I’d encourage you to make time to watch the Gut Health Masterclass course if you haven’t already. In there I dive deep into how digestion works, how it dysfunctions, how it connects to the rest of the body, and practical solutions for each stage of digestion.

In the meantime, here’s a video on the triggers and causes of leaky gut.

Butyrate is a a type of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) we can consume and produce in the colon. Here’s the short video that explains how we produce butyric acid in the colon, and what happens when dysfunction in the colon happens like leaky gut.

Butyrate is produced by bacteria in our colon when they ferment carbs (mostly soluble fiber) which nourishes the colon and is believed to be the most anti-inflammatory SCFA.

If low, we can increase butyrate production by supporting our microbiome health through fermented foods and/or probiotic supplements when needed.

We can also increase it with larch gum (arabinogalactan) and other fibrous additions like psyllium husk, but again – those with IBS/SIBO will want to correct their dysbiosis first and go slow on having too much fiber initially.

Hi  have you seen the “Allergy/Sensitivity” handout in the Symptom Dictionary for possible root causes?

We also have a protocol here with rapid relief solutions for allergies and congestion that you can consider trying with supplement and dosage recommendations.

Please take a look and let me know if you have any other clarifying questions. Hope this helps.

 Daniel provided excellent insights. Dr. Lilya Chub at Hope Health & Healing is an integrative MD who works with children so she uses her knowledge in conventional and functional medicine when needed.

retinol is the better form. Biotics Research also have a good one called Bio-Ae which is the one I have.

 promised to check in with you on Friday about making a decision… I gave you a few extra days. Have you heard back from insurance and Sean regarding re-approvals and extra costs? Are you more convinced with your decision and way forward now?

 it’s best taken on an empty stomach for better efficacy. The dosage is also correct as indicated on their bottle. There are several studies showing up to 4g of mastic gum being used to eradicate H Pylori if you search “mastic gum helicobacter” in Pubmed.

 both Apex and Seeking Health are good brands

 correct, both sublingual and liquid forms are better absorbed. It boils down to personal preference. The downside to these forms is they’ll often have to add “other ingredients” to make it taste good compared to capsule form so it’s a tradeoff.

It’s also difficult to find a B complex in lozenge form. I’ve recommended  B12 lozenges by Design’s for Health and Seeking Health’s Hydrox B12 before.

In liquid form, I’ve recommended QuickSilver’s Liposomal Methyl B-Complex before but I don’t like the B6 Pyridoxine form which needs to be converted to P5P form.

 I’m not sure what type of doctors they’ve seen, but if a child is not speaking by 4, proper tests to assess this type of development delay should be conducted. It’s hard to give you any guidance without knowing any other details about this child, but if I were them, I’d want to consult with a speech therapist and get an Educational Psychological Assessment Report done.

 put it in the freezer if it was in the fridge. Should help delay the release of oils. Yes, it’s normal.

 it can feel VERY lonely constantly seen as the “odd” one. It gets tiring, even for us functional practitioners. But I’ve learned to put side blinders on and keep following what my heart knows to be true. I need this community just as much as all of you too! ❤️

my clients have had success with Matula tea when there’s an overgrowth

they each have a different mechanism of action. Pyloguard is a probiotic strain shown to be effective in controlling the levels of H Pylori. Think of a security guard ushering out the bullies. This is in capsule form.

Matula tea is a mix of herbs with antimicrobial action. It’s a tea.

YES – thank you Daniel!! There are no bad or silly questions.

And I’d like to add that if you prefer to remain anonymous in the community, you can always change your profile name and use an alias instead. Here’s a quick tutorial how to do that.

 I never heard of that before, so can’t confirm. My boys have dentist appointments today at Dr. Roze so I’ll be sure to ask as well.

You can test for H Pylori with a doctor using a breath test (considered gold standard), but I’ve often seen false negatives. I also don’t like that it’s not quantitative. It’s either positive or negative. The PCR H Pylori stool test by Diagnostic Solutions however does quantify the result so it’s easier to track progress when re-testing. We can help provide the requisition for that if you’re interested. Just email support@bernadetteabraham.com and provide your contact details; full name, email, date of birth, phone number, shipping/billing address if different.