Part 5 - Your Gut Bacteria Friends
Your Gut Bacteria Friends
Truthfully, this is the most important section and if you’re dealing with multiple digestive issues, IBS, or brain fog…start you can here. Balancing your gut bacteria can solve many digestive symptoms.
Consider this section the generalist for your digestive system. Once you’ve balanced your gut bacteria you can then focus on the tools to balance your particular symptoms.
Most small intestine and pretty much all colon symptoms can be connected to an imbalance in your gut bacteria, that’s why this is a good place to start if you have IBS.
Your Microbiome Is Your Best Ally in Your Health
Some researchers estimate that half of the cells in your body are not human; they’re bacteria. That bacteria community plays a huge role in your health. Most of the bacteria live in your digestive system; it’s called the microbiota or microbiome.
Over the last few years, there’s been a ton of research on the microbiome, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Studying this inner ecosystem is difficult because there are so many factors influencing it. There are about 1,000 different strains of bacteria working together as a community, so it’s like studying the rain forest and trying to figure out which animal or plant species is the most important. As of writing this, scientists haven’t found the strain or handful of strains of bacteria that create the “perfect” microbiome in everyone, and they probably never will.
Because your microbiome lives inside you, it’s very determined that its home stays healthy and happy. When it’s a strong, balanced community, the microbiome helps you digest your food, heals your gut walls, balances your immune system, adjusts your metabolism, and even affects how you think.
The Gut/Brain Connection
Your microbiome is surrounded by a sea of neurons or nerve cells. More neurons live around your gut than in your spine. This Enteric Nervous System (ENS), which you can refer to as a “second brain,” is so vast and complex that it makes most of your neurotransmitters (your brain’s chemical messengers), including 90 percent of your serotonin and 50 percent of your dopamine. Research is finding that gut bacteria play a role in keeping your body’s neurotransmitters in balance and maintaining good mental health. In your gut, these neurotransmitters help you digest your food.
It’s hard to imagine that your gut health would affect your brain, but research has found that having Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is connected with a greater chance of having a psychiatric disorder. Anxiety and diarrhea are both thought to be triggered by an abundance of neurotransmitters, and depression and constipation are thought to be due to an absence of neurotransmitters.
What I find to be the coolest area of research is how your gut bacteria may change your personality. When timid mice were inoculated with gut bacteria from adventurous mice, they quickly became adventurous, too. And the adventurous mice became timid as soon as they were given gut bacteria from the timid mice. A study from The Ohio State University looked at stool samples from toddlers and found those with the most diverse inner ecosystem had the most positive behavioral attributes. They were more likely to be cooperative and share their toys.
This study also found a possible correlation between diverse gut bacteria and extroversion in the boys in the group. I come from a family of introverts, and I identify on the introverted side of the scale, and it made me wonder whether my introversion is something in my genes or was that a trait passed on to me through my mom’s gut bacteria?
The Gut/Immune Connection
The bacteria in your gut are technically foreign invaders, so shouldn’t the immune system kill them off? That’s its job—to find foreign cells, like suspicious bacteria, and eliminate them. In the case of these foreign invaders, your microbiome has developed not only a symbiotic relationship with your immune system but it’s taken charge.
Early mammals had an organized microbiome long before the immune system developed. As the early mammalian bodies developed a primitive immune system, the microbiome took the reins to keep its home safe and sound. To make sure that the bacteria weren’t kicked to the curb by the immune system, the microbiome took over the job of deciding when the immune system should attack. It’s your immune system’s modulator; your microbiome tells your immune system when to attack and when to stand down. Think about that for a moment: Cells that aren’t human but dwell in your body are what decide how your immune system functions.
Scientists can’t really determine what a human’s life would be like without a microbiome because there’s no way to study it in humans. Forcing a person to live without a functioning microbiome would be cruel, but (sadly) researchers can perform animal studies to see what happens. Germ-free mice have been found to have a blunted immune system, and they aren’t able to respond appropriately to an invader.
