Microbiome Analysis in London

Some personal news: I won’t be posting on here so much over the coming months as I head off on some extended leave to focus on some positive major changes in my personal life. Please follow the work of my team The Microbiome Group

I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to transition my clients into the care of such a dedicated and skilful team, who are all trained in my approach, passionate about microbiome health and each of them awesome practitioners in their own right.

As I’ve been winding down my practice over the past three months, I’ve been very moved by messages from clients who I’ve had the privilege to support in recent years. Heartfelt thanks to all of you I’ve worked with, and who I’ve collaborated with, mentored and learned from, and all of you I’ve connected with on here too.

I was one of the very first Microbiome Analysts in the UK when I launched my practice six years ago, after years of study alongside my healthcare practice and testing my own microbiome since 2015. Since then, awareness of the gut microbiome has grown phenomenally, as has the research and my clinical knowledge of microbiome interventions in practice. It’s been an amazing journey and I will surely miss working at this cutting edge of healthcare over the next few months.

I plan to return to collaborate with my team of Associates at The Microbiome Group later this year, reopening my own practice in 2025. In the meantime, the team will continue to offer groundbreaking, individualised treatment plans to people all around the world, collaborating together on complex cases and growing our collective knowledge about how to best support gut microbiome health in clinical practice.

To keep up to date with trusted information on applying the latest microbiome research in clinical practice and your life, follow The Microbiome Group.

It was great to meet Chris and Sid today. They are now right in the middle of building The Microbiome Garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May this year, and I was delighted to analyse their gut microbiome as part of their journey.

The Microbiome Garden will include various prebiotic-containing edible plants: lupin and camassia, as well as bistort a wild edible plant rich in polyphenols. Through analysing their gut bacterial profile, I was able to tell them which aspects of their microbiome would benefit from each of these plants.

I assessed how well their microbiome is currently supporting their health through looking at bacterial diversity and the abundance of anti-inflammatory species and pro-inflammatory species, and I provided them with some recommendations to support their microbiome health.

We will be sharing their results through the profile! Follow to hear more!

My primary motivation for my work is of course my clients’ health and wellbeing. It’s always rewarding to hear the positive changes that individuals report during their consultations, but it really hits home when it’s written in black and white.

The ethics of asking for testimonials is tricky, not least because I never want anyone to feel pressured into writing one. I do have a feedback form on my website that allows people to send me feedback (also anonymously if they’d like to), while the practitioner review function provided by Biomesight (the testing company I use in my practice) allows individuals to volunteer a testimonial independently.

Feedback is a gift: it helps me to grow as a practitioner and develop what I offer, but reviews like this also really help others make decisions about their treatment options.

Thanks Ellie for taking the time to write this amazing feedback. Your results are down to your commitment to the treatment plans and your healing path even through the toughest times. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work with you over the years.

The five star review reads:
Ellie
20 Feb 2024
Verified booking
Viola is knowledgeable, practical and kind. She understands the realities of living with a debilitating chronic condition. I have been seeing her since 2020 and I’m so pleased with the work we’ve done together to improve my health. I was not getting on well with nutritionists who were suggesting a ‘kill the bad bacteria’ approach to gut healing, and my very sensitive system couldn’t cope with that method at all, so I was so grateful to have discovered Viola and to follow her much gentler approach, with very tangible results. I consider microbiome repair to be one of the keystones of my healing journey and I regularly recommend Viola and the Microbiome Group to anyone who will listen, because it really helped me when nothing else was. Thank you Viola!

I consider beetroot to be a microbiome superfood! And new research shows that fermented beets could have even more beneficial effects on gut microbiome health.

Beets are a good source of prebiotic GOS that feeds beneficial bacteria including Bifidobacterium. Low levels of Bifidobacterium species have been linked to depression and anxiety, as well as reduced immunity. I commonly find Bifidobacterium levels are low in the samples from people in midlife that I analyse in my practice. This could be due to previous antibiotic use or diet or lifestyle factors.

Clinical trials looking into the effects eating beetroot have shown it also increase levels of Akkermansia. This gut bacterium takes care of the mucus lining our gut and is important for blood sugar control. Reduced Akkermansia is associated with Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes.

In a truly fascinating paper listed below, researchers have recently proposed beetroot consumption could reverse Type 2 Diabetes — with fermented beetroot showing enhanced anti-diabetic properties!

Beets often speed up bowel transit time, so may be helpful for people with constipation.

At The Microbiome Group, we often recommend beetroot powder to Microbiome Analysis clients needing to increase Akkermansia populations and looking for easy ways to include plenty of beetroot in their week.

