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It's the Microbiome Stupid
Quote from Armin on January 29, 2026, 7:35 amWeek 5 and the improvements keep on coming. Can't wait to see what month 2 and 3 look like.
@armin Could you clarify exactly what "variables" you changed? Is it something like this?
- Before: low vA diet, taking or experimenting with a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements.
- After: low vA diet, no supplements, special probiotic yoghurt
Quote from Navid on January 29, 2026, 7:40 amQuote from Armin on January 29, 2026, 7:35 amWeek 5 and the improvements keep on coming. Can't wait to see what month 2 and 3 look like.
@armin Could you clarify exactly what "variables" you changed? Is it something like this?
- Before: low vA diet, taking or experimenting with a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements.
- After: low vA diet, no supplements, special probiotic yoghurt
The past month, nothing changed other than the yoghurt.
I stopped taking the B vitamins about a year ago because it either wasn't doing anything or felt worse on them.
Same with the zinc/selenium/moly combo. Been about a year. I've tried to introduce them multiple times throughout the year but I always felt terrible and thought these may be exacerbating it so I held off until I felt a little better. I never really felt better so they are still in my cabinet. I can try to incorporate them now and report back.
Only thing I had been taking semiregularly that I still do is the psyllium husk. This fiber didn't cause many issues so I stuck with it. It didn't make any real improvements though.
The fermented dairy product is truly the only change I have made in the past month.
In case anyone is wondering on how to make it and not search through blogs and videos...
3 strains.
-lactobacillus reuteri
-lactobacillus gasseri
-baccillus subtilis
look up the characteristics of these probiotics. They destroy pathogenic microbes and do all kinds of great things.
Fermentation process
ferment the first 2 for 36 hours, the 3rd for 24 hours. I do 3 separate individual batches
temp for first 2 is 100F, temp for 3rd is 95F
I use an instapot with temp customization
1 tablespoon of inulin per quart of product for fermentation
the medium/liquid can be numerous things. most stick with half and half
1 capsule (2 for subtilis product linked below) of probiotic per quart of liquid medium mixed in with inulin.
You can use 2 tablespoons from a batch of yogurt as a starter for a subsequent batch in lieu of a probiotic capsule. I usually add 1 capsule for good measure as I tend to create half gallon and full gallon batches.
sources for microbes
L reuteri: https://www.oxiceutics.com/products/myreuteri?variant=45917346627811
L gasseri: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-Probiotic-Supplement-Regularity/dp/B09CSFTM24?th=1
This is worth looking at.
Probably the next idea I am willing to experiment with.
but not with an instant pot.
Quote from Joe2 on January 29, 2026, 4:23 pmbut not with an instant pot.
Not trying to challenge you. Just curious what avenue you are thinking about taking. I've seen some people use heating pads in insulated Styrofoam containers to ferment. Seems like a decent idea once you get the things tweaked just right.
No worries on the challenge. Reason is that instant pot blew up on me couple winters ago. I was lucky I had my back to it and many layers of winter gear still on me. Back of my snow removal gear got pretty well coated with boiling chicken broth. Instant Pot was belligerently unhelpful in repair. Easy part but they refused to sell it.
Might try something like Berg used although I dislike the digital aspect of it. I used to make 5 pints of yogurt every few days using a crock pot and then letting it ferment on a warm shelf smothered in wool blankets. Made great yogurt. We just used Danon's culture. When we try it again, will try your sources. Thank you.
Quote from Armin on January 29, 2026, 8:07 amIn case anyone is wondering on how to make it and not search through blogs and videos...
3 strains.
-lactobacillus reuteri
-lactobacillus gasseri
-baccillus subtilis
look up the characteristics of these probiotics. They destroy pathogenic microbes and do all kinds of great things.
Fermentation process
ferment the first 2 for 36 hours, the 3rd for 24 hours. I do 3 separate individual batches
temp for first 2 is 100F, temp for 3rd is 95F
I use an instapot with temp customization
1 tablespoon of inulin per quart of product for fermentation
the medium/liquid can be numerous things. most stick with half and half
1 capsule (2 for subtilis product linked below) of probiotic per quart of liquid medium mixed in with inulin.
You can use 2 tablespoons from a batch of yogurt as a starter for a subsequent batch in lieu of a probiotic capsule. I usually add 1 capsule for good measure as I tend to create half gallon and full gallon batches.
sources for microbes
L reuteri: https://www.oxiceutics.com/products/myreuteri?variant=45917346627811
L gasseri: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-Probiotic-Supplement-Regularity/dp/B09CSFTM24?th=1
I want to try this. I never had amazing results from yogurt, but maybe this would be different? Also, those probiotics are expensive, I've spent so much money on supplements can we go cheaper on these?
