Intestinal Dysbiosis

DESCRIPTION

Intestinal dysbiosis, the growth of unfriendly organisms or overgrowth of normally harmless organisms in the gastrointestinal tract, is a widespread but frequently unrecognized cause of chronic disorders  throughout the body. Normally, more than 500 different species of friendly or neutral microflora live in the digestive tract; in fact, there are nine times as many bacteria in the digestive tract as there are cells in the human body! We couldn’t live without the help of our friendly microflora, which are called probiotics (pro-life). Probiotics perform numerous functions essential for our health including metabolizing nutrients, vitamins, drugs, hormones, and carcinogens; synthesizing food for intestinal cells; preventing unfriendly organisms from attaching to and colonizing the mucosal lining of the digestive tract; and stimulating normal immune responses.

When unfriendly organisms, such as viruses, parasites and unfriendly bacteria, do manage to gain entry, or when normally neutral organisms, such as the yeast Candida albicans, overgrow, normal gut ecology is upset, and a wide variety of problems can occur. These problems include digestive disorders such as indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances and food allergies, but are not limited to the digestive tract. Intestinal dysbiosis is a causative factor in numerous chronic degenerative diseases such as arthritis, autoimmune diseases, colon and breast cancer, psoriasis, eczema, cystic acne, and chronic fatigue.

 
FREQUENT SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

• Frequent indigestion
• Bloating
• Belching
• Flatulence
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation
• Nausea after taking supplements
• Food allergies or intolerances
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Crohn’s disease
• Celiac disease
• Gastritis
• Inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, eczema, acne, hives
• Autoimmune diseases
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Rectal itching
• Undigested food in the stools
• Foul smelling stools
• Weight loss: poor absorption of nutrients resulting in malnutrition

CAUSES

• Western diet: the Western diet is high in fat, meat, sugars and refined carbohydrates, and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber:
• A diet high in fat and meat and low in fiber results in putrefaction in the intestinal tract and promotes the growth of unfriendly bacteria such as Bacteroides spp. The metabolic by-products produced by these bacteria activate enzymes whose activity promotes colon and breast cancer.
• Soluble fiber is the food eaten by the cells that compose the lining of the intestines. When the diet is lacking in fiber, these cells starve, and the gut wall literally develops tiny holes. This “leaky gut” then allows undigested food molecules as well as pathogens to leak into the bloodstream. Food allergies, autoimmune diseases, and infection can result.
• Excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates promotes the overgrowth of normally benign bacteria in the small intestine. When these bacteria ferment carbohydrates, the result is bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, and general feelings of malaise.
• Antibiotic use: antibiotics kill not only unfriendly but also friendly microflora, leaving the intestinal tract wide open to colonization by pathogens.
• Food allergies: when an allergenic food is consumed, an inflammatory immune response occurs that can result in damage to the lining of the intestines.
• Lack of digestive secretions: when food is not properly broken down, it becomes available for unfriendly bacteria or can contribute to the overgrowth of normally benign bacteria. In addition, when proteins are not digested, they activate an immune response, which can lead to the development of food allergies.
• Intestinal infections: unfriendly bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori (now known to cause ulcers), as well as parasites, fungi and viruses can upset gut ecology and damage the digestive tract.
• Laxative abuse: laxatives work by irritating the gut, thus triggering forceful contractions ( peristalsis) of the intestines in an effort to purge the irritant. Laxative abuse can damage the intestinal lining and also results in nutrient malabsorption.

RISK INCREASES WITH

• Stress: disrupts digestive secretions.
• Food allergies: consumption of allergenic foods triggers an inflammatory immune response that can damage the intestinal lining.
• Disease-promoting diet: a diet based on animal products and processed foods, with little consumption of fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds, and whole grains is low in factors that promote gut health – fiber, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids – and high in damaging factors – meat, saturated fat, trans fats (also called partially hydrogenated oils), sugars and refined carbohydrates.
• Antibiotic/drug therapy: in addition to antibiotics, which wipe out friendly microflora, numerous drugs
  damage the intestinal lining, e.g., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen.
• Decreased immune function: a compromised immune system cannot mount as effective a defense against pathogens.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

• A health-promoting diet: after identifying and removing any allergenic foods from the diet, choose a nutrient-dense, fiber-rich diet of whole, unprocessed, preferably organic foods, especially plant foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts [especially walnuts], and seeds), and cold-water fish. Minimize consumption of meats and processed foods.

