When I discovered the phenomenon of faecal transplantation at the end of 2014, the first question was; Whose intestinal flora would I like to adopt? It already feels like a good opportunity. In my mind I go through all the football players I have played football with, and there are many. I make a top 3 list.
From the selection of teams in my youth I played with and against boys with sometimes a weaker body, but usually with a much stronger body. In addition to being good football players, some boys were also blessed with better genes that gave them faster muscle building, better metabolism or faster recovery. Properties that I (especially with my Crohn’s disease) didn’t have and that I could only envy. If only I were blessed with a strong body… Where I had all the trouble, in preparation for a season, to pass the cooper test within time. I had teammates who came straight from the beach, and so got into the preparation and passed the cooper test effortlessly.
For example, I once had a teammate who had never smoked and had not consumed a drop of alcohol in his entire life. At halftime he always took a currant bun. I only saw him angry once when he was substituted, but that was only 5 minutes. Most of my teammates went to party and go on vacation during the summer and winter break of football. He then started training his body. He was enviously tight in his suit. Which means he had a low fat percentage and his muscles came out nice. His body looked like Jean-Claude van Damme in his prime. He’s at the top of my wish list. When I look for him after ten years, he is still with his childhood girlfriend and completely settled. He has a family. He is still the kind, positive, and thoughtful boy I remembered him. His body was, as always, perfectly maintained. He wants to help me and donates his stool. It turned out to be my ideal donor.
It’s surreal when I wake up earlier than usual the day after my poop transplant. I feel fitter and notice at the end of the day that I have also done much more than usual. When I am written out by my MDL doctor a month later, because after the calprotectin test it was shown that all inflammation had disappeared from my body, I now have what I already felt on paper in numbers. It worked! Oddly enough, I never hear anything from my MDL doctor again…
My donor helped me and left it at that. I will be eternally grateful to him.
At that time I wrote my biography in which Crohn’s disease was already a common thread. The fact that the poop transplant was a success was a nice conclusion to my book. My story was published full-page in the Leidsch and Haarlem daily newspaper. Page size because of a poop transplant? No, I was known a little bit in the region because of my debut, with Crohn’s disease already among the members, in professional football at FC Haarlem. Or because of the 2 championships that I later won at the bulb region clubs Noordwijk and FC Lisse. Or maybe because I was in the first reality show on Dutch television, ‘Your life on video’. Because I had written a letter to John de Mol, a year and a half before the first episode of Big Brother came on TV. Together with 6 friends I had bought a villa in our village, could we film the adventures in and around the house? I think that’s why it became a full-page article. The poop transparency does get a separate block at the bottom of the page.
My book could not really be called a success, who am I to quarrel with John de Mol, a superpower in the media world, because he shamelessly steals television ideas, or my story about a faecal transplant that a whole other powerful world does not waiting for it.. But I suddenly got all kinds of requests from people. That book of mine could be stolen from them, they also wanted a poop transplant!
The very first request, Floris’s, immediately affected me and stimulated me to arrange this for him. I meet with him and in his village in a cafe. It’s an elderly man. He looks fragile but is still combative. He asks my ears off and finally begs for a poop transplant. Floris has been struggling with intestinal problems for a long time and loathes the idea of his last option, a stoma. And to keep this method to myself … I had received more requests in the meantime, so I can then collect a test group to see if it wasn’t just a lucky hit for me. What I found online during my research was promising. A positive result of 70% on average. My Burgundian cousin with Diabetes 2 is also participating.
I call my old soccer buddy to ask for his stool again. That ended up begging because he had already said; I’m only helping you. But now I’m with a begging man. After a month of asking, he agrees to donate one last time. When I happily contact Floris, I hear that he is in the hospital and that Floris, at his weakest moment, has had a stoma pushed through. The hospital said they had run out of other options. What about a poop transplant? Floris asked… The hospital didn’t do that. I visit Floris in the hospital and am just as defeated as him. The fact that I can send a test group of 4 people home with a new intestinal flora the following weekend still doesn’t feel good. This was meant for Floris.