In humans, researchers are beginning to connect an imbalance in the microbiome with many inflammatory diseases and autoimmune conditions. Currently, there’s a proposed connection between the clean lifestyle found in North America and the rising number of kids diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (which is an autoimmune disease). A six-fold increase in this condition was found in kids who had clean water to drink and lived in homes with proper sanitation compared to those who had many strains of bacteria in their drinking water and a childhood rife with many intestinal infections. Early research is also connecting a change in gut bacteria with age-related chronic inflammation.
I believe we’re going to see more and more research into this area over the next few decades, and we may soon see probiotics, fermented foods, and other dietary measures used as the mainstream treatment for many autoimmune and inflammatory conditions that are currently very hard to treat. We still have a long way to go to uncover the power of the gut/immune connection.
Your Microbiome Affects the Energy You Extract from Food
The discovery of antibiotics has played a major role in human health. Antibiotics were a breakthrough for treating bacteria-based diseases and formerly deadly childhood diseases, such as meningitis and strep throat, that are easily cured with antibiotics. However, it’s now become apparent that we’ve been overusing them. Antibiotic-resistant bugs are creeping in and are quickly becoming deadly. Often, people blame doctors for overprescribing antibiotics, but agriculture is where the majority of the antibiotics are used in North America.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, conventional animal producers fed subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics to their animals daily, not to ward off infection but to fatten them up. Could the antibiotic residue found in these foods when we eat them be unintentionally doing the same thing to us?
Thankfully, this method of fattening up animals is changing. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of antibiotics in animals for growth. The antibiotic residue found in food has been reduced by one-third since the change took effect.
Dr. Martin Blaser, Director of NYU’s Human Microbiome Project, proposes in his book Missing Microbes that a steady intake of prescription antibiotics, antibiotic residue, and antimicrobial compounds in the diet (like chlorine on salad greens) are the cause of weaker microbiomes, and this may be affecting metabolism (as well as the immune system and other body systems). In his research, mice given antibiotics early in life gained weight much faster than those with an intact microbiome. The question for humans is, if this affects mice, does it affect us as well?
(Dr. Blaser’s book is fantastic if you’re interested in reading more!)
Your Gut Bacteria Balance Is in Your Hands
Scientists may never find the “perfect” microbiome balance, just like they may never find the balance of trees and wildlife that makes up the perfect forest. My microbiome is as unique as a fingerprint and is balanced to suit my diet, my climate, and my interaction with other lovely humans. That’s the goal: to make yourmicrobiome perfect for you.
You have a lot of control over your microbiome. Sometimes you indeed need antibiotics to deal with an infection, and that feels a bit out of your control, but there’s a lot you can do every day to help balance your inner ecosystem.
Most importantly, your bacteria eat whatever you eat, and your diet plays a huge role in determining both the strains of bacteria that take up residence in and the diversity of your microbiome. They munch mostly on undigested fiber, and your good bacteria especially love plant-based fiber from veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains. The American Gut Project has found that diets with the highest diversity of plant-based fiber feed the most diverse microbiomes.
Fermented foods, like sauerkraut, whole milk yogurt, and kefir, fertilize your gut beautifully. These foods are full of good bacteria but not of the type of bacteria that takes up residence. Bacteria from these foods are usually transient, but that’s not a bad thing! As the bacteria move through your gut, they leave in their wake an amazing environment for a robust and diverse ecosystem. Research has found that regularly eating fermented foods is linked to a diverse microbiome.
Many people unknowingly stress their microbiomes by eating a low-fiber diet or inadvertently eating foods with antibiotic residue. Without a steady supply of fiber, your good bacteria in your colon can die off, and other refined-food-lovin’ but less-than-stellar strains can take their place.
It doesn’t take long to make real changes in your microbiome! Research has found that within four days of a dietary change, a person’s gut bacteria has noticeably changed. Wherever your microbiome is today, it can be well on its way to a better balance in just one short week.
Supporting your gut bacteria doesn’t involve a difficult diet or removing all of your favorite foods. Your gut bacteria are happiest when you add some of their foods to your diet. Focus on adding and you’ll start to feel the difference :)
How’s Your Gut Bacteria Doing?
Your gut bacteria are a cooperative dance between about 1000 different strains of bacteria, yeast, and parasites. Some are considered “good” and others are considered “bad”, but I think that’s not the full story. I think that the balance is key and something, like a parasite, is usually considered “bad”, but in balance it can be very helpful for the gut. There’s even research that has connected parasites to a lower risk of auto-immune conditions.
