IBD [1] as well but I guess that association is more obvious :)
My hope is that ankylosing spondylitis, which has a significant genetic overlap with crohns and UC (combined referred to as IBD) and they have significant incidence overlap, may also be treated or at least ameliorated through the microbiome.
My larger hope is that all autoimmune diseases can be treated via the microbiome. All the current autoimmune treatments we have are blunt objects targeting major pieces of the immune system with very undesirable side effects.
What kinds of things do you do personally to promote a healthy microbiome and/or combat IBD?
I’ve really been experimenting with my diet in the past few years to improve my running which I just started about 5 years ago. At one point when I was really focused on my microbiome (to the best of my ability with limited knowledge), i experienced changes that made me realize I’d kind of always unknowingly had some symptoms of Chron’s, and I only realized it when they went away. I have long since adapted my diet losing focus on promotion of a healthy microbiome and these symptoms have returned. Coincidentally at the time I was also taking creatine (not as part of my focus on the microbiome) and I subsequently read some antecdotes (no formal studies) of people with Chron’s who got benefits from creatine. But I feel I had similar benefits as they described, only I haven’t previously got them with creatine when on different diets.
Another anecdote I wanted to share, there’s a famous retired UFC fighter, GSP, who got UC and has been very outspoken about it and his recovery (you can find multiple interviews on youtube). He has really found success with intermittent fasting and time restricted eating. I’m not sure if they have formally studied it in humans but there have been formal studies on mice and the benefit of fasting and their microbiome. One really cool study they did was they fasted mice to promote more brown fat, they then transplanted the fasted mice microbiomes into non fasted mice and they too began recruiting more brown fat, that’s mice but it’s amazing to think you can possibly transfer some of the benefits of fasting to nonfasted people through a microbiome transfer.
I had no idea GSP had UC. Personally? I don't think I do enough, but when I'm fully adhering to my own protocol, I:
-Don't drink alcohol
-Follow a paleo-autoimmune protocol (with the inclusion of white rice). I can't promise it works but I encourage self experimentation. There's been research around SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) and GAPS diet which you may want to look into because of its effects on crohn's (somewhat researched).
-I eat fermented foods (no affiliation to the company, but I eat from realpickles.com [seriously no affiliation, just sharing where I get from])
-Because my joints are in pain, I can't exercise much so I do pilates. Kinda funny, 26 year old male with a bunch of ladies in their 60's, they find it funny and so do I
-Try to sleep enough and meditate for stress levels.
-I intermittently fast, but not through much effort. I just skip breakfast which naturally leads to ~6-8 hr feeding window.
What kinds of things do you do personally to promote a healthy microbiome
I'm very picky about the types of fats and oils I consume.
Coconut oil does good things for gut flora. It is high in medium triglycerides, a form of fat/oil that has long been medically recommended for serious gut issues, such as stomach cancer and cystic fibrosis.
I'm a butter fiend. I also avoid a long list of oils that wreak havoc on my system, most notably peanut oil.
The gut is lined with mucus. Salt is a major component of mucus. High quality salt can do good things for gut health.
"Glyconutrients" have helped some people with gut issues. It's a fancy term for the right kind of carbs.
When they changed the formulation of the glyconutrient supplement I was taking (added an ingredient I'm allergic to), I found that aloe vera did about 50 to 80 percent as much good. I eventually found another ingredient that had been in the glyconutrient supplement and thereafter was okay without it.
These day, I mostly rely on potatoes as my source for carbs that help me. I have always been a potato fiend.
Also, high acidity is problematic for the gut. Eating an alkaline diet helps with gut issues.
I didn't have specific issues previously, but started doing 12-hour(sometimes longer) fasts relatively recently and have found that even this "skip breakfast, finish dinner earlier" version of fasting does have some kind of positive effect on digestion. And its impact on lifestyle is very minimal which makes it easy to follow.
> may also be treated or at least ameliorated through the microbiome.
I know that doctors wanted to try out stool transplants quite a few years ago to see if it would improve crohns. Maybe there are studies like that for Bechterew as well.
My hope is that ankylosing spondylitis, which has a significant genetic overlap with crohns and UC (combined referred to as IBD) and they have significant incidence overlap, may also be treated or at least ameliorated through the microbiome.
My larger hope is that all autoimmune diseases can be treated via the microbiome. All the current autoimmune treatments we have are blunt objects targeting major pieces of the immune system with very undesirable side effects.
[1] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/05/new-findings-...