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Sauerkraut and Cellulose

979 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Nojokeibs 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
How have I been lately? Better. I've found something that works for me. If it helps you too, then great. When I was here last, I was making vegetable shakes and pastes because I was not absorbing vitamins from fruits and vegetables. Someone here suggested we weren't made to digest cellulose and I should "chew better". That struck me as illogical since we're obviously meant to eat veggies. But I had nothing to say to that, nothing concrete except a feeling that it was wrong. I'm not much for just throwing my voice at someone, so I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything to say. Now there is. Who the person was is irrelevant. The purpose of posting this blog post is to share what I've learned, and definitely not to shame anyone.

If I know anything, I know that this area of science is in its infancy and we're all on our own to figure out what's best for us if we delve here. Anyone who dares share an opinion in this part of science is taking a risk because there are so many unknowns. In this post I will be talking a lot as if I know things I don't. That's the nature of unfinished research. If uncertainty makes you nervous, don't read. I've also been thinking about this a lot, so maybe I'm sometimes referring to things that are obvious to me, but confusing to someone who doesn't live in my brain. Feel free to point out where this is happening. Messing with gut flora is at best a journey, at worst a mad science experiment.

The Ideal Gut Flora would be like this:

If you have a body bursting with good bacterias, yeasts and those unknown things called arcahaea, then you've probably healthy. These started coming to visit and taking up residence right after you were born and each new community taught your immune system how to react to invaders, and how to tolerate non-invaders (the probiotics). The word probiotic just means it's something that isn't a pathogen TO YOU RIGHT NOW, and that it IS HELPING YOU DIGEST SOMETHING, usually some kind of carbohydrate, including most types of fiber.

OR... it is a bacteria/yeast/whatever, that is protecting you from pathogens such as vaginal bacteria protecting you from man-cooties, dirty toilet seats, and those mornings when you miss and step on your underwear before putting it on. The function of probiotics is to protect you, and in the gut, it's also to digest your food for you.

Some people would have you believe that fiber can't be digested. It must be chewed up. Not true. You can find articles like this in Pubmed, but honestly it's not a subject that is much studied:
http://gut.bmj.com/content/25/8/805.full.pdf

Cellulose can be and is broken down in the gut, but only partially. How much is dependent on how much lignin is in it and your flora. It is mostly digested only if you have the right probiotics ideally already living inside you and they're living happy and well fed by prebiotics... The idea that only cows can digest cellulose is myth and one that fits nicely into the marketing plans of diets like Paleo/Primal. The truth is that we can digest cellulose just fine, if we have the right bacteria to help us. It makes no sense to suggest eating greens and then say that we can't digest cellulose. It leads to people making veggie shakes (which is what I was doing before I figured all this out).

Prebiotics are those things listed in the FODMAPS list, but also cellulose and other fibers. This is why you can swallow a bit of lettuce whole and it doesn't come out whole again at the "other end" - at least not if you have the right gut bacteria. It should be a warning sign if it does. Your helpful flora should be breaking down the cellulose so you can access the vitamins inside the plant cell walls (made of cellulose). This causes gas, but it should again ideally NOT BE ENOUGH TO HURT. Ideally you should have methanogens, sulphate reducers and acetobacters to help reduce the initial gas down to a smaller volume of gas. The proof for this is from the research of the Monash university itself (the originators of the Low FODMAP Diet):
http://www.med.monash.edu.au/ehcs/docs/benefitsofh2testingafterlactulose.pdf

In the introduction they describe what would be "normal" for the gut to do with hydrogen, that's what I'm referring to. But there is much more research into sulphate-reducing bacteria, some of it even claims that H2S is harmful, but I've read in many places that people say that if their ahem.. doodoo doesn't stink, they feel worse... hydrogen sulfide is what causes the rotten egg odor of gas and poop. My own theory is that if the poo smells, it means I'm not in pain because there is less gas, I can put up with smelly gas as long as it leads to good digestion and it's painless.

This brings me to an interesting point. "You mean, your poo doesn't stink?" It's a cultural joke meant to poke fun at snobby people who "act like their sh+t doesn't stink." But this can literally be true. A body can become odorless with a vegan diet and periodic fasting (from my own experience I know this is true). Mot people would say that's a good thing because it is socially acceptable. But eat one FODMAP in this condition and OUCH!!! The hydrogen loving bacterias that use that high-volume gas are missing and while you might be enjoying a hiatus from the need for deodorant, you're now dicing with danger whenever you eat. So it's true, fasting is dangerous, but not in the same way that we always thought. It can starve out bacterias that we need to digest our food.

Regardless of how you lost your flora or your flora
became "messed up," something has to put those bacterias
back where they belong, but what?

You don't have to take my word for this. There is a fellow with Crohn's who runs a science show on youtube who sums it up pretty well here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABeBqbBy2Lo

... and the current status of our knowledge of all the helpful germs that live in us is cataloged in the Human Microbiome Project here:
http://commonfund.nih.gov/hmp/index

That's my summary of what we know about the ideal way our flora SHOULD operate. Or at least what I understand of it so far.

