African vs Europe children gut bacteria

Interesting study.

They indicate that diet has a dominant role in shaping the gut microbiota.

Old Mike

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/33/14691.full.pdf

Post Edited (Old Mike) : 7/31/2012 10:23:03 AM (GMT-6)

Lodi: Your right there is a hugh difference in the type of bacteria in the African gut, they also produce lots of short chain fatty acids which are protective for IBD and there is also little IBD in these populations.

There is also a vitamin D connection to UC,but mega doses never helped me.

Again you are right, with the adoption of a western diet
the incidence of IBD is places like Japan and Korea is increasing. But of course in could be something else in an industrial society besides diet,better hygiene,antibiotic use,a million other things,the docs can only guess.
Old Mike

My vit D levels are back in a good range now. I just happened to be getting my levels checked for a couple/few years before I started bleeding. I didn't really notice or comprehend that my levels were falling...I was out in the sun and supplementing a bit the same as always. I paid attention to the lab result after I was bleeding. It was down in the low 20s. I think I was at 55 three years before. I can't help but wonder if there is something here.

My theory is that normal vit D level will help with prevention, but that's because it's allowing your body to do what it needs to. So, by my theory, good vit D levels should help our bodies battle the disease process. Large doses wouldn't necessarily be better.

If it's a disease that's associated with low vit D, then it could also be correlated with processed food since there is less fresh food for a shorter amount of time, available the more north you go.

Anyhow, I appreciate the feedback.

Scarecrow, has your doctor ever gave you his thoughts, or shared what kind of things they were looking at? I'm also curious if you ever have flares now that you are on herbs. I don't have a ton of understanding about Chinese medicine, but I think they treat you as a person, as opposed to a symptom? Would you be willing to share what your diet is too?

I am African American and just recently diagnosied with IBD.  I must say that I feel horrible (trying the SCD diet currently).  But looking back on how I was raised, my diet consisted of greens, chicken, fish cornbread.  We never ate much dairy or gluten.  We started cooking for myself, I started cooking pastas, dishes with cheese and went far, far away from how I was raised.  I suspect that these changes may have something to do with my current state of health.  I am on Asacol 2400 mg a day for 6 weeks then I'm supposed to reduce it from there.  I am watching my diet (no dairy, or gluten).  Actually, most everyting bothers my digestive system with the exception of a few things.  I am also taking probiotics and an multivitamin by Metagenics.  Just a thought

I am a black African from South Africa. UC is more prevalent in South Africa than any other African country. I believe that the reason for this is because South Africa is the biggest economy in Africa and also the most westernised African nation. Most Africans in south Africa's big cities have a western diet. McDonalds is big business in S.A

Black South Africans consume large amount of potato fries and this is the problem. Potato glycoalkaloids adversely affect intestinal permeability and aggravate inflammatory bowel disease. See link below

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12479649

My Doctor is Indian and he told me that UC is also spreading in the big cities in India especially among the youth who consume food from American fast food outlets like McDonalds.

Scarecrow, thanks for the response. That's really interesting. Do you restrict your diet with the herbal concentrates? The concentrates are made just for you, I would suppose, and not some kind of UC formula?

Asatis cooling sent me into extreme cramps 10-15 years ago,but thats me.
I will never touch the stuff again.
Old Mike

Sorry, I wrote that down wrong. I take 4000mg per day orally. I started with headaches on the lower dose though.


Does anyone know why the headaches? I don't understand if this medication isn't supposed to be systemic, why one gets side effects that aren't in the bowel? (ha, maybe my brain IS in my a**). Why, the medication information says to inform your doctor or pharmacist if you develop headaches or abdominal pain but the doc just ignores it and the pharmacist doesn't have an answer as to why that would be a concern. THEN, they have the nerve to roll their eyeballs at you when you tell them you're looking on the internet for information. Grrrrrr