The Human Microbiome

The Human Microbiome (HMB) comprises all the microbes that live in and on our bodies.  A healthy microbiome will help your child resolve their eczema and contribute to overall health and wellbeing. The Microbiome comprises of Bacteria, Viruses, Funghi and Protozoa and outnumbers human cells 10:1 That makes us more microbe than human!

Some of you may find these facts a little uncomfortable knowing that we have trillions of microbes crawling in, out and all around us but in actual fact this microbe population is vital for human health and wellness.

Our vitality and wellness is intimately connected to a healthy functioning Microbiome

The Human Microbiome plays a vital role in your boby's ability to self regulate and stay healthy.  It's significance is so great that some researchers refer to as a new human organ.  Regardless of this the Microbiome is a truly impressive entity whose role in human health is only just beginning to be understood.

Endocrine signalling, nutrient production, detoxification, immune response and weight regulation are influenced by this wonderous ecosystem. For example, early studies sugges that the Microbiome associated with the gastrointestinal tract can determine whether we are lean or overweight.

Mouse studies have demonstrated that taking the gut flora from obese mice and placing it into sterile counterparts results in the newly transplanted mice becoming overweight.  And guess what happens when gut flora from lean mice is placed into sterile counterparts?  They develop leanness.  Bear in mind that both groups of mice are fed the same diets and yet the same studies show that obese rodents tend to extract more calories from their diet while the lean counterparts extract more nutrients.  This would suggest that it is the Microbiome that is responsible for either nutrient absorption or energy extraction. What we are seeing is that the lean mice get more bang for their buck without putting on additional weight.  The studies reveal that the change in Microflora iresults in either leanness or obesity.

All disease begins in the gut - Hippocrates

The HMB also appears to play a significant role in immune function and maturation. The body's immune function depends on healthy functioning metabolic and physiological pathways such as blood protein levels, T-Cell numbers and vitamin status.  But more than that the overall environment or body eco-system is fundamental in our ability to resolve infections and bounce back from illness. We have seen that antibiotic resistance is on the rise because of overuse which results in damage to the body's gut flora population which weakens gut-based immune function. Similarly obsessing about keeping ourselves and our home clean to the point of sterility reduces beneficial populations of microbiota living in, on and around us.  The rates of atopic illness is much less in populations who live around animals and livestock.  The take home message: we seem to develop more disease resistance with the more exposure to naturally occurring microbiota species.

The disease is nothing and the environment everything - Louis pasteur  

Encouraging a healthy microbiome will make you more resistance to illness and the prey of superbugs. It will also help you regulate your weight better and reduce inflammation.  Here are a five easy tips on how to promote a healthy microbiome.

5 easy tips to promote a healthy microbiome

1. Natural Birth
2. Eat Clean
3. Live Dirty
4. Use Medications Judiciously
5. Look after your Digestion

A Natural Birth is one of the most important events in a child's life.  Coming through the birth canal exposure the child to a plethora of beneficial microbiota which it swallows.  These beneficial bacterial, viruses, funghi and protozoa will initiate immune defences priming the baby against attack and promoting the colonisation of beneficial bacterial such as lactobacillus species.  Unfortunately up to 40% of some populations in the developed world are encouraged to elect or are prematurely given a c-section birth.  This bypasses the all important vaginal canal which is not ideal and these babies develop not surprisingly high numbers of hospital bugs such as strep and staph. 

Eating clean with a diet of organic foods is essential for being healthy.  The modern western diet is energy rich and high in calories and refined carbohydrates.  These contribute to an acid-rich body prone to pain, inflammation and imbalance of the HMB.  Many foods are highly processed with a range of questionable additives some of which are known carcinogens. Much of the food in the west is then packed in plastics that are high in endocrine disrupting chemicals.  I like what Michael Pollan has to say, "Eat food. Not too much.  Mostly plants."  Choosing whole foods that are seasonal and fresh is equally important and avoiding foods that act as posions in the body is also ideal.  A whole food is one that has minimal processing and resembles its natural form. So, potato crisps, confectionary packaged breads and cakes, margarines and soft drinks are not whole foods.  Stick with foods that your great grandmother would recognise and you can't go too wrong.  You'll also find that eating wholefoods is cheaper that buy processed counterparts.  Oh and if buying 100% organic stretches the budget choose conventional foods from the"Clean 15 list" and avoid or buy organic foods from the"Dirty Dozen". 

Live dirty Our daily habits see us spending more time indoors performing activities that render us inactive which leads to blood stagnation, poor circulation low Vitamin D status and poor eyesight.  Our circadian rhythms (24 hour organ body clock) are disturbed by the constancy of 24hr life, hi impact electro-magnetic fields and social media dependancy. These habits leads to fatigue and mood altering conditions such as depression and anxiety.  We are also less exposed to being in contact with nature and therefore have literally become out of touch.  A healthy Micro biome thrives on contact with dirt, soil, fresh air and clean water.  So get out side, feel the sun on your skin, swim in a lake, make that veggie garden and buy the dog you've always wanted.  These things feel good to do because they are good to do and they contribute to a health microbiome.  

