How to Balance the Microbiome
“All disease begins in the gut”- Hippocrates
Ever wonder why those pesky gut issues come up even after switching your diet to a whole foods protocol? How about constantly hearing the terms “leaky gut” and “microbiome” not knowing what they mean?
Look no further, this article will break down what the microbiome is, what happens when there is imbalance and the functional medicine approach to healing the gut.
What is the Microbiome?
We have a diverse ecosystem of bacteria all over and throughout our body. Our biggest microbiome is actually on our skin, but we will be focusing on our digestive tract here. Your microbiota or “gut flora”, is unique to each individual and made up of 1500 or more species of bacteria. Each species has a specific job to do to keep your system running on par. It is important to have diversity in bacteria to cultivate a robust diverse ecosystem that creates balance and overall health.
Scientists have found that your exposure during birth sets up your microbiota and there are differences in gut bacteria found in babies born vaginally vs caesarean. (1) Dirt, germs and exposure to the world continue to help create the diverse ecosystem that promotes balance. This goes against the innate feeling of having to clean babies’ toys or pacifier every time it falls to the floor or if the dog steals it. A sterile environment is actually not conducive to a healthy diverse microbiome.
We are still learning all of the many functions of the microbiota. Here are a few key functions we have learned so far:
Helps detoxify toxins
Synthesizes vitamin K out of the food we eat
Alters the environment to make sure we don’t get infections
MInd-gut connection (more on this below) and the importance of how our gut health impacts our mental health.
What causes imbalance?
The lack of beneficial bacteria can be just as bad as having an infection. This happens when our intake of food is full of sugar and harmful toxins that feed the “bad bacteria” and wipe out the other strains. With most people eating a SAD (Standard American Diet), this causes our microbiome to become unbalanced. The imbalance of gut bacteria results in abnormal environment that leads to inflammation. We know that the underlying cause of any disease is inflammation. (2) This is where you start to get some localized symptoms to occur such as:
Digestive issues and discomfort such as bloating and gas.
GERD
SIBO
Chronic issues such as irritable bowl.
Food sensitivities
Leaky gut (more on this later)
Lifestyle choices that cause stress and lack of sleep also cause a huge strain on your GI system. Stress causes your hormone cortisol to increase and causes havoc to your gut, ultimately causing inflammation.
Most people become concerned and head to the doctor’s office to fix the symptoms. For functional medicine practitioners, these symptoms are red flags to test for gut health. The inflammation eventually leads to molecular mimicry like arthritis and if left untreated for too long, the inflammation will cause a systemic response that could trigger autoimmune, thyroid disease or cancers.
leaky gut
the problem with gluten
“Our food should be our medicine, and our medicine should be our food” - Hippocrates
Think of the lining of your digestive system like a coffee filter. This one cell layer has tiny openings to allow specific proteins or cells through to their specific function. Leaky gut or increased intestinal impermeability, happens when certain foods, drugs or stress causes tears or these tiny opening to expand allowing bacteria, bugs, toxins or undigested food through that shouldn’t, ultimately triggering those pesky symptoms we discussed earlier.
Research has found that gluten negatively impacts the lining of the gut, even those without celiac or gluten sensitivities. (3) Gluten causes the release of an inflammatory protein called zonulin, which opens the intestinal junctures, causing leaky gut and ultimately leaking into the bloodstream. This can negatively affect your skin, energy levels, mood and even has a direct correlation to brain health. The mind-gut connection has found that our serotonin, a neurotransmitter whose main function is to stabilize mood and feelings of happiness and wellbeing, are produced in the gut. These recent findings are critical to our understanding of how important our gut health really is for our entire wellbeing. I recommend The Mind-Gut Connection book by Dr. Emeran Mayer for more information.
the functional Medicine 5r framework for gut restoration
Remove-Replace-Reinoculate-Repair- Rebalance
Functional medicine practitioners recognize the importance of gut health as the seat of your immune system. There are specific tests like Genova to see what specific strains of bacteria in your gut are in overgrowth or lacking. The 5R framework is the protocol that functional medicine practitioners take to help get your microbiome back in balance.
remove
Remove anything that is causing stress or negatively impacting your GI tract such as; unhealthy and foods you may be allergic to, parasites, viruses, acid blockers and yeast overgrowth.
2. replace
Replace digestive enzymes and bile acids that are required for proper digestion. These may be compromised by diet, disease, medication and aging.
3. reinoculate
Help beneficial bacteria by introducing probiotic foods such as fermented foods or yogurt that contain the “good bacteria” to repopulate the microbiome. Probiotics are microorganisms that are usually killed off by medications such as antibiotics and cause imbalance. Supplements that contain lactobacillus or bifidobacteria specifically will help populate your GI with the right bacteria.
Prebiotics are food that triggers the growth of beneficial microorganisms already located in the GI tract. Inulin is a specific protein in prebiotics found in fiber foods such as oats, flax, garlic, onions and artichokes.
4. repair
Key nutrients have been found to be depleted in a compromised gut. Vitamins A, C, E, fish oil, zinc, antioxidants and amino acid glutamine help repair the lining of your GI tract and are beneficial to add for repair.
5. rebalance
Lifestyle choices such as a healthy diet rich in pre-pro biotic foods and supplements, stress management, sleep and exercise all help keep the GI tract in balance. Meditation and mindfulness techniques help to empower you to stress less and give you tools to use on a daily basis. Check out my blog on mindfulness here for some inspiration and information on different mindfulness techniques.
For those looking to get on a good probiotic and gut health supporting supplements, you can check out my favorite line of supplements here. Here is Doctor Emi’s statement from her website regarding the quality of supplements.
“In addition to being certified for CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) by the NSF International, the products in Doctor Emi’s Natural Health Store are manufactured in a facility certified by the prestigious TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) in Australia. The TGA is nearly equivalent to the US Food and Drug Administration, except that TGA requirements exceed those established by the United States Food and Drug Administration. TGA certification is internationally recognized for having one of the world’s most rigorous GMP audit processes in the dietary supplement industry – standards that are very similar to pharmaceutical-level GMP requirements”.
*As always, please consult your medical practitioner before taking supplements.