Some might appreciate the fact that the human body and its entire configuration from the order of the organs to the digestive tract are biological extraction machines. An assembly line evolved over millions of years, to have as input natural whole foods and as output homeostatic health.

That’s why industrial highly processed foods are so bad for health. They bypass our entire system because the industrial machines from the manufacturer have done the processing work, which should have been done by our bodies. A peculiarity of being a biological unwrapping machine is that in nature you eat the wrapping around your food instead of throwing it away. And that wrapping is called "fiber", the supporting tissue and cell walls that hold together and constitute natural foods, be it food as plants or animals.

75% of the food in the Western diet is of limited or no benefit to the microbiota in the lower gut. Most of it comprised specifically of refined carbohydrates, is already absorbed in the upper part of the GI tract, and what eventually reaches the large intestine is of limited value, as it contains only small amounts of the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients necessary for the maintenance of the microbiota.

It should be noted that adding fiber to a protocol without adding microbes with them has its limitations, but that’s for another quickhack (see “BioSUIT Needs Microbes”).

Feed your microbiome or it will feed on you

Most of the fiber you would get from eating your diet is insoluble. This is true "roughage", not even your microbiome can properly digest it. And yet, it's still beneficial for your health for other reasons, makes things run smoothly, etc... Those types of fibers that can be digested (fermented) by the microbiome, are called prebiotics. So, not all fibers are prebiotic. Most of it is just stuff, that needs to go through. There have been written hippie-like popular health articles about the benefits of a healthy microbiome. But in the end, the prebiotic fibers, are the food for the microbiome, if you stop feeding the microbiome, things go bad quickly. Your starved microbes would start feeding off the inner lining of your mucosal lining of the intestines. This can compromise the integrity of the gut barrier, potentially leading to increased intestinal permeability, often referred to as 'leaky gut.' Such a condition can be the precursor to a range of health issues, including chronic inflammation, allergies, and autoimmune disorders.

Fiber has certain physical properties

The research has now progressed to the point where we know that various fibers exist with different effects on the body. Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance, is instrumental in lowering cholesterol and regulating blood sugar levels. Viscous fiber, a subset of soluble fiber, thickens in the gut, aiding in digestion and nutrient absorption. Fermentable fiber (prebiotics), meanwhile, is broken down by gut bacteria, leading to the production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids. For the protocol, we should strive to create a spectrum along the lines of these fiber types.

Fibers have different sources

The current scientific literature is heavily focused and biased on plant fibers, while there exist animal fibers too. If you would feed a carnivore animal a purified diet of meat tissue instead of natural whole prey, the health of these animals would start to suffer, because meat doesn’t contain any fiber. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), collagen, chondroitin, glucosamine sulfate, chitin, keratin, proteins, and bile acids can all be substrates to the microbiome and these all fall somewhere on the spectrum of solubility, viscosity, and fermentability.

DNA from the 2000-year-old human (paleo) microbiome (1). Finds it to be very similar to currently living nonindustrial populations. Also, the palaeofaeces had a high prevalence of genes encoding proteins that can degrade the molecule chitin, a component of insect exoskeletons. This finding is consistent with human consumption of insects, known to be a component of ancestral diets. Any fiber protocol geared at optimized human health should contain not only plant fibers but also animal-type fibers that would have been present in ancient human diets. Our ancestors would also have consumed large amounts of bone marrow and thus readily had exposure to dietary collagen and GAGs, by eating whole prey, they had exposure to all types of animal fiber. It is estimated that the consumption of animals was already 20-30% deficient in "roughage" in paleolithic people compared to the previous evolutionary normal (tool use). Can you imagine what that makes you? The Department Of Nutrition Science makes sure that meat-eating zoo animals receive whole prey foods with lots of roughage to keep in line with their evolution. But which department is doing this for us humans?

If your food is a plant, there are hundreds different of types of fibers that come with it. These are mostly strings of carbohydrates the plant uses as their plant “skeleton” (f.e. cellulose) or as energy reserves. We call them fiber, (or “roughage” in the early days) because your body lacks the proper enzymes to metabolize these types of carbohydrates, your body is not specialized in extracting the energy from them. So they go past the stomach to the intestines and while sitting there, the microbes in our gut utilize them as their food. Arabinoxylan, inulin, lignin, psyllium, pectin, bran, cellulose, β-glucan, resistant starch, and guar gum are all different families of fibers, although it's not a strict science and there are probably thousands of fiber types, one unique to each species of plant.