Stop unnecessary medications.  Studies are now showing that up to 50% of prescribed medications do not meet the indicated criteria.  Most ear infections in children are viral and yet physicians still administer antibiotics that will be ineffective.  NSAID's are being sold to parents at alarming rates and are given to children who cannot sleep or have a tiny shift in their body temperature.  And proton pump inhibitors like nexium are being given unnecessarily to babies with minor reflux.  This is troubling news for parents who wonder why their kids seem to get sick all the time, have chronic cough, rash and develop sensitivities to otherwise natural foods.  Not only do these medications alter the microbiome for the worse they are implicated in the development of auto-immune conditions, leaky gut syndrome and can predispose to Inflammatory Bowel disease later in life.  Become the parent who asks the doctor, "is this really necessary", "can I wait", "How about resting", "what alternatives can you suggest".  If you fail to get an engaging answer then find yourself another health provider, because if your family physician truly has your best interest at heart then then will happily engage in such a conversation.  

Relaxation allows the body to change the tone of the autonomic nervous system. It will switch your physiology into Parasympathetic Mode which allows your blood to flow more freely improving circulation, nutrient delivery and waste removal.  Relaxing will improve your digestion and allow you to absorb more nutrients from the food you eat.  It slows down heart rate and reduces build up of unhealthy plaque on your artery walls and will make your eyes sparkly.  You will think more clearly and sleep much better making your immune system more vigilant at removing foreign invaders.  Deep relaxation also gives you insight into yourself at a deeper level.  Taking the time to learn and cultivate practices like Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong will allow you to become more aware of your inter-connectedness to everything around you.  Practice long enough and you can develop self-mastery.  In addition it will make you more attractive not only to others but also in the eyes of yourself which means your glass will be half full not half empty.  In the words of John Lennon - Love is all you need".

In my clinic I have noticed that the patients who recover the fastest and with the best long-term results have a health microbiome.  They recognise the importance of treating their whole body with care and respect and can appreciate the sacred balanced of internal and external health.  They embody the 5 principals above and take responsibility for their own health recognising a connection between themselves and the outside world.  These are the patients that get to the maintenance phase the fastest. And the one's that want a magic pill struggle to regain their health, require ongoing supplements and medication with varying degrees of success.    

                                                          

FAQs for Baby Eczema

What can I expect from a consultation?

Our consultation process considers your child's "Whole Health". We take a detailed history to establish what is the cause of your child's condition. Physical, Psychological, Emotional, Historical. We will consider the role of Epigenetics, Family history, Birth story, Baby and childhood milestones, other illnesses, diet and lifestyle as well as comprehensive body system review.  We want to understand the progression of your child's condition and whether there are other health concerns that run concomitant.  We will review blood work done by your GP and may order other functional testing to be performed.  We will explore the role of environment and look to find links between where your child spends time and how this may affect their health. The process is thorough and comprehensive but will produce effective results.

What to expect by way of medicines

• We do not prescribe cortisone but rather, effective alternatives that will not harm your baby.
• We herbal and nutritional medicines to help improve symptoms while also addressing the causes.
• We help you make dietary and lifestyle changes that will support your child's condition to improve. 
• The aim is to re-establish or encourage a state of homeostasis (physiological balance)

What is Eczema?
Eczema is an inflammatory condition that affects the skin and can be red, itchy and either dry or wet in nature.  It can be quite uncomfortable and stems from multiple causes which must be assessed thoroughly. Eczema has an association with asthma and allergy and if poorly managed can result in a trio of the three, known as the Atopic march.

How is a Holistic approach different from Conventional medicine?

We take time..................to consider..............and listen..............to your story. There are many aspects of being healthy, getting well and achieving lasting good health. Holistic natural medicine is not a prescription pad practice. It considers how diet and lifestyle as well as attitude play a role in a healthy body and mind.  We consider the role that family and home environments play as well as other important environments such as school and daycare settings. Our medicines are nature derived and many have been tested in clinical trials to be effective.  All are safe to use and will support your child to thrive and be well.  Most importantly, our approach considers your child specific physiological tendencies, we make these appraisals during consultation via examination but also using functional pathology testing if necessary.

What if my children don't like the herbal or other natural medicine?

In our practice in Melbourne and Healesville http://www.eluvi.com.au/ we use an array of herbs, supplements and homoeopathics to help babies and young children.  Very rarely do we experience children that cannot take the remedies. We have many tricks up our sleeve to help with this so that results come fast. This help parents feel confident and relaxed which in itself improves compliance.