75% of the test group responded positively. My Burgundian cousin had a hypo the same evening. He had forgotten about the transplant for a while and had injected the standard dose of insulin. He turned out to only have to inject 1/3. After a month I receive an email from Floris’ wife. She wanted to inform me and still thank me for the effort I had made for her husband. She writes that Floris could not live with his stoma and that he was no longer with us. A day later I get a call from one of the two women in my test group. The woman with about the same age as Floris. She immediately thanked me, it changed her life again. I now know this is what I need to do. I have to look for a new ‘healthy’ donor.
It took me 2 years and many tests before I finally had a donor that passed the tough test. Of course I only send healthy boys and ladies to their GP and the personal contribution to the health insurance fund, for which they receive a bill, I pay them back. It has led me to test younger and younger people to reduce the risk of (especially) parasites. A good donor has no alarm bells that go off during the questionnaire and is then tested according to the guidelines of the NDFB bank, which was established in Leiden in the meantime to investigate the effect on Clostridium Difficile. Intestinal bacteria know no color or religion, culture, orientation, etc. But they do represent energy and that is important. That’s why I don’t want a donor who is aggressive or overweight, for example. I want a donor who has a good home base and enjoys sports instead of someone who spends all day gaming in his room. None of that is counted at the NDFB bank. As long as the intestinal flora is good, the chance of finding a healthy intestinal flora is already so small. After all, only 4% have a healthy intestinal flora! I will of course go much further in that. After all, I am not the investigating body of a product that would rather not be used anyway.
No, I’m the one who benefited. Of course I immediately shouted that I had cured myself, I was so happy. I was killed for that on a Facebook page of an IBD group. I am in remission according to those members. I still think I’m over it. In addition, it is also better for my well-being if the glass is half full instead of half empty. And I have now been without medication for more than 6 years and without any problems. Even if I should have needed a transplant once a year, I think. That still sounds much better to me than tapping away a handful of medicines every day or a syringe worth a few thousand euros in my arm every 4 weeks, with the necessary side effects. So my search is not only for a donor for others, but also for a good donor for myself! You never know…
But it’s damn hard. I let a potential donor, after the questionnaire of Healthy intestinal flora and my own preferences list and research, get tested through their own GP. Where they never actually have to go. And the question I send them out with is simple: Am I healthy? I would like to have my faeces and blood checked for these points. The action that is requested from the GP is even simpler. He writes a test, nothing more. I keep my donors anonymous, so the GP in question remains completely anonymous. Yet some GPs let their own opinion, fear or ego count heavily and refuse to prescribe the test… I noticed it in the past six years from people’s reactions when I tell them that I no longer suffer from my Crohn’s disease thanks to the healthy gut flora of a healthy person. A poo transplant? In half, the eyebrows went far beyond the hairline, followed by a dirty face. The interest of the other half was immediately aroused, and nowadays more and more. Almost everyone knows someone with IBS or diseases such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. That’s how it will work with those GPs, I think, after all, they’re just people too. I have noticed in recent years that a faecal transplant is much more accepted. Only the general practitioners and official bodies close the door. I have to find labs that will test for me. As good and extensive as possible, is the assignment I give them.
The ideal donor has a positive outlook on his stable life. Has no intestinal flora related diseases within the family either. Is rarely sick and lives, eats and drinks healthy. Does not smoke, does not drink alcohol and does not use any medicines or drugs. Has a fast metabolism. Has not put a tattoo in the past six months and has not been in risk areas. Moves sufficiently and takes his rest at the right times.
Satisfies the following questionnaire: click here.
Are you or do you know a healthy person between the ages of 15 and 30 who meets this description? Who mainly wants to help people and can also use a lot of pocket money? Send an email to: info@gezonde-darmflora.nl. Note: We are located in Hillegom. On the edge of North and South Holland. A fifteen minute drive from Schiphol. A donor donates at our location. Our donors remain anonymous at all times.
Once again I receive an article about faecal transplants, this time from RTL Nieuws. I hear it’s even been on television. Because I have been receiving similar articles for 9 years that promise a lot of prosperity and development, I will put the story next to the practice.
A gorilla had been given antibiotics and was doing very badly. As a solution, they administered another gorilla’s poop and the problems were resolved shortly after.
They have become increasingly positive in recent years, the messages, and a poop transplant is increasingly embraced by the people. A researcher named James Kinross cautiously exclaims that it can help fight various diseases. Alzheimer’s, intestinal disorders and rheumatism. He conveniently forgets to mention a very long laundry list. All linked to poor intestinal flora. For the first time I hear antibiotics as the culprit. In practice, for 9 out of 10 people I speak to, it is the start of the problems. Usually from bad to worse. Only the explanation that this ‘infection C. Difficile is caused by antibiotics’ is brief.
First: Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can produce toxic substances, so-called toxins. These toxins cause an infection of the intestinal lining.
Second: Antibiotics.. It’s good that it exists for many problems, but unfortunately it has been so horribly abused over the years! And that started in World War II. In addition to the ‘problem’, it also destroys a lot of good bacteria! It is like a shot of hail that also causes innocent victims. As a result, certain species gain the upper hand, bad bacteria such as C. Difficile get more room to multiply and the balance is completely lost. Bacteria species that have a different task will partly take over tasks, so they will no longer be able to fully perform their own task and the misery will begin. Antibiotics indirectly cause a problem such as Clostridium difficile. But poor gut flora can lead to many other problems. In my case it was a case of Crohn’s disease.
I notice the sad result with testing in recent years, I have to reject more and more young people because they carry a BMRO. These are types of bacteria that live in the intestines and that are resistant to certain antibiotics! In addition, the contemporary lifestyle. Must and have things. The stress we carry with us. The food in the store getting worse and worse, etc. Not conducive to the intestinal flora.
The article continues: Treatment with poop.
In the Netherlands, people are already being given poop. That still happens with only one condition, called the C. Difficile infection. This is an infection that can cause diarrhea, among other things. This is caused by people using a lot of antibiotics that wipe out the intestinal flora. “A faecal transplant has been proven effective for the C.Diff infection,” says Liz Terveer, medical microbiologist at the LUMC. Our poop contains a healthy intestinal flora. “Think of healthy bacteria, parasites and fungi that work together as an entire ecosystem. That ecosystem can support important processes in the body.”
Ten info: A donor who has a parasite with us loses weight!
If a donor has not been properly tested and has a dienamoeba fragilis, for example. And the recipient who is in most cases treated out and often left to her fate. If that seriously ill person gets a parasite over it, it can even be fatal. Now, of course, I sometimes speak to people who have begged doctors to get this. Unfortunately, the practice is that all types of antibiotics are first administered and that only 5 to 10 people per year (in the Netherlands) receive a faecal transplant. And then really only with C. Difficile infection (popularly known as ‘hospital bacteria’).
Success rate with antibiotics is 30%. The success rate with a faecal transplant for C. difficile infection is 95%.
From time to time I also speak to people who were allowed to participate in trials in the hospital. A lady told me that it would benefit her but unfortunately it was not enough. When she reported back to the hospital she was told that the trial had ended and she could no longer receive anything. The donor was not allowed to approach them. The researcher takes the floor again and has forgotten that he had given Alzheimer’s as an example and confuses it with Parkinson’s. At the moment he is going to conduct research into whether there is a connection between the brain and the intestines.. The good man wouldn’t really think that there are butterflies in his stomach, would he? The whole body is connected! This was scientifically proven in 1872 with the Vagus Nerve. A term has even been coined for this: ‘The brain-gut axis connection’. It is known that the diversity of the gut microbiome decreases around the age of 50. Will Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disappear completely? No, I do not think so. Will it improve? Yes, there is that chance with a poop transplant. A study has already proven this.. ‘In 2008, Thomas Borody researched patients with dangerous intestinal infections who also had Parkinson’s disease. The transplant, which was intended to fight the infection, also reduced the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease’.
