Jean,
As always, I love the way you think! I just gave a talk on Epigenetics and Breastfeeding for GOLD. This concept peppers the papers I have been reading for the past several years and in fact was developed by Edward Bach (the developer of Bach Flower Remedies). He developed homeopathic bowel nosodes at the turn of the last century and many homeopaths use them today. In fact, there are quite a few references from early texts on the significance of gut flora to health. As usual, Western medicine is at least a century behind holistic medicine. 

But, I think there is a lot more to consider if you were to find the ideal donor, as breastfeeding alone is not sufficient. Infants inherit maternal flora, so you would want an infant who has an uninterrupted heritage of having been normally birthed and breastfed in a physiologically normal way. And you would want the mother to have excellent gut health herself, which would mean you probably won't find anyone in North America as any use of abx ever damages flora as does use of NSAIDs, oral contraceptives, reflux meds, vaccines, steroids and certainly anything more serious (really, any meds), you would want her to have not been exposed to fluoride and chlorinated water or significant environmental toxins (like farmland) or GMOs or have mercury fillings or to have consumed any version of a SAD. And, of course, there are at least three different families of gut flora identified among humans, similar to different blood types. The ideal donor would look so little like what we have done to modern humans, I think. 

I admit, I do think with the rise in EGIDs and superbugs (caused by the list above), we are going to see more fecal transplants, but I would really like to see us dig into the holistic documents and approach this with as much awareness and holism as possible. 

 

 

Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, USA & France
Intuitive Parenting Network, LLC
 




Date:    Sat, 8 Jun 2013 12:09:56 -0400
From:    "K. Jean Cotterman" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Fecal microbiota transplant

I just heard a Medscape presentation on a newer approach to the treatment of 
someone with repeated bouts of C. Difficile diarrhea, often first brought about 
by multiple courses of certain antibiotics. There is a $500 cost to screening 
the stool of the donor, which is not covered by insurance. There is a very 
careful diagnostic and treatment plan for how, under anesthetic, this procedure 
takes place. The carefully prepared sample of the donor stool is diluted and 
placed, by way of the rectum, sigmoid etc. all the way up inside the recipient 
to "re-seed" the lower intestine of the recipient with different flora that now 
has a good "track record" (94%-97%) of solving the problem. This idea has 
apparently been used successfully off and on since ancient times and also in 
veterinary medicine.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/779307?src=wnl_edit_specol&uac=95507PZ

One must ordinarily be subscribed to Medscape to receive articles, but 
registration is free and one can disenroll right after.

I wonder what the reaction will be to the question I then posted:

<Has anyone given any thought to using the stool of an exclusively breastfed 
infant (who has never had antibiotics) either for the kind of transplant 
procedure you described, or, in fact, for placing small doses of the actual 
stool in gelcaps for oral ingestion if the patient is perhaps a relative, or the 
infant donor from a personally known reliable family who they can trust to know 
the baby has never had his/her microbiota/intestinal environment changed with 
even one artificial baby milk product? If the recipient consents with permission 
to do it this way, perhaps after appropriate scientific testing for evidentiary 
guidelines, it could thereafter be done without the expense of screening???>

A curious mind wanted to know.

K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer LC       Dayton OH




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