tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/self-experimentation-35247/articlesSelf-experimentation – The Conversation2023-11-22T14:24:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180832023-11-22T14:24:05Z2023-11-22T14:24:05ZDIY faecal transplants? Don’t try this at home<p>Saffron Cassidy suffered from ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, for 15 years before she allegedly cured it using her partner’s poop. “It’s been about three and a half years of having no symptoms whatsoever,” <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/fecal-microbiota-transplantation-010705806.html">she told Yahoo Life</a>. “And my colonoscopies show complete histologic remission.”</p>
<p>Now Cassidy has become an evangelist for the procedure known as faecal microbiota transplants (FMT). She has even <a href="https://www.designershitdocumentary.com/">made a documentary</a>, Designer Shit: A Microbiome Love Story.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019567011830402X?via%3Dihub#sec10">restrictions</a> on the conditions doctors can treat using FMT, but a growing body of published work on FMTs holds promise for a range of disorders. </p>
<p>This has triggered <a href="https://www.insider.com/social-media-teaching-how-to-do-fecal-transplants-at-home-2020-2">several social media videos</a> on how people can generate their own FMT products and administer the treatment in their own homes. However, this DIY approach carries significant risks. </p>
<p>FMT is the process of taking the faeces of an apparently healthy person and transplanting it into the intestines of a recipient in the belief that repopulating the natural microbial ecosystem of a patient with that of another may help alleviate certain medical problems. </p>
<p>Although rooted in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664618305552?via%3Dihub">ancient Chinese medicine</a>, modern FMT requires further scientific research to understand the mechanism of action and, more importantly, how to ensure the treatment is performed safely without risking introducing additional health issues to the recipient. </p>
<p>Over the last couple of decades, research into the human gut microbiome has given strong indications that the community of bacteria in our intestines are inextricably linked to both good health and poor health. </p>
<p>In the latter category, our microbiome has been linked with <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nutritiontodayonline/abstract/2016/07000/the_gut_microbiome_and_its_role_in_obesity.3.aspx">obesity</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.733992/full">inflammatory bowel diseases</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/4/942">multiple sclerosis</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00669/full">depression</a>, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/anxiety-might-be-alleviated-by-regulating-gut-bacteria/">anxiety</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cei/article/209/2/161/6598236?login=false">autoimmune disease</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00669/full">sleep disorders</a>, brain disorders such as <a href="https://karger.com/anm/article/77/Suppl.%202/28/821404/Parkinson-s-Disease-and-Gut-Microbiota">Parkinson’s disease</a>, and many more. </p>
<p>So before any FMT treatments can take place, the prospective donors undergo strict screening of their faeces and blood for potentially harmful bacteria or viruses that may further harm the patient – both immediately and in the long run. DIY FMT does not have these safeguards. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nDPjGAGEak?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How FMT is used to treat a persistent C diff infection.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>DIY approach lacks safeguards</h2>
<p>In cases of DIY faecal transplants, the sufferers will often take poo samples from partners, family members, or close friends in the belief that they are healthy. But they will be unaware of any hidden factors that could cause further complications. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these DIY “success stories” may lead to more people believing that they may be cured of afflictions through repeating the process, but there is no guarantee of success and a very real threat of complications in later years.</p>
<p>How many of us would dream of buying raw materials and taking the risk of trying to make our own medicines at home? Perhaps it is the familiarity of faeces that makes people see it differently from traditional medicine. </p>
<p>Yet it is unlikely that anyone would take the risk of picking a tablet at random from an unmarked box in the hope that it may cure them of a health problem. Yet using unscreened faeces for an FMT procedure is in essence just that.</p>
<p>Scientists are working hard alongside doctors to understand what is needed to be able to provide FMT for a wide range of potential treatments and getting closer every year to reaching this goal. </p>
<p>In the meantime, reports of DIY FMT are likely to increase as success stories are reported in the media. But the final message should always be clear that doing so is gambling with their health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Kellingray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media reports of people trying faecal transplants at home and curing their long-term illness are increasing. But the potential harms are considerable and rarely discussed.Lee Kellingray, Researcher, Translational Microbiome, Quadram InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2122132023-09-07T08:44:21Z2023-09-07T08:44:21ZI ‘self-experimented’ to compare a vegan diet with eating meat – this is what I found out<p>Three years ago I was briefly dating a primary school teacher who happened to be a part-time animal rights activist. The experience made me make a decision I’ve been living with ever since. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/veganism-25812">Veganism</a>.</p>
<p>Last year I concluded that as a scientist I finally needed to study what effect this decision was having on me and decide whether I should stick to veganism for life or give it up.</p>
<p>By conducting a “self-experiment”, the results of which were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938423002263">recently published</a> in Physiology and Behaviour, I found that veganism had benefits for my waistline, did not reduce the pleasure I derived from eating and – contrary to <a href="https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8004713/vegetarian-diet-risk-for-depression-new-research/">some previous research</a> that suggested a vegan diet could increase the risk of depression – had no effect on my mental health whatsoever. </p>
