The human microbiome (MB) is simply fantastic! It is made up from a combination of micro-organisms including, bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa etc that exist in and on the surfaces of your body. The majority of these organisms reside within your gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and weigh up to 2 kg. Building a better microbiome will have a lasting and positive effect on your whole health. Let me share with you some tips on why this is important and how you can achieve excellent results.
The Microbiome population in the adult gut weighs 2kg!
Imagine your microbiome as a complex eco-system, like a beautiful rainforest, made up thousands of different species, both symbiotic and pathogenic. It is a dynamic environment, constantly influx, and involved in a complex array of biological functions. These microbes occupy many locations on and in your body and many of the subgroups of microbes are unique to you and your social group. Importantly, these populations can be greatly influenced by environmental factors like diet and lifestyle.
Around 98% of the genes in your body belong to non-human microbes
You are literally a walking ecosystem!!
Why all the fuss?
Your MB is intimately linked to your brain function, immune system, gut function, involved in nutrient absorption and nutrient production such as vitamins, hormones, neurotransmitters, probiotics and contingent nutrients like butyrate. Our microbial diversity is what makes us unique and allows our bodies to flourish, grow, repair and combat illness. A well balanced plant-rich whole food diet will keep your microbes happy and when your microbes are happy it usually follows suit that you are too.
There is significant evidence to suggest that our microbes influence emotional responses such as Anxiety, Depression and Stress Response. Our MB affects neurotransmitter production of Dopamine, Serotonin, Adrenalin, Nor-Adrenalin, and GABA. There is evidence to suggest that microbes can affect the important tight junctions in our Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) which protect our brain from unwanted infection.
Sadly though, our MB cops a significant amount of damage and stress from preventable and reversible factors. A poor diet with lazy choices can adversely affect your good bugs. For example, a low fibre diet will result in less food for the microbes that live in your large bowel and when they starve they are unable to produce an important contingent nutrient called Butyrate which plays a significant role in immune and inflammation regulation. Many chronic illnesses can be improved by increasing Butyrate production which is facilitated partly by the microbes that inhabit your large bowel.
We have helped hundreds of people repair their microbiome and restore their health and vitality using a systematic and evidence-based system of traditional, holistic natural medicine. eluvi.com.au
Other lifestyle factors that affect your MB include sedentary behaviour and unnecessary medication, both natural and pharmaceutical. This can result in your digestion becoming sluggish leading to over-fermentation and putrefaction ultimately giving rise to a state of Dysbiosis or germ overgrowth. This type of functional damage will result in an internal shift in your biology that has the propensity to sustain biological and physiological functions that are not compatible with health. There is evidence to suggest that this type of imbalance gives rise to opportunistic microbe populations, the ones we don't want to get out of hand to proliferate and dominate the internal landscape, shaping and influencing key system functions for the worse.
At Eluvi Natural Medicine we are focused on helping people repair damage that has been hindering their health
Sadly though, our MB cops a significant amount of damage and stress from preventable and reversible factors. A poor diet with lazy choices can adversely affect your good bugs. For example, a low fibre diet will result in less food for the microbes that live in your large bowel and when they starve they are unable to produce an important contingent nutrient called Butyrate which plays a significant role in immune and inflammation regulation. Many chronic illnesses can be improved by increasing Butyrate production which is facilitated partly by the microbes that inhabit your large bowel.
We have helped hundreds of people repair their microbiome and restore their health and vitality using a systematic and evidence-based system of traditional, holistic natural medicine. eluvi.com.au
Alterations in beneficial microbe populations have been linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Allergic diseases and reduced Immunotolerance
Alterations in your MB may be contributing to a multitude of neurological and mood altering conditions, psychiatric symptoms, obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, allergy and food sensitivity as well as impaired immune function. Looking after and building a better microbiome is highly beneficial for overall health. Hippocrates was correct when he stated more than 2500 years ago All Dis-ease Begins in the Gut!
We can show you how to build a better microbiome and tailor an individual diet to support your boy's needs. Maybe you've made changes in the past to your diet or lifestyle that resulted in a positive effect. A month without the booze, quitting sugar, or increased your exercise. How did you feel when you committed to changes that enhanced your wellbeing?
Patients love knowing that we are available for consultation and support when they undergo a microbiome restoration.
You might be surprised to know that a few simple dietary changes is all it takes to make your microbes feel as if all their Christmases have come at once
Repair work is part of the key
when you work with a suitably qualified practitioner you can find your path back to wellness. For example, when we undertake a microbiome restoration in our clinics we embark on a comprehensive fact finding mission to understand what external and internal influences are disrupting the balance of the individual.
We assess for underlying inflammation, parasitic infestation, hormone imbalance, geopathic stress, immune dysregulation, and which organ systems are most imbalanced. We need to determine to what extent nutrient deficiencies play a part. There are complicated biochemical pathways to consider including cellular, hormonal, electrical and biochemical signalling. Once this is determined we can then target the area that needs most work and focus on repairing damage to your microbiome. Trust me, you can't google this. You simply need to consult someone who knows what they are doing.
Hoping your ailments will resolve by taking a probiotic without addressing the underlying cause/s is like tipping water into a bucket with holes and expecting the water not to run out!
Probiotics are the last thing you need!
Your attention should be directed to move beyond simply re-inoculating the gut with probiotics. This is an overly simplistic approach that often leaves people with very little to show by way of therapeutic effect. Don't get me wrong, probiotics can be beneficial, we use them everyday in our clinical practice but it's vital that the correct strains are used, at a therapeutic dose to match individual needs and...at the right time in the course of treatment. Simply buying a probiotic and presuming your health complaints will all dissolve into the ether is simply naive.
Our clinic offers individualised and highly successful microbiome restoration programmes
that will help your body re-establish its natural state of balance.
If you’re suffering physical, mental / emotional, immunological or metabolic health concerns taking
an individual approach to repairing and rebalancing your microbiome will yield great rewards. We look forward to working with you.
Reference material and relevant links
Reduced Immunotolerance and the Role of the Microbiome