So, I think it’s better to think of your gut bacteria as a whole – is it working well as a beautifully functioning community? Or, is it struggling with invaders or an overgrowth of certain strains?
There are wonderful stool tests on the market that will test your microbiome and find out your balance and what’s going on in your gut. But, they can be expensive and that’s not possible for everyone’s budget.
When I work with clients, I use their symptoms to see what might be going on in the gut. I only turn to these tests if their gut bacteria isn’t reacting as expected or there are some extra stubborn symptoms that aren’t resolving.
Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO)
This is becoming a very common issue for many people and this one is actually easily testable. Most Naturopaths and some G.P.s can provide a breath test to see if there’s an overgrowth of the wrong bacteria in the small intestine.
The small intestine has a small but important community that protects the delicate lining. If there’s an overgrowth, it can lead to many small intestine symptoms, especially, bigtime bloating that very visible, like you’re 4+ months pregnant. People with SIBO also tend to bloat a lot when they consume sugar alcohols, like xylitol or maltitol.
Treating SIBO usually involves a short-term restrictive diet called FODMAPs (https://www.monashfodmap.com) and a prescription antibiotic. Sometimes just the diet does the trick, but these strains can be stubborn and the antibiotic can be an important tool.
Overall imbalanced gut bacteria (Dysbiosis)
There are 3 types of dysbiosis:
1. Too little bacteria in the gut (commonly found after antibiotics or food poisoning)
2. An overgrowth of unhelpful strains of bacteria/yeast/parasites (like a candida overgrowth or SIBO)
3. A lack of diversity in the gut bacteria
Many people have a combination of imbalances, and you don’t need to know exactly what you’re dealing with, unless you suspect you have SIBO (since the treatment is a little different). The steps to find balance are the same for all three types.
Physical Symptoms of Dysbiosis
IBS or chronic digestive issues
Fungal overgrowth (yeast infections, thrush, athlete’s foot, jock itch, ringworm)
Exhaustion & brain fog
Crohn’s & Colitis
Food intolerances
Gas, bloating, burping, flatulence
Chronic inflammation
Skin rashes, like eczema and psoriasis
Possibly auto-immune conditions (more research is needed)
Possibly anxiety & depression (strongly correlated to IBS symptoms)
Possibly obesity (research has linked obesity to low diversity)
Finding Balance
There’s a high chance that if you live in North America or Europe, your gut bacteria could use some help. Between the use of antibiotics in farming and our wonderfully clean water and sanitation, our gut bacteria don’t get seeded and fed like they once were.
You can live with all of our wonderful amenities AND keep your gut bacteria balanced; it just involves a few additions to your day.
First, Do Some Weeding
Sometimes you’ve gotta kick out the bad critters so there’s room for the helpful ones to thrive. Fungal infections, parasites, and SIBO are signs that a certain strain of bacteria, yeast, or parasite has grown unfettered for too long.
You do this by taking an antimicrobial, which will kill off the bad guys (and, warning, some good guys) and create the space for your new, balanced ecosystem.
This is a temporary addition to your life. Don’t take any of these for longer than 1 month before taking a break, unless your practitioner has told you otherwise. If you have a stubborn overgrowth (like candida) you can take an antimicrobial two weeks on/two weeks off until you can get it under control.
Just choose one (and if one doesn’t work, try a different one):
Oregano Oil (regular strength, no higher than 80% carvacrol) – take 2 – 4 drops under your tongue 2x per day.
Colloidal Silver – take 3 tsp per day or follow the instructions on the bottle.
Raw Garlic (do not take if you suspect SIBO) – chop 1 – 2 cloves a day, let it sit for 5 minutes, then consume.
Goldenseal – follow the instructions on the bottle
*There are many more anti-microbials, these are just the main guys.