<p>For most of my adult life I’d dabbled with <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/pescatarianism-25813">pescatarian</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/vegetarianism-350">vegetarian</a> diets, but they never fully stuck. Then single at the beginning of 2020, I was on a dating app looking for love and met the vegan schoolteacher. But not any vegan schoolteacher. A vegan schoolteacher who was passionately vegan for ethical reasons and the belief that any other lifestyle inflicts unnecessary suffering on animals.</p>
<p>By date three or four I’d done my research and veganism convinced me. Animals bred for dairy produce and or to be slaughtered for meat live miserable lives and with decent vitamin supplements, there is no biological need to eat meat, dairy or fish. So I decided it was time to try veganism.</p>
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<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>Things didn’t really work out with the primary school teacher and there wasn’t a date six, but my initial commitment to veganism did last. Then a month or two later, the pandemic hit. During the lockdowns I perfected my vegan culinary repertoire and came out of that period a more knowledgeable and skilled vegan cook.</p>
<p>But coming out of the pandemic revealed something about veganism – often, it’s not much fun. Although the number of people identifying as vegan has been <a href="https://www.kantar.com/uki/inspiration/consumer/how-popular-is-veganism-in-the-uk">on the rise</a> in recent years and lots of restaurants have changed their menus to accommodate this need, a lot haven’t. At times you need meticulous planning, forward thinking and a keen eye for “vg” symbols on online restaurant menus.</p>
<p>At times I also wondered if I was depriving myself of a great pleasure – enjoyment of food, as surely the more limited meals you can make as a vegan comes at some cost? </p>
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<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/i-self-experimented-to-compare-a-vegan-diet-with-eating-meat-this-is-what-i-found-out-212213&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<h2>Are vegans unpopular?</h2>
<p>Something I also noticed, which turns out to be well supported by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1368430215618253">academic research</a>, is that a lot of people weren’t all that fond of us vegans. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/16/6292">Studies</a> indicate that people described as vegan are perceived more negatively, as being less likeable and participants in studies report being less open to friendship with vegans than non-vegans, on average. Based on my experience, you can also add “being open to dating” to that list. I was promptly unmatched by multiple dating app matches when veganism came up. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vegan-diet-has-just-30-of-the-environmental-impact-of-a-high-meat-diet-major-study-finds-210152">Vegan diet has just 30% of the environmental impact of a high-meat diet, major study finds</a>
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<p>There is a happy ending to my search for love though, as I eventually met my now fiancé. But the anti-vegan bias nearly intervened there too. It was only on our first date that I mentioned veganism and at that point she said she probably wouldn’t have met me had she known about it beforehand. </p>
<p>Where does the bias come from? One explanation is the media. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2010.01348.x">A study of UK news</a> found that 73% of references to vegans were written in a negative light. </p>
<p>Another, perhaps more complicated explanation, is guilt. It has been hypothesised that people often have strong negative attitudes towards vegans to protect or disguise their underlying guilt that they too should be doing more to reduce animal suffering or help the environment. Although this sounds distinctly Freudian, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666319306324?casa_token=T77QCk0p8dAAAAAA:CXMKbNXUqsA1V9Xzp6Li4Od3nbJ0Y0J21xpdbGy5JaMOQ0rEmE6NtkpyitXluhgQO-pUM9U6tg">some studies</a> have provided evidence in support of this idea. </p>
<h2>Questioning veganism</h2>
<p>And so, as I struggled to understand my new unpopularity, after a year and half of trying veganism, my commitment started to waver. Around that same time, I came across <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32483598/">a scientific article</a> discussing the possibility that veganism may be bad for mental health. Really?</p>
<p>This caused me to start looking at as much scientific literature I could get my hands on. And it turned out the veganism-mental health link was more complicated than a first look might suggest. </p>
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<img alt="Signs pointing to 'omnivore' and 'vegan' in different directions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=113%2C113%2C3598%2C2101&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546182/original/file-20230904-21-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Questioning the vegan path.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/omnivore-vs-vegan-traffic-sign-two-572963509">Shutterstock/M-SUR</a></span>
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<p>For example, some studies have found that depression is more common among vegans than non-vegans. But that could be because people with depression are more likely to try veganism to improve their mental health. A small number of studies interestingly suggested that vegans are less likely to have overweight or obesity and so veganism may be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2022.2075311">beneficial for body weight</a>. But again, maybe it’s just the case that the type of people who are thin are more likely to be attracted to veganism. However, I couldn’t find any scientific evidence on whether vegans derive less pleasure from their vegan diets than non-vegans do from their diets of dairy, meat and fish. </p>
<p>So, at the end of 2021 I decided that I would find out what effect veganism was likely to be having on my own mental health, my body weight and the pleasure I derived from eating. I didn’t have scientific grant funding to conduct the gold standard of a large randomised control trial – but I did have the time and inclination to conduct a study on myself.</p>
<h2>Self-experimentation</h2>
<p>Self-study or “self-experimentation” has <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nutrition-research-reviews/article/selfexperimentation-in-nutrition-research/96C416510F0B8DC8576D0C1782CFBCB4">a rich history in science</a> that dates back hundreds of years. Take scurvy as an example. The first clue that vitamin C deficiency was the cause of scurvy was from sailors, which led to the discovery that citrus fruit could treat it.</p>
<p>However, it wasn’t until John Crandon <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/96C416510F0B8DC8576D0C1782CFBCB4/S0954422493000058a.pdf/selfexperimentation_in_nutrition_research.pdf">experimented on himself in 1939</a> that convincing evidence was provided for vitamin c deficiency being the cause of scurvy. Crandon, of Harvard Medical School, tactically withheld vitamin c from his diet for 19 weeks and by this point his health had taken a worrying turn for the worse. As he planned, he was then injected with a large dose of vitamin c and made a miraculous recovery. Pretty convincing evidence that scurvy is caused by a deficiency of vitamin c. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anthill-9-when-scientists-experiment-on-themselves-71852">Anthill 9: When scientists experiment on themselves</a>
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<p>But the gold standard for experiments is the randomised control trial. If we were to conduct such a study on the effects of veganism, participants would be randomised to a “treatment” (adopting veganism) or “control” (not adopting veganism). However, in my opinion this approach doesn’t quite work for veganism as veganism is more of a self-directed lifestyle choice as opposed to a one size fits all “treatment” we can give to people. Choosing veganism is a very personal choice determined by a range of factors, like health, environmental concerns and animal ethics. A lot of vegans have a strong sense of vegan identity and their veganism hasn’t happened by chance (as it would in a randomised control trial).</p>
<p>So simply requiring people to “become vegan” is unlikely to capture what will happen when they adopt veganism of their own accord. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173">Studies have previously</a> put people on diet plans that are predominantly vegan and found they can lose weight like they do on non-vegan diet plans. But this doesn’t encapsulate what it is to naturally adopt a vegan vs non-vegan lifestyle, with no constraints or particular aims to change one’s health or lose weight.</p>
<p>On top of this, even though veganism has grown in popularity, it’s still estimated that only two to three out of every 100 people in the UK <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2022/01/20/meet-britains-vegans-and-vegetarians">identify as vegan</a>, so finding enough people to agree to such a randomised control trial would be difficult. On the other hand, I could find one person that would agree to an experiment on the effects of veganism: me. </p>
<h2>My experiment</h2>
<p>In January 2022 I started the year, as many others do, by taking part in <a href="https://veganuary.com/">Veganuary</a>. On a daily basis I recorded what I’d done that day and importantly how much I had enjoyed the food I had eaten.</p>
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<img alt="Man in a restaurant eating a meal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546179/original/file-20230904-15-qd4r4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The author enjoying a vegan meal of roast aubergine and fried beans with salsa negra while out with friends.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eric Robinson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Every week my fiancé weighed me and measured my waist circumference. So that I couldn’t be influenced by any changes happening to my body weight, when we did this, I closed my eyes and was guided onto the scales (she may have been right about avoiding dating vegans after all). I also completed questionnaire measures of depression and anxiety symptoms every week.</p>
<p>During January, I led my normal vegan life but was particularly strict in checking whether food and drink was vegan. My diet looked like a lot of other vegan diets - chickpea curry (check), tofu stir fry (check), lentil pasta (check). I was still eating out and even enjoyed a weekend away. The latter was great, with the exception of a well intended, but very odd, vegan hotel breakfast of stir fried noodles that I tolerated while watching others enjoy a very non-vegan full English. Life rolled on and was enjoyable. </p>
<p>In February I stopped being vegan and repeated the same daily and weekly measures. During the non-vegan period I made a concerted effort to eat meals that were not vegan. I ditched oat milk for normal milk. I ate cheese, meat and fish rather than my usual diet of tofu, beans and pulses.</p>
<p>A small proportion of the meals I ate still ended up being vegan by chance (about 15%), compared to 100% of my meals being vegan in the vegan study period. My palate did not change over night, I still enjoyed Indian food, Chinese and Italian. But the variety of options available grew as a result of stopping veganism for the month.</p>
<p>As in January, I still ate out and happened to have another weekend trip away, this time to Spain. It was great, with the exception of a culinary experience I wouldn’t want to repeat - <em>callos a la madrileña</em>. This is a stew popular in Madrid which includes blood sausage and some very unfortunate looking and smelling tripe. </p>
<p>Phase one of the experiment was now complete. During the two months that made up phase one I diligently measured how often I was drinking alcohol, eating out and exercising (in case for some reason I’d had a particularly unhealthy month) but luckily these things didn’t differ much at all between the two months. </p>
<p>After phase one of the experiment I then had a “wash out” period in which I returned to my normal relaxed vegan lifestyle, stopping taking daily and weekly measures. I did however weight myself to keep a record of this and chose to do it to give my fiancé a rest. </p>
<p>Then, in August, I started phase two and changed the order of the vegan vs non-vegan periods to account for this. Phase two started with two months of non-veganism. I didn’t measure anything on a daily basis, as I was worried this may be making me more conscious of my behaviour and potentially making me act more healthily than I would be otherwise. The idea that recording one’s own behaviour can influence subsequent behaviour is well established in psychology and referred to as “<a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/self-monitoring">self-monitoring</a>”. </p>
<p>Self-monitoring is a tool that is used to help <a href="https://www.jmir.org/2012/3/e67">manage mental health</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4149603/">weight loss</a> and increase adherence to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091674909001791?casa_token=-JQY7hNY0C0AAAAA:6T4IDatEHYtCuzwjh2ptVXqEWHxkgHcwtDestPILLLxeiDoiRAgzOAmBN8HfqGtfaiy5dMpZmjY">medicine usage</a>. </p>
<p>During this period my fiancé did weigh and measure me every week and I recorded my mental health as in phase one of the experiment. After two months of veganism I reverted to two months of non-veganism from October. December rolled round and I had finally finished my self-experiment. </p>
<h2>The results</h2>
<p>As a scientist from a psychology background, I am used to looking at both qualitative and quantitative data. </p>
<p>Qualitative data refers to personal experiences in a study. When planning the study, I thought I might have an affirming experience or “defining moment” that committed me to veganism for life or to ditch veganism. That didn’t happen. But I did notice a few things. </p>
<p>First, as a non-vegan, some friends and family were keener to hang out with me when food was involved and expressed disappointment during the vegan periods of the study. When switching between non-vegan vs vegan study periods I also noticed how veganism was acting as a red light to unnecessary eating. For example, when I was slightly tempted by a snack, coffee shop treat or dessert as a non-vegan they were available in abundance and temptation turned into eating.</p>
<p>But as a vegan, those temptations were very often removed due to the complete lack of vegan options available or a meagre unappealing offering. We’ve long known that vegan diets tend to be <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/plantbased-diets-and-longterm-health-findings-from-the-epicoxford-study/771ED5439481A68AD92BF40E8B1EF7E6">lower in saturated fat</a>, but I hadn’t suspected this could be in part due to veganism preventing eating all together. </p>
<p>The quantitative data was really clear cut. My body weight responded consistently in response to vegan vs non-vegan study periods – it was lower when vegan and higher during non-veganism. During the two-month part of the study, after two months of non-veganism I’d gained 1.6kg, then when switching to veganism for the next two months I lost 1.2kg. I looked at exercise and how much I was moving as potential explanations for these differences, but the data largely suggested that the differences in weight were caused by what I was eating. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-meat-paradox-how-your-brain-wrestles-with-the-ethics-of-eating-animals-175683">The meat paradox: how your brain wrestles with the ethics of eating animals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The findings also revealed that those differences in body weight did not come at the expense of the pleasure I derived from eating. My rated daily enjoyment of food was close to identical during vegan days and non-vegan days. There was a similar story for my mental health. My weekly recording of depression and anxiety symptoms were close to identical during both study periods. </p>
<h2>What does it all mean?</h2>
<p>Self-experiments come with lots of caveats. Results come from a single participant and this of course makes you wonder whether the results can generalise to other people. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won’t. The results of Crandon’s self-experiment on vitamin c and scurvy clearly did generalise. </p>
<p>My results suggest that veganism may have a causal <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26853923/">influence on my body weight</a>. Another caveat and limitation of my study is that it was short. I therefore used my results to calculate what would be predicted to happen to my body weight if the experiment had carried on for longer. </p>
<p>I forecasted two scenarios for what would happen over a full year. A scenario where after the study I remained vegan and a scenario where I gave up veganism. The modelling exercise revealed that under the scenario of giving up veganism I would weight 6.4kg more at the end of 12 months, than if I stuck to veganism. This is a pretty big difference. My findings therefore hint that, in addition to environmental benefits, veganism may also help people maintain a healthy weight.</p>
<p>However, as I’m a fairly health conscious person and cook regularly, it may be the case that a less health conscious vegan that mainly gets by on <a href="https://theconversation.com/plant-based-burgers-should-some-be-considered-junk-food-163514">processed burgers</a>, fries and snacks would experiences less of a vegan-body weight benefit than I did.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-a-vegan-diet-healthier-five-reasons-why-we-cant-tell-for-sure-152131">Is a vegan diet healthier? Five reasons why we can't tell for sure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>I was pleasantly surprised that my derived pleasure from food did not differ between vegan and non-vegan study days. Concerns over how much a person would enjoy a vegan diet are a likely barrier to giving veganism a go and, based on my study data, these concerns might not ring true. </p>
<p>I’ve pondered whether veganism is likely to affect mental health and if my study was ever likely to detect such an effect or test it fairly, due to it being so short. But my best bet at the moment is that a vegan diet probably doesn’t causally affect mental health. </p>
<p>When I read studies that show vegans tend to be more likely to be X or Y compared to non-vegans, I am now highly suspect on how likely it is that veganism causes X or Y. X or Y could relate to anything, whether that’s physical or mental health. Instead, vegans and non-vegans differ in lots of ways and these differences will not be causal. </p>
<p>Take sex as an example. Vegans are far more likely to be female than male. Do we then conclude from this that veganism makes you more likely to be female? Of course not. </p>
<p>And what did I decide about long-term veganism? As I write this, nine months after the experiment finished, I’m still a committed vegan. For me, the likely benefits for my health, the environment and reducing animal suffering outweigh the minor inconveniences associated with being vegan. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/my-home-city-was-destroyed-by-war-but-i-will-not-lose-hope-how-modern-warfare-turns-neighbourhoods-into-battlefields-211627">‘My home city was destroyed by war but I will not lose hope’ – how modern warfare turns neighbourhoods into battlefields</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/beatrix-potters-famous-tales-are-rooted-in-stories-told-by-enslaved-africans-but-she-was-very-quiet-about-their-origins-202274">Beatrix Potter’s famous tales are rooted in stories told by enslaved Africans – but she was very quiet about their origins
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/invisible-windrush-how-the-stories-of-indian-indentured-labourers-from-the-caribbean-were-forgotten-206330">Invisible Windrush: how the stories of Indian indentured labourers from the Caribbean were forgotten
</a></em></p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Robinson currently receives funding from the Econonic and Social Research Council (UK), National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and the European Commission. He has historically been named as an investigator on research projects funded by Unilever and the American Beverage Association.</span></em></p>Self-study has a rich history in science that dates back hundreds of years.Eric Robinson, Professor in Psychology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402772020-06-15T13:09:36Z2020-06-15T13:09:36ZWhy it could be dangerous to exercise with a face mask on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341450/original/file-20200612-153812-g1dsoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4570%2C3035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-does-sports-mask-on-street-1721395486">Daniel Carpio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus began to affect sporting events as early as January 30, when the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51306776">Chinese Football Association</a> announced it was delaying the start of the football season. Two months later it was revealed that the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/news/joint-statement-from-the-international-olympic-committee-and-the-tokyo-2020-organising-committee">Tokyo Olympic Games</a> would be postponed until the summer of 2021 – the first postponement in modern Olympic history.</p>
<p>Sporting administrators are only now exploring ways to enable a return to training and competition at both professional and amateur levels. In the absence of a vaccine, though, there are several challenges. One of them is around breathing.</p>
<p>When playing sport, breathing is faster and harder than at rest, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7205645/">increases the risk of passing the disease on</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.fsoa.org.uk/garlicks-restart-training-ground-rules/">premier league football</a> is considering introducing face masks. Others may follow suit.</p>
<p>Yet a mask makes it harder to inhale the quantity of air needed to perform at the highest levels. We know that wearing a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090760/#CIT0020">surgical mask</a> can increase the resistance to airflow. Exercise invariably leads to faster and harder breaths, so wearing a mask during exercise places a further strain on airflow. </p>
<p>At low to moderate-intensity exercise, effort will feel slightly harder than normal with a mask, but you can still walk comfortably. The challenge appears to be more during heavy exercise (say, rugby or football) taking in air at rates of about 40-100 litres per minute. </p>
<p>When we do heavy exercise, our muscles produce <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02640414.2016.1239833?casa_token=VB-2Y8KvUGEAAAAA:Jv77niw6YH-mQi_Asuodunt009Y-v5Dz0d2ss3qwinUKOluyFZ2kPDPAmTsa5vHiLLOzUbUja7b0">lactic acid</a>, which causes that burning sensation. It is then converted to carbon dioxide and exhaled. But what happens if the carbon dioxide is trapped by the mask? As you move from moderate to heavy exercise, you may be re-breathing carbon dioxide, which can reduce cognitive function and increase breathing rate. </p>
<p>There may also be less oxygen in the recycled air, which could imitate exercising at higher altitudes. So it is important we gain a better understanding of the limitations of heavy exercise with a face mask. </p>
<p>The need for this understanding is growing, given the story reported on an <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/two-schoolboys-collapse-and-die-just-six-days-apart-in-china-while-wearing-face-masks-c-1017871">Australian News Channel</a> of two teenage boys in China dying within a week of each other during compulsory physical education examinations while wearing face masks. Autopsies have not been performed, so it’s impossible to know whether the masks played a role in the boys’ deaths. But it raises the question, is it safe to exercise with a face mask on during COVID-19? </p>
<p>A supplier of fencing equipment approached the University of Hertfordshire with just this question. </p>
<h2>Treadmill test</h2>
<p>To gain a rough understanding of the problem, I experimented on myself. I ran on a treadmill at 10kph for three minutes to reflect the intensity and duration of fencing. I did this with full fencing kit, with and without a cloth face mask under my fencing mask. I used a portable gas analyser and adapted it to measure the concentration of gases being breathed in and out. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341444/original/file-20200612-153827-19bnykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author wearing an adapted gas analyser.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is around 21% at sea level. When running on the treadmill with only the fencing mask, the concentration of oxygen was around 19.5%. This would be equivalent to exercising at <a href="https://hypoxico.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Hypoxico-Altitude-To-Oxygen-Chart.pdf">600m above sea level</a>. </p>
<p>But wearing a face mask under the fencing mask reduced my oxygen level to around 17% – the equivalent of exercising at 1,500m. Any further decreases in oxygen concentration – by exercising longer or harder – would have a large effect on the physiological responses to exercise, causing altitude-sickness symptoms such as dizziness or headache. </p>
<p>There are negligible levels of carbon dioxide in atmospheric air, and when exercising with only the fencing mask this remains below 1%. With the face mask on, it trebled to 3%. Bear in mind that the UK Health and Safety Executive – the government agency responsible for regulation and enforcement of workplace safety – <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/carboncapture/carbondioxide.htm">advises</a> that employees should not be exposed to 1.5% carbon dioxide for more than 15 minutes. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-behind-the-olympic-sport-of-fencing-63476">Fencing</a> has been part of the Olympics since 1896 and is unique in that we already have a mask on when exercising. So, before any recommendations are made for wearing a face mask for fencing, it is important that further research is undertaken on more than one person to explore the high carbon dioxide levels and low oxygen levels. There could be similar issues of wearing a face mask with other high-intensity sports.</p>
<p>With gyms looking to reopen and sports clubs wanting to resume, before anyone recommends wearing a face mask, research urgently needs to be undertaken to ensure the safety of the sporting community, regardless of any underlying conditions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindsay Bottoms does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A simple experiment suggests that we urgently need more research in this area.Lindsay Bottoms, Reader in Exercise and Health Physiology, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005422018-09-26T09:58:32Z2018-09-26T09:58:32ZThe dangers of biohacking ‘experiments'– and how it could harm your health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237737/original/file-20180924-85776-haysio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Biohacking or “do it yourself” biology has been on the rise in recent years – it now even has various organised conferences. Following a recent <a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/9kgzz3/biohacking-company-ascendance-biomedical-is-testing-drugs-on-itself">VICE news documentary</a> about a start-up company called Ascendance Biomedical – who are self-testing drugs – biohacking has had further exposure outside of its circle of devout followers. </p>