What if it's not Ideal right now?

Obviously in this post I'm going to push probiotics. But I'm going farther than saying "pick one that works for you" I'm going to try and explain my rationale for why sauerkraut worked so well for me. For years, literally decades, I'd been drinking kefir and/or eating yogurt, and/or taking probiotics and it helped, sure. But it wasn't a total revolution like sauerkraut was. I think the milk-based probiotics are good for preventing intestinal infection, or even recovering from it, but what I really needed were the exact bacteria that break down vegetable matter and fiber.

Think about it: What causes gas, bloating, pain, and most of the IBS symptoms? Those things that are classed "fiber" (inulin, FOS, cellulose...) and carbohydrates (especially grains, in fact Monash U. was using wheat in the early days of their research as their surefire FODMAP until they realized it could be a confounder because people could be intolerant of wheat). So why are we suggesting using milk based probiotics to solve this? Just ferment some veggies and go!

Not that probiotics from yogurt don't help. But they have to learn to use the carbs from fiber and veggies/fruits before they can help us. They can teach themselves new tricks, that's what bacteria do. But they aren't instantly adapted to doing it, like the probiotics in sauerkraut and/or other fermented vegetables or fruits. I'd also extend that to soudough bread, but I'm honestly too scared yet to try it.

Maybe after some months have gone by and my gut is very happy, I will make my own homemade gluten free sourdough bread, perhaps a sourdough version of Ezekiel that is also wheat free... but right now, I'm too cautious yet. It is, however, my goal to be capable of fully digesting EVERYTHING someday. Even wheat. I will recover my body, or die trying. I hate being paranoid that I'll eat something and get sick. I'm doing this to recover my normalcy.

Sources of vegetable and fruit based germs: grapes have a community of funguses and bacterias as long as they have not been irradiated, sauerkraut (fermented, live, raw, may be purchased from Whole Foods in the USA, though other places may also have it), for those more adventurous and not gluten intolerant there are recipes for "rejuvelac" on the Internet which is a fermented grain mash made with wheat or rye, Homemade kombucha is another option - the store kind is full of not yet fermented sugar - it should be like vinegar if it's "done" not sweet.

And the GAPS diet, although I don't follow it, is an excellent source for recipes of homemade fermented vegetables and foods of all kinds. Youtube has some videos for making various kinds of fermented foods, but I'd warn that I've found some videos to be very shallow on instructions, and food safety is important when you're fermenting something. Generally, you should always cover your fermenting food with a terry towel to allow for gas to escape and yet exclude any gnats that may be flying around. I personally don't make fermented food in the kitchen because I think it is too close to the sink drain (an area I can't really clean). The best fermentations I've done were in the living room, though it means putting up with a small amount of odor whenever you open it to check. Any food that contains carbohydrates can be fermented, even beans. In fact, fermenting beans reduces those "phytates" that people scare you about. Sourdough bread has much less of all the "bad" qualities of grains, and I plan to try it one day when I feel confident with my gut.

Need another reason to love sauerkraut? Because it can provide acetylcholine directly where it is needed for people like me who have slow motility. My results with it are that food moves faster through my body, but not at a diarrhea level. Previously it might take 3 days to get food to go from stomach to exit. Now it takes about a day, that's a huge improvement. And the formation is much better. Previously if you didn't know me any better, you'd wonder if I had some kind of stricture, but I didn't, I had a deficiency of good bacteria is what I had. A resource for acetylcholine and sauerkraut (though just googling that will provide info):
http://mic.sgmjourna.../3/279.full.pdf

Other options for "what if it's not ideal?" are of course available. Some people do use fecal transplant for IBS, and assuming that the person you're getting it from has these bacterias, then you'll recover. If you're not ready for that option, then I used to do probiotic enemas before I stopped doing enemas altogether. I don't exclude the idea that maybe I would do a probiotic one again if I thought it necessary. If I hated the flavor of all fermented foods, I might go that route. But only as a way to start it up. I'd keep working on finding a fermented food I liked. Taking probiotic supplements is helpful too, but they're just so limited. I don't mean that 30 billion bacteria is limited, I mean it's not a complete community of vegetable eating bacterias that you're taking in. It's better than nothing, but for me, it's just a start. And they were probably grown on milk, so I'm not sure how fast they'll start working, and they may not be the type that break down cellulose.

So basically, this worked for me and I have reason to believe it will work for others. It isn't without risk, but neither is the latest drug, or even crossing a busy street. You take the risks that seem to hold rewards for you. My current plan is to keep going in this direction and maintain a good population of varied bacterias. Even though I eat ketogenically (see my previous blog post), it's still important to eat the right carbohydrates and on a limited diet like keto, it's vital that I shouldn't be limited to only the Low FODMAP carbohydrate foods. That's too much limiting. I'll eat a peach if I feel like it.

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