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Initial uBiome Results

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/6/2014 5:15 AM (GMT 0)
Got my initial data of my microbiome from uBiome today. My bacterial make-up is quite strange. Here is the phylum level percentages:

Average % My %
Firmicutes: 63.84% 89.03%
Actinobacteria: 1.6% 5.08%
Bacteroidetes: 30.62% 3.13%
Proteobacteria: 2.31% 2.44%
Fusobacteria: 0.09% 0.07%
Verrucomicrobia: 0.69% 0.04%
Cyanobacteria: 0.23% 0.02%
Planctomycetes: 0% 0.01%
Spirochaetes: 0.01% 0.01%
Candidatus Saccharibacteria: 0% 0.01%
Synergistete: 0.02% 0.01%

Apparently I have a ton of Firmicutes which digest fats. Which is odd because I'm on a vegan diet, and I am extremely skinny. I also have a good bit more actinobacteria, which they say is common in people with UC.

On the genus level there are some pretty interesting finds. I have 20% Blautia compared to 7% average. Apparently Blautia is an indication of a healthy gut, so that's good I guess. I have some weird stuff that apparently like no one else has, like unidentified marine bacterioplankton, haha. I also have more lactobaccilus and bifidobacterium, yay probiotics working!

This is just the first roll out of data, so they still haven't done a lot of comparisons yet.

Post Edited (mumbles) : 3/5/2014 10:18:47 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/6/2014 10:44 AM (GMT 0)
Bacteroidetes: 30.62% 3.13%

way off there. what does that mean?
Posted 3/6/2014 2:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hey, that is somewhat similar to mine. I had like a huge portion of Firmicutes and almost no Bacteriodetes, and almost nothing of anything else. Recently I have formulated a treatment plan designed to decrease Firmicutes and increase Bacteriodetes and it has been working. I have had a totally amazing response to taking Grape Seed Extract (not Grapefruit Seed Extract). I don't think it will help everyone but for those with this particular gut bacteria makeup it might make a huge difference. It would be terrific if you were to decide to follow suit and see what happens in you. I order mine from Amazon. It is Olympian Labs, 400mg capsules. I started taking one per day and ever since upping it up to two per day, one in morning - one at night, I have had some miraculous results. I am soon planning on upping it to one capsule, three times per day.
Posted 3/6/2014 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
Mumbles, I was looking through your posts. Pleases describe that weird rash you referred to.
Posted 3/6/2014 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
how much does this cost?
Posted 3/6/2014 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Umm.. Are you a raw vegan or just a vegan? Last question.. How are your teeth and oral health?

Post Edited (PathogenKiller) : 3/6/2014 1:20:42 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/6/2014 8:09 PM (GMT 0)
Gary, did the steroid cream help?
Posted 3/6/2014 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Your Bact/Firm ratio REALLY stood out to me, so I was curious why:

1) Pulled this off MicrobeWiki:

In terms of vertebrates, including humans, zebrafish, mice, and pythons, most studies conducted support two hypotheses regarding fat absorption and the number of Firmicutes in the gut microbiota.

First hypothesis is that the number of Firmicutes was observed to be diet-dependent and positively correlated to the caloric intake of the vertebrate. In zebrafish and pythons, the proportions of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes fluctuated significantly according to whether it was fasting or being fed. The number of Firmicutes increased greatly after a meal. In humans, loss of body weight was proportionate to a decrease in the number of Firmicutes .

Second hypothesis is that the number of Firmicutes was found to be inversely proportional to the number of Bacteroidetes [6][7]. The number of Bacteroidetes was high during fasting, replacing the Firmicutes in the pythons ([7]. Similarly, the number of Firmicutes was notably higher than the number of Bacteroidetes in obese mice, and vice versa for the lean mice [6]. The composition of gut microbiota varies greatly with the obesity state of the organism, depicting a complex ecological relationship.

2) For a more human perspective on a biomedcentral study:

An association between reduced gut Bacteroidetes and Bact/Firm ratio with obesity in female Kazakh children was identified. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanism behind these changes as well as the value of determining their presence for predicting obesity.

If you say you are vegan, your gut microbes have to compensate and feed on all the calories from carbohydrates (and not the converse in fat soluble vitamins), leading to the high firm. count and lower bact. count. This is my guess on why the firm/bact ratio is so high (as per the data in the medical literature)

Out of curiousity, what is your BMI?
Posted 3/6/2014 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
My American Gut analysis cost $100.

Patho: Yes the steroid cream has helped quite a bit. I'm getting better and better every day. Not all the way there yet. I've also been using a blow dryer on the affected areas every day after I shower. I think that has been helping a lot too.
Posted 3/6/2014 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
I want to order this gut analysis for my DD. Do you guys suggest ubiome or from "American gut" ? Which one is better?
Posted 3/6/2014 9:54 PM (GMT 0)
from what Im seeing Id say Ubiome..
Posted 3/6/2014 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
@Gary: Is the grape seed extract proven to improve the amount of Bacteroidetes?

