Redefining Wellness: How the Gut’s Microbiome and Barrier Shape Your Health
Hippocrates once said more than 2,000 years ago . . . "All disease begins in the gut." And we are finding that out to be more and more true today.
Especially over the last 10-20 years, research has shown how important gut health is to our overall health and wellness. From digestive disorders to a wide range of other conditions including metabolic syndrome (heart disease, diabetes, and stroke), autoimmune conditions, various types of arthritis, depression, obesity, and chronic fatigue to name a few.
Did you know that studies show roughly 76% of Americans experience some form of gastrointestinal (GI) distress?! More than 40% of Americans give up activities due to GI discomfort. And did you know that there are over 70 million Americans that have been diagnosed with GI disease? That is higher than the number of people who have diabetes!
So, if you are someone who has suffered with poor gut health, you are NOT alone!
Most people have experienced indigestion at one time or another, but the symptoms related to poor gut health are getting worse and are more people are suffering than ever before. Who out there has had acid reflux or uncomfortable gas and bloating after a meal? Maybe you have felt the urgency to run to the bathroom. Or instead, had difficulty going to the bathroom at all. Have you ever felt exhausted day after day, and you know it’s more than you not sleeping well at night?
Unfortunately, the list goes on and on: nausea, food sensitivities, IBD, IBS, allergies, inflammation, brain fog, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, bloating, painful gas, bad breath, etc… It is clear that something needs to be done.
After all, many of the symptoms and gut health related diseases are preventable. Unfortunately, the modern diet and lifestyle have led to what is quickly becoming an epidemic of poor gut health in America.
Now, before we begin healing the nation and eliminating gut health symptoms everywhere (and yes that is what we aim to do!), we really need to take a look at 2 major factors that are the main contributors to gut health.
The gut microbiome and the gut barrier. Seems simple, right? Let's take a look at the microbiome first.
Microbiome: The microbiome is your gut flora, which is composed of about 100 trillion microorganisms.
How do we create super hero gut microbiology that fights off infection, gets rid of toxins, and absorbs all the nutrients that we need?
Think of your gut as a vibrant city, bustling with diverse microbial citizens. Some are your allies, breaking down food and nurturing your immune system. Others, however, can wreak havoc, contributing to digestive distress, inflammation, and even chronic health conditions.
In a healthy gut microbiome these microorganisms co-exist peacefully and typically include different fungi, algae, and some parasites (good ones). They work together to break down toxins, absorb nutrients, regulate metabolism, synthesize vitamins, etc… All leading to a well functioning, bustling metropolis of healthy gut citizens. By the way, your gut also includes about 70-80% of your immune system. If you are looking to boost your immune system, start with your gut health!
The real problem occurs when this system is no longer in balance, becomes damaged, or unhealthy microorganisms are present. This is called dysbiosis and can lead to a whole bunch of problems. And unfortunately, there are quite a few things in our modern diet and lifestyle that have a detrimental effect on the microbiome. Things like...
Antibiotics or other medications
Highly processed foods, fast food
Diets that are low in fiber
Environmental toxins
Toxic foods
Chronic stress
Antibiotics, in particular, have more damaging effects on the healthy gut flora in our microbiome. One study monitored the effects of antibiotics on various gut flora and found that…
“After taking antibiotics, the diversity of microbes in healthy volunteer’s guts decreases sharply.”
Antibiotics literally kill off your healthy gut bacteria and cause dysbiosis. The impact of surgery on gut health is often underestimated as well. The potent combination of stress and medication disrupts the gut's delicate balance, throwing off the delicate balance of your gut flora. Restoring this vital ecosystem becomes an uphill battle for many patients, with long-term consequences for their overall health.
After careful consideration you might say… “Great! So, with all these things affecting my gut, I’ll start taking a probiotic and be good, right?”
Well, not so fast.
We often think of diet first when figuring out how to restore those healthy gut microbes, and for good reason. However, there are other incredibly important factors to consider even before we start trying new recipes for kimchi or spending lots of money on expensive probiotics. Nourishing your gut with good food is crucial, but it's only one part of the equation. We must look at improving other lifestyle factors that impact our microbiome. Some important ones to work on are stress management, getting proper sleep, being consistent with exercise, and evaluating what kind of toxic exposure we have in our environment that can be mitigated.
By addressing these other factors alongside maintaining a healthier diet, you will be able to achieve better results faster, that will last a whole lot longer. And that’s exactly what we want! No cookie cutter diets, or trendy biohacks. No more quick fixes or magic pills. It’s important to lay a solid foundation of health that begins with your gut.
In order to restore balance to the microbiome, we need to shift our mindset from the idea of a “one-size fits all” solution to understanding that much more personalization is needed when it comes to nutrition and what you need on an individual basis. After all, we all have different backgrounds, and even your environment from an early age plays a part in the diversity of your microbiome. Believe it or not, so does having a pet! If you have one, you’re in luck, because having a pet can increase the diversity of your microbiome.
Before we get too far into what it takes to restore gut health, there is another important topic we need to cover. And that is the gut barrier.
