Maltodextrin

[Sherlock]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520894/

These findings demonstrate that the ubiquitous dietary component MDX enhances E. coli adhesion and suggests a mechanism by which Western diets rich in specific polysaccharides may promote dysbiosis of gut microbes and contribute to disease susceptibility.

PLoS One. 2012;
Crohn's Disease-Associated Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli Adhesion Is Enhanced by Exposure to the Ubiquitous Dietary Polysaccharide Maltodextrin

Another striking change in the microbiota of CD patients is in the spatial organization of the microbiome. In healthy individuals, the microbiota is separated from direct contact with the intestinal epithelium, while in CD patients gut bacteria form a dense biofilm structure in intimate proximity with the epithelium

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4084946/

These findings indicate that consumption of processed foods containing the polysaccharide MDX contributes to suppression of intestinal anti-microbial defense mechanisms and may be an environmental priming factor for the development of chronic inflammatory disease.

PLoS One. 2014
The Dietary Polysaccharide Maltodextrin Promotes Salmonella Survival and Mucosal Colonization in Mice

 

[melamine]

Maltodextrin can be neurotoxic to me, so I avoid it. It is sometimes used as a supplement filler.

 

[Sherlock]

I think from experience that it might very well be worse for gut dysbiosis than sucrose - even as fuel for the bad microbes.

 

[picante]

Maltodextrin can be neurotoxic to me, so I avoid it. It is sometimes used as a supplement filler.

It's the glutamic acid that's neurotoxic:
"When MSG is used as a processing aid, it is not required by the FDA to be declared on the label. MSG is in hydrolyzed animal, vegetable (textured vegetable protein TVP), and milk protein. Calcium and sodium cassinate are by-products of hydrolyzed milk products. It is found in maltodextrin from processed corn and cornstarch."
http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=207

 

[GracieJ]

Corn derivatives = GMO. Maltodextrin, MSG, among others. One of the toughest things I have been up against was the development of corn allergy. It took ten months to completely identify all additives in my supplements and find safe alternatives. I lived with a poison-ivy-like rash and facial and arm swelling on and off through that time period. The rash burned, stung, itched, and ached all at the same time. I have wondered what else was going on in my body from this. Printed out, the corn derivative list is three pages long.

This does not surprise me at all, and now I am aware of it, I will be looking at it closely. Dysbiosis is one malady I have not been able to correct or lessen. Probiotics leave me with bad stomaches. Fermented cabbage water, diluted, has been the only thing tolerated. This answers some questions.

 

[Wayne]

I watch a lot of YouTube videos, and have recently started often using the AI website Perplexity. One nice thing is you can ask Perplexity what a specific author(s) has to say about a particular topic, even a YouTube video creator, as these AI websites can search the transcripts of the videos. I recently watched one of Eric Berg's on maltodextrin, and was a bit shocked by how bad it is.

So I asked Perplexity what Dr. Eric Berg has to say about maltodextrin. Below is the reply. I discovered this PR thread when I did a subject search on maltodextrin. It's often used as a filler in supplements, so I would advise against using supplements that have it listed as an ingredient. @Hope_eternal -- I'm tagging you in case your son might be getting it in his body via supplements or anywhere else. -- @GracieJ

Answer
According to the YouTube videos by Dr. Eric Berg, he has several major criticisms of maltodextrin:

1. Maltodextrin is worse than regular sugar in terms of its impact on blood sugar levels. It has an extremely high glycemic index of around 110-136, compared to table sugar which is only 64. This means it causes a massive spike in blood sugar and insulin when consumed.
2. Maltodextrin is derived primarily from genetically modified corn that has been exposed to glyphosate (Roundup herbicide). Even when derived from wheat or other sources, the processing removes most nutrients.
3. Maltodextrin can negatively impact gut health by suppressing beneficial probiotic bacteria and increasing harmful strains like E. coli.
4. It is a highly processed additive used mainly as a filler, thickener, preservative and sweetener in many processed foods, supplements, medications and even baby formula. Dr. Berg advises carefully reading labels to avoid products containing maltodextrin.
5. Despite being metabolized like sugar, maltodextrin is not required to be listed as "sugar" on nutrition labels, allowing companies to market products as low in sugar while still containing high amounts of maltodextrin.
6. Dr. Berg strongly recommends avoiding maltodextrin, especially for those following a ketogenic diet, due to its detrimental effects on blood sugar control and potential negative impacts on gut health.

In summary, Dr. Berg portrays maltodextrin as a cheap, unhealthy additive that food companies use to improve texture and shelf-life while misleading consumers about its true nature as an easily digestible, high-glycemic carbohydrate.

 

[Artemisia]

Bummer. I depend on cascara sagrada powder to relieve chronic lifelong constipation. It's the cleanest formula I could find and the most effective, but it has maltodextrin.

 

[almost]

Good info on maltodextrin -- I avoid it whenever possible. It is in A LOT of supplements -- one reason I encapsulate as much of my own now as possible.

Bummer. I depend on cascara sagrada powder to relieve chronic lifelong constipation. It's the cleanest formula I could find and the most effective, but it has maltodextrin.

I too had suffered from lifelong chronic constipation. I began experimenting with high dose Vitamin C (for dysbiosis, specifically IMO -- Intestinal Methanogen Ovegrowth), and when I hit 15g in one day, suddenly no more constipation when nothing else was changed. Also appeared to fix my fat utilization in digestion. No constipation since.

Your mileage may vary in effect and dosage required -- my biology seems to require VERY high doses, so you may achieve results below 15g.

 

[Wayne]

I began experimenting with high dose Vitamin C

Hi @almost -- I'm happy to hear how well high dose Vit. C worked for you. I've been keenly aware of many benefits of high dose Vit. C, and in particularly how it can be used to cure polio literally 100% of the time.

Frederick Klenner is the rural country doctor who successfully treated polio back in the 1940s, and successfully treated most other childhood diseases the same way. I recently ran across this excerpt you might find interesting.

Conversation with Dr. Fred Klenner on Pregnancy and Childbirth Assisted by Vitamin C, June 1978.

Summary transcription of Dr. Klenner's comments:

For a consecutive series of 322 pregnancies we gave vitamin C in similar doses to those recommended by Irwin Stone in his book, "The Healing Factor". [1] We advised 4 grams per day in the first trimester, 6 gm/d in the second and 10 gm/d in the last trimester. I've been involved with 2,500 pregnancies during my career... that gave me the basis for comparisons. All deliveries were at one hospital, the Annie Penn Memorial Hospital in Reidsville, NC.

We always observed the vitamin C to be a helping factor -- very definitely! The first thing I started to notice, 30 years ago (1948), that when I was giving vitamin C to some of the women, their blood counts remained better than those who weren't receiving it. That was the first thing we found that turned us on to giving high doses of vitamin C. We found that vitamin C, given over the course of the pregnancy, generally makes labor shorter and less painful.

That's where the elasticity of the perineum comes in. Though ordinarily we saw labor take 24 hours, labor with vitamin C was reduced to down to not more than six hours and most of the time they were in labor only three or four hours. When you reduce the time, you reduce the pain. Delivery was easy because the perineum would stretch so much more easily than in women who didn't receive the vitamin C.

Another thing you may sometimes get after the child is born is hemorrhaging. We had no hemorrhaging or excess bleeding in this series. Two thirds of the non-vitamin C patients had some type of bleeding, but with vitamin C we had none whatsoever. So vitamin C, in the program of 4 to 10 grams daily, improved the elasticity of not only the perineum, but also the blood vessels themselves.

"We never had a single stretch mark after we started on this regime of high dose vitamin C."

We seldom saw abdominal wrinkles -- the "striae." We never had a single stretch mark after we started on this regime of high dose vitamin C. Previously, we hit a quota which was about one out of three pretty bad, and another third would show some degree of striae. The abdomen stretches when the uterus enlarges rapidly, and the skin is damaged when it cannot expand fast enough. We noted this in the ones we delivered.

We had one lady who delivered several babies in our program. Before she started in our program, she had a few striae from her first two pregnancies and labors. After that we had her on this protocol of vitamin C and she actually improved her abdominal skin. We found that in this program the perineum recovered quickly and completely.

Did we have any toxic manifestations? Hardly, in this group -- we only had toxic manifestations in about one per cent of the cases. I found that on average the right amount was 10,000 mg/day. It's important to find and maintain the right level. Szent-Györgyi too in his recent experiments has proved that dose to be correct. That's just to keep the body normal. If you got the sniffles or something more serious (and you could get that even taking 10 grams), for example if you got a really potent virus, you would have to double that dose or more to compensate.

Any miscarriages? Not a single one.

 

[Artemisia]

I too had suffered from lifelong chronic constipation. I began experimenting with high dose Vitamin C (for dysbiosis, specifically IMO -- Intestinal Methanogen Ovegrowth), and when I hit 15g in one day, suddenly no more constipation when nothing else was changed. Also appeared to fix my fat utilization in digestion. No constipation since.

Thanks! What brand do you take?

I had a similar effect with Vitamin C as well years ago. Since then though I stayed away from it because I read that most Vitamin C is now contaminated with heavy metals, especially lead. Maybe worth asking the manufacturer for a composition analysis.

 

[Wayne]

I read that most Vitamin C is now contaminated with heavy metals, especially lead.

Hi @Artemisia -- Thanks for mentioning this. I just did a quick online and AI search, and couldn't find much on potential contamination. One AI search said they found contamination in 4 out of 12 effervescent tablet supplements. When I asked it if other forms were analyzed, it said no, and also said it was a limitation of study that was done. I'd be interested in any information you might have on this.

On another topic, you mentioned in one of your posts about some of your dental issues. You might find the below video interesting, one I just discovered yesterday. Below is a copy of an email I sent to my sister.

I think if a person has "long-term" dental issues, things can be at least temporarily improved using some things like ozone, and oil pulling techniques using various substances like charcoal, bentonite clay, wheatgrass juice powder, tea oil oil, etc. to reduce oral pathogens, and keep things from at least getting worse until longer-term decisions are made. -- Here's the email...
......................................

The first link is to a video by a dentist who describes how she uses ozone in her practice for desensitization. The second link is to an inexpensive ozone bubbling device I just ordered yesterday from Amazon for $15.

Perfecore Water Ozonator - Odor Eliminator and Fresh Water Machine w/Diffuser Stones and Timer - For Home, Kitchen, Fruits & Vegetables - 600 mg/Hour

I have some ozonated hemp oil softgels, and just yesterday put the oil from one of them in my mouth for about 15 minutes. I plan to do this daily to see whether it decreases some of the sensitivity in my mouth I feel after I eat cold foods.

I did a query on an AI website called Perplexity, and asked it if ozone affects tooth enamel. I was wondering if it might be detrimental, and was pleasantly surprised by the answer (below). It looks like a person can get a lot of dental benefits for just $15. There's lots more benefits to ozone than just dental and oral health, such as treating COVID and Long COVID. Anyway, $15 for all those benefits is my kind of bargain!

Answer
Yes, ozonated water can positively affect tooth enamel in several ways:

1. It strengthens and remineralizes enamel. Ozonated water has been shown to promote remineralization of early carious lesions (cavities) in the enamel. The oxidizing properties of ozone help reverse demineralization and strengthen the enamel structure.
2. It disinfects and removes biofilm. Ozonated water is an effective antimicrobial agent that can eliminate cariogenic bacteria like Streptococcus mutans from the tooth surface. This prevents further enamel demineralization by disrupting the biofilm that causes cavities.
3. It reverses early enamel erosion. Studies have found that ozonated water can reverse early erosive enamel lesions by promoting remineralization and reducing enamel surface roughness.
4. It enhances enamel microhardness. The application of ozonated water has been demonstrated to increase the microhardness of enamel, making it more resistant to acid attacks and abrasion.

The antimicrobial and oxidative properties of ozonated water make it an effective agent for strengthening, disinfecting, and remineralizing enamel, especially in the early stages of enamel demineralization and erosion. However, for more advanced carious lesions that have penetrated deeper into the tooth, traditional restorative treatment may still be required.

 

[pamojja]

though I stayed away from it because I read that most Vitamin C is now contaminated with heavy metals, especially lead.

Since I consume high doses of cheap Chinese ascorbic acid powder, in average at 25 g/d for 15 years now, I did check for 8 consecutive years with hair tissue mineral analyses. To be able to adjust, if there would be ongoing exposure to heavy metals, as for example from the vitamin C. But from Ayurvedic herbs too, which can be contaminated.

Nada, only after Fukushima Uranium was elevated for 2 years in HTMA.

 

[Artemisia]

Since I consume high doses of cheap Chinese ascorbic acid powder, in average at 25 g/d for 15 years now, I did check for 8 consecutive years with hair tissue mineral analyses. To be able to adjust, if there would be ongoing exposure to heavy metals, as for example from the vitamin C. But from Ayurvedic herbs too, which can be contaminated.

Nada, only after Fukushima Uranium was elevated for 2 years in HTMA.

that's a little comforting but then I worry that HTMAs are not accurate. I know of someone whose HTMA showed low mercury when he was mercury poisoned.

 

[pamojja]

whose HTMA showed low mercury when he was mercury poisoned

I wouldn't trust HTMAs for past exposures, either. Since those heavy metals prefer to accumulate, for example in the brain, where they could do damage. So no, it can't show what's already tucked away in body stores, but ongoing exposures in circulation would very likely show up in hair. At least for the 3 months due to tested hair length.