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160 Sagamore Parkway West - West Lafayette, IN 47906 765-464-1545 |
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Dysbiosis
HOW IMPORTANT IS A HEALTHY INTESTINAL TRACT? Maybe it’s time to find out
The surface area of the gut is around 500 square meters. Compare that to your skin, which is only about two square meters! Have you ever heard the phrase, “you are what you eat”? This is only partially true. In actuality, you are what you absorb. Your body is not necessarily able to utilize everything you eat, so only the things that are absorbed into your cells can be used for nourishment and energy.
Good Health Starts In The Gut It's a jungle down there. A normal, healthy intestinal tract contains almost 6 pounds of different types of microorganisms. This amounts to billions of bacteria that are there specifically to keep your intestinal tract healthy and help nourish you. After leaving the stomach, food enters the small intestine. Various digestive substances are pumped in at numerous stations along the way in order to assist in digestion and absorption. Beneficial bacteria help in the digestion process, and also produce beneficial by-products, such as B-vitamins and short-chain fatty acids. The cells which line the healthy gut form a continuous barrier. This barrier prevents undigested food particles and bacteria from entering the bloodstream.
Trouble Can Start Here, Too Dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the intestinal flora, can occur when conditions cause our hard-working bacterial friends to die. When this happens, a lot of space becomes available for "weeds," or pathogenic bacteria and yeast, which otherwise could not compete. Growth of these "bad guys" can lead to loss of energy, mood swings, headaches, and other physical and emotional distresses which can last a lifetime if not addressed and corrected.
Various pollutants, chemical toxins, and medications, along with stress, can cause this kind of shift in the intestinal flora, leading to dysbiosis. A very significant factor since the 1950's is the use of oral antibiotics. These life-saving drugs virtually wipe out the beneficial bacteria in an intestinal tract. Without concurrent antifungal therapy, yeast overgrowth is assured.
Yeast infections of the gut are very unhealthy, but often difficult to detect. Rapidly growing yeast can cause a variety of symptoms, including sugar cravings, brain fog, fatigue, PMS-like symptoms, depression, ADD and hyperactivity. When the yeast dies, toxic by-products of cellular disintegration can cause many other symptoms.
It Just Gets Worse and Worse Your digestive tract is an open tube which begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. This tube is the largest contact with the outside environment, which is laden with bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc. It is therefore no wonder that upwards of 70% of the immune system is housed in this area, referred to as the gut or gastrointestinal tract. The gut serves as a barrier, allowing only things of a certain size to pass in or out. Sometimes, due to an imbalance in the population of microorganisms in the gut, there is a breakdown in cellular integrity. Consequently, the gaps which normally exist between the mucosal cells lining the gut enlarge. Partially digested food proteins can then escape into the blood stream, a condition known as Leaky Gut Syndrome. When undigested food escapes, your immune system kicks in. It does not recognize these large particles, so it tries to get rid of the “intruders” by forming antibodies against them. This is where allergies and food sensitivities begin. In addition, an unhealthy gut is thought to play a part in childhood conditions such as autism and attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD). Clinical evidence verifies, without a doubt, the gut-brain connection!
Not That, Too! Ever heard of reflux? You may know it by the now-popular name, GERD. It seems like more and more people are suffering from this condition. Zealous drug advertisers have convinced us that we have too much stomach acid. Conventional therapy is based on the myth that acid indigestion, heartburn, or GERD are the result of too much stomach acid. According to Dr. Jonathan Wright, M.D., the facts say otherwise. In a small percentage of people this may be true. However, for the majority, the opposite is true. According to Dr. Jeffrey Bland’s team of medical researchers, which includes M.D.s, N.D.s and nutritionists, there are several conditions which are indicative of low gastric acidity. These include Addison’s disease, asthma, celiac disease, eczema, gallbladder disease, gastritis, lupus erythematosus, osteoporosis, pernicious anemia, psoriasis, and others. Symptoms of low gastric acidity include bloating, belching, burning and flatulence immediately after meals, a sense of fullness after eating, indigestion, diarrhea or constipation, systemic reactions after eating, nausea after taking supplements, rectal itching, weak, peeling, or cracked fingernails, post-adolescent acne, iron deficiency, chronic intestinal infections, and others.
What Can You Do? There may be hundreds of conditions and age-related disorders that have to do with the health of the gut. So, how can you find out if what you are experiencing has to do with your intestinal fortitude? And what can you do to improve it? There is a way to fix the damage. With guided hard work, you can repair the damage done by these intruders and replace at least some of the intestinal good guys. The protocol is called the 4 R's, which stands for Remove, Replace, Reinoculate, and Repair.
1R. Remove: Refers to the removal of any gastrointestinal parasites and/or undesirable (pathogenic) bacteria or fungi that may be present and contributing to dysfunction and/or abnormal symptoms. Remove also refers to the removal from the diet of allergens and intolerant foods and substances.
2R. Replace: Denotes the replacement of any digestive factors (enzymes, for example) the body may not be making, or which it may be making in inadequate amounts.
3R. Reinoculate: Refers to the reintroduction of "friendly" or desirable gastrointestinal bacteria through the use of probiotics. Probiotic supplements contain high concentrations of beneficial bacteria. Not all probiotics are the same. The encapsulated bacteria must be able to survive the trip through the highly acidic stomach in order to be viable when it is time to implant in the intestinal lining.
4R. Repair: Refers to nutrients which need to be provided for cellular repair and functioning of the gastrointestinal mucosal cells. In a normal, healthy intestine, the friendly bacteria produce molecules which directly nourish the cells lining the intestinal wall. With the loss of the beneficial bacteria, the cells lining the intestine literally starve to death. Small gaps between cells, normally sized perfectly to allow the transport of the proper sized molecules in and out of the intestine, then enlarge so that larger molecules, such as undigested food particles and pathogens, can infiltrate the body. This leads to allergies, fatigue, IBS, and other chronic conditions. In order to return your intestine to its healthful, well-functioning status, specific nutrients are required.
Here are some terms that you might encounter when pursuing intestinal health:
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