The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

I’m talking about the microbes in your gut! Did you know that our guts contain about 100 trillion bacteria, viruses, yeast and sometimes parasites. Some of these serve crucial functions in supplying the gut with energy, making some vitamins, helping to break down undigestible foods, degrading some toxins/ medications and interacting with our immune system. What we need is to have a balance between the good and the bad, ideally with an emphasis on the good.

When the balance of the good and bad is upset for any length of time this leads to health problems. A number of outside factors push the balance of the bacteria towards the bad side.

These include:

• a diet of processed food

• a high sugar intake

• alcohol

• stress

• nutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiencies

• environmental toxins e.g. pesticides

• medications e.g. proton pump inhibitors, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics

Environmental factors and bad microbes have a tendency to cause the lining of the gut to become leaky meaning that toxins, microbes and undigested food that would normally remain within the gut reach the blood stream where they are recognised as foreign and result in an immune response. The manifestation of this response will be different from person to person but may include painful joints, eczema, brain fog, and an underactive thyroid or other autoimmune condition.

So what can we do to look after the good guys?

The first and easiest to do is to eat real food - unprocessed, containing ingredients that you recognise i.e. not chemicals, organic if possible, high fibre (at least 5 vegetables and 2 fruits of different colours) daily. It has been shown that within only 2-3 days, just by changing what you eat, the balance of microbes in your gut changes.

Eat prebiotic foods - these foods specifically feed the healthy bacteria and include: onions, garlic, leeks, artichoke, yam/sweet potato. bananas, brussel sprouts, okra, broccoli.

Eat probiotic foods - these foods contain healthy bacteria and include: sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, komboucha, yoghurt.

Avoid unnecessary medications such as acid suppressants, antibiotics and anti-inflammatories if possible.

In my clinical experience the biggest improvements often come from just changing what a person eats to include the above. Of course some cases are much more complex and require personalised interventions. Why don't you give it a try?