"Gut Flora" Now Going Mainstream As It Should -- Huff Post

I don't often read Huff Post.    I used to, and used to participate in numerous discussions.   Of course Huff Post is as slanted far left as you can get, that is not me.    So I tried to have discussion, and understand positions.    It was pretty useless, maybe only 1 person of 100 would even consider facts that I brought to the table.

But in researching the "Russia Did It" meme I ran across some interesting stuff at Huff.

It's title leans heavy on the "New Years Resolution Diet" and the idea that you may fail...not because it's your fault....but because you just have the wrong bacteria in your gut. 

Your Microbiome May Determine Whether Your Diet Succeeds Or Fails

It's a good article, because it is bringing important information to the forefront, mainstream.   But as with all scientific documents I have searched, it falls far short of providing specific actionable information.  

One of the cited authors appears to push her "plant based food" agenda, saying:
“When you look at populations that eat real food that’s high in fiber, and more plant-based foods, you’re going to see they have a more robust microbiota, with more genetic diversity, healthier species and fewer pathogenic bacteria living in the gut

So it's the "fiber" push --- which is fine, but comes without any justification.   

And "no one" knows how long corrective actions will take.     Or how much "fermented foods" are needed.

LOL "Even I" the Nukepro, do not know how much pro-biotic foods are "necessary".   I do try to eat 3 pro-biotic things almost every day.    Specifically, actively fermented stuff, not just "high fiber vegetables".

This article says that stress can alter your gut flora, decreasing good bacteria, and increasing bad, with a negative affect on the immune system.

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110321094231.htm

 And this decidedly more scientific study link gut flora and mental health.    Is there anything good gut flora cannot do?

Fermented foods, microbiota, and mental health: ancient practice meets nutritional psychiatry

 http://jphysiolanthropol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1880-6805-33-2

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Then we touch on the related issue "Pre-biotics" just throwing that out there, and not schooled up on it yet.

What should be clear is that America, with one of the worst diets in the world, which allows far more types of GMO, GE, pesticides and herbicides than many countries, has lousy health, absurd health care costs, and poor results.

The average life span in USA is now decreasing.    At what point, if ever, do we reach a tipping point, a point of DISGUST in which effective action will occur on a large scale?

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Heres a good one that starts with a strong statement

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24336217/

Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome.

But looking at the data, we see a very limited study of only 4 days of diet, and the 2 groups were either strictly plant or strictly animal based.    An obvious 3rd group to study would be a diet based plants and animals and supplemented by 3 types of pro-biotic fermented foods.

 

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And here is a weak at best quote

Much of the composition of the microbiome is established early in life, shaped by forces like your genetics and whether you were breast-fed or bottle-fed 

 Sheesh, of course for the baby, that is true.    But the implication is that your gut flora is then pretty much set for life, and nothing is further from the truth.    Nor do I believe genetics has much to do with it.     It's shameful writing, without understanding.

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/well/eat/a-gut-makeover-for-the-new-year.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront