I've been sick for a while trying everything and finally found the solution. After going through all different diets, I landed on a high prebiotic WFPB diet (100-150g/day) and after 3 months, a qPCR stool test (GI MAP) showed low levels of Strep/Staph/Candida and no other pathogens in the problematic range. It also showed lower levels of Bifido/F prausnitzii/Lacto/Akkermansia. The most interesting was the inflammatory markers which were extremely low, which is the only way the biome will grow as I understand it. Unfortunately no improvement with my stool appearance (color/consistency).
I discovered methylfolate after stumbling on to a guide about correcting a B12 deficiency. It is important to note that my B12 levels in all my blood work for years has been good (high) despite illness, but apparently that means nothing, and considering how important B12 is for gut health, this was intriguing to me. After 1 month of high dose supplementing with methyl-B12, in addition to the above diet, no change. The guide also mentions how critical methylfolate is for B12 utilization, but my diet has 6x the RDA of folate, so I assumed it was fine. I then came across some studies on how high doses of methylfolate are required to heal the central nervous system, but didn't think anything of it's effects for the gut given the 6x RDA of folate. Turns out there are a variety of reasons why high amounts are required for any noticeable affect, MTHFR, COMT, illness. So I decided to try a bottle and I experienced instant effects. I was in bed for a week which is normal and known as "wake-up" symptoms, suggesting there is a serious deficiency and your deficient symptoms are "waking up" essentially. After the week, I upped the dose as tolerated to 4mg/day (10x RDA) and stayed there to test. Within 1 month, my stool returned to "normal", the fungus was gone, along with some psychological symptoms (irritability, anxiety, depression, fatigue). Before the fungus in my stool disappeared, I saw pieces of undigested meat (steak) come out in my stool when I hadn't eaten any for about 4 months! I believe the steak was feeding pathogens in the small intestines that were producing toxins and metabolizing the bile before it reached the colon, or perhaps simply crowding out the beneficial bacteria (BSH enzyme producing) in the colon that metabolizes bile and turns it brown. I believe this worked because the deficiency in methyl-B12/folate caused nerve degeneration and since the gut is filled with nerves (enteric nervous system), it negatively affected my gut motility which allowed the steak to sit and rot.
Perhaps this can help others as it is foundational to the gut and not commonly found as most blood tests are inaccurate. It is important to note that the guide mentions the entire B12/Folate utilization system is dependant on a variety of other vitamins/minerals, so if you are deficient in one of them, utilization will go down. Those are zinc, magnesium, iodine, molybdenum, potassium, iron, B-complex, and vitamin C/D/E.
I would post a link to the guide but I'm not sure if I'm allowed.
EDIT: https://web.archive.org/web/20241205051028/https://old.reddit.com/r/B12_Deficiency/wiki/index
Here is an excerpt of what a deficiency in the above two vitamins does to the gut:
Vitamin B12 deficiency impairs mitochondrial metabolism in ileal epithelial cells, reducing their mitochondrial respiration and fatty acid β-oxidation, which compromises epithelial oxygen consumption and disrupts intestinal oxygen homeostasis. This leads to altered epithelial cell metabolism, diminished proliferation capacity, and increased susceptibility to inflammation and pathogen expansion, such as aerobic Salmonella growth. B12 deficiency also alters the gut microbiota composition, reducing beneficial short-chain fatty acid–producing microbes and metabolites that support epithelial health. Additionally, B12 deficiency can weaken the intestinal barrier by impairing junction protein expression and increasing inflammation. Folate deficiency in the gut mucosa causes increased crypt depth and nuclear size but reduced epithelial cell mitosis, indicating impaired epithelial renewal and function. Both deficiencies thus promote epithelial dysfunction, inflammation-prone states, and dysbiosis, disrupting gut homeostasis and barrier integrity.
I discovered methylfolate after stumbling on to a guide about correcting a B12 deficiency. It is important to note that my B12 levels in all my blood work for years has been good (high) despite illness, but apparently that means nothing, and considering how important B12 is for gut health, this was intriguing to me. After 1 month of high dose supplementing with methyl-B12, in addition to the above diet, no change. The guide also mentions how critical methylfolate is for B12 utilization, but my diet has 6x the RDA of folate, so I assumed it was fine. I then came across some studies on how high doses of methylfolate are required to heal the central nervous system, but didn't think anything of it's effects for the gut given the 6x RDA of folate. Turns out there are a variety of reasons why high amounts are required for any noticeable affect, MTHFR, COMT, illness. So I decided to try a bottle and I experienced instant effects. I was in bed for a week which is normal and known as "wake-up" symptoms, suggesting there is a serious deficiency and your deficient symptoms are "waking up" essentially. After the week, I upped the dose as tolerated to 4mg/day (10x RDA) and stayed there to test. Within 1 month, my stool returned to "normal", the fungus was gone, along with some psychological symptoms (irritability, anxiety, depression, fatigue). Before the fungus in my stool disappeared, I saw pieces of undigested meat (steak) come out in my stool when I hadn't eaten any for about 4 months! I believe the steak was feeding pathogens in the small intestines that were producing toxins and metabolizing the bile before it reached the colon, or perhaps simply crowding out the beneficial bacteria (BSH enzyme producing) in the colon that metabolizes bile and turns it brown. I believe this worked because the deficiency in methyl-B12/folate caused nerve degeneration and since the gut is filled with nerves (enteric nervous system), it negatively affected my gut motility which allowed the steak to sit and rot.
Perhaps this can help others as it is foundational to the gut and not commonly found as most blood tests are inaccurate. It is important to note that the guide mentions the entire B12/Folate utilization system is dependant on a variety of other vitamins/minerals, so if you are deficient in one of them, utilization will go down. Those are zinc, magnesium, iodine, molybdenum, potassium, iron, B-complex, and vitamin C/D/E.
I would post a link to the guide but I'm not sure if I'm allowed.
EDIT: https://web.archive.org/web/20241205051028/https://old.reddit.com/r/B12_Deficiency/wiki/index
Here is an excerpt of what a deficiency in the above two vitamins does to the gut:
Vitamin B12 deficiency impairs mitochondrial metabolism in ileal epithelial cells, reducing their mitochondrial respiration and fatty acid β-oxidation, which compromises epithelial oxygen consumption and disrupts intestinal oxygen homeostasis. This leads to altered epithelial cell metabolism, diminished proliferation capacity, and increased susceptibility to inflammation and pathogen expansion, such as aerobic Salmonella growth. B12 deficiency also alters the gut microbiota composition, reducing beneficial short-chain fatty acid–producing microbes and metabolites that support epithelial health. Additionally, B12 deficiency can weaken the intestinal barrier by impairing junction protein expression and increasing inflammation. Folate deficiency in the gut mucosa causes increased crypt depth and nuclear size but reduced epithelial cell mitosis, indicating impaired epithelial renewal and function. Both deficiencies thus promote epithelial dysfunction, inflammation-prone states, and dysbiosis, disrupting gut homeostasis and barrier integrity.
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