One of my favourite ways to eat beetroot is raw — grated as a salad — or fermented as part of a sauerkraut. But they’re super tasty roasted too in my opinion. What’s your favourite way?

REFERENCE
Banan-Mwine Daliri et al (2023) Beetroot for managing diabetes and its associated gut dysbiosis: Current findings and challenges. Trends in Food Science and Technology, Volume 142
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2023.104216

I love this time of year, when wild foods become more abundant again. I was craving a large bowl of fresh veggies, after a few days of eating carb-heavy, fatty foods (yep, plenty of pizza), so I made this bowl of miso soup, topped with some of my favourite foraged wild greens:
💚 Garlic mustard (swipe to photo 2)
💚 Sow thistle (photo 3)
💚 Three cornered leek
💚 Sea lettuce (seaweed, dried)

The soup was made with:
🤎 barley miso paste and
💛wholegrain mustard, with
🤍 Tofu, cubed
🖤 Hijiki seaweed
and lightly stir fried:
💚 Leeks
🧡 Carrots
💚 Courgette
💚 Celery
🤍 Garlic
💛 Ginger
all chopped into matchsticks.

I made the miso soup with hot (not boiling) water to preserve the live, beneficial moulds, yeasts and bacteria that are involved in its fermentation.

The diversity of 15 plant foods not only looked and tasted great and were full of nutrients for me, but the different fibres and polyphenols will also feed a greater diversity of beneficial gut bacteria.

I’m so grateful to be able to include wild foods in my diet, both to support microbiome diversity and increase the polyphenol content of my food. Three cornered leek is invasive so this is a plant I gather in abundance. It tastes a bit like mild spring onions so goes well with many dishes.

Please don’t use my photos alone to identify edible plants, as at least two of these have poisonous lookalikes.

Did you know a healthy gut microbiome protects you from heart disease? It’s well recognised that diet and exercise is linked to heart health, but it’s only recently becoming understood how diet and exercise affect our gut microbiome — and how gut bacteria affect our heart.

The relationship between the microbiome and heart is complex and still the focus of research. But put simply; overgrowths in certain bacteria can mean our gut microbiome causes inflammation throughout the body, including blood vessels. These bacteria thrive on a classic westernised diet; low in fibre, veg, fruit, colour, and diversity and high in animal products. In contrast, certain plant foods support the growth of beneficial bacteria that decrease inflammation in the body and protect against heart disease.

There are certain probiotics, including a Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain called 299V, that has been shown in clinical trials to reduce cholesterol and protect against risk factors of heart disease.

Microbiome Analysis in midlife is a great way to support healthy ageing. If heart disease has affected your family, attending to your microbiome health now may be one positive action you can take to protect your heart and longterm health.

REFERENCES
Zhao Y, Wang Z. Gut microbiome and cardiovascular disease. Curr Opin Cardiol. (2020);35(3):207-218. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000720

Fromentin et al. Microbiome and metabolome features of the cardiometabolic disease spectrum. Nat Med28, 303–314 (2022). doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01688-4

Naruszewicz et al, Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v on cardiovascular disease risk factors in smokers. Am J Clin Nutr. (2002) 76(6):1249-55. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/76.6.1249. PMID: 12450890

Bukowska et al. Decrease in fibrinogen and LDL-cholesterol levels upon supplementation of diet with Lactobacillus plantarum in subjects with moderately elevated cholesterol Atherosclerosis, 137 (1998), 437-438
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This week I completed a recording of my webinar for this year’s Diploma in advanced emotional regulation skills, at the Grove Practice, training provider to psychotherapists, counsellors, psychiatrists, psychologists and coaches.

My lecture will be part of a fantastic programme looking at emotional regulation though a variety of lenses, each with a very practical focus – including sleep, work/life balance, the vagus nerve and nutrition.

Here are some of my slides to give a taste of what will be covered: from the principles of a microbiome diet that supports our health to the impact of trauma on the gut microbiome and the impact of the *gut microbiome* on trauma recovery. Detailed handouts cover wild fermentation techniques and particular probiotics that have been shown in well-designed clinical trials to reduce anxiety and stress-related symptoms.

I had hoped to be there in person again this year, but that unfortunately hasn’t proved possible, so I’m very grateful that Ingrid has offered to take questions and lead the discussion after her presentation on nutrition together with mine on the microbiome. She has a keen interest in the gut microbiome and will be well-placed to respond to those questions. Thanks so much Ingrid!

There’s still time to sign up to the Diploma — just! Contact

So delighted The Microbiome Group is supporting this exciting project by providing Microbiome Analysis to Co-Designers Sid Hill and Chris Hull. Their garden design at the Chelsea Flower Show draws on their passion for the gut microbiome and wider ecological health, and will be unveiled in May

As part of their exploration, Chris and Sid have each provided samples — using tests provided in support of the project by . These will be analysed to see how much their gut bacterial profile will benefit from eating the ancient foods and wild plants in the edible meadow featured in the design. Their microbiomes’ diversity and anti-inflammatory capacity will also be assessed and bacteria identified that have been shown to affect mental health.

Bacterial species known to be associated with colorectal cancer will also be identified, because one of the project’s supporters is Bowel Research UK. There’s currently no licensed microbiome screen for colorectal cancer, but medical research suggests one is in development and as Microbiome Analysts we always alert clients to check any concerning details from their stool tests or symptoms with their doctor.

This is an exciting collaboration that sits firmly within The Microbiome Group’s ethos that the health of the human gut microbiome is a continuous part of our wider ecology, including soil microbiome health, and is dependent not only on the foods we eat but also how those foods are grown.

Follow for further updates once the microbiome test results are in, and see and to find out more about the garden.

REFERENCES
Rebersek (2021) Gut microbiome and its role in colorectal cancer. BMC Cancer 21, 1325. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-021-09054-2

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/02/edible-meadow-improved-gut-health-chelsea-flower-show

How many different herbs can you spot in this picture?

Herbs are a great way to increase the diversity of plant foods in your week and add in polyphenol-rich ingredients — as well as delight!

Many of the strong and bitter flavours of wild plant foods — that indicate they are rich in microbiome-boosting polyphenols — have been bred out of our domesticated crops. Herbs and spices are the closest to their wild relatives.

I like to have pots of fresh herbs on my window sill to add as garnishes or scatter through salads. I also have large pots of dried herbs to add liberally to my cooking.

Frozen herbs are often quite cost effective. When I buy a large bunch of fresh herbs, I’ll often add half of it to the freezer (just rinsed, dried and in a bag) because it’s easy to cut or break off what you need without defrosting. I keep the other half in a glass of water in the fridge door.

While not technically a prebiotic because it feeds up such a wide range of gut bacteria, pectin is still beneficial for gut microbiome health.

Pectin is a soluble fibre found in fruits and veg. Like prebiotics, it is a long chain of sugars that we can’t digest or absorb in our small intestine, so it travels on through to our large intestine where it feeds our gut bacteria.

Most fruit and veg provide some pectin, whether raw or cooked or in jams. The ripest fruits contain less pectin than those slightly unripe or just ripened.

Fruits highest in pectin include pears, apples, blackberries and plums (as jam makers will know). Veg highest in pectin include carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes and olives.

Garlic features a lot in my Microbiome Analysis treatment plans, both as a food and in supplement form, as one of its most powerful extracts known as allicin.

Allicin is a potent yet selective antimicrobial that is effective against several kinds of inflammation-causing gut bacteria. Unlike other popular antimicrobials such as oregano oil or berberine, it doesn’t kill off beneficial bacteria.

Alongside allicin, garlic contains prebiotic inulin-type fructans that feed up beneficial bacteria. If the microbiome is depleted in these bacteria, eating garlic will often generate painful wind and bloating, indicating microbiome repair is needed.

As soon as there’s enough microbiome health to tolerate it, I will almost always list garlic and other members of the onion family as foods to increase, thanks to its wonderful prebiotic effects that maintain microbiome health.

Garlic is a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, and we now know its effects on the gut microbiome is a major factor in the health outcomes associated with the Mediterranean diet.

I sent off my first gut microbial test more than 20 years ago to a lab in the US. Back then, all that was available was the old-fashioned culture tests and microscopic analysis. The problem was, most of the bacteria would die before they reached the lab, so in those days we only got information about a tiny proportion of species found in the gut microbiome that survived lab conditions.

As technology developed, we began to be able to test for genetic material, meaning we could study gut bacteria whether or not they survived in oxygen. This is when research on the gut microbiome really took off.

I began testing my gut microbiome in earnest, back in 2015 with the first tests available to individuals that provided information on the whole bacterial profile. Since then, I have tried out a number of different tests, including these pictured, and I have worked with several in my practice.

I have only ever worked with tests that show the whole bacterial profile (using technology known as 16s or shotgun metagenomics) as it’s essential to have the whole picture when working with a complex ecosystem. Most microbiome tests on the market — and those most commonly used by practitioners professing to work with the gut microbiome — still only provide information on a small proportion of the gut microbiome, and I very much question their value and even their safety given the potential longterm effects on our health.

