Inulin powder is odorless and has a slightly sweet taste. Inulin powder may be taken with or without food and it may be mixed with hot or cold liquids of solids. Inulin is the only prebiotic fiber that I use with my patients. Members of the Nemechek Navigator can purchase Nemechek Blue inulin here at a 10% discount.
Inulin promotes the growth of natural, healthy bacteria within the small intestine while suppressing the overgrowth of colonic bacteria which are growing abnormally within the small intestine.
If there seems to be excessive stimming after starting the inulin, I will recommend decreasing the inulin dose by an 1/8-1/4 of a tsp per day and see if things improve. It can sometimes take a week or two before the dosage reduction results in improved behaviors.
Simply follow the inulin dosing instructions from my book. A dose of inulin that is too high can impact cerebral blood pressure and trigger issues such as excessive hyperactivity, anxiety, agitation, and extreme thirst or hunger. An inulin dose that is lower than I suggest might not be effective. Members of the Nemechek Navigator can purchase Nemechek Blue inulin here at a 10% discount.
If there has been no substantial increase in recovery over a 2-3 months despite taking inulin and there is no interference from probiotics, antibiotics, supplements, or a chronic illness, the child has experienced inulin failure.
I am not sure why inulin failure occurs. Still, I speculate that a different species of bacteria that is unresponsive to the prebiotic effects of inulin now inhabits the small intestine. nAs children age, the inulin becomes less and less effective at controlling bacterial overgrowth. I believe this is due to the natural maturation of the intestinal bacteria as children mature into adulthood. We are not just trying to suppress “gut bacteria” as a singular entity; we need to suppress and balance over a thousand distinct species within the large intestine, all of which have unique characteristics.nThe species of bacteria that tend to overgrow in the small intestine of a younger child (let us call them species A) may tend to be more sensitive to the prebiotic effects of inulin. As a result, inulin is more effective in younger children.
The primary reason inulin fails to control bacteria overgrowth is that the bacteria overgrowing is not sensitive to the acidification prebiotic effects of inulin.
Inulin and rifaximin are the only products I use to rebalance or re-arrange bacterial overgrowth. I do not use or recommend using any other fibers, prebiotics, antibiotics, or herbal remedies.
Inulin Failure (also referred to as the Plateau) is the least common response to The Nemechek Protocol®. If no significant improvement in autistic or developmental issues is observed after the first three to six months on the protocol, I consider the inulin to be ineffective and refer to this as “inulin failure.” At this point, I will suggest shifting from inulin to monthly rifaximin.
Unlike other common antibiotics, rifaximin does not lower intestinal bacterial biodiversity, and the development of long-term bacterial resistance to rifaximin is rare even with continuous, daily dosing over a year or more. Although bacterial resistance to rifaximin occurs very rarely, the resistance quickly disappears after discontinuing rifaximin for only a few weeks. The rifaximin can then be restarted with the same positive effect.nn