With a transplant you replenish the missing or underrepresented bacterial species. As a result of which the balance can be restored, on which your immune system becomes stronger again and complaints decrease and can disappear. I continue to be amazed at the snail’s pace of accepting this matter. The velvet gloves used to handle the subject. No, you can’t patent poop. That’s the whole problem. But it can’t be the case that that’s why you can’t help people with it?!
De onderzoeker gaat in het artikel een paar millimeter de diepte in en om dat kracht bij te zetten wordt James de onderzoeker voor het eerst arts-microbioloog genoemd. Een snelle check op google leert dat dit inderdaad zo is. Een heel boek over het microbioom heeft hij geschreven. Hij legt een verwarrende stelling neer die hier op neerkomt:
People with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, who remarkably often have a poor intestinal flora.. Is that from Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, or the other way around? Lagging behind with the question of what it is really about. If it is up to the intestinal flora, can we still treat those people? His answer: That is not yet possible with a pill.
That’s not an answer to the question, but it really does suggest that it’s possible. After all, an explanation about nasogastric tubes follows. So that it does not enter the stomach, because it kills a lot of bacteria.
The interviewer asks the logical question and probably with a puzzled head; Isn’t that possible with a capsule? No, no, no, it comes through the stomach anyway. I just explained that and a capsule like that requires quite a bit of developmen
I see myself again, at the end of 2014, in the house of a good friend who fortunately gave me a temporary roof over my head. In his kitchen with an empty stomach. Finally with a fresh turd from that sports friend (to whom I am still immensely grateful). Struggling with the white capsules that I first had to dip in a liquid to make them STOMACH RESISTANT. I am so happy that I have been able to buy ready-made gastro-resistant capsules for years now, because what a job that was 9 years ago.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about it. But it ends with annoyance as always.
The article closes with a half warning; That a donor must be properly screened by a reputable stool bank, otherwise it is dangerous. As if people don’t know through social media how and what to test. That’s what you get when people know or feel that it can help, share experiences with each other, but you can’t get hold of it. The danger, of course, is that usually no re-inspection is done. If you want to do it right, the donor must be examined before and after the donation. As an individual it is actually impossible to do. The results of such a test simply take a long time to arrive and in the meantime a potential donor may have contracted all sorts of things before the results are received.
so was I, sitting in the kitchen like this because no one could help me. With a ‘gut feeling’ that this was the solution for me. Just like so many people right now who are out of treatment.
This blog is based on the following (dutch written) article
Unfortunately I never got to see the broadcast.
Only after my sports career did I find out how important your breathing is. And that’s what I’m talking about. I believe it could have made my body function better and therefore achieve more in the sport. Thanks to a tangible test, it became clear to me how bad my breathing pattern was. The exercises I received from a breath specialist helped me to become calmer in my head and body. I use the methods daily.
After torn anterior cruciate ligaments and a torn tendon in my right knee, I am rehabilitating with Rick van Dijk, who has had his own practice since 2001 in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
Rick was our physiotherapist at football, VV Noordwijk, with which we became champion in 2000. You used to have fun with Rick, it was easy to get rid of him. And if one of the staff refuses to ride the bus, you ask for jokes. Despite his well-founded explanation. There was something about the regular supporter who was also our driver. But I now have a serious rehabilitation ahead of me and I like it when a therapist is familiar with my personality and my body’s injury history. And more importantly, I know what I’m getting from him, serious and good as always in his task and performance.
He helps with rehabilitation for a few months and I train my muscles again under his guidance. There was no talk of a poop transplant yet. I only found out later that year. I took my meds every day. One thing I found Rick had changed over the years, he had become calmer and much more in control. I think the new path he had taken is the reason.
Since 2004, Rick has specialized in breathing in addition to physiotherapy. In the beginning mainly for top athletes during sports, and breathing for recovery. After rediscovering his old love for the martial arts, he was introduced to the breathing technique with the sport ‘Aikido’ as its foundation. Literally translated ‘The way of coming together with Ki’. In addition to personal guidance, Rick van Dijk has been speaking for companies for years and also gives workshops.
I visit him again and talk to him about the relationship between breathing and health.
Hi Rick. The reason for your rest and control today cannot be other than breath, but why have you started to immerse yourself in breathing?
Hey Marco, that certainly plays an important role. I found out that few people in sports were concerned with breathing. I went to test at rest and in function and frankly I was shocked by the result. 70% of people breathed at rest as if they were on a bicycle! I started to delve into the matter through several breath specialists such as Wim Hof, Patrick McKeown, Vladimir Vasiliev (ex-Spetsnaz officer) and I started reading a lot of literature about it, dived into the world of yoga, mindfulness, biathlon and freediving, among others. and made my own cocktail from all those facets. I have obtained my certificates and have purchased measuring equipment. The conclusion that, and not just in sports, 70% of people overbreath at rest is remarkable and disturbing.
For the record. Overbreathing can therefore be compared to chronic hyperventilation. You breathe more than necessary. Breathing is also the basis of Yoga and Pilates, among other things, aren’t you quickly put in that corner?
Many people initially think that I am involved in yoga. But if you remove the frills and rituals from that, you are left with pure breathing and you can use that for anything. So I’m dealing with the core. Breathing is the basis, Breathing is your foundation. You do it 20-25,000 times a day.
Can structurally wrong breathing worsen my health?
Certainly. Breathing controls the autonomic nervous system. Many people breathe too much and not as they should, namely from your diaphragm. The machine then runs continuously at full speed and can become overloaded. Your breathing can be trained, just like your biceps can be trained. You activate the growth and repair branch of the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic, which, among other things, enables the immune system to do its job properly. You also create new neuro networks in your brain, especially in your prefrontal cortex. This area is very important when it comes to concentration. I call it the focus muscle. Studies have found changes in the brain after just eight weeks.
The frontal cortex is, say, the supervisor, the conductor of your brain. It ensures peace and order in your head for focus, targeted action and therefore not impulsive, it provides overview
Exactly, correct breathing therefore ensures recovery and growth and as a bonus, your focus also improves. But you do have to make progress and consciously fit your breathing into your lifestyle.
Can you perhaps clarify what the breath does for your body?
Breathing is the first and last thing you do in life. Breathing is fundamental to life. Of all the basic things you can go shortest without breath and again, you do it 20-25,000 times a day. You can improve everything about your life, nutrition, drinking water, sports, rest, but breathing is never thought of. If you do that wrong and don’t optimize, you will never have optimal results. Our whole biochemistry, all of our regulatory systems depend on the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide, especially carbon dioxide. You can’t move properly, function properly if you don’t breathe properly. This also has to do with the use of the diaphragm. Your breath is the foundation. Besides that, I can’t think of anything of greater importance, which is actually up for grabs and trainable.
What is the optimal respiration at rest and can you describe the biochemical process during respiration?
Especially breathe less and breathe through your nose! I jokingly call it “The Hippie LSD Breath.” And that stands for LOW, SLOW and DEEP. So breathe lower from your diaphragm, slower and deeper. And breathe through your nose! Because that’s what it’s meant for. The area above your palate that you feel with your tongue is open area, your nasal cavity, meant for breathing. It is your first line of defence. Everyone knows that when you breathe through your nose you filter and humidify the air. But if you look at the anatomy of the nasal passages, it really shows that your nose is meant for breathing. There is curvature in the nasal cavity above your palate and that has a function. It ensures that the flow rate of the breath slows down a bit, which in turn has a beneficial effect on oxygen uptake and the mixing of nitric oxide, which the nose produces. Nitric oxide helps the immune system fight inflammation. Which is very important to your readers. So breathe through your nose and not through your mouth, which is for eating and chattering.
Suppose I am sick, weak or nauseous, perhaps chronically ill. What improvements can I achieve with breathing exercises?
