Summary

This is a science project to perform "before" and "after" testing on the gut biomes of a family of four in response to a diet supplemented with resistant starch.

The positive effect of resistant starch on blood glucose control has been the source of many recent anecdotal reports among health bloggers on the internet. The mechanism is not entirely clear, but evidence suggests better feeding and nutrition of symbiotic bacteria in the gut microbiome is causative.

The goal of this project is to measure and compare the effects of resistant starch dose-responses on gut biome in as reasonably controlled a manner as possible by selecting an otherwise typical and healthy family that lives and eats together.

• A secondary goal of this project is to provide a proof-of-concept and, perhaps, a template for future crowd-sourced, small-scale diet and health experiments.
  

Methods

I will purchase two "Microbes for Four" swab kits from the American Biome Project.

At the start of the project four members of our family, two adults and two children, will provide a stool swab.

Over the course of a 6 week study period I will maintain a food journal for each participant and provide a daily diet supplement of resistant starch in the form of Bob's Red Mill Unmodified Potato Starch. Each participant will follow a unique supplementation regimen:

a) adult 1 - 2 TBSP mixed in water, consumed on an empty stomach

b) adult 2 - 4 TBSP mixed in water, consumed on an empty stomach

c) child 1 - 1 TBSP potato starch plus 1 TSP whole psyllium husk mixed into yogurt

d) child 2 - 1 TBSP potato starch mixed into yogurt

At the conclusion of the study period the four test subjects will provide a second stool swab for comparison purposes. The lab results from both swabs will be shared publicly on the internet.

Our current diet is almost entirely home-cooked meals somewhere between primal/paleo-ish and WAPF. None of us has supplemented with potato starch previously. We do eat, a few times a week up to almost daily, an heirloom strain of viili yogurt that I culture myself. More details, including a fairly typical week of meals for us are recorded at the project blog.

Stretch Goals

If the project is over-funded I will perform additional "before" & "after" lab tests in consultation with Dr. BG from the blog Animal Pharm. She has worked extensively with others on rehabilitating their gut biome and is an expert in the practice. I will also be providing to her a $50 honorarium for her help, advice, and assistance.

As an example of additional testing, we are looking into additional profiling that would cover non-bacterial micro-organisms like protozoa, fungi, and parasites. Another possibility dependent on over-funding would be biome testing from additional service providers to document, compare, and contrast the different results and reporting methods of different lab services.

I may also do a limited amount of blood glucose testing using an OTC blood-glucose meter and disposable test strips.

We will do these for one or more of the study participants as financial resources allow. 

As of this writing, the exact costs for the additional tests are unknown so I can't give precise goal levels for each set of additional tests. Dr. BG is graciously and actively researching the available options and their associated costs.