BioSUIT core fiber quickhack

I have done my research and will now implement this quickhack to the suits. It was clear to me that the protocol requires fiber types that cover the entire spectrum of possible physical properties and in addition, they should be coming from both plant and animal sources. Here’s the core selection, I’ve taken into account calorie content, ease of use, health effects, and other deliberations.

• Chia Seeds (soluble, high viscosity, high fermentable)

• Inulin Powder (soluble, low viscosity, high fermentable)

• Wheat bran flakes (insoluble, low viscosity, moderate fermentable)

• Apple pectin fiber (soluble, moderate viscosity, high fermentable)

• Glucomannan powder from Konjac root (soluble, high viscosity, high fermentable)

• Lignan from ground-up flaxseeds (insoluble, low viscosity, moderate fermentable)

• Agar agar (soluble, high viscosity, moderate fermentable)

• Resistant dextrin (soluble, low viscosity, high fermentable)

• Yeast Beta-Glucan supplement (low solubility, medium viscosity, high fermentable)

• Baobab powder (moderate solubility, moderate viscosity, high fermentable)

All of these are chosen for a specific subset of health benefits due to their properties. Maybe we’ll go over these in the future, but I’m short on time. Allow the chia seeds to form a gel after combining it with a liquid like water or milk. If you're using agar-agar, dissolve it in a small amount of hot water first. All of these things can easily be incorporated into something like a bowl of oatmeal. Seeing that most are undigestable carbohydrates, they are moderately low in calories and most have a sweet taste comparable to sugar. Don’t go overboard with these either as the calories add up.

You might have noticed that some of these are isolated substances and not congruent with the whole food standard. I have written extensively on the benefits of a few of these core fibers, see below this article. I’ve covered inulin powder, apple pectin, wheat bran, and glucans in detail. In the piece about inulin, I explain why “processed” fibers like inulin are as healthy as the fiber in whole foods. If you want to focus on the whole food versions regardless, you can substitute resistant dextrin by eating a green unripe banana every morning or by adding green banana flour to your cooking. Make sure to grind up your flaxseeds or they cannot be digested properly. Make sure you are buying apple pectin fiber and not ground-up whole apple powder that simply says “pectin” on the package, you’ll know because it’s less expensive.

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

You should start with only a few from the list and build from there. Otherwise, you will suffer from gastrointestinal stress because you have insufficient microbes to properly metabolize the fibers load, and most of these will require their subset of specific bacteria types. These bacteria will have to grow with repeat exposure. Start by adding very small amounts and use the fibers each day.

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Don’t you ever take something as dumb as Psyllium Husk which often gets recommended on health blogs. This product excessively binds with liquid in the body, and as such it can lead to dangerous gastrointestinal obstructions by forming a prop of mass (known as a bezoar) that becomes stuck in an area of the gut or even as far as the anus and damage these areas as it is eventually violently expelled by force and pressure.

Now let’s add some animal fiber to the protocol. Scleroproteins including keratin, collagen, elastin, and fibrin are rather indigestible from a molecular perspective not just for carnivores. They should be considered to be the equivalent of animal fiber, a prebiotic affecting the microbiome (f.e. Bifidobacterium). Scleroproteins like collagen are known as fibrous proteins, one of the three main classifications of protein structure, they form supporting structures in the body. Generally, these animal by-products like scleroproteins compromise 40 to 60% of the animal weight, currently lacking in modern diets, they can play a special role in regulating metabolic syndrome (Henda, Y. B., & Bordenave-Juchereau, S. 2014).

Human stomach acid has been known to digest small bones f.e. from fish. Digestion is probably incomplete, peptides might still make it through. There is little scientific knowledge on the topic. One thing's for sure, even cats can't digest keratin, as to why they do hairballs.

• Most of these types of fibers would be coming from a bone stock that you routinely create, it has most of the collagen, elastin, and keratin.

• Some of these fibers are already part of the protocol for other reasons, for example, a glucosamine sulfate tablet of 1 gram each day

• Eat insects routinely, for example, a mealworm hamburger, to get over the initial disgust - hamburgers are ground up, and you won’t even notice it. It only requires you to dare to eat for one time, and after this, you’ll quickly adapt to the idea. If these are not available, consider taking a chitin supplement created from natural sources (crustacean shells or similar). Focus on mushroom-type chitin too.

We need an additional quickhack for fermentable fibers

We covered the physical property of fermentability, these types of fibers are the food for the microbiome. The others are simply not. We call these prebiotics. Why do we need a second quickhack focussed on prebiotics?

1. Our modern foods are historically low on prebiotics,\

2. There are non-fiber dietary substances that can serve as prebiotics.

OUR FOOD IS LOW ON PREBIOTICS

I have now mentioned some 13 core fibers. These should come on top of a diet that is rich in whole grains, beans, whole nuts, and seeds. These are the foods in the store that have the most fiber. (domesticated) vegetables and fruits have much less fiber. If you grind up the nuts in butter, they will lose their fermentability which depends on them reaching the microbiome because the body fails to completely digest the bits and pieces. A butter is readily exposed to enzymes and it will get digested by the body while the microbiome gets nothing. This is why it’s important to eat these foods in their most natural, unprocessed state. Cooking is part of the human condition though, there’s no need to fancy a raw food diet.

It might not be as easy, as merely switching to unprocessed whole foods to get sufficient fiber exposure though. Due to plant domestication, many of the natural whole foods that are available to us in the store have much less fiber than their undomesticated counterparts in nature, and the fibers that they do contain are often not soluble nor fermentable by the microbiome. So, even our healthy food has less overall fiber and even less prebiotic fiber than what our natural human food contained.

You could be eating a high-fiber diet and yet come short of any relevant threshold of prebiotic fibers to reap most of the health benefits. The best thing to do is, at first, get your fiber intake in order. Reach the RDA. Most will be coming from whole grains or beans, and nuts. Some less from vegetables and fruits.

Next, you're probably going to have to cheat to reach a relevant amount of prebiotics. Therefore, use BioSUIT’s core fiber and core prebiotic protocol. Most studies hint at ~5 grams minimally being needed per day. However, some health claims at the EFSA go up to 12 grams per day. Our ancestors could have gotten x10 this amount. (don't try at home!).

Furthermore, ancient natural plant foods would have contained many anti-nutrients. These are mostly missing in domesticated produce. These anti-nutrients often have hidden health benefits and one of the reasons for this is because they can serve as substrates to the microbiome.

1. Tannins: While tannins can inhibit the absorption of iron and other minerals, certain microbes can degrade tannins. The metabolites produced during this degradation can have antioxidant properties.

2. Saponins: They can inhibit the absorption of certain nutrients and, in some cases, might affect the gut barrier. However, specific gut bacteria can metabolize saponins, potentially leading to the production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

3. Phytates (Phytic Acid): Predominantly found in seeds, grains, and legumes, phytates can bind to minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium, reducing their absorption. Some gut bacteria can break down phytates, releasing the bound minerals for absorption. Furthermore, the degradation of phytates can result in the production of inositol, which might have health benefits.

4. Lignans: Found in seeds, particularly flaxseeds, lignans can be converted by gut microbes into enterolactone and enterodiol, which have potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

5. Glucosinolates: Found in cruciferous vegetables, glucosinolates can be metabolized by gut bacteria into bioactive compounds, including isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates might have anticancer properties.

6. Polyphenols: As mentioned before, while not all polyphenols are "anti-nutrients," many of them are not well-absorbed in the small intestine. They reach the colon, where gut bacteria can ferment them, producing beneficial metabolites and promoting the growth of beneficial bacterial species.

Into the wild

If seeing anti-nutrients as something that benefits health is difficult for you, know that out there in nature, animals continually have to strike a balance between the effects of plant phytochemicals and food intake. This often involves self-medication and preparatory measures by animals to be able to cope with handling potent plant chemicals. The basic premise is that you can stand some dose of anti-nutrients when you have sufficient calorie intake from a broad diet. Just don’t overdo it, because nausea or worse can set in when ingesting many anti-nutrients or specific plant compounds when they constitute the bulk of your food intake.

"Into the Wild" is a book by Jon Krakauer, later adapted into a film, that tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a 24-year-old man who ventured into the Alaskan wilderness in pursuit of a simpler, more natural way of living but tragically died there after becoming trapped. While living in an abandoned bus, he started hunting small game and gathering edible plants.

A critical factor that might have contributed to his death was the ingestion of toxic or harmful plants that contained too many antinutrients. McCandless might have eaten seeds or plants that contained toxic compounds. There has been speculation about whether he mistook the edible wild sweet pea for the poisonous Hedysarum alpinum, also known as wild potato. One factor is eating “dangerous plant compounds” but another factor is when it happens in high amounts on a diet that is already lacking sufficient other food sources. This means that consuming these plants was probably not lethal as part of an otherwise healthy diet, but became lethal in the context of his living conditions and lacking diet.

Biotoshi’s Wild Gastro Quickhacks: Clay and Charcoal

CLAY

In the wild natural world, animals, including our primate and human ancestors tend(ed) to cope with high loads of phytochemical intake by geophagy (eating dirt) that is rich in clay like bentonite. The more seasonal shift towards diets richer in dangerous plant compounds, the intenser the dirt eating becomes. Switching to more seasonal fruits vs. specific plants with high phytochemical burdens, their self-medication activity also declines. Domestic cattle health is improved by adding clay to their diet, and gorillas in the wild mine for yellow volcanic rock from the slopes of Mount Visoke, because it contains up to 15% clay when their diet is high in “toxic” secondary compounds from certain fallback plant foods. Mountain gorillas in Rwanda, eat halloysite, similar to Kaolinite, also known as Kaopectate, a farmaceutical prescribed to humans for gastric ailments. Kaolinite absorbs fluids, bacteria, toxins, and secondary plant compounds in the intestine and can thus fight diarrhea, or other gastric distress. Chimpanzees too, eat termite-mount soil rich in the same type of clay (30%), a habit shared by human populations like the Australian Aborigines. It was experimentally established that clay-eating lowers circulating dangerous plant alkaloids in blue and yellow macaws. Clay-rich dirt is a soothing medicine for giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses, rats, birds, and probably all plant-eating species. But it’s certainly not exclusive to plant eaters, even tigers ingest soil on purpose and so do wolves from North America. Geophagy appears to have many benefits, it is so fundamentally linked to living in the wild, that it has been named the earliest form of medicine.

It should be noted that clay selection is an art, these species don’t just use any topsoil possibly contaminated with dangerous bacteria or parasites. They choose ancient, well-leached subsoils that have at least 10% clay. This art is still present in African tribes where they select the interior of termite mounts, or clay-enriched alluvial soil from 30-90 centimeters depth, and they bake it to further make it safe. In Ghana, clay is known as eko, they take it from pre-Cambrian sediments rich in Kaolin for gastrointestinal issues, the same Kaloin mined in the UK and used as medicine against diarrhea. So what I would like to propose, is to have handy medicinal clay, sold for that purpose, and use it as a natural medicine against any gastrointestinal stress, cramps, or diarrhea. If your diet contains many plant types, such as the BioSUIT diet, I would consider adding some of this clay in a low dose routinely for gastrointestinal health without overdoing it.

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️Take clay only while drinking a high volume of water because clay can lead to dehydration or bowel obstruction if not taken with adequate water.

Here are some of the health benefits we’re aiming for.

• Detoxification: Clays like bentonite have a high cation exchange capacity, allowing them to absorb and bind toxins, heavy metals, and other harmful substances in the gut. This can aid in detoxifying the digestive system.

• Relief from Digestive Issues: Some people use medicinal clay to alleviate symptoms of indigestion, acid reflux, constipation, and diarrhea. The clay's absorbent nature can help regulate bowel movements and soothe irritation in the gastrointestinal tract.

• Protective Barrier: The clay can form a protective layer on the lining of the GI tract, which may help in preventing irritation and infections, and in the healing of the gut lining.

• Mineral Supplementation: Clays often contain minerals such as calcium, magnesium, silica, and potassium. These can be beneficial, especially if there's a deficiency in the diet, though the bioavailability of these minerals from clay is variable. Some might deliver carbonates, which are beneficial for pH homeostasis.

• Immune System Support: By removing toxins and potentially harmful bacteria from the gut, medicinal clays might indirectly support the immune system, given the critical role of gut health in immune function.

CHARCOAL

On occasion, wild animals will encounter charcoal from forest fires or lightning strikes. Charcoal is a lightweight, black residue, consisting mainly of carbon, and is produced by removing water and other volatile constituents from plant materials. It is typically obtained by heating wood, or other organic materials, in the absence of oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. Charcoal, like clay, can absorb toxins, this is because it can absorb up to 200 times its weight. Wild animals from camels to deer, and ponies to bees know the benefits of charcoal and will come in herds to consume it when they scent wood burning. Red Colobus monkeys in Zanzibar actively gather charcoal from charred stumps, an activity passed on from mother to offspring by imitation. They go as far as stealing it from the kilns of local people. The reason why animals eat it, is the same as with the clay, to offset the effects of a diet high in plant toxins. Native American Indians consumed charcoal to alleviate digestive disturbances. Evidence from fossilized feces suggests that prehistoric Neanderthals also ate charcoal.

Hospitals use activated charcoal (charcoal purified and treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms to further enhance absorption rates) to treat drug overdose and unknown poisonings. Less dramatically, activated charcoal is prescribed by doctors to reduce bloating or wind, and has been granted a health claim for this by the EFSA. It is also added to water purifiers to filter out pesticides and herbicides.

While the BioSUIT diet contains the recommendation of a daily portion of beans and other prebiotics, these fiber-rich foods often lead to considerable gas and bloating. To offset these effects adding a low dose of activated charcoal might be routinely warranted because the gas is produced from the digestion of the fibers by the microbiome gets bonded to the charcoal. Some research suggests that activated charcoal may also help support kidney function by filtering out undigested toxins and drugs. It could also lead to lowering cholesterol levels because these bile acids also get bonded and expelled. But again, it should come with a warning, because the charcoal will also bind to other things, like nutrients, and stuff you don’t want to be expelled.

NOT ALL PREBIOTICS ARE FIBERS

Prebiotics are not always fibers, many non-fiber food substances, such as anti-nutrients, polyphenols, lipids, amino acids, and polyamides,... are fermentable by the microbiome.

BioSUIT core prebiotic quickhack

• Have some baseline exposure to plant-based anti-nutrients in your overall diet

  • Tannins: Tea, berries, pomegranates, grapes, nuts, and dark chocolate

  • Saponins: Quinoa (already part of the suits for containing ecdysteroids)

  • Phytates: Wheat bran (already part of the core fiber quickhack)

  • Lignans: Flaxseeds (already part of the core fiber quickhack)

  • Glucosinolates: Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale

  • Polyphenols: Fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, red wine, dark chocolate

  • Lectins: beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, grains

• A Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) supplement

• Biotoshi’s citrus peel ice cubes, 11 grams daily

• Biotoshi’s cold steeped wine tannin tea or a Grape seed supplement

• Prehistoric gum (Mastic Gum) was made from tree bark resin. Should be a good prebiotic among other things.

• Seaweed like Wakame, seaweeds have special types of fiber

• BioSUIT diet algo: A daily dose of nuts and seeds, whole grains, and especially beans

Biotoshi’s citrus peel ice cubes

A polyphenol-based supplement from citrus fruits has been proven to be prebiotic and protect the gut barrier while leveraging the gut microbiome’s potential with an improved SCFA profile and lower gut inflammation. The product (Microbiomex) is composed of the following citrus flavonoids; hesperidin (80%), and naringin (5%). The beneficial effect is dose-dependent between 250 and 500mg. Which is relatively low. The Hesperidin content of this supplement (extracts of orange) is 80% w/w. If you would take the peel of lemons or oranges, you would get ~6% w/w. So, one would need x13.5 the amount in peel weight vs. the extract weight. That's ~7 grams of citrus peels to reach efficacy.

Organic citrus peels are a decent quickhack, and this research enables us to set forward a minimal dosage. So if we take a lemon, blend it in a shaker with skin and all, and put the result in ice cubes. If the peel is 40% FW, we would need 11 grams of this stuff daily. Or 5,5 grams minimally. Depending on the size of your forms, that could be anywhere near half an ice cube and one and a half ice cubes. All while being superior to the extract because it contains additional compounds such as carotenoids, lipids, vitamin C, etc.

The power of this stuff did not go unnoticed during C-19. It has been known since 1867 f.e. Hesperidina, a classic Argentine apéritif made from bitter and sweet orange peels, which contain a high number of flavonoids.

Biotoshi’s cold steeped wine tannin tea

Wine tannin powder can be purchased for the production of wine. These tannins are a type of polyphenol found in grape skins, seeds, and stems. You could cold steep some of this powder in some water and leave it to soak overnight. Alternatively, you could take a grape seed powder extract directly. Polyphenols and especially tannins such as proanthocyanidins will have an entire quickhack for their antioxidant power and role in sports performance later. But for now, they make excellent prebiotics. Proanthocyanidins are basically what makes red wine so healthy, forget about resveratrol which is an overresearched polyphenol.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides

Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a group of complex carbohydrates that are uniquely found in human breast milk. They are the third largest solid component in human milk after lactose and fat. HMOs play a crucial role in infant nutrition and development, offering a range of health benefits that extend beyond basic nutrition. Recent advancements in biotechnology have enabled the artificial production of Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs).

HMOs are more effective than non-human ("the usual") prebiotics in stimulating the innate immune system, blocking pathogens and viruses, and reducing inflammation. Unlike other prebiotic and prebiotic products for adults, HMO metabolites promote brain development, neuronal transmission, and cognition. Feed Bifidobacteria and Akkermansia, increase beneficial bacteria in the gut, and build a healthy gut ecosystem. Inbiose (an HMO producer in Belgium) recently received funding from the EU as a response to COVID-19.