<p>Biohacking is an open innovation and social movement that seeks to further enhance the ability of the human body. This includes humans trying to get <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/aug/14/body-hackers-the-people-who-turn-themselves-into-cyborgs">cyborg like features</a>, achieve hyper human senses, and also seek out new medicines and cures for disease via the promotion of self-experimentation. </p>
<p>According to their website, <a href="https://ascendance.io/">Ascendence Biomedical</a> are currently exploring HIV/AIDS and herpes elimination, and “muscular optimisation”. It sounds futuristic and appealing, but those <a href="http://time.com/5262661/aaron-traywick-dead/">critical of the approach</a> say a major concern is that the methods of the biohacking community are housed outside of the relevant scientific processes – as governmental, academic, charitable and pharmaceutical institutions that operate with <a href="https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/">high safety standards for medical research</a> are held to. This means that the biohacking pathway is anything but safe, as it is not regulated.</p>
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<p><strong><em>Listen to our podcast on self-experimentation. <a href="https://theconversation.com/anthill-9-when-scientists-experiment-on-themselves-71852">This episode of Anthill features researchers who have actually experimented on themselves</a>.</em></strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Why biohack?</h2>
<p>Common reasons for biohacking drugs are that there are not enough cures, that drug prices are too high, and that participating in biohacking is taking a stand against the establishment – primarily Big Pharma. </p>
<p>Although modern <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/medical-milestones">medicine has progressed</a> rapidly in the last few decades we are still left without cures for many diseases especially chronic, deliberating conditions such as multiple sclerosis or certain cancers. It is natural that anyone suffering from such a disease would be desperate to rid their symptoms and be healthy. </p>
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<p>The average <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629616000291">cost of getting a drug</a> out of the lab and to patients is US$2.6 billion, and on average it takes around 12 years of research. The process is expensive and slow and it’s estimated that less than 1% of candidate drugs get approved. </p>
<p>The research costs of these drugs are also passed onto the patients, meaning they can pay a high price for treatment. And with patent protection, steep prices and years of waiting for cures, it’s easy to see why people get frustrated and try to take this process into their own hands.</p>
<h2>Why is it dangerous?</h2>
<p>In essence, trying to discover drugs through biohacking compromises on quality scientific research. The drugs usually skip key toxicity tests before being administered to patients and in doing so seriously jeopardises the safety of those involved. Without rigorous pre-clinical testing in the laboratory, it is very difficult to predict how that drug will fully interact with the complexity of the human body. </p>
<p>Gene therapies pose another complexity, they aim to introduce new genetic material into our DNA, essentially rewriting our biological instructions. Edit the wrong part of DNA and you run the risk of seriously interfering with your body such as <a href="https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/therapy/safety">inducing a tumour</a>. Watching those <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpYE3cUogh0">injecting themselves</a> with unapproved <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_o6PWIAVV">gene therapies</a> is unsettling. And there’s also the issue that conclusions drawn from such biohacking “experiments” are far from <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/312/7023/71">evidence-based medicine</a>. </p>
<p>The government cannot intervene if an individual chooses to self-experiment. And while it’s illegal for a company to market something as medicine if it hasn’t been approved, chemicals can still be sold as research compounds.</p>
<h2>How to carry out medical research?</h2>
<p>It is vital not to skimp on medical research. Multiple lab experiments are needed to discover the complex mechanisms of drugs and gene therapies to determine if they are safe for humans. Then human testing is best conducted through a <a href="https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/find-a-clinical-trial/what-clinical-trials-are/phases-of-clinical-trials">series of clinical trials</a>, where each aspect is tightly regulated to ensure scientific integrity and most importantly patients that are safeguarded. </p>
<p>Such trials require an increasingly multidisciplinary team including medics, nurses, methodologists and statisticians to set up and conduct the trial. These trials can minimise bias – for example by using placebo controls. The right number of patients means enough data also allows for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933537/">statistical validity</a> and legitimate conclusions to be made. Currently this process can be long and expensive, but it produces quality data as to best answer the question of whether a drug or treatment will work. </p>
<p>That said, trials are <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMra1510059?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">becoming more efficiently designed</a> and programmes are in place <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accelerated-access-review-response">in the UK</a> and US to <a href="https://www.nih.gov/research-training/accelerating-medicines-partnership-amp">accelerate drug discovery</a>. Each year the boundaries of <a href="http://s3-service-broker-live-19ea8b98-4d41-4cb4-be4c-d68f4963b7dd.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/8816/KAiM-jan18.pdf">medical knowledge</a> are pushed. So things are getting better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rohan Anand does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Biohacking for cures: what you need to know.Rohan Anand, PhD Candidate in Clinical Research, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/787732017-06-30T09:34:20Z2017-06-30T09:34:20ZI spent three days as a hunter-gatherer to see if it would improve my gut health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176267/original/file-20170629-29069-1yxvqga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Leach</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mounting evidence suggests that the richer and more diverse the community of microbes in your gut the lower your risk of disease. Diet is key to maintaining diversity and was strikingly demonstrated when an undergrad student went on a <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-gut-bacteria-dont-like-junk-food-even-if-you-do-41564">McDonald’s diet for ten days</a> and after just four days experienced a significant drop in the number of beneficial microbes. </p>