  Expected outcomes

 
Intestinal dysbiosis represents a syndrome with a very broad spectrum. In minor disturbances, clinical signs of improvement can often be seen within the first week. If disturbances in the intestinal flora are moderate to severe, up to 3–6 months may be needed to see significant changes in bacterial counts and/or clinical symptoms.

 
TREATMENT

A stool analysis is usually performed to check for pathogens including bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and parasites. Depending upon the organism(s) founds, appropriate natural antimicrobial agents may be prescribed. See ICIM Medics Digestive Assessment for more options : http://icimmedics.com/medical-assessments/digestive-assessment/

Diet

• A health-promoting diet: consume a diet primarily composed of non-starchy vegetables, fruits, cold-water fish, nuts and seeds.
• Decrease sugar consumption: sugar depresses immune function. Many unfriendly organisms thrive on sugar.
• Avoid starchy foods: these can be fermented by unfriendly organisms in the digestive tract:
• Grains, e.g., wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye
• Legumes high in starch, e.g., chickpeas, garbanzo beans, soybeans, fava beans
• Starchy vegetables, e.g., potatoes, yams, corn.
• Increase dietary fiber:
• In addition to non-starchy vegetables and fruits, especially good sources of fiber include whole prunes, flaxseed meal.
• Drink 6–8 glasses of fluid (clean water, diluted fruit juices, herbal teas) daily.

Nutritional supplements

• Digestive factors: supplementation with hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzymes can improve digestion.
• Hydrochloric acid supplementation:
• Begin by taking 1 tablet or capsule, containing 10 grains (600 mg) of hydrochloric acid, at your next large meal. If this does not aggravate your symptoms, at every subsequent meal of the same size, take 1 more tablet or capsule (one at the next meal, two at the meal after that, then three at the next meal). When taking a number of tablets or capsules, don’t take them all at once. Space them throughout the meal.
• Continue to increase the dose until you reach seven tablets or until you experience a feeling of warmth in your stomach, whichever occurs first. A warm feeling in the stomach means that you have taken too many tablets for that meal, and you need to take one less tablet for a meal that size. It is a good idea, however, to try the larger dose again at another meal to make sure that the HCl was what caused the warmth, and not something else.
• After you have found the largest dose you can take at your large meals without feeling any stomach warmth, maintain that dose at all meals of a similar size. You will need to take less at smaller meals.
• As your stomach begins to regain the ability to produce the amount of HCl needed to properly digest your food, you will notice the warm feeling again and will have to cut down the dose level.
• Pancreatic enzymes:
• Dosage: use a 10 ??USP pancreatic enzyme product and take 350–1,000 mg t.i.d. immediately before meals.
• Use a non-enteric-coated enzyme product. Enzyme products are often enteric-coated to prevent digestion in the stomach, so the enzymes will be liberated in the small intestine. However, numerous studies have shown that non-enteric-coated enzyme preparations actually outperform enteric-coated products if they are taken prior to a meal.
• For vegetarians, bromelain and papain (protein digesting enzymes from pineapple and papaya, respectively) can substitute for pancreatic enzymes in the treatment of pancreatic insufficiency. However, best results are obtained if they are used in combination with pancreatin and ox bile.
• Probiotics: friendly intestinal flora are needed to repopulate the intestines, both for their numerous beneficial effects on gut health (see Description above) and also to compete with, thereby preventing  colonization by, unfriendly organisms or the overgrowth of normally benign organisms such as Candida albicans; dosage: 1–10 billion viable Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum cells q.d.)

Botanical medicines

Depending upon the results of the stool analysis, botanical agents effective against the organisms found may be recommended.

 
ICIM Medics Approach

If you feel that this article relates to you and you suspect that an Intestinal Dysbiosis may be present, then please make an appointment for your Digestive Assessment http://icimmedics.com/medical-assessments/digestive-assessment/

The results from the assessment can be used by one of our Natural Medical Practitioners who will help you with your individualised treatment plan. This may include dietary, nutritional and/or botanical advice.

This article is not meant to be used for treatment but for information purposes only. If you feel that this approach is appropriate for you please contact ICIM Medics on 045 844 819 or www.icim.ie e-mail : info@icim.ie  Both appointments can be arranged for you.

Tags: Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Intestinal Dysbiosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome