WHAT’S NEW WITH GUT HEALTH?
In recent years, breakthroughs in medical research have revealed what ancient physicians have known for centuries: you can’t have good health without having a healthy gut. Problems ranging from relatively minor complaints like fatigue, skin breakouts, and allergies to deadly diseases such as diabetes, dementia, and autoimmune disorders, and cancer can all be traced back to imbalances in the gut microbiome (the totality of microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi, and their collective genetic material present in the gastrointestinal tract). That means that by nurturing a healthy gut, we can have healthier longer, happier lives.
Hippocrates had said 1000s of years ago, which is basically the root of all health and all disease starts in the intestine. And that is what we are starting to see in this way of how the microbiome affects every other organ within the body. Now, what we realize is that these microbes – bacteria, fungi, viruses, yeast – are all working together as a community, as a collective. They’re working together, meaning that they are constantly communicating with each other, interspecies, different strains, and different species, sensing information in our internal and external environment. From our brain, to our heart, to our lungs, and of course our gastrointestinal tract, there isn’t an organ system in our body that isn’t communicating with the microbiome.
It’s important to keep in mind that the microbes house the largest portion of all of the genetic elements that are found in the human body. So the human body has somewhere around 22,000 functional genes. However, your large intestine contains 40 trillion bacteria, which has more than 150 times the genetic material of you as an individual. Those microbes in our gut can actually interact with our immune system, with our brain, our nervous system, and any system in the body. They also produce vital elements which our body needs.
When I took my course in 2005-2006, the world was only starting to dive into how important this microbiome is to the rest of our body. When scientists started to look at all the different disease conditions, like asthma or Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, glaucoma, or chronic kidney disease, they discovered that the individuals affected by those diseases, their microbiome were different from body to body and disease to disease. It’s as if the microbiome has its own fingerprint. Through the years they have also realized that by taking care of your microbiome it could improve any health issues including depression, anxiety, and even cognitive function.
The gut microbiome has the ability to impact the rest of the body by producing molecules that communicate with our immune system, our nervous system and also impact the production of neurotransmitters. Indeed, it has the ability to produce molecules that impact our hormone production, enzymes to help us with detoxification, some that are going to be producing vitamins, melatonin, which is a critical hormone that’s not only involved in sleep, and is also a very potent antioxidant. The microbes of the gut are busy, they’re manufacturing, they’re detoxifying, and they’re working to regulate our hormone levels, particularly estrogen. And of course, they’re very involved in the whole functionality of the gut.
So as opposed to a healthy microbiome, an unhealthy microbiome is out of balance and is called dysbiosis. The first signs of dysbiosis are:
- Diarrhea, constipation, bloating, reflux
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Obesity
- Fatigue, sleep disorder
- Headaches
- Confusion, brain fog, difficulty concentrating
- Skin problems
- Join pain, widespread inflammation
- Craving for sugar and carbs
- Low mood, anxiety, depression, ADD, ADHD
- Autoimmune diseases
- Metabolic dysfunctions: Blood sugar and blood pressure
So if you damage the gut microbiome, if you induce dysbiosis, there are three things that can happen.
- The first thing is alteration of the gut bacteria. Less good guys, more bad guys, reduced diversity of the gut microbiota.
- Number two is damage to the tight junctions that hold the cells of the intestine’s lining. Leakiness occurs, called leaky gut syndrome.
- And the third thing is, because there are more bad microbes, you have a leaky gut, and these bad microbes start pouring out something called bacterial endotoxin. This causes inflammation throughout the entire Bacterial endotoxin has been connected to so many different conditions and diseases, even affecting the brain and the heart.
The lining of the small intestine is very thin: one cell thick which are called enterocytes. When disrupted, it can replace and repair itself every three to five days. But stress, lack of sleep, eating a poor quality diet, drinking too much alcohol, taking too many drugs – whether they’re prescription or over the counter – and chemicals can really impact the gut microbiome and this lining of enterocytes. We end up with something that we call leaky gut, which also decreases barrier function, or increased intestinal permeability (where molecules that are partially digested end up in the bloodstream). Then the immune system starts reacting against them. Leaky gut is one of the triggers of every autoimmune condition that has been studied. This lining is very important, and it works hand in hand with the microbiome. So if the microbiome is inflamed, and not in balance, that can also cause a leaky gut. They are working hand in hand. Leaky gut can trigger skin conditions, mental health conditions, asthma, and so many health conditions. We could be listing hundreds of health conditions that all started with leaky gut syndrome. It’s a very prominent kind of health condition that many people aren’t aware of, or should I say not informed about.
Only small particles like amino acids, fats, and simple sugars (like glucose) are supposed to pass through the walls of your small intestines. If you have dysbiosis, this can lead to leaky gut and then you have small particles – other than amino acids, fats, and simple sugars – going through your small intestine walls, causing your immune system to react against maybe a small piece of broccoli or peanut, and then this causes you to have an allergic reaction against broccoli or peanuts. As a young girl, I was tested for allergies. Every single test caused a reaction. I even fainted. Little did the doctors know at that time what leaky gut syndrome was or even knew that we could have food go through the intestine walls.
So, as a precaution, it is better to fix the intestine walls first, before engaging in eating the produce that you are allergic to. Evaluating and being aware of what you are eating is the best way of doing so. I know better now and that is what I am doing.
But why aren’t our doctors informing us about this? Honestly, they don’t really know because if you look into any medical dictionary, most of the evolution or cure for these conditions, I have mentioned above, are classified as “unknown”.
This is where natural health practitioners come and inform you that it is reversible and apparent cures are changing your lifestyle and eating habits.
One thing that your gut needs – or should I say the good bacteria in your gut need – are fibers. Now, everybody has been educated to the fact that fiber is roughage and is needed to clean the intestines. This is true. However, fibers are now known to be the most important ingredient in keeping your gut healthy and your body too.
Our body cannot digest fiber but the healthy bacteria in your gut can. They process the fiber and manufacture many important particles that are vital to a good functioning gut and body. I need to separate the gut and the body here because they do work together but separately.
My main discovery this year had to be learning about a short chain fatty acid called butyrate that has anti-inflammatory effects on the bowel and also is absorbed into the bloodstream to a degree and affects the appestat (the region of the hypothalamus of the brain which is believed to control a person’s appetite for food). Both the gut and the body need that particle for many reasons. First, the gut needs it to keep the tight junction between the cell walls intact so that we do not have a leaky gut. Second, this molecule is also needed by the body for many reasons:
- It triggers the satiety mechanism which includes a hormone called leptin, which in turn triggers a systemic metabolic process, so that your whole system can start burning fat for fuel. If the leptin is not triggered, then the hormone Ghrelin, your hunger hormone, stays high and you tend to overeat.
- It has body wide anti-inflammatory effect, including our brain
- Heals up damaged blood brain barrier
- Changes neurotransmitters our brain produces
- Helps regenerate nerves in our brain
- Improves mitochondrial function – increasing energy
- Improves blood sugar control
- Improves insulin sensitivity
So, if you already have a leaky gut, there is no butyrate released in your body since the gut walls are also lacking butyrate. What do we need to do to increase the levels of butyrate? Eat more fibers! And that would include:
- Raw leafy greens are the best, a green smoothie is good
- Think three-bean salad, bean burritos, chili, and soup.
- Whole grains. That means whole-wheat bread, pasta, etc.
- Brown rice. White rice doesn’t offer much fiber.
- It’s a great source of fiber.
- Almonds, pecans, and walnuts have more fiber than other nuts.
- Baked potato with skin. It’s the skin that’s important here.
- All those seeds, plus the skin, give great fiber to any berry.
- Bran cereal. Oatmeal.
- The crunchier, the better.
Now I do understand that some doctors, because of your possible diagnosis regarding your health, might ask you not to do this or not to eat that. However, you have to understand that many of the medications that are prescribed are going against logical health like not eating broccoli if you are on certain cholesterol medication and not eating grapefruit if you are on a certain blood pressure medication. But the secret here is to take care of your gut, slowly bringing down those life threatening numbers, at least eating some fibers to alleviate high blood pressure or high levels of bad cholesterol. It is crucial to your gut’s health. I even read from a natural health doctor who was mentioning that if you do not include fiber in your diet, it would be better that you live near a hospital. Some say that you should eat at least 30 different kinds of fiber per week. Diversity is key here because your microbes need different fibers to manufacture molecules. Thirty? Well let’s see…
This morning, I made myself a smoothie. I had five different kinds of fruit in it. At lunch I had a salad with lettuce, onions, celery, tomatoes, apple, green pepper, cucumber. That’s eight. For supper I had some frozen veggies and there were at least five different kinds in that too. So we are only on day number one and I have already eaten 18 different kinds of fiber. It is doable folks.
The more your microbiome can produce butyrate, the more your body will feel better, sleep better, have less pain, and concentrate better. All kinds of things will happen to you which you thought would never get better. Some doctors like to tell you things like: “Well, you know that you are getting older, and… “. But it has nothing to do with age.
So, again… It all boils down to changing your eating habits and lifestyle. Tough? Yes! Doable? For sure! You might also want to read my “WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS! NOVEMBER 22, 2023 blog: Dimensions of wellness: change your habits, change your life.
And again, if you see yourself being challenged with all this, why not give me a hoot and we could go through a “Virtual Health Consultation”. This will help you start fresh and with all new information about how to rid your body from what is not supposed to be there and bring in the good.
Till we get this microbiota in shape!
Tata for now!
Your friendly neighbourhood Natural Health Practitioner,
Carole