If you don’t breathe optimally, overbreathe, and not in the right way, your body is constantly ‘on’ and mind you, even when you sleep! And if your body has to work extra at rest, or when you sleep, there is much less room for recovery and growth. If you train your breathing, it will become automatic at a certain point. Even when you sleep. Proper breathing at rest ensures that all processes in your body can function optimally. Then your body has all the attention for the recovery of possible problems and for growth.
Do you perhaps have a breathing exercise for the readers of this blog that is good for the stressed body, for rest and recovery in your body?
There is a good book by Sander Aarts, Special Forces operator, ‘Unbreakable’. And I quote him directly. “The easiest way to ease your stress response is to focus on your breathing. No matter how extreme or difficult the situation, you always have a secret superpower with you, and that is your breath.” Breath can regulate stress and in its situation, in fierce war zones, that can be life-saving. Start by breathing less, lengthening your exhalation and taking some more breaks, then you activate the part of your autonomic nervous system (Parasympathetic system) that ensures growth and recovery. The vagus nerve plays an important role in this. The vagus nerve, or floating nerve, is your tenth cranial nerve that lowers your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, and lowers your muscle tension. I
call this breathing exercise ‘Stand on the brake pedal’. So you have to train this and certainly not think lightly about it. Get to work really well. Preferably 3 x a day for 10 minutes and certainly before going to sleep. You will notice that you will sleep easier and deeper and that your body will have more space or more energy to recover.
I also want to quote another book “The Biology of Belief.”
Dr. Bruce Lipton, cell biologist, former lecturer, researcher and discoverer of the fact that thoughts and emotions can influence our well-being. He did extensive research into the processes by which cells process information. This showed that it is not the genes that determine our behaviour, but that the genes are switched on and off by external factors. They are triggered by a plethora of perceptions and all of our thoughts and beliefs. Especially in this age of social media, where multitasking has become an understatement. Dr. Lipton shows that influences and beliefs, whether true or not, positive or negative, affect activity at the genetic level and can even alter our genetic code.
Thoughts and emotions are highly regulated by the conductor, the prefrontal cortex, which acts as a “dimmer”. So look at your phone less and do a breathing exercise instead.
Can this exercise also help against chronic pain?
Certainly, chronic pain can be compared to a continuous stress situation. One is, as it were, in a constant battle with the pain. Research has shown that only 6-10% of chronic pain can be traced back to tissue damage. These are nasty diseases that can usually be diagnosed properly. In most cases it is a “software problem” of the brain. The pain is certainly real and real, but it is mainly created by an overactive and over-anxious brain and can no longer be traced back to tissue damage. Pain is a warning system. Sometimes a bit too sharp. Especially the limbic system (the emotional brain), the area where the color and charge is given to the pain, is overactive in chronic pain and is insufficiently inhibited by the prefrontal cortex, the conductor of the brain. So you see in research of patients with chronic low back pain that the prefrontal cortex has become smaller. The emotional brain (the limbic system) is so dominant, it screams very loudly, weakening that conductor. You get into a negative spiral and what you can do is strengthen that conductor, which can be done with, among other things, breathing exercises that give you control in your brain again. Just say reset the software system. Training your breath is therefore also training part of your brain.
nd it’s nice that you can do this breathing exercise all day long. In addition, just like with poop transplants, it is an age-old phenomenon that is unfortunately underexposed. I hope it has become clear to the readers that something as simple as breath is not only vital but also essential for the quality of life. It has helped me enormously from the moment I gained insight into my breathing through your measuring equipment. Thanks Rick, for the introduction to the world of breath. We have only highlighted one side of your breathing techniques, for example you also do functional breathing techniques. Handy in physical and extreme situations to keep the peace and overview. Visit the site Health-Ki.nl if you want to know more or for a consultation with a breath analysis..
Rick helps people and institutions with his breathing techniques, in all walks of life. From the health of the citizen, the recovery and performance improvement of a (top) athlete to a workshop on the work floor at companies, to breathing training for snipers at defense or firefighters in turnout suits with breathing air bottles.
Rick van Dijk, sports physiotherapist