Quote from Joe2 on January 29, 2026, 4:33 pmNo worries on the challenge. Reason is that instant pot blew up on me couple winters ago. I was lucky I had my back to it and many layers of winter gear still on me. Back of my snow removal gear got pretty well coated with boiling chicken broth. Instant Pot was belligerently unhelpful in repair. Easy part but they refused to sell it.
Might try something like Berg used although I dislike the digital aspect of it. I used to make 5 pints of yogurt every few days using a crock pot and then letting it ferment on a warm shelf smothered in wool blankets. Made great yogurt. We just used Danon's culture. When we try it again, will try your sources. Thank you.
Gotcha.
Were you using the pressure cooking setting on the instapot or was it something else?
I'm not opposed to other strains for fermentation. Some could be fun to mess around with. These 3 seem to have a powerful impact.
Quote from Janelle525 on January 29, 2026, 4:42 pmQuote from Armin on January 29, 2026, 8:07 amIn case anyone is wondering on how to make it and not search through blogs and videos...
3 strains.
-lactobacillus reuteri
-lactobacillus gasseri
-baccillus subtilis
look up the characteristics of these probiotics. They destroy pathogenic microbes and do all kinds of great things.
Fermentation process
ferment the first 2 for 36 hours, the 3rd for 24 hours. I do 3 separate individual batches
temp for first 2 is 100F, temp for 3rd is 95F
I use an instapot with temp customization
1 tablespoon of inulin per quart of product for fermentation
the medium/liquid can be numerous things. most stick with half and half
1 capsule (2 for subtilis product linked below) of probiotic per quart of liquid medium mixed in with inulin.
You can use 2 tablespoons from a batch of yogurt as a starter for a subsequent batch in lieu of a probiotic capsule. I usually add 1 capsule for good measure as I tend to create half gallon and full gallon batches.
sources for microbes
L reuteri: https://www.oxiceutics.com/products/myreuteri?variant=45917346627811
L gasseri: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-Probiotic-Supplement-Regularity/dp/B09CSFTM24?th=1
I want to try this. I never had amazing results from yogurt, but maybe this would be different? Also, those probiotics are expensive, I've spent so much money on supplements can we go cheaper on these?
The probiotics are only used to kick start the culture and from there you can just restart it with amounts from previous batches. All 3 are really good strains but you may choose to start with 1 to see how things go. If you do choose only 1, L Reuteri was the OG one chosen by William Davis.
The capsules have 10 billion CFUs each. That is a decent amount but the yogurt we are making has around 300 billion per 1/2 cup. The digestive tract has around 30 to 100 trillion. Not only are you getting the microbes, you are getting the bacteriocins and other postbiotics that elicit change. It's like a wave of mercenaries making its way through your digestive tract.
Quote from Armin on January 29, 2026, 4:46 pmQuote from Joe2 on January 29, 2026, 4:33 pmNo worries on the challenge. Reason is that instant pot blew up on me couple winters ago. I was lucky I had my back to it and many layers of winter gear still on me. Back of my snow removal gear got pretty well coated with boiling chicken broth. Instant Pot was belligerently unhelpful in repair. Easy part but they refused to sell it.
Might try something like Berg used although I dislike the digital aspect of it. I used to make 5 pints of yogurt every few days using a crock pot and then letting it ferment on a warm shelf smothered in wool blankets. Made great yogurt. We just used Danon's culture. When we try it again, will try your sources. Thank you.
Gotcha.
Were you using the pressure cooking setting on the instapot or was it something else?
I'm not opposed to other strains for fermentation. Some could be fun to mess around with. These 3 seem to have a powerful impact.
Yes. We pressure cooked the soup. The part was a tiny o-ring on the pressure relief valve. The silicone rings were easily replaced cleaned every use. This black rubber o-ring was deeper in the lid and meant to never be replaced. I repaired pneumatic nail guns in another life. It is a $0.05 part and easy to replace. The choice they recommended was to replace our 6 year old instant pot with a new one. Zero parts distribution zero repair shops in the US. Refused to ship from anywhere to anywhere on the planet. Hours to get through computer answering system to kid in Philippines who's only skill was being nice.
So nope. Zero use for that company and any others made over seas and with parts and computer systems that are going to fail. 6 years for an o-ring. Surprised it did not fail sooner. Not a problem and completely predictable. Which means the cooker exploding like that is completely predictable.
I want to try those three instead of Danon. If nothing else just based on fact that Danon (and their corporate owners) have not had my best interest at heart ever.