How long will it take to achieve results?

Results can be difficult to determine but we do our best to give parents a clear prognosis.  When parents are committed to an integrated holistic approach improvement comes quickly.   For example we have had babies covered head to toe in eczema who have experienced 80% improvement in several weeks, without cortisone! When parents take on board the recommendations and make the necessary changes to diet and lifestyle factors and take all the prescribed medicines success is imminent.

By Tim Howden ND BHSc MNHAA
Current research indicates that babies exposed to significant inter-utero stress are likely to have a lowered ability to cope with stress as well as a higher chance of inflammatory diseases later in life.  Many situations can lead to an increase in pre-natal stress hormones in the mother.  For example, a partner being made redundant, moving house, going through a break-up, the death of a loved, fleeing a war torn country as a refugee.  The list can be endless but what is important, is that if the mother experiences significant stress during her pregnancy this is passed onto her baby.



We know that prolonged stress alters Gut function and compromises immunity as well as mental emotional wellbeing.  This is known as the Gut-Brain Axis.

In real terms this may explain the tremendous rise in Depression, Anxiety, Diabetes and Neuro-Immunological conditions like ADD/ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

Inflammatory Eczema...The Guts of the Matter

By Tim Howden ND BHSc MNHAA

"All Disease begin in the Gut" - Hippocrates 460-370 BC

Right now we are experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of babies and children who are developing eczema.  This uncomfortable condition is largely driven by an immune imbalance that is mediated via the digestive system.  There is a correlation between food sensitivity, food allergy and eczema as well as a higher prevalence in babies who are bottle fed on cows milk formula as opposed to being breast fed.  

Babies who were born via C-section, given antibiotics in early life and who are bottle fed have lower numbers of beneficial  bacteria in their digestive tract making their system more vulnerable and susceptible to infection and more prone to developing inflammatory conditions like eczema.

But lets go back a couple of steps for a tic.  This is where things get interesting.  You see, a process called "epigenetics" may help explain the rising prevalence in these conditions. In essence prenatal diet and lifestyle events appear to alter gene expression, making certain individuals prone to certain sets of illness.  Here is an example of how it works. A mothers gut health has a direct relationship to the development of her baby's digestive and immune function. Take for example a woman who uses the oral contraceptive pill prior to pregnancy or who has had antibiotics, has a diet high in refined processed foods with a history of high stress.   She is a prime candidate drug and lifestyle-induced dysbiosis, which is poor colonization of beneficial gut flora. Because of this her baby has a much greater likelihood of developing an inflammatory condition like eczema.  A baby's digestive health is determined to some extent by the mums health. 

Its not all doom and gloom though.  But it is certainly ineresting to look at some of the priming epigenetic factors that may make our kids prone to certain illness. Measures taken pre-natally to ensure good digestive heath have found to have positive effects. And good evidence supports the use of specific foods as well as nutritional medicines such as probiotics and essential fatty acids to help support infant digestive health, reducing inflammation and ultimately the expression of eczema. 

Paediatric Naturopathy Available at Camberwell Medical Centre

As of May 2012 we are please to offer specialised children's natural medicine at Camberwell Medical Centre, 984 Toorak Road, Melbourne, VIC 3124.

• Food allergy testing and treatment
• Food intolerance
• Baby Eczema treatment
• Childhood eczema
• Holistic allergy treatment
• ADHD/ADD
• Autism
• Immune related issues

We will be working alongside some fantastic integrative GPs and allied professionals.  Available from Wednesday May 2nd, 2012.  Booking essential. Clinic  03-9889 5885
http://www.cmchealth.com.au/about/page_info.php/6/37

Low Fat Diets = Poor Health

By Tim Howden ND BHSc MNHAA
You will be missing out on essential nutrients by choosing "low fat" foods.
You will be doing harm to yourself by eating a low-fat diet and possibly more harm by eating foods that contain synthetic fats.  You will be depriving your unborn baby of essential nutrients with Low-fat foods (LFF).  Put simply LFF contribute to ill-health and contribute to chronic health problems.

Good quality fat is essential to health

Appropriate fats and oils are determined by their freshness, the use you have for them and the amount you use.

• Choose cold-pressed organic where possible in dark containers.
• Buy small quantities and use them generously don't save them for best.
• Rancid oils cause oxidative stress and cell damage to you body. Never use them!

It's not fats that make us gain weight.  Rather, refined sugars, carbs and poor quality fats are to blame.

It is vital to make the distinction between eating a diet that is rich in good quality fat verses one that is laden with poor quality substitutes.

Good fats include 

Avocado, fish, Nuts and Seeds, Lean meats, Eggs, Crustaceans, Fish oils, Evening Primrose oils, Flaxseed oils, Cod liver oils, Wheatgerm oil, Full fat raw milk, Goat and Sheep's milk, Olive oil, Eggs, Almonds, Liver and Soy.  

Why fats are important?

Fat contains essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins plus trace elements that allow our bodies to heal.  Fat is largely responsible for carrying the flavour in food and for creating desirable texture.  Good quality fats are abundant in natural whole foods and are essential to good health.  


From a physiological point of view good fats are vital for correct cell function. All cells in the body have a fatty bi-layer membrane.   This membrane facilitates transport of nutrients and messengers into the cell and allow for wastes to be removed.  A diet which lacks quality fat will also be deficient in essential nutrients.  This can result in poor cell function and disease.

A diet absent in good fats can lead to health problems

• Chronic inflammation
• Poor immune function
• Bone disease like Rickets
• Eye sight problems 
• Weight problems
• Eczema, psoriasis and dandruff  
• Cancers
• Insomnia 
• Nervous tension
• low birth weight
• Diarrhoea and digestive illness
• Poor co-ordination
• Liver and gallbladder disease,
• Haematological conditions
• Accelerated ageing
• Atherosclerosis 
• Cognitive impairment 
• Bleeding disorders  
• Poor bone health

What fats to use when

Saturated Fats 

Solid at room temperature.

Butter is best for spreading and it is high in butyric acid which is fantastic for digestive health.  Ghee, Coconut oil, Duck, Beef, Chicken, Pork and Lamb fats are excellent for frying, baking and roasting.  These techniques should be minimized in ones cooking regime.

Monounsaturated Fats

Solid below 5C

Extra Virgin Olive oil.  Ideal in dressings and drizzled after cooking.  Olive oil can be used for sauteing at temperatures below 185C

Polyunsaturated

These oils do not solidify at any temperature.

Nut, seed and vegetable oils that are relatively unstable and delicate.  When overheated they make free radicals which cause oxidative stress to the body. Fresh cold pressed choices are essential.  

Cheap vegetable oils are a problem.  Solvents are used in processing and the oils are heavily refined and heated altering their chemical profile making them undesirable for consumption.  This is known as hydrogenation and margarines are by far the biggest culprit. Hydrogenated fats have been implicated in cancer and auto immune diseases. 

Essential Fatty Acids

Essential because our bodies are unable to endogenously make these lipids but are vital for physiological function.  Found in Cod liver and fish oils as well as evening primrose and flaxseed.  They must not be heated.

• Omega 3
• Omega 6
• Omega 9

Tips

• Always buy fresh oils that are stable and in dark containers
• Buy small quantities and use them generously
• Choose the right fat for the job
• Avoid Hydrogenated fats (margarines) and vegetable oil blends
• Healthy fats contain essential nutrient that your body needs
• Healthy fat will keep you immune system primed and your brain smart

Bad Fats

These are found in the following places and spaces.  One needs to be a vigilant label reader because manufactures try to hide their ingredients behind numbered codes.                               

• Most take out food
• Confectionary and junk foods 
• Margarines and butter alternatives 
• Low-fat anything because they have been chemically denatured then infused with synthetic substitutes and additives 
• Commercial bakery goods and cakes (pretty much everything in the supermarket!)
• Anything which claims to be 99.9% fat free

As mentioned previously hydrogenated fat has been chemically altered and rendered completely unnatural to our bodies. They are highly unstable products that turn rancid easily causing destruction in the body.  From a health perspective synthetic or poor quality fat compromises the body's innate ability to perform essential tasks.  They scramble chemical messengers, increase inflammation and clog our arteries.

Poor quality fat wont affect you overnight but the cumulative effect is potentially disastrous.  Poor quality fats limits necessary nutrients entering the body.  Overtime this creates deficiencies which compromise metabolic function.  There are many disease states as a result of either blatant deficiency or because of poor dietary choices.  What you put in your body now untimately affects whether your health will suffer or thrive.

Parasites offer Protection to Our Gut Immunity

By Tim Howden ND BHSc MNHAA
An inverse relationship exists between gut parasites and the prevalence of allergy. Many parasitic diseases such as filariasis and schistosomiasis that persist in developing nations have been mostly eradicated in developed ones and yet, allergies exist mostly in developed nations.

The loss of these worms or helminths may actually be contributing to the increase in allergic conditions.  It seems that eradication of these "Old Friends" comes at the price of lost protection.  Studies in Ghana have shown that these parasites have the ability to modulate the immune response and modulate the expression of particular receptors involved in the allergic response. Similar effects have been found in European children raised on farms.

This supports the idea that the organisms with which we co-evolved are important in helping prop up and regulate our immune systems.  It also backs up the vital role our digestive tracts play in our health.
All Disease begins in the GUT - Hippocrates (2500 years ago!)