Hippocrates said "All disease begins in the gut". We are seeing lately an increase in gastrointestinal diseases. Over 40% population worldwide and over 50% of the UK adult population suffers from some of the chronic digestive disorders: heartburn, IBS, IBD, acid reflux, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, excess gas, diverticular disease, hemorrhoids, cramps, unexplained abdominal pain. Often times it is difficult to get the right diagnosis for a digestive disorder, because some of these complaints come in clusters. The most common diagnosis - IBS - is accepted by many as a “Phew!” moment, “It’s just an IBS”.
But digestive disorders rob you of energy, leaving you constantly tired, let down and in battle with your body. Digestive disorders do not simply affect the energy levels in your physical body, they also harm you on the cellular level. All of the above ailments have one root cause - inflammation in the gut. When internal inflammation goes on for too long, your body hormone production, immune function, detoxification, metabolism and energy production are impaired. So on top of the aches that can be clearly identified as coming from the gut, you may develop asthma, eczema, allergies, arthritis or anxiety and depression, which all stem from impaired gut function, but yet for a non-professional so difficult to discern!
If left unattended digestive disorders become chronic and a vicious circle may set in: the nutrients you’re consuming with food are not well absorbed, as a result your condition is even more exacerbated and other important functions in your body are undermined.
What can you do if you suffer from one of the above? Is there a way out of the cycle?
The answer is - restore your gut microbiome.
A microbiome is defined as a combination of all microorganisms that inhabit our digestive system. These include bacteria, viruses, protazoa, funghi and the DNA associated with those. Our gut is said to contain 500 types of bacteria species that amount to about 3 pounds of our total body weight. Research into microbiota in the recent past has shown that these microorganisms control our digestion, metabolism, inflammation, emotions, mental health and our risk of cancer.
When the balance of bacteria in the gut is optimal, your body is optimised to produce vitamins, secrete hormones, create anti-inflammatory cells to fight inflammation and infections and ensure detoxification processes are on track.
However, when there is an imbalance in the gut bacteria, the homeostasis of the gut is disrupted, it gives rise to inflammation. (“Homeostasis” means a natural balance in the body’s cells, tissues and organisms, a tendency to resist change in order to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment.)
What is a healthy gut?
There are several components to a normally functioning gut.
Gut lining:
Intestinal lining is a single-cell (!) layer in both - the small and the large intestine (colon). In many people this one-cell lining is weakened, its tight junctions have large gaps, and thus large food proteins and other non-food substances start leaking into the bloodstream.
Gut mucus layer:
The intestinal epithelium is covered with a dense layer of mucus to prevent the movement of the gut micro-organisms into underlying tissues. The mucus is the first line of defence against foreign microorganisms, digestive enzymes, digested food particles and food-borne toxins. Defects in the mucus layer result in the inflammation and disease onset in the gut.
Stomach acid:
There needs to be an adequate amount of stomach acid to aid digestion and prevent food poisoning.
People who have low stomach acid often belch and burp, may get food poisoning easily or repeatedly, and often get diagnosed with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).
Diversity of gut bacteria:
Approximately 100 trillion micro-organisms - bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa happily cohabit in our gut. Diverse and abundant microbes help us absorb nutrients & vitamins and make our overall health more robust. However, a study in the University of Copenhagen showed that taking 3 antibiotics for just 4 days kills nearly all beneficial bacteria in the gut.
The amazing fact is you can restore your gut bacteria, support the micro-organisms in your gut mucus layer and strengthen the one-cell gut lining.
Factors that affect your gut health:
Diet
Inadequate sleep
Infections
Medications, such as antibiotics, over-the counter anti-inflammatory medicines, aspirin, steriods, anti-acids
Alcohol
Cigarette smoking
Chronic stress
Lack of exercise
Even though most of these factors work in conjunction to either strengthen or weaken our gut function, diet plays the key role in reseting its healthy balance.
The most important role of any diet is to feed the cells in our body. The nutrients we consume provide information to the variety of cells, enabling them to change the expression of our genes, either turning inflammatory genes on or turning them off.
Even though the purpose of our digestive system is to enrich us with nutrients, each day we put an enormous amount of foreign substances into our mouths (food, drinks, medications, supplements, alcohol) hoping that our digestive system will be able to figure out how to deal with them - to treat them like a friend or enemy. And when our diet choices are poor, cells become deprived of the essential components to function, hence first digestive ailments set in and later a diagnosable disease.
Gut and overall health connection:
In the past 5 - 7 years there has been some tremendous research conducted on the gut microbiome and how it governs our overall health.
The digestive system is often compared to a weblike system
Why?
Its work reaches and affects every function in our body!
A Weblike System:
Immune system - most of our immunity is formed in the digestive system.
Endocrine system - more than 16 hormones are produced in the digestive system, including ghrelin (the hormone of hunger) and secretin (regulates gastric acid).
Cardiovascular - probiotic bacteria in our gut help normalise cholesterol and triglycerides levels.
Metabolic - the bacteria in our gut drives the body’s metabolic processes.
Neurological - the enteric nervous system has more nerve endings than our spines and more neurotransmitters than our brain. Called the gut-brain axis, our digestive system rules our emotional state and brain health. Brain disorders such as anxiety and depression have a root in our gut.
Most recently psychiatric disorders have been linked to our digestive health. (A study in the US showed that 70-90% of patients with IBS seek a treatment for one or more psychiatric disorders - panic disorder, schizophrenia, major depression).
But don't despair! Even though your digestive system may not be functioning at its best right now, the good news is that it is self-healing!
You can restore your gut function and improve your healthy gut bacteria through improved diet, increased fibre intake, daily probiotic supplement and the use of nutrients that will heal the gut lining.
There are no miracles here, it is a process, but what a beautiful healthy and happy body you will have as a result!