Did you know that your Gut Microbiome is the Control Center for your health?

Used to be called digestion but now has a new name:  Microbiome

Bacteria and other microbes help to digest the food that you eat. Some of these microbes are associated with disease but others are important for a healthy immune system, healthy heart and healthy weight. There are more than 1000 species of bacteria as well as viruses, fungi and parasites in your body. These microbes are mainly found in your intestinal tract, particularly your large intestine. Infants get their first gut microbes from their mother during a vaginal delivery and through breastfeeding. Your diet and the environment introduce new microbes to your biome or can harm and decrease your gut microbiota.

Your Microbiome Affects Your Body and Your Overall Health

1. Digesting breast milk.
2. Digestive System:  Digesting dietary fiber where short-chain fatty acids are produced which are crucial for microbiome health,  Provides enzymes necessary to systhesize vitamins like B1, B12 and vitamin K, metabolize bile to breakdown fats. 
3. Helps to control your immune system which responds to infection as needed. Short-chain fatty acids appear to suppress chronic inflammation.
4. Helps to control brain function by affecting the central nervous system.
5. Certain gut bacteria produce or stimulate the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
6. Helps to control weight gain by working on endocrine system. An unhealthy microbiome can lead to weight gain.
7. Gut microbes secrete hormones that regulate metabolism like blood sugar, hunger & satiety.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-microbiome-and-health

What is Dysbiosis?

Dysbiosis means you have an unhealthy or unbalanced microbiome. Below are health conditions and disorders detailed which are related to an unhealthy or unbalance microbiome.  

What health conditions and disorders relate to my gut microbiome? *

*Below information is from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/25201-gut-microbiome

“Conditions directly related to gut dysbiosis include:

• Infections. Invasive pathogens (disease-causing organisms) can cause temporary or chronic infections in your gut. They can cause diarrhea, inflammation (colitis) and toxic damage to your gut lining. Some types even directly invade your gut barrier, threatening to escape into your bloodstream and go systemic. Dysbiosis weakens your gut’s defenses against these pathogens.
• SIBO. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is dysbiosis in your small intestine. It means certain types of bacteria there are overgrown, using too many resources and producing too many byproducts. In some cases, bacteria from your large intestine have migrated and settled in your small intestine, where they don’t really belong. This can be a result of slow gut motility.
• Inflammatory bowel disease. IBD is a collection of autoimmune conditions in your gut that includes ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis and Crohn’s disease. Gut dysbiosis is one of the criteria for diagnosing IBD. Researchers still aren’t sure which comes first, but they know the two conditions are related and that each contributes to the other, making it worse.
• Atherosclerosis. Certain less-desirable gut bacteria contribute to your cardiovascular risk by producing a byproduct called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This byproduct builds up in your arteries, contributing to atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries). It’s one of the substances that cardiac blood tests check for when determining your risk of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Other conditions that may be indirectly related to gut dysbiosis include:

• Allergies.
• Anxiety.
• Asthma.
• Autism.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
• Colon cancer.
• Diabetes.
• Depression.
• Fatty liver disease.
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Liver cancer.
• Multiple sclerosis (MS).
• Neurodegenerative diseases.
• Obesity.
• Pancreatic cancer.
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

What are common signs or symptoms of a problem with my gut microbiome?

Typical symptoms of gut dysbiosis include:

• Gas and gas pain.
• Bloated stomach.
• Poor digestion.
• Lower abdominal pain.
• Diarrhea.
• Constipation.”

*https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/25201-gut-microbiome

Excellent video on Healthy Gut Microbiome

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/25201-gut-microbiome

Strategies to Jump Start the Healing of Your Gut Microbiome

1. Eat legumes, beans and fruit contain lots of fiber and can promote the growth of healthy 

1. Eat fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut and kefir because they all contain healthy bacteria, mainly Lactobacilli, and can reduce the number of disease-causing species in the gut.
2. Limit your intake of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, Splenda, because they can increase blood sugar by stimulating the growth of unhealthy bacteria like Enterobacteriaceae in the gut microbiome.
3. Eat probiotic-rich foods such as: artichokes, bananas, asparagus, oats and apples.
4. Breastfeed your baby for at least 6 months. Breastfeeding is very important for the development of the gut microbiome in your baby. Children who are breastfed for at least six months have more beneficial Bifidobacteria than those who are bottle-fed.
5. Eat more whole grains because whole grains contain lots of fiber and beneficial carbs like beta-glucan, which are digested by gut bacteria and my benefit weight, diabetes, cancer risk, etc.
6. Try a plant-based diet since Vegetarian diets have been shown to reduce levels of disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli, as well as inflammation and cholesterol. 
7. Eat more polyphenols which are found in green tea, dark chocolate, olive oil and whole grains. They are broken down by the microbiome to stimulate healthy bacterial growth.
8. You can take a probiotic supplement which contains Probiotics since they contain live bacteria that can help restore the gut to a healthy state after dysbiosis. They do this by “reseeding” it with healthy microbes.
9. Only Take antibiotics only when necessary because antibiotics kill many bad and good bacteria in the gut microbiome, possibly contributing to weight gain and antibiotic resistance.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-microbiome-and-health

Use the strategies above to make help improve your Gut Microbiome which will improve your overall health! 

Research is Ongoing so there will be more specifics about the mechanisms & the foods, the enviromental effects and how stress affects the Gut Microbiome so buckle up Buttercup, for more recommendations to come as we continue to explore the Gut Biomiome!

Remember, eat more of the best and less of the rest. Be wise and exercise. You have to take care of your body…it’s the only one you have!