<p>Similar results have been <a href="https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-016-0883-4">demonstrated</a> in a number of larger human and animal studies. </p>
<p>Your gut microbiome is a vast community of trillions of bacteria that has a major <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983973/">influence</a> on your metabolism, immune system and mood. These bacteria and fungi inhabit every nook and cranny of your gastrointestinal tract, with most of this 1kg to 2kg “microbe organ” sited in your colon (the main bit of your large intestine). </p>
<p>We tend to see the biggest diet-related shifts in microbes in people who are unhealthy with a low-diversity unstable microbiome. What we didn’t know is whether a healthy stable gut microbiome could be improved in just a few days. The chance to test this in an unusual way came when my colleague <a href="http://humanfoodproject.com/about/founder-jeff-leach/">Jeff Leach</a> invited me on a field trip to Tanzania, where he has been living and working among the Hadza, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer groups in all of Africa.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176263/original/file-20170629-16069-1985iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hadza hunters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Leach</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My microbiome is pretty healthy nowadays and, among the first hundred samples we tested as part of the <a href="http://mapmygut.com">MapMyGut</a> project, I had the best gut diversity – our best overall measure of gut health, reflecting the number and richness of different species. High diversity is associated with a low risk of obesity and many diseases. The Hadza have a diversity that is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24736369">one of the richest on the planet</a>.</p>
<p>The research plan was devised by Jeff who suggested I should have an intensive three days of eating like a hunter gatherer during my stay at his research camp. I would measure my gut microbes before heading to Tanzania, during my stay with the Hadza, and after my return to the UK. I was also not allowed to wash or use alcohol swabs and I was expected to hunt and forage with the Hadza as much as possible – including coming in contact with the odd Hadza baby and baboon poo lying about. </p>
<p>To help us record the trip I was accompanied by Dan Saladino, the intrepid presenter and producer of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnx3">BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme</a>, who was preparing a Hadza microbe special. </p>
<p>After a long tiring flight to Mount Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania, we stayed overnight in Arusha, a city in the north of the country. Before setting off the next morning, I produced my baseline poo sample. </p>
<p>After an eight-hour journey in a Land Rover over bumpy tracks, we arrived. Jeff beckoned us to the top of a huge rock to witness the most amazing sunset over Lake Eyasi. Here, within a stones throw of the famous fossil site of Olduvai Gorge and with the stunning plains of the Serengeti in the distance, Jeff explained that we were never going to be closer to home as a member of the genus <em>Homo</em>, than where we were standing at that moment. </p>
<h2>The million-year-old diet</h2>
<p>The Hadza seek out the same animals and plants that humans have hunted and gathered for millions of years. Importantly, the human-microbe tango that played out here for aeons probably shaped aspects of our immune system and made us who we are today. The significance of being in Hadza-land was not lost on me.</p>
<p>Unlike the Hadza, who sleep around the fire or in grass huts, I was given a tent and told to zip it up tight as there were scorpions and snakes about. I had to be careful where I stepped if I needed a nocturnal pee. After an interesting but restless night’s sleep, a large pile of baobab pods had been collected for my breakfast. </p>
<p>The baobab fruit is the staple of the Hadza diet, packed with vitamins, fat in the seeds, and, of course, significant amounts of fibre. We were surrounded by baobab trees stretching in the distance as far as I could see. Baobab fruit have a hard coconut-like shell that cracks easily to reveal a chalky flesh around a large, fat-rich seed. The high levels of vitamin C provided an unexpected citrus tang. </p>
<p>The Hadza mixed the chalky bits with water and whisked it vigorously for two to three minutes with a stick until it was a thick, milky porridge that was filtered – somewhat – into a mug for my breakfast. It was surprisingly pleasant and refreshing. As I wasn’t sure what else I would be eating on my first day, I drank two mugs and suddenly felt very full. </p>
<p>My next snacks were the wild berries on many of the trees surrounding the camp – the commonest were small Kongorobi berries. These refreshing and slightly sweet berries have 20 times the fibre and polyphenols compared with cultivated berries – powerful fuel for my gut microbiome. I had a late lunch of a few high-fibre tubers dug up with a sharp stick by the female foragers and tossed on the fire. These were more effort to eat - like tough, earthy celery. I didn’t go for seconds or feel hungry, probably because of my high-fibre breakfast. No one seemed concerned about dinner.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176261/original/file-20170629-16083-1601lfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hadza women lightly roasting starch and fibre-rich //ekwa tubers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Leach</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A few hours later we were asked to join a hunting party to track down porcupine – a rare delicacy. Even Jeff hadn’t tasted this creature in his four years of field work. </p>
<p>Two 20kg nocturnal porcupines had been tracked to their tunnel system in a termite mound. After several hours of digging and tunnelling – carefully avoiding the razor-sharp spines – two porcupines were eventually speared and thrown to the surface. A fire was lit. The spines, skin and valuable organs were expertly dissected and the heart, lung and liver cooked and eaten straight away. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175824/original/file-20170627-24782-ay9hcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hadza hunter walking back to camp with a dispatched porcupine flung over his shoulder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Leach</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rest of the fatty carcass was taken back to camp for communal eating. It tasted much like suckling pig. We had a similar menu the next two days, with the main dishes including hyrax – a strange furry guinea-pig-like hoofed animal, weighing about 4kg – a relative of the elephant, of all creatures. </p>
