based on your genome and existing microbiota? could this lead to much more effortless health?

it seems like probiotics don't get the recognition they deserve and i wanted to start a conversation on them. i'd love to hear any of your thoughts on the topic even if you don't address any of the questions i've brought up.

edited Sep 29 at 16:13

asked Sep 29 at 15:12

jake
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	Paragraphs are your friend. – Rob Sep 29 at 16:07
	there we go.... – jake Sep 29 at 16:14
	Upvote for "it seems like probiotics don't get the recognition they deserve." the 90% statistic floating around has yet to be disproven, I think it's actually true. This should be revolutionary, but most people are still stuck in the old ways of thinking about health. In another thread, I said that "your gut flora is the centerpiece of your health." I still think this. It's as if humans are mediums for the collective consciousness of the bacteria. Hah! – Dan Sep 29 at 17:34
	that'd be a trip. a case of explosive diarrhea is to bacteria what an ice age is to humans a mass extinction lol – jake Sep 29 at 23:55

Janknitz · Answer 1 · 2012-09-29 15:52:39Z UTC

I think the research world is starting to recognize the importance. I was at the Farm and Fermentation festival in Petaluma, CA and spoke to a gentleman who's a UCSF researcher studying the connections between gut disbyosis and heart disease and obesity.

WAPF has a lot of material on gut health, BTW.

KA24 · Answer 2 · 2012-09-29 17:38:46Z UTC

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By default, gut health should not be difficult to achieve. While probiotics are important, especially if we can naturally incorporate them into our diets, the elimination of ingested toxins and gut irritants is just as or even more important.

I'm glad that this aspect is gaining more and more steam in the mainstream, but in my opinion, it's really a lost cause if it doesn't go along with a removal of the foods causing it to begin with.

Like recommending someone eat raw sauerkraut and whole grains in the same sentence.

answered Sep 29 at 17:38

KA24
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	idk about "gut health should not be difficult to achieve". a lot of modern practices regarding food (refrigeration, pasteurization) remove a lot of the beneficial bacteria from the food we eat. sure they destroy the potential bad bacteria too but if you have a healthy immune system a little bit of bad bacteria shouldn't kill you. just don't go eating blatantly rotting pig flesh and you should be good. also, i don't think it would be a lost cause. for many people eating paleo is very unrealistic especially with our high expectations. this could be a very simple very effective way for people – jake Sep 29 at 23:47
	with no other option than to have to eat crap to be able to maintain some level of gut health. – jake Sep 29 at 23:47

all things probiotics

2 Answers