Reduce Gut Bacteria Stressors
As you rebuild your microbiome, you want to make the environment as conducive as possible for a thriving ecosystem. Here are some common gut bacteria stressors:
Chlorinated water – chlorine kills bacteria, that’s why it’s in our water. Chlorine is easily removed through a carbon filter (like Brita) or leave a jug of water on the counter overnight (it’ll dissipate into the air)
Antibiotic residue in food – this has improved over the last few years, but antibiotics are still used in some food production. Farmed salmon is a huge source of antibiotic residue. And, you can still find some antibiotic residue in non-organic milk, eggs, and meat. If it’s in your budget, look for organic options when possible to avoid antibiotic residue.
Lack of plant-based fibre – your gut bacteria eats the indigestible fibre found in plant foods. If you don’t eat plants (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and beans) then your colonies starve. Refined white sugar is hard to break down and also acts as a food to your gut bacteria…but that usually feeds the less-desirable strains.
Seed Your Gut (probiotics)
Your gut bacteria need regular seeding. In the past, your gut bacteria were seeded through the bacteria that is naturally found in water (streams and lakes), dirt (on food that was grown and dirt on your hands), and through poop contamination (which happened frequently before running water and toilets).
Today, we can mimic the natural seeding of our gut through probiotics. They’re important at the beginning of your journey and you can cut down your dose to 1 – 2x per week once your microbiome is thriving. This will keep it well-seeded.
Look for a multi-strain probiotic supplement that contains human strains of bacteria. These strains are most likely to take up residence in the gut. Also, look for one that contains lots of bifidobacteria, this is the type we would have gotten through poor sanitation in the past.
If you’ve had a microbiome problem for a very long time or you weren’t breastfed as a baby, look for a supplement that contains “bifido infantis”. It’s become a more popular addition to adult probiotics recently because it’s an important base strain for the gut. It’s needed to create the right environment for a balanced ecosystem and many people didn’t get inoculated with it as a baby. That’s okay, you can seed your gut with it now :)
Feed Your Bugs (Prebiotics)
Prebiotic supplements are all the rage right now, but they’re completely unnecessary. It’s better to use your diet instead…a capsule of prebiotic fibre doesn’t make much of a difference.
Your gut bacteria eat the indigestible fibre in your diet and their favourite food is plant-based fibre (fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and beans). And, research has found that you create a strong and diverse community of bacteria by eating a diverse range of plant-based fibre.
But…we’re creatures of habit and tend to eat the same things day in and day out. Stretch your plant-based fibre boundaries by incorporating a few new fibres to your diet, like:
Beans
All seeds, chia seeds are especially good
Unique veggies, like Jerusalem artichoke (and any new veggie will do)
New-to-you fruits
All whole grains, like oats and quinoa
My challenge to you – try a new plant-based fibre source every month for the next year. Keep what you like, and you’ll quickly find that your diet has easily become much more diverse :)
Fertilize Your Microbiome (Fermented Foods)
Fermented foods used to be a big part of our lives as humans. We’d ferment foods to store them and new storage techniques (like canning and freezing) have made fermentation unnecessary.
But your gut LOVES fermented food. It’s like Miracle Grow for your gut. Just one serving a day makes a HUGE difference!
Grab some unpasteurized sauerkraut, kefir, whole-milk yogurt, miso, tempeh, or kombucha and enjoy some every day. Or, try your hand at fermenting your own veggies…at home fermentation makes for a stronger and more diverse ecosystem in each spoonful!
Bonus! Gut Bacteria Feeding Chia Pudding
Chia pudding is a delicious treat that also helps the gut—my favorite combination. When soaked, chia seeds produce a gel-like fiber, which feeds good bacteria and can regulate the gut. This recipe helps with both constipation and diarrhea :)
Chia pudding works best for alleviating constipation or diarrhea. Just enjoy ½ to 1 cup each day! (For a homemade version, click here to try the recipe)
Summing It Up!
Your gut bacteria want a happy and healthy home and eats what you eat! Rebalancing your microbiome doesn’t take a “perfect” diet, just one with all of the ingredients – fibre, bacteria, fermented foods.
If you’re really struggling, reach out for help. I’ve been helping people rebalance their gut bacteria for 10+ years and love a new digestive puzzle to figure out. Send me your questions for our next Q&A session and don’t forget, as a member, you get 15% off all consultations and packages if you’d like more personalized help :).
Got any questions or comments? Comment below, jump to our private Facebook Group, or the Ask Lisa page :).