I was delighted when I started working with tests, as they offered the best of a number of factors, including cost, ease of use, speed of turnaround, detail of results and customer service. I have now analysed hundreds of samples through Biomesight in my practice and with my team and have found the test to provide very valuable information to guide our treatment plans tailored to each individual’s unique gut microbiome.

It’s wonderful to map the positive changes in the gut microbiome alongside improvements in symptoms reported by clients. It’s an incredibly exciting time in healthcare, when Microbiome Analysis can transform an individual’s gut microbiome and is proving to be an amazingly pathway to health.

Although my diet is mostly plant based and vegetarian, I occasionally eat fish — in this case, some wild salmon roasted with thyme and red onion. But at least three quarters of my plate is always veg, grains or pulses/legumes.

Portion sizes of meat or fish are often larger than we can digest, meaning much of it travels past the small intestine, where we absorb the goodness from our food, and feeds bacteria in our colon, such as Bacteroides and Desulfovibrio, that are linked to various health conditions, from Parkinson’s Disease to heart disease.

Filling up on meat or fish can also mean not enough fibre and polyphenols from plant foods — starving our beneficial bacteria that protect against inflammation and illness.

People who eat meat and fish can make a huge difference to their microbiome health simply by increasing the proportion of plant foods they eat — making sure at least half their plate is fresh veg, with another quarter grains or pulses.

Our gut microbiome loves colourful veg! One of my favourite veges to cook recently has been a mix of:
❤️ red pepper/capsicum
❤️ cherry tomatoes
🧡 carrots
💛 yellow pepper/capsicum
💜 beetroot (diced fairly small so it cooks at the same time).
I sprinkle on some garlic powder or paprika, drizzled over plenty of olive oil and pop it in the oven for 25mins. I added the salmon fillets alongside for 15mins or so.

The large green lentils I cooked with a good glug of balsamic vinegar (extra polyphenols and flavour) and a couple of sprigs of rosemary, and served with lightly steamed cavelo nero.

This meal has more than 9 different plant foods, with the variety of colourful polyphenols and soluble fibres feeding a diversity of beneficial bacteria.

How many days of your week are meat-free? Do you eat fish, eggs or cheese on those days, or solely plant foods? Do you eat 30 different plant foods each week?

This feisty probiotic called Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12 is a regular part of my life, especially this winter with colds, flu and COVID so widespread. This particular strain has been shown in several well-designed clinical trials to protect against throat and ear infections, gingivitis, bad breath, flu, tummy bugs and respiratory viruses — reducing the need for antibiotics and days off work or school. A 2022 trial shows it could also be effective in treating COVID.

It’s proven very effective in preventing infection by Streptococcus pyogenes — the main member of the Strep A group of bacteria. A trial of adults with recurrent strep throat, for example, showed an 80% reduction in infection.

A 2016 study of 124 children (3–10 years) showed an incredible 90% reduction of Strep throat, compared with untreated children. They also had a significant reduction of other ear, nose and throat infections: tracheitis, viral pharyngitis, rhinitis, flu, laryngitis and acute otitis media, as well as enteritis over the 12 month study period.

An earlier study enrolled 60 children diagnosed with recurrent oral streptococcal disorders, with 30 taking this probiotic. The probiotic reduced the need for antibiotic treatment to a total of 30 days, compared to 900 days in the untreated group, with just 16 days of school absence, compared to 228 days!

Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12 is found in a number of products in the UK and globally, including the one pictured. This one is a chewable tablet with a light strawberry-flavour. The dose used in most of the trials was 2 lozenges daily.

Masking (N95 or FFP2) and HEPA air filtration also remain very effective in reducing the spread of airborne viruses and bacterial infections.

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I’m unable to advise whether certain probiotics are appropriate for you outside of a consultation and case history. I receive no affiliate fees or commission for this probiotic or any supplements I recommend to my clients.
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👉🏻Swipe for References

My version of sausage n mash; comfort food to nourish me and my microbiome through these winter months.

Mashed roots:
💛 Swede
🤍 celeriac and
🩷 red alouette potatoes (skins on for the polyphenols)
mashed with lots of olive oil (for more polyphenols)!
Served with:
💜 Red onions
❤️ cherry tomatoes and
🤎 tempeh
pan fried with a dash of tamari to finish, and accompanied by:
💚steamed kale

Tempeh is a fermented soy food and one of the richest sources of soy isoflavones. These are converted by our beneficial gut bacteria into equol, that’s understood to promote bone and heart health.

So pleased to have invited Melody Mackeown MSc MBANT to join my team at The Microbiome Group. Her diary is now open for bookings:
www.themicrobiomegroup.com/book-online

We’re so excited to have Melody Mackeown joining the team! A prize-winning nutritional therapist who holds an advanced certification in Microbiome Analysis, Melody has over 15 years’ experience working with clients with a wide range of health challenges, including digestive disorders, autoimmune conditions, fatigue, and neuro-cognitive disorders.