Clinically proven to reduce gas, bloating, constipation, stomach pain, and other IBS symptoms. Boost the number of slim prebiotics in the gut, which help with food digestion and improve metabolism. (they can also be incorporated into the epithelial glycocalyx and in doing so lengthen the epithelial cells structurally). One example is 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL). It's a type of human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), a complex sugar that is naturally found in high concentrations in human breast milk. Although initially thought to be only a component of breast milk, recent studies have shown that 2'-FL can also be present in the intestines of adults. So we are not doing anything “weird” by taking HMOs, the stuff is naturally present in your body, even as an adult.

BioSUIT core fiber quickhack detailed information

Inulin Powder

Since it was discovered that enzymes could not hydrolyze b-glucosidic bonds (stereochemistry) found in some carbohydrates, these prebiotic oligo/polysaccharides, can escape metabolism in the upper intestine and selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria. One of these bonds is found in inulin, a natural polysaccharide belonging to a group of fibers known as fructans. Fructans are polymers of fructose molecules and are found in 40,000 higher plant species (12% of angiosperms) but also bacteria, and fungi.

Inulin is a natural storage carbohydrate present in more than 36,000 species of fructan-containing plants, these plants prefer to use inulin over starch as an energy reserve. Inulin is concentrated in organs from dicot species belonging to the Asteraceae, including chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion, dahlia, yacon, and cardoon. But not exclusively Asteraceae, for example, garlic (Amaryllidaceae) and agave (Asparagaceae) are good sources.

Most studies on inulin in regards to being prebiotic don't use native inulin as a whole plant though, which would require an extensive daily menu, the researchers tend to prefer a powder of extracted inulin fibers. These are extracted from the best source of inulin; chicory.

So in essence and ironically, almost the entire literature on this subject is based on a processed food; inulin powder. And yet, that doesn't seem to affect the positive outcomes reported in this same literature. Upon consumption, the inulin resists digestion and gets fermented by healthy bacteria in the colon which increases their count while bacteria with bad health outcomes tend to decrease.

Inulin also has antioxidant activities in digestive organs. Pasqualetti (2014) demonstrated protective action against oxidative damage to the human colon mucosa regardless of cooking and digestion treatments, inulin has great stability, which adds to its prebiotic properties. That is not to say that nobody ever questioned the relevance of inulin being used as an isolated supplement. (2)

A study in Belgium (3) did manage to test the effects of inulin as part of whole foods. But they had to center the bulk of the menu around 7 vegetables, many belonging to the same botanical family to reach an average of 9 grams of inulin per day. Not very practical.

The researchers reported very similar findings from eating inulin-rich foods when compared to results previously reported for supplements. So this makes me conclude, that processing in this context doesn't decrease the effectiveness. It does appear to be a long-term relationship though, after 3 weeks of halting the inulin intake, the microbial effects could resort to the initial stage.

Now for the tricky part. ⚠️

Prebiotics can also lead to gut dysbiosis and worsen inflammatory bowel diseases and inulin is no different. Studies have reported increased inflammation starting at intakes of 10-gram inulin/d. The higher the intake = the fewer people that can handle it.

So what's happening here is that people probably don't have a high enough baseline of bacteria to properly convert the prebiotics. Start with a healthy diet and some fermented foods. Then add 5 grams inulin/d for a month, next month take 10 grams and 15 grams a month later. But, it's not my intention to build up towards the 135g inulin eaten in prehistoric desert diets (4).

→ Starting with 3-5 grams/d for one month.

→ Progressing into 10 grams/d or even 12-15 grams/d and higher after a few months

Apple pectin fiber

The Last Common Chimpanzee Ancestor (LCCA) thrived on a diet predominantly composed of fruits and leaves, rich in pectin fibers. We’re going to want to include these in our protocol. These fibers are a type of acidic heteropolysaccharide, primarily made up of D-galacturonic acid. Structurally, dietary pectin bears a resemblance to heparin sulfate, a well-known compound in human biology and important to human health.

This similarity allows pectin to interact effectively with the glycocalyx, the delicate covering of the intestinal villi. By engaging with this layer, pectin is known to enhance the production of albumin, a protein crucial for maintaining the strength and integrity of this protective barrier. The strengthening of the glycocalyx by pectin is a vital aspect of gut health, contributing to the overall well-being of the gastrointestinal system.

Research on saccharides and dietary fiber pectin in foods by Professor Tomio Yabe (Gifu University) shows us this is the ideal diet to extend our healthy life expectancy. He discovered that dietary fibers, especially pectin, affect the length of the villi in the small intestine. Villi are small projections in the intestine walls crucial for nutrient absorption. These villi can vary in length across different populations and can change due to dietary habits, historical data suggests that the villi in Asian populations used to be longer than those in Europeans. About 30 years ago, this trend reversed, ironically because Europeans started adding pectin to processed foods as a thickener.

Epithelial cells in the small intestine can detect pectin. This leads to the activation of heparan sulfate on the cell surface, which then encourages cell proliferation and extends the villi. In studies with mice, significant changes in villi length were observed within 10 weeks of feeding them pectin. This suggests that dietary fiber intake can lead to notable changes in the small intestine in a relatively short time. Longer villi, more surface area to absorb nutrients, better health status, immunity, and microbiome.

Wheat Bran flakes

Not to be confused with wheat germ - has 42 grams of fiber per 100g, with 5-25% arabinoxylans by weight, these fibers are antioxidants in themselves. Arabinoxylans in isolated form are one of the most expensive supplements found on earth. Furthermore, it is a high source of phytic acid, which is also an antioxidant and can turn into the healthy compound inositol. Inositol is a molecule produced by the body from glucose.

• lowers blood sugar

• increased dietary needs in modern society

• as effective as metformin at increasing insulin sensitivity

• can raise testosterone levels in men

• created by the microbiome from phytates

• SCFA's

Wheat bran is additionally high in life extender spermidine and was already added to the suits for this reason and others. According to the EFSA, wheat bran also lowers post-prandial glucose.

Fermented wheat germ has been found to produce benzoquinones with anti-cancer effects (Comin-Anduix and others 2002; Mueller and others 2011, Rizzello and others 2013). Benzoquinones are a class of organic compounds that are derived from quinone with a benzene ring. Fermented wheat germ supplements are again very expensive, why don’t you just consume the wheat germ yourself and let your microbiome ferment it for you instead?

Additionally, wheat germ is a good source of ceramides, which are good for skin health. There is emerging evidence that ceramides may play a role in gut health too. Similar to their function in the skin, ceramides in the gut lining can help maintain barrier integrity, which is important for preventing conditions like leaky gut syndrome. Wheat germ is also rich in vitamin E, a bottleneck vitamin in all modern diets. Wheat germ oil (not the wheat flakes) is an additional supplement that is part of the BioSUIT as an essential source of natural vitamin E, but more on that later.

Yeast Beta-glucans

These types of fibers are known to have immune-stimulating, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-oxidative effects in clinical medicine. They enter via the lymphatic tissues of the intestinal mucosa ⬆️ glutathione peroxidase + SOD + natural killer cells.

In Japan, they have been shown to lower infection-related death rates from 30% to 4.8% and also have anti-microbial, anti-arteriosclerotic, and anti-inflammatory characteristics. They are like natural antibiotics and can protect against anthrax/bacterial & parasitic infections.

The yeast cell walls contain glucans that are recognized by the body’s inborn immune system by releasing cytokines (IL-4/10/12). Glucans train the human immune response, they increase performance in mice and also in humans, reducing fatigue & inflammation after exercise.

Baobab Powder

Baobab powder is a natural supplement made from the fruit of the baobab tree, which grows in certain regions of Africa, Arabia, and Australia. This tree, known as Adansonia, is often called the "Tree of Life" due to its nutrient-rich fruit. The baobab fruit has a hard shell and contains a dry, powdery pulp, so while “powder” might appear something processed, hunter-gatherers in Africa also harvest use this as a dried powdery substance from the fresh fruit. They consume it as we do oatmeal, take the powder, add some water to it, mix it up, and eat it in the morning. Half of the powder’s weight is fiber. Adding Baboab in this way is known to reduce hunger and could result in weight loss.

There is a marked increase in SCFA production from a measly 4 grams of baobab powder, the microbiome loves it! More acetate, propionate, butyrate and will lead to a higher count of diverse beneficial bacteria. Baobab is also a potent stool softener.

Baobab powder reached approved health claims in the EU Art. 13(1) at 20 grams (~10g of pectin) "contributes to the reduction of postprandial glycemic response". And 12 grams (~6g pectin) "contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol concentrations". 2010-2011.

BioSUIT diet algo: A daily dose of nuts and seeds, whole grains, and especially beans

Legumes are high in complex fibers and resistant starch, which are beneficial for gut health. They act as prebiotics, feeding the beneficial bacteria in the gut. This is why they should be eaten as a portion, every day on the BioSUIT diet. Beans are digested very slowly, and being satiated as a natural human being involves not only the level of the stomach but the entire digestive tract. Beans, renowned for their high dietary fiber content, particularly soluble fiber, are not fully digested in the upper parts of the intestine. When they reach the ileum, they activate the ileal brake.

1. Regulated Blood Sugar Levels: The fiber in beans moderates glucose absorption, aiding in the stabilization of blood sugar levels not just during the meal but also for subsequent meals. This is known as the "second meal effect."

