Hi All,

 

I posted this question on Dr. Harris' Panu blog and thought I would post it
here as well. Wanted to see what the opinions on this list are:

 

So I am still eating ZC because I am trying to get rid of this wicked fungal
and bacterial overgrowth I seem to have. A stool test showed overgrowth of
Klebsiella pneumonae and 4 strains of yeast. It also indicated that I have
zero growth of Lactobacillus and Bifido bacteria, sIgA too low, and short
chain fatty acid imbalance. I drink homemade sauerkraut juice, take
probiotics from www.customprobiotics.com, and also just started making and
drinking water kefir and coconut water kefir again. A follow-up test showed
that no Klebsiella was found (which I know doesn't necessarily mean it's
gone) but now there is an imbalance of staphylococcus aureus. They did not
find any overgrowth of yeast like they did in the last one but still NO
growth of Lactobacillus and Bifido bacteria. Also, on the first test in
March sIgA was 4.8 with normal range being 51 to 204 and on this test (done
3 weeks ago) sIgA dropped to 2.6. On both test I am lacking certain short
chain fatty acids and the pH in my colon is supposedly too high.

The rating for bacterial growth is 0 to 4+ and in March I had a 2+ of
Clostridium spp. listed under "Expected/Beneficial Flora" but my doctor said
Clostridia can be a bad thing. He put me on Culturelle because it is
supposed to help with Clostridia. On this last test the level of Clostridium
spp has gone from 2+ to 4+ and I don't know if that's good or bad. Have not
had a chance to discuss it with my doctor.

So I wonder if I need to add raw vegetables in order to re-populate my gut
with the good guys. I was reading some on the coolinginflammation blog and
came across this:

"Gut Flora Changes Slowly to New Foods (Polysaccharides)
Bacteria grow quickly and with ample nutrients gut bacteria can double in
number in about an hour. Bacterial species are usually defined by the
ability to utilize various carbohydrates or polysaccharides as nutrients.
Depending on the food eaten, nutrients favor the growth of particular
bacterial species and the gut flora population changes dynamically. New
species are incorporated into the gut flora only if they find their way into
the gut on food, e.g. riding on fresh, uncooked vegetables, and food
provides nutrients that can permit the new bacteria to grow. It will take
several meals for new bacteria to reach appreciable numbers. In the mean
time the new fiber may be partially degraded and produce chemicals that
disrupt other gut flora and cause bloating symptoms of food intolerance.
This is not an allergic reaction of the immune system. It just takes time
and persistence to permit the gut flora to adapt. Most people systematically
make themselves intolerant to particular foods by over-reacting to initial
maladaption of their gut flora to the new food. If they persisted with
progressive exposure to diverse foods, their gut flora would adapt."

Any thoughts on adding veggies to improve gut flora? Is it necessary? I like
eating ZC and it's definitely easier to maintain my weight on it. I am
continuing to deal with 24/7 abdominal distention that gets worse after I
eat - no matter what I eat. I went from a flat stomach with a 6-pack to 6
months pregnant looking one day November 2008 and it has stayed that way
unless I don't eat for several days. As soon as I start eating again, even
clear broth, it comes right back. Slow food transit time, undigested food
without using HCl (especially veggies, even WITH HCl, which makes me think I
should NOT add them), gain weight easily despite ZC, fatigue, coated tongue,
foul breath, fatigue, swollen eye lids when waking, hormonal imbalance,
craving fat, trouble concentrating, fluid retention (daily after I eat),
brain fog, and more.

Thanks,
Kristina

P.S. I have the two tests in a PDF if anybody wants to see them.