Leaky Gut? No, It's Barrier Breakdown: Why Fortifying Your Gut's Defender is Key to Health.
What is “leaky gut” anyway? To answer that question, it’s important to point out that your gut from the beginning to the end, is a closed tube that is technically outside the body. What?! Yep, it begins at the mouth and ends at the anus, and one of its most important jobs is to keep toxins out and eliminate them along with waste. When you have an intact gut barrier and healthy microbiome, your body does this quite well. It digests the food that you eat, drawing out those all important nutrients, and eliminating waste out the other end. However, when the gut barrier becomes permeable (or damaged), it allows some of those unwanted molecules to get into the bloodstream. This can wreak havoc on other parts of your body.
Since these molecules don’t belong in the bloodstream, your body will mount an immune response and attack them like foreign invaders. In fact, studies have now shown that these attacks have been linked to the development of autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s disease. In one study, the research indicates that maintaining an intact intestinal barrier is an incredibly important factor in the development of autoimmune disease.
Other studies like this one have found that increased intestinal permeability leads to the development of metabolic syndrome:
In short, damage to the gut barrier increases the likelihood of developing obesity, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. If symptoms of poor gut health and GI disease aren’t enough to make you want to heal your gut and create a healthy microbiome, this should make you want to level up your gut health real quick!
So, what does that mean? Are things like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke closely related to gut health, and even have the potential to be prevented? The answer is yes! We have known for a while that diet and lifestyle are major factors in the development of these conditions. Now there are many studies that also show the important relationship between gut health and these conditions as well.
Hold onto your hats, because here's another mind-blower: You don't need to be battling digestive problems to have a leaky gut. Turns out, leaky gut can show up in surprising ways, causing itchy skin problems like eczema or psoriasis. It can even lurk behind chronic conditions like joint issues (rheumatoid arthritis), and even mental health challenges like depression and autism spectrum disorder.
The bottom line is, when the gut barrier gets damaged, it causes a ripple effect through the body, impacting how everything from digestion to immunity operates.
Alright, so what causes damage to the gut lining and how do we prevent leaky gut from happening?
Truthfully, a lot of what has been built into the modern day lifestyle contributes to the development of leaky gut. Some of the things we mentioned before that destroy our healthy gut bacteria are also problematic. These include, but are not limited to: unhealthy diet, medications (especially prolonged use), chronic stress, infections, poor sleep, lack of exercise, or hormone imbalances.
That’s exactly why it’s important to address both the microbiome and the gut barrier when looking to restore gut health. Next up, let’s talk about a few things that will help us heal and maintain great gut health.
Gut Goals: Your Fast Track to a Thriving Microbiome and a Happy Gut Lining
The good news is that there are some great things you can do to both restore your healthy gut flora and begin healing your gut lining. In terms of diet and nutrition, you will want to first eliminate the foods that are damaging your gut. Things like ultra processed foods (like most fast food), need to be taken out of the diet along with other toxic foods.
Sugar, industrial seed oils, and gluten are inflammatory foods that we can also get rid of. Gluten specifically would be an important one to consider, because some people will do just fine with it while others react terribly to gluten (such as those with Celiac disease). Soy and dairy are also foods that need to be addressed on a case by case scenario. Dairy is often one that causes an underlying low-grade inflammation and can trigger increased seasonal allergies (among other things). This is a great place to start, but if you need further help identifying what might be toxic to you, we would be happy to work with you and figure out exactly what is going on.
Once you’ve cleaned up the toxic stuff in your diet, you want to start eating a good diversity of healthy whole foods. One of the things you want to do is try and include about 30 different plants per week in your diet. This will be incredibly beneficial to your microbiome and will increase the diversity of your healthy gut bacteria. Now, I know that sounds like a lot at first, but think about what you might put on a salad at lunch. You could include carrots, cucumber, tomato, radish, cabbage, bell peppers, or other healthy veggies that sound good and you are already getting at least 5 veggies in one meal. That would basically take care of one day, and in a 7 day week, you really only need about 4-5 vegetables a day. Also consider that adding healthy whole grains, seeds, or nuts to your diet count towards the healthy plant goal total of 30 for the week. When you look at it that way, hopefully it starts to seem more manageable.
In addition: be sure to include good fermentable fiber foods, as well as other fermentable foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, organic kefir, tempeh, apple cider vinegar, etc.
At this point, it would also be beneficial to start taking a high quality probiotic and\or digestive enzymes to help with digestion and the healing of your gut lining even further. If you starting taking these too early, it may help some, but you end up killing off a lot of what you are trying to introduce with a supplement. It's important to reduce your inflammation and get the toxins out of your diet first. That way, you will get the most out of those expensive supplements!
Other factors to consider:
Do your best to minimize exposure to environmental toxins
Find effective ways for you to manage stress
Make sure you are getting good sleep and have a good bedtime routine
Regular exercise is another key component to a healthy gut
I know this was kind of a quick hitting article to go through the highlights of the microbiome, the gut barrier, and to jump start you on the healing process.
Hopefully this has given you some excellent information in regards to gut health and can help point you in the right direction when it comes to your own health journey!
