What does good bacteria eat

[Guest guest]

If bad bacteria eats carbs and sugars what does good bacteria eat? I just read an article by Body Ecology Diet stating that our good bacteria can die off if we are not eating well prepared grains. I don't know how this could be true, I'm quite certain the Eskimos had an ample supply of healthy gut flora. So does that mean our good bacteria live on more than just grains? Here is the article I mentioned: http://bodyecology.com/08/01/24/low_carb_work_against_probiotics.php

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Ugh - I would love for someone to address this.

I'm having a hard time deciding between BED and GAPS, to be honest.

They both make a lot of sense when I read the books.

Are BED's grains so important to health that they should be included?

Or is GAPS right in saying that any grain will cause yeast to

proliferate?

Maybe BED is right about honey? (Plus, can I really kick a sugar

addiction while still having honey?) But, gee, GAPS with its fruit

and honey is way easier than BED for a three-year-old!

*head spinning*

K.

>

> If bad bacteria eats carbs and sugars what does good bacteria eat?

I just read an article by Body Ecology Diet stating that our good

bacteria can die off if we are not eating well prepared grains. I

don't know how this could be true, I'm quite certain the Eskimos had

an ample supply of healthy gut flora. So does that mean our good

bacteria live on more than just grains?

>

> Here is the article I mentioned:

http://bodyecology.com/08/01/24/low_carb_work_against_probiotics.php

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

>

[Guest guest]

I am currently reading both books, BED and GAPS.I think GAPS is the way to go. I love Donna Gates but some of her conclusions are not based on science. Like the whole food combining thing and expanding and contracting foods.

Dr. McBride is a nutritionist and is actually treating kids in her clinic -- so I tend to trust her over Gates, who is essentially a layperson (correct me if I'm wrong on that -- she calls herself a nutrition consultant but I am not sure on her educational background). When I cured myself of candida (see a long-winded post I just wrote on discussingnt), I did have some grains in my diet but I did avoid wheat and all refined flours. I think I only ate rice and brown rice pasta and stuff like that. But even that is limited. And I am also not a child -- so perhaps not as sensitive? Not sure... I also did not suffer from leaky gut to a great extent. I think I was mostly suffering from candida and I caught it early enough (mid-20s) that it did not degenerate into a badly deteriorated gut wall -- which many of our children are born with. So I think we have to go to greater efforts to help our children heal.

I'm still learning about all of this but from what I have read, probiotics eat oligosaccharides, also known as prebiotics, which are found mainly in vegetables. Yes, they are found in some grains too but I bet you can get all you need from veggies and fruits. Problem with grains is that they are hard on the gut (even properly soaked) and if you are trying to heal a leaky gut, you have to avoid grains for a period of time.

" Plants with large amounts of oligosaccharides include chicory root, from

which most commercial inulin is extracted, and so-called Jerusalem

artichokes (the root of a member of the sunflower family). They are

also found in onions (and the rest of the " onion family " , including

leeks and garlic), legumes, wheat, asparagus, jicama, and other plant

foods. It is estimated that North Americans get about 1-3 grams

naturally in their diets each day, while Europeans get 3-10 grams. " http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/oligosaccharide.htm

The other reason I think GAPS is the way to go is because an elimination diet is critical to success in healing candida and leaky gut. This is because the yeast/fungus/parasites etc. that are proliferating in the digestive tract (and spread throughout the body) are causing auto-immune reactions. This is what causes food allergies! So as long as you keep eating something you are allergic to, the probiotics in our sytem are so busy fighting what they perceive as " invaders " , and they can't focus on their other jobs such as trying to heal the gut wall and trying to kill the yeast and parasites.

Ann MarieOn Jan 24, 2008 1:19 PM, mamatonoah <ldaviskelly@...> wrote:

Ugh - I would love for someone to address this.I'm having a hard time deciding between BED and GAPS, to be honest.They both make a lot of sense when I read the books.Are BED's grains so important to health that they should be included?

Or is GAPS right in saying that any grain will cause yeast toproliferate?Maybe BED is right about honey? (Plus, can I really kick a sugaraddiction while still having honey?) But, gee, GAPS with its fruit

and honey is way easier than BED for a three-year-old!*head spinning* K.

[Guest guest]

Oh and I should also note that my first 2-4 weeks or so of healing, I was on a strict elimination diet with NO grains of any kind (I followed the Yeast Connection Diet).Ann Marie

[Guest guest]

Thank you Ann Marie for all your thoughts and findings. Yes I would aggree that the BED diet just doesn't cut it. It seems like most of the time they are just trying to sell one of their many products. My friend spends so much on their products right now because they are so "encouraged" and she has seen no benefit so far. I'm sure there are some good things about the diet like eating fermented foods but I feel much better doing an elimination diet like you suggested. Vick inasnit@... wrote: I'm still learning about all of this but from what I have read, probiotics eat oligosaccharides, also known as prebiotics, which are found mainly in vegetables. Yes, they are found in some grains too but I bet you can get all you need from veggies and fruits.

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.

[Guest guest]

> I'm having a hard time deciding between BED and GAPS, to be honest.

> They both make a lot of sense when I read the books.

I think they probably both work. It's like taking 2 different paths

to get to the same destination. I have a friend who will tell you the

BED diet saved her life. She went from poor health and being

suicidal, to having energy and vitality (after a lot of work of course).

I started the BED diet with my family, and it lasted 2 weeks.

Withholding fruit from my 3 and 5 year old was like cruel and unusual

punishment for them.

I think, (not having any personal healing experience, or knowledge of

one with GAPS- YET??!!) that they are both good diets. They both are

very time consuming and restricting compared to the SAD. BUT-

hopefully it will be worth it, right? We also do a lot of fermented

foods from the BED. But, it's so much easier for my family to do the

GAPS diet.