I met Melody through the advanced microbiome training. I was instantly impressed by her warmth, enthusiasm, professionalism and her high standards of practice. I was delighted to invite her to join the team, following an interview and case discussion. She has now completed further training with me in The Microbiome Group approach.
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Here’s a message from Melody:

Several years ago, I experienced the anguish of a close family member with conventionally unexplained distressing digestive symptoms. I undertook extensive research of my own, which led to a much deeper understanding of how our gut microbiomes help to achieve and maintain good health.

With the dietary steps and nutritional interventions I helped him implement, it resulted in a complete resolution and restoration of his health. This work soon became a true calling for me and I have worked with hundreds of clients to help them find solutions through nutritional coaching to improve their symptoms and health challenges.

I keep up to date with the latest research and emerging developments in evidence-based nutrition and scientific knowledge, including the latest laboratory testing available for my clients to guide, support and empower them on their health journeys.

I see the human microbiome as part of the wider planetary ecosystem and its conservation and nourishment are just as important as the conservation of any plant or animal species.

I am excited to be part of a progressive team offering this cutting-edge knowledge of the microbiome to clients looking to understand the complex drivers of their health conditions and regain a sense of control

✏️ by Viola

Melody’s diary is now open for bookings at www.themicrobiomegroup.com/book-online

PART 2/2 Zoe’s gut shot claims are governed by food labelling laws, so don’t need to be backed up by evidence in the same way a medical or pharmaceutical product would. I was pleased to see the label refers only to “live bacteria”, although in promotional coverage by Tim Spector and others, they have been called “probiotics”. For a bacterium to be called “probiotic” it should have clinical trials demonstrating its health benefits. None of the bacteria listed in the ingredients have strain numbers that would indicate clinical trials may have taken place and allow us to investigate whether they have any proven probiotic properties. I generally advise people not to waste their money on probiotic supplements that don’t list strain numbers.

While 5 billion bacteria may sound a lot, clinical trails have shown effective probiotic doses tend to be 10 billion — per strain. With 14 strains, that could mean 0.35bn each. So this gut shot cannot match the value of a good quality probiotic supplement — although the review above suggests people think it does.

However, there is good evidence that fermented foods, including kefir, do have general benefits when part of a healthy diet. Making your own kefir is very easy and may yield greater microbial diversity, including beneficial yeasts as well as bacteria. At £2 for such a small quantity, homemade kefir is also much cheaper, especially for daily enjoyment, and would eliminate these single-use plastic bottles too.

The gut shot has drawn some criticism for not being organic. I’ve seen some claims that the kefir is provided by organic company Yeo Valley, but I’ve not found evidence of that, and with kefir being so easy to produce, I’d be surprised if purchasing it from Yeo Valley had attractive profit margins.

Zoe has various innovative and effective marketing funnels to sign up potential customers to their emails. These have included fun activities promoted as citizen science, such as the Blue P**p Challenge (recording gut transit time with blue muffins) and the Big Poo Review (recording daily bowel habits) that secured them free advertising in major TV and newspaper coverage...

Affluent and health-conscious M&S customers are very much a target audience for Zoe, so I would see the gut shot perhaps as more marketing funnel for the Zoe programme than a true contribution to microbiome health in itself. As a product designed to be a daily commitment, it could be intended as an income stream too.

I welcome how Zoe’s marketing is increasing awareness of the role of the gut microbiome and the value of a wholefood, plant-rich diet, although the Zoe programme itself seems to have mixed results. For some people it’s clearly been helpful, for others (including those who’ve subsequently sought microbiome advice from me) it’s proved counterproductive, while others simply give up after initial enthusiasm. I’ve written a few posts on my concerns about these kinds of programmes, including the dubious value of blood sugar monitoring, the risks of orthorexia and the limitations of the automated microbiome analysis and advice, so I won’t repeat those here.

Is the gut shot healthier than Percy Pig gummies and Colin the Caterpillar cakes? Certainly. Can it make a significant contribution to gut health in a diet that’s already high in prebiotics, fibre, polyphenols and fermented foods? Probably not. But it contains no microbiome-damaging ingredients, such as emulsifiers or artificial sweeteners, so it won’t do any harm — unless anyone is falsely reassured their microbiome health has been covered for the day in that one shot, or think it will counterbalance a diet otherwise filled with ultra-processed foods or low in plants. Those M&S customers looking for a convenient, feel-good snack or a quick yet reassuring breakfast, however, may well enjoy it.