I am a big fan of Chris Kresser, Dr. Stephanie Seneff (see her work on Cholesterol Sulfate below and Glyphosate) and my doc. It is interesting how information converges. Earlier this year I heard a podcast by Chris (see Is Resistant Starch (RS) Useful) within days of discussing resistant starch with my doc. I began to take it (3 TBS a day in water), but didn’t see any benefit after two weeks and fell off the wagon. The benefits could possibly have been still to come, as I am finding it takes me some time to load some nutrients like magnesium, and maybe I didn’t dose long enough. I am going to give it another try.
Chris recently made another RS podcast, this one entirely dedicated to gut health and RS: You Are What Your Bacteria Eat: The Importance of Feeding Your Microbiome – With Jeff Leach. It was a good podcast and what really caught my attention was Jeff Leach’s reference to foods that feed the prebiotic critters: onions, garlic, asparagus, and other foods high in cholesterol sulfate, which is a focus of Stephanie’s work. See these posts: Dr. Stephanie Seneff, D3 and Cholesterol Sulfate, Vitamin D, Hormesis, Northern Europeans and Dr. Stephanie Seneff and Cholesterol Sulfate, Vitamin D and Hormesis - more to consider.
I sent Chris’s podcast to Stephanie and she noted the similarities in food recommendations for completely different reasons and replied with this research paper from the Journal of Nutrition: Prebiotic Capacity of Inulin-Type Fructans, which explains RS further. The entire Journal is dedicated to prebiotics and there is a tool in the upper right hand corner that will allow you to read related articles of interest.
What surprised me about Chris’s podcast is that Jeff Leach’s gut health seems to be optimal because he loads with RS/prebiotics, which feed probiotic bacteria, and he does not eat fermented foods/probiotics. Prebiotics and probiotics clearly go hand in hand, and I tried to find a source explaining their relationship and strengths. I am frustrated that the best source I found was created by a supplement company - I prefer a less biased source. Even so, if you want to learn more about prebiotics and probiotics then check this comparison out: Prebiotics Vs. Probiotics: What's the Difference?
I am going to continue to ferment because it just feels good when I eat the foods. Perhaps that will change as I load with prebiotics, but until then I am going to continue to enjoy my kombucha, beet kvass, kefir and kraut.
Excellent post! I'm going to listen to this podcast (I like him from previous pods). I've seen Dr. Seneff on Dr. Mercola's site and am a huge fan of Vitamin D.
I love it when a good blogger briefs us on a long podcast, and especially when they make good connections between theories and study.
Best of life and health to you and yours.
Posted by: D | February 22, 2014 at 10:38 AM