<p>Harvested high from a baobab tree, our dessert was the best golden orange honey I could ever imagine – with the bonus of honeycomb full of fat and protein from the larvae. The combination of fat and sugars made our dessert the most energy-dense food found anywhere in nature and may have competed with fire in terms of its evolutionary importance.</p>
<p>In Hadza-land nothing is wasted or killed unnecessarily, but they eat an amazing variety of plant and animal species (around 600, most of which are birds) compared with us in the West. My other lasting impression was how little time they spent getting food. It appeared as though it took just a few hours a day – as simple as going round a large supermarket. Any direction you walked there was food – above, on and below ground. </p>
<h2>Massive increase in microbiome diversity</h2>
<p>Twenty-four hours later Dan and I were back in London, him with his precious audio tapes and me with my cherished poo samples. After producing a few more, I sent them to the lab for testing. </p>
<p>The results showed clear differences between my starting sample and after three days of my forager diet. The good news was my gut microbal diversity increased a stunning 20%, including some totally novel African microbes, such as those of the phylum Synergistetes.</p>
<p>The bad news was, after a few days, my gut microbes had virtually returned to where they were before the trip. But we had learnt something important. However good your diet and gut health, it is not nearly as good as our ancestors’. Everyone should make the effort to improve their gut health by <a href="https://theconversation.com/east-african-hunter-gatherer-research-suggests-the-human-microbiome-is-an-ecological-disaster-zone-73668">re-wilding</a> their diet and lifestyle. Being more adventurous in your normal cuisine plus reconnecting with nature and its associated microbial life, may be what we all need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Spector is a co-founder of Map My Gut Ltd a microbiome testing company and also receives grants from the MRC, NIHR, CDRF, ARUK and is author of 'The Diet Myth: the science behind what we eat' Orion 2016 </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Leach is the Founder of the Human Food Project and Co-Founder of Map My Gut Ltd and the author of ReWild.</span></em></p>Here’s what happened to a professor of genetic epidemiology’s ‘microbiome’ when he lived with the Hadza.Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/718522017-01-25T10:16:57Z2017-01-25T10:16:57ZAnthill 9: When scientists experiment on themselves<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154099/original/image-20170124-16089-n9xoy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Self-experimentation is something scientists have done since, well, science began. Throughout history, testing a theory on one’s own body was the easiest route to getting an answer. </p>
<p>You may be forgiven for thinking that this is a thing of the past. For starters, a sample size of one is rarely conclusive. Then there are pesky ethical review boards that need to be cleared. </p>
<p>But it turns out self-experimentation is alive and well and the ninth episode of The Anthill features researchers who have engaged in the practice. </p>
<p>First, our health editor Clint Witchalls looks into a field where self-experimentation seems to be growing in popularity – if not respectability. He talks to King’s College London’s Tim Spector about <a href="http://www.tim-spector.co.uk/the-diet-myth/">the many diets he’s tried</a> and why more people should get on board <a href="https://mapmygut.com/">with testing out different food regimes</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>This month we’re launching a short survey to find out what you, our listeners, think of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/podcasts/the-anthill">The Anthill</a> so far. We’d be grateful if you could spare a few minutes of your time to answer a couple of questions about the podcast <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QR7WVMF">here</a>.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>The second part of the podcast features an academic who took on the persona of the man <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-spent-a-year-as-david-bowie-and-had-some-very-strange-days-70920">he was researching</a>. Overwhelmed by the existing number of books written about David Bowie, Kingston University’s Will Brooker decided to take a different approach to learning about his hero.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154107/original/image-20170124-16080-x36ks9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brooker or Bowie?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Will Brooker</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instead of just reading about him, Brooker lived as Bowie for a year. He read the books Bowie read, listened to the music he listened to, spent time in the places he lived, and copied his diet at different times in his life. He even employed a vocal coach and performed with tribute band The Thin White Duke. Hear them play, as Brooker shares his experiences of walking in Bowie’s shoes with our arts and culture editor Josephine Lethbridge.</p>
<p>Part three of the podcast returns to science and the efficacy of researchers taking mind-altering substances. Peter Kinderman, a clinical psychologist at the University of Liverpool, tells our science editor Miriam Frankel about how common this kind of self-experimentation is in his field. And Sorcha Uí Chonnachtaigh, a lecturer in ethics and law at Keele University, discusses the ethics of it.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Anthill theme music is by <a href="http://www.melodyloops.com/search/How+to+Steal+a+Million+Dollars/">Alex Grey for Melody Loops</a>. Background music during the nutrition segment is <a href="http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=Parisian">Parisian</a> and <a href="http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=Parisian">Spy Glass</a>, both by Kevin MacLeod. David Bowie music is performed by tribute band <a href="http://www.thinwhiteduke.biz">The Thin White Duke</a>, with vocals by Will Brooker in the song Let’s Dance. Music during the psychology segment is <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Six_Umbrellas/The_Psychadelic_And/3_Six_Umbrellas_-_The_Psychedelic_And">The Psychedelic And by Six Umbrellas</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>A big thanks to City University London’s Department of Journalism for letting us use their studios.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Three stories about researchers who have dabbled in self-experimentation – with varying results.
To complete a short survey about the podcast, please click here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QR7WVMFAnnabel Bligh, Business & Economy Editor and Podcast Producer, The Conversation UKGemma Ware, Head of AudioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.