Gut expert revealed how a poo transplant could improve your health and treat previously incurable infections.
Dr Will Bulsiewicz, from South Carolina, who is known for his exploration of the relationship between the gut microbiome and plant-based nutrition joined Steven Bartlett on The Diary Of A CEO podcast to speak about gut health.
Faecal microbiota transplants (FMT), also called a stool or poo transplant, involves collecting faeces from a healthy person, which is then treated in a lab before being transferred to patients. It is already available on the NHS to a handful of patients.
Bulsiewicz revealed that gut microbiome plays a key role in people who suffer with depression, because 95 percent of the ‘happy hormone’ is produced in the gut.
He added: ‘It controls your cognition, your memory, and energy levels. By improving gut health you are less likely to die of heart disease and less likely to be diagnosed with multiple types of cancer.’
Gut expert Dr Will Bulsiewicz, from South Carolina, revealed how a poo transplant could improve your health
The doctor claimed we are currently living through ‘an epidemic of gut health issues and claimed that poo transplants could be the answer.
The fecal transplant involves collecting faeces from a healthy donor, then scientists filter it to remove undigested food and other particles. It is then tested for diseases before being frozen and then transferred to the patient.
This is usually done via a colonoscopy, which involves a medic guiding a tube through the rectum and into the intestines.
The transplant can also be done via a tube inserted into the nose, which is guided down to the intestines or it can be turned into capsules.
FMT is available on the NHS for treating diarrhoea caused by the Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) bacteria and symptoms of ulcerative colitis — a condition that causes the colon and rectum to become inflamed.
Speaking on the podcast Bulsiewicz said: ‘There are a couple of ways, the way I would administer is the patient comes in for a colonoscopy, they are completely asleep, they are not aware of anything that is happening and during the procedure I release this stuff, it’s a liquid, it’s not as gross as it sounds. It’s a tube up the butt.
‘The new technology that has been developed mean they can actually dry out the stool and put it into capsules, you have to take a ton of capsules in order to do this, but it is an alternative choice.’
Bulsiewicz went onto explain that scientists are actually collecting poo from tribal people due to their healthy gut microbiome.
He said: ‘We need to identify who are the proper donors for this and to run clinical trials to prove that it will work but this is a super probiotic.
Dr Will joined Steven Bartlett (pictured) on The Diary Of A CEO podcast to speak about gut health
Holding up a fake stool sample, which is Type 4 on the Bristol study chart, he said: ‘The dream’
‘Some people who are in this space are worried about the way the world is going in terms of microbes.
‘There has been this great extinction event that has taken place were many species of animals are dying, microbial scientists are worried, because the same thing is happening on a microbial level.
‘So if you were to compare our microbiome as westerners to a person who lives in a more primitive environment in Africa, we have half the microbes then they do.
‘So what these scientists are saying is what if, those microbes that you find in those people, what if we need them, what if we have evolved and they are required for us?
‘So they are creating a bank were they are collecting these poop samples from primitive tribal people and saving them in the event that the only way back is to take the poop from these people are create super probiotics.’
Bulsiewicz said you can find out if your gut is healthy by just looking at your poo. Referring to the Bristol stool scale, he explained what your poop should look like.
Bulsiewicz said you can find out if your gut is healthy by just looking at your poo, referring to the Bristol stool scale, he explained what your poop should look like
He said: ‘The Bristol study was 2000 people exclusively in the city of Bristol, the largest study across the entire UK on poop and what were doing in terms of their bowel movements.
‘One in five people in the UK are constipated, one in six people have diarrhea.’
Holding up a fake stool sample, which is Type 4 on the Bristol study chart, he said: ‘The dream.’
‘This is where we all want be, it’s soft and formed, it’s like a sausage and it’s pretty smooth.
‘We found associations between fiber intake and and a plant based diet to have a number four.
‘People who were having a number four consumed more legumes, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables.’
Recommending a healthy gut diet Bulsiewicz said people should add more fruits, fermented fruits, greens, wholegrains, omega 3 fats, legumes, mushrooms and seaweed.
.
