Why Is a Healthy Gut Important for Your Brain and Overall Health?

The GUT MICROBIOME consists of 100 trillion organisms that reside in your intestines that constitute 100 x more DNA than your body.

It regulates metabolism, behavior, and immune function

The health and diversity of your microbiome determines your health at all levels.

This is directly impacted by what you eat and drink, antibiotic use, environmental toxins and how you deal with stress.

The root cause of all autoimmune diseases lies in an unhealthy gut.

The gut is called the SECOND BRAIN because it produces all of the neurotransmitters required for proper brain function.

The gut works together with the liver to form the Gut-Liver-Brain Axis.

The Gut-Liver-Brain axis is implicated in all health conditions, including obesity, neurological disorders like depression and Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes.

The MICROBIOME grows inside the fetus during pregnancy and is also swallowed by the baby from the birth canal during vaginal delivery.  This seeds the baby’s microbiome which further grows when the baby is breast fed. The mother’s skin flora and breast milk help the microbiome to grow and flourish.

Babies born via C-section DO NOT get the microbiome seeded from the mother’s birth canal and have an:

80% increase in Celiac disease

50% increase in obesity

70% increase in Type 1 diabetes

30% increase in ADHD and learning disorders

LEAKY GUT

Everyone’s gut is semi-permeable. The mucous lining of our intestines is designed to absorb water and nutrients from our food into our bloodstream, but our lifestyle choices can cause increased intestinal permeability. This means our gut will let more than water and nutrients through.  They will let toxins, preservatives, large proteins like gluten, bacteria and viruses through creating a “leak.”  Part of the job of our intestinal lining is to act as a barrier to bacteria, infectious agents and large undigested proteins to prevent their access to our blood. This barrier is an important agent in our immune system. The gut also has its own immune system which is dependent upon a healthy MICROBIOME.

image credit: earthacademy.com

A healthy MICROBIOME means it has plentiful and diverse populations of healthy bacteria and parasites to assist all of our systems to function properly.

DYSBIOSIS is a term used to describe an unhealthy gut microbiome where there is less diversity and an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria

The MICROBIOME of Americans lacks diversity and has a higher percentage of the Firmicutes organism rather than Bacteroides.  Firmicutes absorbs less nutrients and more calories.  Bacteroides does the opposite.

Antibiotic use can cause bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, mood disorders, mental fog. A probiotic that can offset this is Saccharomyces boullardi.

RISK FACTORS FOR DYSBIOSIS:

1. Western/Standard American Diet
2. Processed foods and sugar
3. Animal protein and the Ketogenic diet (animal based)
4. Food colorings, preservatives, PEG, additives and high fructose corn syrup
5. Medications – antibiotics, acid blockers and PPI’s like Prilosec, NSAID’s
6. Chemotherapy and radiation
7. Sedentary Lifestyle
8. Stress
9. Infection with COVID-19
10. Common toothpastes, mouthwash, gum and candy with aspartame
11. ALCOHOL**

**ALCOHOL is one the main causes of dysbiosis in the US, (especially in Wisconsin where it is socially normalized).  It is the main cause of brain and mood disorders, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease, liver disease, cancer and Immunosuppression. **

FUN FACT

Probiotics, particularly strains like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, are natural inhabitants of the gut and can enhance the gut-brain-liver axis by reducing inflammation, bolstering the immune system, and improving overall gut health. Streptococcus thermophilus is another strain renowned for its role in gut health and immune system support. However, it’s essential to remember that probiotics are not all made equal.

Orenda EAZE: www.ommanicenter.com – News and Resources tab, dropdown menu to Orenda Supplements and order this!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR GUT MICROBIOME HEALTHY:

1. Eat more plants and follow a Mediterranean Diet
2. Avoid Alcohol
3. Get daily exercise
4. Minimize sugar, processed foods and foods with preservatives and chemicals.
5. Eat ORGANIC and local as much as possible
6. Get dirty!
7. Take a broad-spectrum temperature stable probiotic and feed it plant fiber!
8. Take antibiotics only if needed

REFERENCES:

www.rosekumarmd.com

1. The Gut-Brain Connection
2. What to Eat to Prevent and Reverse Disease

www.ommanicenter.com/blog

1. What is Gut-Brain Health?
2. Leaky Gut Leaky Brain

Dr. Robynne Chutkan gutbliss.com

NIH Human Microbiome Project

©June2024 Kalpana (Rose) M. Kumar M.D., CEO and Medical Director, The Ommani Center for Integrative Medicine, Pewaukee, WI. www.ommanicenter.com   Author of Becoming Real: Reclaiming Your Health in Midlife (2^nd Edition), Medial Press, 2014. Dr. Kumar is currently accepting new patients. Call 262.695.5311 for an appointment, either virtual or in-person.