@Pathogen: I have an eczema-like rash. I am just vegan now. My dental health is pretty good, my front teeth chip somewhat easily, but I think that started before I was vegan. I supplement B12 and D vitamins about once a week.

@StealthGuardian: The thing is Firmicutes are the bacteria that break down fat, and bacteroidetes aren't as good at it. So it is somewhat backwards. I have more actinobacteria, however, which many of them break down complex carbs. Also most probiotics contain some actinobacteria, i.e. Bifidobacterium. My BMI is 17.2, far from obese.

@kamakya: uBiome is $89. You can also do other body sites if you are interested for added price. So far I'm pretty happy, there is a lot of data. I am glad that they went down to genus level, instead of just phyla. Plus they are going to look more at trends, and see where you fit in, instead of just kinda a wall of percents as it is now.
Posted 3/6/2014 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
I investigated on the internet and found where it both decreases Firmicutes and increases Bacteriodetes. That's why I decided to give it a try. Sorry, don't think I saved any links. It has made a very obvious difference in my UC. The other day I went 19 straight hours with no BM's. Most days I get at least a 12 hour period, if not more. Wasn't like that before the Grape Seed Extract.
Posted 3/6/2014 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm, interesting. It looks pretty good for you, and cheap. Might have to pick some up. I usually have 1-2 BMs in the morning and 2-3 at night. I am pretty comfortable where I'm at symptom wise, but I could always be a little better.
Posted 3/7/2014 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
were you raw vegan when you took the test.. Im trying to see what may be transitory in your list. one of the things they IDed is Candidatus Saccharibacteria or Candidate Division TM7 stands out.
jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/57/12/1569.full

What were the names of your rare stuff?

Post Edited (PathogenKiller) : 3/6/2014 5:07:07 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/7/2014 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
I was not raw vegan when I took the test. Also my BMs were a little less solid at the time of the test; I may have been slightly flaring.

As for rare genus I have .24% Klebsiella, while the average is 0%. Other rare ones: Aggregatibacter .09%, 0%/ Actinobacillus .09%, 0%.
Then I have a bunch of ones where the average is 0%, but I have like .01% they are:
Desulfotomaculum, salmonella, leuconostoc, gallibacterium, capnocytophaga, bdellovibro, filifactor, arthobacter, poloromanas, schlesneria, and aminobacterium. However, since they are such a small amount, I doubt they really contribute much to the microbiome.
Posted 3/7/2014 8:26 AM (GMT 0)
So, once you get the test results are you able to make adjustments to get the bacteria levels to the right level where they should be? How do you do that....supplements? Food? How do you know what to do to get the bacteria level to the normal level? And has it helped to make significant DISEASE IMPROVEMENT?
Posted 3/7/2014 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
I dunno, I see a lot of interesting things there.. Klebsiella is definitely interesting.. But even things that aren't significant in number can cause issues if they simply are not supposed to be there.

You have a lot of oral bacteria in your stool.. It seems like maybe your stomach acid is weak... What kind of water are you drinking? Well or tap? Sorry for all the questions but I really appreciate the answers.
Posted 3/8/2014 6:25 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah maybe.

I don't know, maybe I drink too much water when I eat? I drink tap, haha. Usually filtered.
Posted 3/8/2014 12:10 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting! I don't know much about the results but wanted to say thanks for posting. Ive wanted to do the America Gut Project but couldn't because I'm Canadian, but I am able to do this one, just ordered my test!

It is interesting that you and Gary both have the increased firmicutes. Apparently they do mouth swabs as well, I wonder if that would be worth you looking into mumbles, since you have oral bacteria in your stool? I was tempted to do all 5 body tests, but I'm going to start with the one for now.
Posted 3/8/2014 1:30 PM (GMT 0)
How long ago did you submit your sample? I sent one in in November and am waiting for my results. I am considering ordering a second kit with a mouth swab as well just to compare the results.
Posted 3/8/2014 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
With American Gut it took probably about six months to get my results back. When I did it they were accepting and wanting samples from all over the world.
Posted 3/8/2014 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, so does that mean this is bacteria from your mouth and stool? That makes a little more sense.
Posted 3/8/2014 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
My sample was stool only but they do several different kinds of tests depending on what you want tested and how much money you want to spend.
Posted 3/11/2014 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
just got mine this morning:
I wasn't sure If I should post this in the old thread or start a new one, so I am doing both...
My results came in, here is the basic breakdown. FYI-This was from early November when I was still flaring moderately and was on 4 lialda a day, probiotics and hydro-cortisone enemas every other day (although this sample was taken on a "off" day)

Firmicutes
63.77% - Average
56.19% - me
Bacteroidetes
30.69% - Average
35.49% - me
Actinobacteria
1.64% - Av
6.12% - me
Proteobacteria
2.29% - Av
2.07% - me
Cyanobacteria
0.24% - Av
0.01% - me
Verrucomicrobia
0.68% - Av
0.01% - me
Fibrobacteres
0% - Av
0.01% - me
Chlorobi
0% - Av
< 0.01% - me
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