2. Enhanced Satiety: By slowing down digestion, the ileal brake contributes to prolonged feelings of fullness, aiding in appetite control and potentially assisting in weight management.

3. Improved Gut Health: The undigested fiber in beans serves as a prebiotic, nourishing beneficial gut bacteria. A healthy gut microbiome is linked to better digestion and enhanced immune function.

So even if you’ve eaten beans the day before, it’s still being digested by your microbiome, and these SCFA’s are benefitting your metabolism in a myriad of ways. Beans also contain lectins, one of the many anti-nutrients that come with specific health benefits.

1. Cell Growth and Repair: Lectins play a role in cell growth and repair. They are involved in various cellular functions, including immune response and cell adhesion.

2. Antimicrobial Properties: Some lectins have antimicrobial properties, which can help protect the body against harmful pathogens.

3. Cancer Research: There is interest in the potential of certain lectins to inhibit tumor growth and induce cancer cell apoptosis (programmed cell death).

4. Impact on Gut Microbiota: Lectins can impact the gut microbiome. Some studies suggest that they may promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.

The publication of “The Plant Paradox”, by Dr. Steven Gundry, can firmly be categorised under quackery or health fraud. Lectins from beans might be anti-nutrients, but preparing beans, which are inedibly hard uncooked, involves cooking them which lowers the lectin levels to healthy amounts. You cannot poison yourself with beans unless you forget to cook them after soaking. You also don’t need to sprout and soak (which do come with their types of nutritional benefits) every plant food to filter out the anti-nutrients, you are already dealing with a heavily domesticated plant selection, and the low-grade exposure to anti-nutrients is a benefit to your health.

Another form of quackery was the official and trademarked Paleo© diet as per Cordain. While the BioSUIT itself is based heavily on evolutionary biology, the work done by Cordain (an exercise physiologist) does not fit the definition of science. The Paleo diet ©, emphasizes eating as our Paleolithic ancestors did while typically excluding legumes and beans on the premise that these were not being eaten back then and on the additional premise that modern humans are thus biologically ill-equipped to properly metabolize them healthily. Both can easily be debunked.

a) Archeologica findings have shown evidence of legume consumption in early human diets. For instance, remnants of peas and other legumes have been found in Neolithic sites, indicating that these foods were part of the diet in pre-agricultural societies. The idea that Paleolithic diets were exclusively or predominantly meat-based is being increasingly questioned, with evidence suggesting a significant plant component, including seeds and legumes.

b) The evolution of starch-digesting genes like amylase genes in humans, suggests that our ancestors adapted to a diet that included starchy foods, including wild legumes. This ability was advantageous, especially in environments with low meat availability, and enabled a more varied diet. These genes are even upregulated in modern dogs from receiving foods and leftovers from human companions that were higher in starch material, meaning even our companions can now better digest things like grains.

When you create a protocol centered around evolutionary biology, it is imperative to prove any theory ultimately by real evidence from today’s world, not just by some general notion of the past. Just as with the Bitcoin protocol, where the longest chain is valid but also always the heaviest chain, evolutionary theories should be scientifically verifiable at present and carry more weight than some unfounded notion from the past that doesn’t even survive scientific scrutiny. Modern humans have been shown to be healthier and live longer lives when eating beans it is one of the dietary elements that is shared in all longevity blue zones.

SOURCES

(1) Olm, M. R., & Sonnenburg, J. L. (2021). Ancient human faeces reveal gut microbes of the past.

(2) Jackson, P. P. J., Wijeyesekera, A., Theis, S., van Harsselaar, J., & Rastall, R. A. (2022). Food for thought! inulin-type fructans: does the food matrix matter? Journal of Functional Foods, 90, 104987.

(3) Hiel, S., Bindels, L. B., Pachikian, B. D., Kalala, G., Broers, V., Zamariola, G., ... & Delzenne, N. M. (2019). Effects of a diet based on inulin-rich vegetables on gut health and nutritional behavior in healthy humans. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 109(6), 1683-1695.

(4) Leach, J. D., & Sobolik, K. D. (2010). High dietary intake of prebiotic inulin-type fructans in the prehistoric Chihuahuan Desert. British Journal of Nutrition, 103(11), 1558-1561.

(5) Rahman, S., Trone, K., Kelly, C., Stroud, A., & Martindale, R. (2023). All Fiber is Not Fiber. Current gastroenterology reports, 25(1), 1-12.

(6) Divyashree, K., Sankar, A., Chandni, R. C., & Raghu, A. V. (2017). Dietary fiber importance in food and impact on health. International Journal of Research-GRANTHAALAYAH, 5(4RAST), 17-21.