Make sure you are not eating when reading this

[TheArtfulDogger]

Just watching food unwrapped and they are discussing the concept of fecal transplant http://thefecaltransplantfoundation.org/what-is-fecal-transplant/ basically taking a healthy donors "poo" extracting certain Bactria from it then transplanting it into the guts of someone who needs or thinks they need it...

At multiple thousands for a course someone is taking the piss in my opinion, however I bet there are brave souls in East Dulwich who have tried it....

The world is a weird place...

[Seabag]

Ignore your gut health at your peril Dogger

The world (of yours) is a weird place

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/magazine/can-the-bacteria-in-your-gut-explain-your-mood.html

[siousxiesue]

As with selling blood, you can also sell your number 2's in the States.

[Jules-and-Boo]

I watched that. The lady (receiver) was given a fecal transplant - after an illness - from her daughter who has a genetic obesity strand and it transferred this gene structure to the mother and she became obese.

It was looking at the impact of good gut bacteria on body shape.

Really interesting.

[TheArtfulDogger]

I agree, it was an interesting program, and so was the areas they covered where useful including the effects of miso soup on appetite..

The transplant was weird in terms of why would anyone invent it in the first place, and also that they said it was still an area not fully researched so in my mind a bit of an out there treatment at the moment...

I guess I was glad I wasn't eating a late supper last night and it's not something I want to receive.

Seabag, I agree look after your gut bacteria and they will look after you but it is a case of s good balanced diet that helps with that and not the latest fad or diet supplement that will do it for you.

[JohnL]

Stomach issues are horrible - and associated with mental illness. (the intestine is linked to the brain apparently)

[tomskip]

I know someone whose elderly father, who has a recurrent c-dif infection which keeps landing him back in hospital, is going to have one of these transplants. The donor had to be a close family member ... not sure why. But, anyway, it's not all about vanity, this is an attempt to save an old man's life.

[tomskip]

Just watched the whole programme - fascinating.

[tasha1]

I was advised to have this a few years ago. Repeated courses of antibiotics for recurrent chest infections had left me with severe gut issues. I was throwing up constantly and it was to do with the fact that my 'good' gut bacteria had been killed off by the antibiotics. It was miserable. They (gastroenterologist at Kings) wanted my eldest son (who is an adult) to be the donor as he was fit and healthy. It's more likely to work if it's a very close blood relative and they are non smokers etc. It would have been the first one at Kings and there was a lot of red tape to get through before they could proceed. It didn't happen in the end as luckily things resolved themselves. The very idea was pretty disgusting but when you can't go anywhere without a bucket in tow ,you'll do anything!

[uncleglen]

I wonder if humans ever had the ability to benefit from this:

http://www.calicavycollective.com/2011/11/its-normal-for-guinea-pigs-to-eat-their.html

Humans and guinea pigs are similar in that they do not produce their own vitamin C and have to get it from their diet, unlike other animals